Revoked Mequon attorney can petition for reinstatement

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A Mequon attorney had his law license revoked Friday, though the state Supreme Court’s decision allows him to immediately petition to get it reinstated.

Michael Mandelman pleaded no contest to 22 counts of misconduct. The charges stemmed from several client matters and alleged money handling violations in the past decade.

According to the court’s decision, released Friday, Mandelman and his partner, Jeffrey Reitz, went through several law firm iterations after joining forces in 1999. Mandelman was accused of mishandling client and firm money and cases between 2004 and 2007.

His license has been suspended since May 2009, when he was punished for collecting a fee without performing work, making misrepresentations to a client and not tending to other client matters.

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The court, in its per curiam decision, decided to run his revocation concurrent to his previous suspension. This means that Mandelman, if he chooses, can immediately petition to have his law license reinstated, since those who lost their license can attempt to regain it again after five years.

“The misconduct at issue in this case did occur before the prior proceeding and Attorney Mandelman’s license has remained suspended from May 2009 to the present time, a much longer period than the one-year suspension imposed …” according to the court’s decision.

He could not immediately be reached for comment.

Spiro Nicolet, an attorney with Midwest Green Card LLC, Milwaukee, said he was confident Mandelman would petition for reinstatement.

“He has a lot of pride, but I know it’s a long process,” Nicolet said.

Mandelman was ordered to pay $16,943.16 for the costs of the proceeding. No restitution was ordered, but Mandelman was ordered to work with the Office of Lawyer Regulation to determine whether any former client is owed money, and if so, to pay them.

Mandelman graduated from Marquette University Law School in 1979 and was admitted to the bar the following year.

According to the decision, Mandelman claimed that during the time of the misconduct, he was suffering from chronic fatigue connected with Hepatitis C.

Nicolet, in an interview, brought up Mandelman’s treatments – which he said has improved his condition as of late – and also pointed out that his client was often overworked.

“The practice of law is a very, very demanding field,” Nicolet said. “There are a lot of regulations on it. It doesn’t take much to be out of step …”

Mandelman has been suspended four times and privately reprimanded twice since 1990. Follow @eheisigWLJ