Supreme Court reinstates Soldon’s license (UPDATE)

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A Shorewood labor law attorney whose admitted addiction to opiates led to criminal behavior can practice law again, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

Naomi Soldon’s license was suspended for six months in 2010 for several arrests in 2007 and 2008. During that time, Soldon – who works for Soldon Law Firm LLC with her husband and brother-in-law – was convicted of theft and fleeing and eluding an officer; other charges were dismissed.

She was also retroactively suspended in 2012 for theft convictions in Illinois. Since 2010, though, she has sought treatment for her drug addiction and has been clean. She has also abstained from gambling, which was also a problem, according to court papers.

In 2012, she applied to get her license reinstated – a step all attorneys suspended for six months or more must take. Following a public hearing last year, a referee recommended last year that her license be reinstated, and the Supreme Court agreed.

In its per curiam decision, the court reinstated her license, effective immediately, and ordered her to pay $2,680.59 for the cost of the reinstatement proceeding.

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The court also required Soldon to provide quarterly doctor’s reports with the Office of Lawyer Regulation for two years to confirm that she is staying sober and refraining from gambling.

Reached Tuesday morning, she said she was pleased that the court reinstated her license. She also said she doesn’t think the problems she had a few years ago will reappear, since she has made a lot of progress.

“You always feel nervous about saying, ‘I’m not going to relapse,’” Soldon said. “I feel strong in my recovery. The idea of going back to that is so far from where I am right now.”

According to the opinion, during her suspension Soldon still worked at her law firm as an office manager, handling billing, filing, purchasing, scheduling and typing, among other duties.

“Although she assisted her husband with his law practice, the referee found that Attorney Soldon vigilantly ensured that her work constituted neither the unauthorized practice of law, nor law work activity customarily done by law students, law clerks, or other paralegal personnel,” according to the opinion.

Soldon was admitted to the State Bar in 1990 after graduating from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Follow @eheisigWLJ