Tres Bernhard gives up law license

James M. “Tres” Bernhard has permanently surrendered his license to practice law in Louisiana “and in any other jurisdiction in which he is admitted to the practice of law,” according to records released today by the Louisiana Supreme Court. The state’s high court accepted Bernhard’s resignation earlier this week in lieu of disciplinary action he was facing from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, “which was investigating complaints alleging serious professional misconduct … including improper handling of client funds.” Bernhard’s resignation comes on the heels of a civil lawsuit filed last week in the 19th Judicial District by the Crawford Lewis law firm, where he practiced law from 2007 until March of this year. The suit accuses Bernhard of fraud, theft, mismanagement and misappropriating clients’ funds in a scheme that allegedly involved pocketing proceeds from the transfer of movie industry tax credits he did not possess and selling movie tax credits that did not exist. Bernhard, the son of Shaw Group founder and CEO Jim Bernhard, is at an undisclosed medical facility in Texas, according to court records. His local attorney, David Dugas, declined to comment. But Crawford Lewis’ lawyer, Mary Olive Pierson, says his resignation helps vindicate her clients. “It validates the allegations in the lawsuit, to the extent they need to be validated,” she says. —Stephanie Riegel