Court denies Mequon attorney’s license reinstatement

Listen to this article

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has denied a Mequon lawyer’s request for his license to be reinstated.

Michael Mandelman, who had a solo criminal defense and personal injury practice in Milwaukee, petitioned the court in August to reinstate his license.

His license has been suspended since July 1, 2006. The court revoked Mandelman’s license on Aug. 1, 2014, for 22 counts of misconduct, imposing it retroactively starting on May 29, 2009. The misconduct stemmed from several client matters and alleged money handling violations over the past decade.

Because the court’s August 2014 order was retroactive, Mandelman did not have to wait the requisite five years to petition the court for reinstatement.

But the court on Tuesday chose not to reinstate him. The justices, in their per curiam decision, noted that Mandelman’s chronic fatigue has been effectively treated and commended him for addressing past wrongs, including amending past tax returns and settling delinquent tax obligations. They also noted than since his license was suspended in 2006, he worked in property management, retail sales and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, has earned a master’s degree in architecture and was admitted to the architecture graduate program at UWM.

While those actions are commendable, according to the court, that is not enough to show that Mandelman understands the standards imposed by the bar and that he will conform to them.

“… The record is lacking sufficient evidence that he is able to sustain the rigor and stress of a professional career … such that he can be safely recommended to the legal profession, the courts, and the public as a person fit to be consulted by others and to represent them and otherwise act in matters of trust and confidence.”

Mandelman graduated from Marquette University Law School in 1979 and was admitted to the bar the following year. He has had his license suspended five times and has been privately reprimanded twice since 1990. Follow @erikastrebel