By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//June 4, 2014//
Wisconsin Supreme Court
Civil
Professional Responsibility — dismissal
Where any violation of the rules by attorney Roger G. Merry was de minimis, the complaint is dismissed.
“The weakness of the OLR’s case makes it an outlier. The OLR typically pursues claims of failure to cooperate in cases where there is little dispute that the lawyer failed to cooperate. Typically, the failure to cooperate charge accompanies a determination that the lawyer engaged in some underlying misconduct. Here, however, Attorney Merry is exonerated of any underlying misconduct and the information he allegedly withheld from the OLR — the name of the specific person who told him an apparently correct piece of information — appears to be of dubious relevance. While the referee correctly concluded that a violation of SCRs 22.03(6) and 20:8.4(h) occurred, we deem it a de minimis one, insufficient to warrant imposing the recommended discipline with its attendant costs of $13,727.71. We therefore dismiss the complaint.”
Per Curiam.
Attorneys: For Appellant: Kolb, Christopher T., Milwaukee; Merry, Roger G., Monroe; For Respondent: Weigel, William J., Madison; Kluck, Kim M., Sun Prairie