Professional Conduct

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is a casenote of a private reprimand that was summarized in the May 2002 Wisconsin Lawyer, pp. 33-34, pursuant to permission given by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to the Wisconsin Lawyer.

Summary of a Private Reprimand Facts: An attorney agreed to represent a couple at a real estate closing concerning the sale of the couple's residence. The husband told the attorney that three repairmen had performed work on the house within the last six months. He did not have any lien waivers from the repairmen, but stated that he had paid for all the work performed. The attorney allowed the husband to sign an affidavit stating that no work had been performed on the house in the last six months.

The husband sent a letter to the attorney requesting a refund, which the attorney refused to furnish in whole. Later, the husband sent a request for an itemization of the services the attorney performed. The attorney stated that he would submit to fee arbitration, but did not provide the requested itemization.

Holding: The Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) issued a private reprimand for the attorney. The OLR found that the attorney failed to keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information, pursuant to SCR 20:1.4(a). The OLR further found that the attorney engaged in conduct involving misrepresentation in violation of SCR 20:8.4(c), by allowing the husband to sign an affidavit the attorney knew to be false.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Under Illinois law, the attorney likely violated RPC 1.4 for failing to keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and for failing to promptly comply with reasonable requests for information. The attorney further violated RPC 8.4(a)(4) for engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.

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