VAN NUYS : Lawyer Convicted in Drug Case Suspended

The State Bar of California has disciplined a criminal defense attorney who was sentenced to two years in state prison for selling cocaine from his Encino apartment.

Richard Irving Lang, 47, was temporarily suspended from practicing law until further order of the court, said Kim McCready, a spokeswoman for the State Bar.

McCready said the action was taken after the Bar learned of Lang’s conviction in February. The State Bar Court will determine if there will be further disciplinary measures against Lang, who was sentenced in June.

The State Bar had suspended Lang’s license in 1987 for failure to pay member fees. Before the suspension, Lang had worked primarily at the Van Nuys Courthouse.

A judge had acquitted Lang in 1988 on charges of selling drugs at a Cocaine Anonymous meeting.

Police arrested Lang in June, 1990, after investigators recovered about 4.5 ounces of cocaine in his Yarmouth Avenue apartment. Police used a search warrant and acted on a tip that Lang was selling drugs from his apartment.

Lang’s attorney could not be reached for comment. Lang was admitted to the State Bar in December, 1974, and attended law school at Southwestern University in Los Angeles, Bar officials said.