Stevens Point attorney faces 4-month suspension

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A Stevens Point attorney could face a four-month suspension of his license for 22 counts of misconduct alleged by the Office of Lawyer Regulation.

Zachary Krogman has been licensed to practice law in Wisconsin since 2011. He has had no prior discipline, and his license is in good standing, according to the OLR and State Bar websites.

An OLR complaint filed July 16 alleges the 22 counts of misconduct involved at least eight clients from 2012 to 2014.  The OLR alleges that in a number of divorce and adoption cases, Krogman failed to keep clients informed about their case, failed to communicate with them and opposing counsel, failed to take action to further his clients’ cases and, in some cases, failed to file necessary documents.

When the OLR attempted to investigate grievances filed by Krogman’s clients, Krogman did not respond. When a representative of the OLR did get ahold of him in one case, it took Krogman more than two months to respond.

The OLR also alleges that in many of those eight cases, Krogman collected advance fees and later improperly accessed them, withdrawing them from his trust account without notifying his clients, as required by Supreme Court rules.

Also according to the complaint, although Krogman’s license was suspended in June 2012 for failing to report completing continuing education requirements, he continued practicing, including appearing in court and corresponding with opposing counsel.

Krogman, according to the OLR, did not tell clients, courts and opposing counsel that his license had been suspended. The OLR also alleges that he failed to advise his clients that he would not be able to appear in court on their behalf and that they must seek other legal representation or appear pro se.

The OLR’s complaint also details how Krogman mismanaged his trust account, failing to comply with trust account record-keeping requirements. The mismanagement included, according to the OLR, how Krogman did not keep deposit records or individual client ledgers, kept memo lines on checks blank and kept five registers that were inaccurate and inconsistent not only with bank records but with each other.

Throughout the complaint, the OLR makes several references to Krogman seeking medical inpatient treatment.

Krogman could not immediately be reached Thursday.

The OLR is asking that the Supreme Court suspend his license for four months and that reinstatement be conditional upon Krogman participating in a drug abuse and mental health assessment, submitting to drug abusing monitoring for two years, refraining from consuming drugs without a prescription while being monitored, and giving the OLR releases of confidentiality for each drug treatment provider he has seen in the last five years. Follow @erikastrebel