Conditional Admission Goes Public; Attorney Reprimanded
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has imposed a reciprocal public reprimand as a result of a sanction ordered by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
The court denied a motion to consider revocation of the attorney’s conditional admission in Wisconsin
After reviewing these matters, and in light of Attorney Gall’s failure to respond to our order to show cause, we conclude that Attorney Gall should be publicly reprimanded in this state for the misconduct that has already resulted in a public reprimand in Minnesota. We further conclude, however, in light of the manner in which the Supreme Court of Minnesota addressed Attorney Gall’s disciplinary case, that there is no need to issue an order to show cause to Attorney Gall regarding his conditional admission in this state. We therefore deny the BBE’s motion requesting such an order. We also deny the BBE’s motion to seal all filings regarding the conditional admission, determining that the interweaving of the disciplinary matter and the conditional admission matter require public disclosure of the fact of Attorney Gall’s conditional admission to the practice of law in this state.
The problem
The facts underlying Attorney Gall’s public reprimand involved his failure to comply with the Consent Agreement for Conditional Admission to the practice of law in Minnesota (the Minnesota Agreement) and his false statements to the Minnesota lawyer regulatory authorities.
Specifically, the Minnesota Agreement, which Attorney Gall executed with the Minnesota Board of Law Examiners (MBLE) in March 2011, contained a requirement that Attorney Gall comply with the conditions of probation imposed in November 2010 as a result of a conviction for Fourth Degree Driving While Intoxicated. One of those conditions was a requirement that for a period of two years Attorney Gall would have no driver’s license violations. The Minnesota Agreement also required Attorney Gall to submit quarterly reports detailing his compliance with all of the terms and conditions of that agreement, as well as to submit narrative statements detailing the steps he was taking to support his decision to abstain from alcohol. The Minnesota Complaint provided that it would be in effect for a period of two years (until March 2013). The agreement also stated, however, that if a complaint was filed with the Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility during the term of the agreement, then the period of conditional admission would be extended until the disposition of that complaint. Once Attorney Gall signed the Minnesota Agreement, he was admitted to the practice of law in that state…
Contrary to Attorney Gall’s probation and his conditional admission agreements in both states, he was cited for 11 traffic violations in the period from June 2011 to September 2012.
No need to inquire into his Wisconsin conditional admission
we conclude that the matter of Attorney Gall’s misconduct was sufficiently addressed by the Minnesota public reprimand and disciplinary probation, which is being imposed in this state via the reciprocal discipline procedure.
The attorney is on probation for two years in Minnesota. The court here did not impose a term of probation. (Mike Frisch)