Moonlight In Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has imposed a one-year suspension of an attorney

Attorney Trupke was admitted to the practice of law in Wisconsin in 2002. She resides in Oregon, Wisconsin. Attorney Trupke has not previously been the subject of professional discipline. At the times of the events giving rise to this proceeding, Attorney Trupke was a partner in a Madison law firm.

The misconduct

The facts set forth in the complaint are as follows: In 2013, Attorney Trupke began serving as an independent reviewer for the Center for Copyright Information (CCI). CCI is a service offered through the American Arbitration Association (AAA) in which an independent reviewer is appointed to consider whether an individual may be violating copyright law or has a valid defense. Once a CCI reviewer or AAA arbitrator completes a matter, the parties pay a fee to AAA, which in turn pays the reviewer or arbitrator.

Between January 2013 and June 2016, AAA paid Attorney Trupke $73,025 for her work as a CCI reviewer. Attorney Trupke did not report the $73,025 in CCI fees to her firm or to her partners. 

She stipulated to the violations. 

In 2013, Attorney Trupke opened a file at the firm for an AAA matter. After working 28.10 hours on the matter, she directed the firm’s accounting department to write the time off. She subsequently sent a personal invoice to AAA, requesting that AAA send payment to her home. In March 2016, Attorney Trupke gave misleading information to the firm’s managing partner about her work and income from CCI and AAA.

Attorney Trupke resigned from the firm in May 2016. In June 2016, Attorney Trupke and the firm entered into a reimbursement agreement in which Attorney Trupke waived certain post resignation benefits to offset payments she owed to the firm.

(Mike Frisch)