Lights Out For “Light Hero”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has revoked the license of an attorney as a result of 47 counts of ethics violations.
The court noted that the attorney had no prior disciplinary record but had “considerable practice problems” in federal bankruptcy matters
The undisputed facts show a clear pattern of neglect by Attorney Booker of his clients’ needs and objectives, which is especially troubling given that most of Attorney Booker’s clients were in serious financial distress and thus were in a particularly vulnerable position. Attorney Booker also showed a patent disregard for his obligations as an attorney. He made a habit of providing inaccurate or misleading information to his clients and to the courts. He ignored court orders and requirements. He repeated his misconduct again and again, in scores of cases in federal and state courts over a lengthy period. He has never acknowledged his wrongdoing. He has failed to fully cooperate with the disciplinary process. License revocation is necessary in this case to impress upon Attorney Booker the seriousness of his professional misconduct, to protect the public from similar misconduct in the future, and to deter other attorneys from engaging in similar misconduct.
The court ordered full costs but not restitution
Given the imprecise state of the record as it relates to restitution, the court declines to make a specific award of restitution. Instead, we deem it appropriate to require, as a condition of the reinstatement of his Wisconsin law license, that Attorney Booker demonstrate to the court that he has reimbursed any unearned fees to each client mentioned in the OLR’s amended complaint.
Some background
Attorney Booker promoted his law practice by labeling himself in advertisements as the “Light Hero”——a reference to his ability to keep electricity connected to the homes of financially troubled residents. For a time, Attorney Booker concentrated much of his practice on filing what are known as “Chapter 128 petitions” on behalf of homeowners facing the possible disconnection of utility services. A Chapter 128 petition is a state-court proceeding in which wage earners who are unable to pay a debt in full can make regular debt amortization payments over time. See Wis. Stat. § 128.21. Before August 2011, the utility company which provides electrical service to Milwaukee residents treated the filing of a Chapter 128 petition as an injunction preventing it from terminating a customer’s service during the pendency of the case. Attorney Booker therefore filed Chapter 128 petitions on behalf of his clients in order to stay the utility from disconnecting his clients’ service for non-payment.
(Mike Frisch)