Attorney faces discipline over handling of family cases

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An Iowa attorney could face discipline over how he handled two Wisconsin family cases.

According to a complaint filed Monday, the Office of Lawyer Regulation alleges David Lemanski committed three counts of misconduct involving two of his clients.

Lemanski represented a client in a legal separation in Grant County, but the client fired Lemanski in November 2014, according to the complaint. Opposing counsel later sent Lemanski an email notice of his former client’s deposition, but Lemanski never told the former client, who never appeared for the deposition.

Opposing counsel moved to compel discovery in the case and for additional relief, and the trial judge ordered Lemanski to pay $1,471.50 to the opposing party for attorney fees and costs related to the missed deposition and missed discovery deadlines.

Lemanski never paid, according to the complaint, and when the OLR attempted to investigate the matter, Lemanski failed to respond to the OLR’s letters and to the Supreme Court’s order that he respond.

In another divorce case in Grant County, Lemanski accepted $2,000 as an advance payment even though it was foreseeable that the cost of representing his client would be more than $1,000. Lemanski then went on to charge the man more than $1,000 in additional fees and costs, according to the OLR. He did both without having a written fee agreement, which is required by Supreme Court rules in cases in which the total cost of representation exceeds $1,000.

Lemanski could not be immediately reached for comment.

The OLR is asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to publicly reprimand Lemanski and order him to pay the $1,471.50 that the trial court ordered him to pay.

Lemanski practices in Dubuque, Iowa, according to the OLR and State Bar websites. He has been admitted to practice in Wisconsin since 2002 and earned his law degree from Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa.

Monday’s complaint is not his first run-in with the OLR. His Wisconsin license was suspended in November 2014 for failing to cooperate with an OLR investigation. The Supreme Court suspended his license again in March 2015 as reciprocal discipline to discipline imposed by the Iowa Supreme Court for failing to communicate with a client and failing to respond to the state’s attorney discipline board. Lemanski’s license was suspended again in October 2015 for failing to pay dues and sign a trust-account certification. Follow @erikastrebel