State’s high court revokes suspended attorney’s license

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James Cyril Kotz, an Illinois lawyer whose license to practice in Wisconsin has been suspended since 2006, had his license revoked Tuesday by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Kotz was charged Feb. 9, 2011, in federal district court for violating 26 U.S.C. § 7212(a) by creating a fictitious scheme to conceal the receipt of taxable income garnered through the sale of real estate and creating a fictitious corporation to further the scheme, according to court records.

He plead guilty to the charge, and on May 26, 2011, was sentenced to three years probation, the first 90 days of which were to be served at home with electronic monitoring. Kotz also was fined $3,000 and ordered to surrender his law license.

He was disbarred by the Illinois Supreme Court on Sept. 20, 2011, and failed to notify the Office of Lawyer Regulation, prompting the OLR to file a formal disciplinary complaint June 18 seeking revocation of his Wisconsin law license as reciprocal discipline.

Kotz’s Wisconsin law license was suspended Oct. 31, 2006, for failure to pay state bar dues and assessments, according to court documents.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed to the reciprocal discipline and revoked Kotz’s license to practice law in Wisconsin, effectively immediately.