CHEYENNE - A Worland attorney under investigation for allegedly soliciting sex from one of his clients can continue to practice but cannot talk to his current women clients unless a third person is present, the state's highest court said Monday.

The Wyoming Supreme Court issued an interim discipline order for Worland attorney Larry Berryman, who is facing misdemeanor charges of solicitation of prostitution.

A woman client of Berryman's told authorities the lawyer told her that he preferred that she pay him for his legal work with sex.

Berryman, a former Washakie County Attorney, is specifically charged with soliciting a 19-year-old client for sex in exchange for excusing her bill for services in a child custody case.

Berryman could not be reached for comment late Monday afternoon at his office or home.

The charges were filed by Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric, special prosecutor in the case.

While the Wyoming State Bar investigates the charges, Perryman agreed to a number of conditions, according to the Wyoming Supreme Court order.

- He may take new cases or complete ongoing matters for female clients but any communication with those clients must be done with another person present to hear all of the conversations.

- All communications with new or current clients will be done with another person present to hear all of the conversations.

- The monitoring of these client conversations will be done in a manner to preserve their confidentiality and must be approved by bar counsel.

- Perryman will have written fee agreements with all new clients and will furnish these agreements to the bar counsel for review. But the bar counsel, Becky Lewis of Laramie, does not have to approve new client matters.

The court will rule on a final disciplinary sanction following the bar's investigation, the order said.

Berryman, meanwhile, has waived his initial appearance and pleaded not guilty to the charges, Scoric said Monday.

Berryman is scheduled for a non-jury trial at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 14 before Ninth Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Robert Denhardt of Lander, Scoric said.

If convicted he faces a penalty of up to six months in jail, a fine of $750, or both.

The charges stemmed from a Sept. 14 meeting between Berryman and a woman he was representing in a custody case, according to an affidavit filed by Worland Police Officer J.D. Fowler.

In the affidavit , Fowler said he was contacted by Mandy Horath of the Worland Victims of Violence Center who reported a woman came to her office wanting to report being solicited for sexual favors by a local attorney.

The woman, who was not identified, said that when she questioned how she could pay Berryman for his services during a Sept. 24 meeting, he told her she could pay him with sex, or with money but that he preferred the former option, the affidavit said.

The affidavit also quotes the transcript of an Oct. 6 conversation between Berryman and the woman. During the conversation, the affidavit said, the woman wore an audio device called a "telephone tracker" that was monitored by police in the Community Hall directly across the street from Berryman's office.

During that meeting, the woman told Berryman it was obvious she had no money.

Berryman assured her that whatever happened would be the two of them.

When she asked how many times he wanted to have sex with her, Berryman answered, "Well, two if I could," according to the affidavit.

But he also said he would not "push you to do anything you don't want to do," the affidavit said.

After the talk with Berryman, the woman returned to the law enforcement center and all three recorded tapes were placed into evidence, the affidavit said.

Bar counsel Lewis could not be reached for comment Monday.