Suspended attorney E. Larry Kovel once showed up for court so disoriented that he began representing the wrong man, insisted it was really his client using an alias, then had to be convinced he'd attended the wrong hearing, says one witness.

"The judge started laughing at him," said Bonita Wilson, who hired Mr. Kovel to handle a court case in Washington County arising from a traffic dispute involving her son a few years ago.

After being told he'd come to court on the wrong date, Mr. Kovel then disappeared into the district attorney's office, emerged and told her things would be handled smoothly and the case would go away.

Instead, Ms. Wilson's son wound up with a year's probation.

Several former clients of Mr. Kovel, who was arrested last week on charges that he defrauded a client and practiced law without a license, say he often appeared drunk, held client meetings in bars and never told them that he was facing suspension of his license for a drug conviction.

Mr. Kovel, who listed addresses in Mt. Lebanon, West Mifflin and Carnegie, was arrested last Monday on a warrant for allegedly accepting money from a woman to represent her son in court and then not appearing in court and for practicing law without a license. He was arrested while he attempted to pawn what he said was his wife's jewelry at a Downtown coin exchange. He was released on 10 percent of $2,000 bond.

Mr. Kovel could not be reached for comment.

Over a four-year period, Mr. Kovel's career foundered as he hustled up clients around Western Pennsylvania, at the same time falling behind on credit card payments and rent. He also was representing himself in a drug arrest in the same courts where he practiced.

Mr. Kovel was picked up by Robinson police May 16, 2005, and charged with possession of cocaine and attempting to destroy the evidence. The latter charge was withdrawn and Mr. Kovel ultimately pleaded guilty to the possession charge in July of 2007.

He was given a year's probation by Judge Randal Todd.

It was Mr. Kovel's third arrest. A decade earlier, he had been arrested on a charge of driving under the influence and, later, for driving while his license was under suspension.

In March 2008, Common Pleas Court referred Mr. Kovel's case to the Disciplinary Board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. On Feb. 20 of this year, the court suspended Mr. Kovel's license when he failed to respond to a subpoena.

The Allegheny County district attorney's office confirmed that it has begun an extensive review of cases in which Mr. Kovel was involved. It also is following up other complaints that he was drunk while representing clients.

One case focuses on an incident in the courtroom of then Common Pleas Judge Cheryl Allen, who delayed a sentencing when Mr. Kovel turned up unannounced, appeared to be intoxicated and began to represent a defendant who had been convicted of drug charges.

Judge Allen, who is now on Superior Court, confirmed the episode but declined to share details.

In another case, Arnita Long said Mr. Kovel represented Omar McCord, the father of her son, and she became suspicious when Mr. McCord constantly headed to bars to consult with his attorney.

"It was like to the point I asked 'Are you really going to see a lawyer?' " Ms. Long said.

Suspicious of where Mr. McCord was going, she said, a cousin of hers tailed him.

"I thought, 'Why does this lawyer always work out of the bars? It just seemed a little unprofessional to me."

Ms. Long said Mr. McCord repeatedly paid fees to Mr. Kovel who kept arranging for delays in the trial.

"He kept calling and he kept calling. He wanted more money," she said.

She said Mr. McCord paid $3,500 to Mr. Kovel before hiring another attorney.

Bill Andrews said he retained Mr. Kovel to represent his wife in a routine drunken driving case in Allegheny County and ended up firing him in the hallway outside Judge David Cashman's courtroom a year later.

He said Mr. Kovel routinely arranged meetings at a bar near his office in Upper St. Clair.

"You always met him in the bar," said Mr. Andrews. "We met him like 10, 11 o'clock in the morning and we met him in a bar."

He said Mr. Kovel attempted to sell him on his connections.

"Kovel made all these allegations that he knew everybody -- he knew all the judges and all the lawyers and when I did some snooping around, nobody knew him," he said.

On June 5, 2007, Mr. Andrews fired Mr. Kovel moments before his wife was to appear at a sentencing.

He said Mr. Kovel showed up intoxicated.

"He was drunk and he reeked of alcohol," Mr. Andrews said. "I said 'You're going to stand in front of a judge smelling like this?' I told him, 'No.' "

Mr. Andrews said he hired another attorney whom he spotted in the courthouse and paid him $1,000 to settle the case.