Attorney suspended, mental health questioned

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court has suspended sole practitioner Michael Erspamer’s license for 60 days.

In the court’s decision, handed down Friday, it found the Chetek attorney may have mental health issues that contributed to his failure to respond to a client he was representing, the root of the sanction, and also Erspamer’s failure to cooperate with disciplinary investigators.

The Wisconsin Lawyer Regulation system, pursuant to an order of the referee, filed a sanction brief in 2010 outlining the discipline it believed appropriate.

Its brief stated that its main goal in the proceeding was not to punish Erspamer, but to protect the public from an attorney who was not functioning properly.

It stated: “[i]f this was a situation where the lawyer was cooperative and responsive, [the LRS] would be recommending a reprimand, but Mr. Erspamer’s refusal to cooperate and respond leads [the LRS] to believe a reprimand would not adequately protect the public.”

LRS recommended a six-month suspension of Erspamer’s license to practice.

The court decreased the sanction to 60 days, due to Erspamer’s upstanding reputation during his 27 years of practice.

However, the court stated, reinstatement is contingent on Erspamer passing a mental health evaluation to determine whether the attorney is capable of resuming his practice.

He was ordered by the court to pay $4,768.34 in court costs.