Disciplinary Hearing

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WI Supreme Court

Disciplinary Hearing

2013AP2742-D Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Thomas O. Mulligan

Attorney commits numerous violations including failure to execute written fee agreement, deposit of advanced funds into business account without proper notices, comingling of funds and more.

“Attorney Mulligan clearly believes that because he sought to ensure that sufficient personal funds were available to avoid overdraft, this excuses his trust account violations. The record evidence, however, demonstrates that by extensive commingling of personal and client monies, Attorney Mulligan misrepresented the balance of client funds in his trust account at any given point in time. See, e.g., Attorney Grievance Comm’n of Md. v. Glenn, 671 A.2d 463, 487 (Md. Ct. App. 1996) (rejecting a lawyer’s claim that his own deposits into a trust account cured any trust account violation, observing that “a trust account is a trust account, not one dependent on discretionary infusions of money from another source”). Attorney Mulligan’s trust account so inextricably comingled client and personal funds that it is impossible to know which or whose funds were being used at any particular time. The record here supports the referee’s findings and conclusions that the trust account anomalies at issue rose to the level of misconduct under SCR 20:8.4(c).”

License Suspended for 9 months

Per Curiam.

ABRAHAMSON, J., concurs. (Opinion filed.)

BRADLEY, ZIEGLER, J.J., did not participate.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.