Recidivist

An attorney’s latest brush with ethical violations resulted in a one-year suspension by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The court noted that the attorney

has a lengthy and troubling disciplinary history, with three consensual private reprimands, one consensual public reprimand, and four previous suspensions. 

Here, the attorney picked up a alcohol-related driving conviction after previous discipline for such misconduct.

He also again violated court orders in his domestic case

…although he had been disciplined in that proceeding for criminal convictions that arose out of improper actions toward his then-wife, he subsequently chose to violate a domestic abuse injunction by sending legal documents to her directly.  Further, although he had been disciplined in Guenther III for his second offense of operating a motor vehicle with a PAC, he engaged in the conduct again, leading to a third PAC conviction.  This repetition of misconduct makes the violations in this matter more troubling and worthy of a lengthier suspension, which hopefully will impress upon him the seriousness of his misconduct and the need to conform his conduct to both the criminal laws of this state and the Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys. 

(Mike Frisch)