High court suspends attorney’s license for 2-1/2 years over drug, sex charges

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court has suspended a Madison attorney’s license to practice law for 30 months.

Jon Evenson’s license has been suspended since June for not completing continuing education requirements. He was publicly reprimanded in 2011 for participating in two bar fights, for which he was convicted of two felony counts of battery. He also failed to report his conviction to the state Supreme Court and Office of Lawyer Regulation.

Evenson could not be immediately reached Thursday.

Thursday’s discipline stems from an OLR complaint filed Dec. 17, detailing how, in 2013, Evenson persuaded an intoxicated 22-year-old woman to come to his downtown Madison law firm, where he gave the woman wine and ecstasy. They had sex in the office and at the woman’s home, according to the complaint. When the woman woke up, she could not recall what happened and notified police.

Evenson was charged with two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault and delivery of a schedule I drug, according to the complaint. He pleaded guilty to the charges in September 2014 and was sentenced to three years in prison, three years of extended supervision and two consecutive nine-month jail terms. But the court stayed the sentences and imposed three-year probation terms and nine months of jail with Huber privileges.

The OLR’s complaint asked that the court impose a 30-month suspension on Evenson’s law license.

According to the per curiam opinion issued Thursday, Evenson reached a stipulation with the OLR, agreeing that his conduct leading to his criminal conviction violated Supreme Court rules and warranted a 30-month suspension. Evenson, according to the OLR cooperated and admitted that he has a drug abuse problem.

The justices agreed with the stipulation, noting that the 30-month suspension is consistent with other cases in which the court imposed lengthy license suspensions when attorneys had been convicted of a criminal offense. Follow @erikastrebel