Milwaukee defense attorney faces 2-year suspension

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A Milwaukee criminal defense attorney is facing a two-year suspension of his law license for allegedly repeatedly ignoring clients and missing court deadlines.

Michael Hicks had multiple complaints filed against him for cases between 2011 and 2013, according to a Jan. 2 complaint filed by the Office of Lawyer Regulation. The grievances center around clients he was appointed to represent for criminal cases in state and federal court, as well as a petition to review an involuntary commitment.

The state Supreme Court suspended his law license multiple times between 2011 and 2013 for not responding to their inquiries. Then, after he was suspended, he replied to their inquiries and his license would be reinstated, according to the complaint.

The OLR is asking the state’s highest court to suspend Hicks for two years. If the courts elect to do so, Hicks would then have to petition the Supreme Court to reinstate his license.

The complaint goes into detail about the 42 counts of misconduct alleged. Aside from mishandling many cases, Hicks also was found to have appeared in court multiple times when his license was suspended, and allegedly did not notify other attorneys about his pending disciplinary proceedings. He also allegedly failed to properly respond to inquiries the OLR made while it was investigating grievances.

Hicks in 2012 was disbarred from practicing in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals after failing to respond to an order to show cause by Judge Frank Easterbrook after Hicks abandoned a client he was appointed to represent in an appeal. Easterbrook, in a court filing, stated that Hicks “has not lifted a finger on his client’s behalf.”

He also was removed from a list of attorneys Federal Defender Services Inc. uses to appoint representation for indigent clients.

“At the very least, Mr. Hicks is going to be on the dime for some expenses associated with this by being totally irresponsible in his obligations as an officer of the court …” Eastern District of Wisconsin Judge J.P. Stadtmueller said in a September 2012 hearing.

This is the second case the OLR brought against Hicks. The state Supreme Court in 2012 reprimanded him for similar bouts of misconduct.

Hicks did not immediately return a request for comment.

One of the complainants listed in the recent filing is from a Milwaukee man who was convicted in October of more than 30 counts of incest and sexual assault against family members. Hicks was suspended twice while representing the man but did not notify his client, the complaint alleges.

Hicks also allegedly lied to the man about hiring an investigator for the case and ignored the man’s phone calls, according to the complaint. Hicks, who took the case in August 2012, withdrew from the case in March 2013. Follow @eheisigWLJ