Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Disciplinary Proceedings

By: Derek Hawkins//May 4, 2016//

Disciplinary Proceedings

By: Derek Hawkins//May 4, 2016//

Listen to this article

WI Supreme Court

Case Name: Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Michael J.  Hicks

Case No.: 2014AP2818-D

Focus: Disciplinary Proceedings

Lawyer license suspended for one year to run consecutive to two year suspension from previous proceeding.

“The referee recognized that the misconduct at issue in the present case occurred in roughly the same time period and was of the same types as the misconduct at issue in Hicks II. He therefore questioned whether the OLR in Hicks II would have sought a suspension longer than two years if all of the misconduct in this case had been included in that case. Ultimately, he concluded that the additional 19 counts of misconduct at issue here merited an additional one-year period of suspension consecutive to the two-year suspension imposed in Hicks II. He determined that if the OLR had “charged Attorney Hicks with all of the counts in a single disciplinary complaint, a three year suspension would have been reasonable and appropriate.” The referee also determined that the misconduct found in this disciplinary proceeding, when considered by itself, merited a one-year suspension. The referee indicated that he believed a one-year suspension was justified by the analyses set forth in two cases involving Attorney Patrick Cooper. In re Disciplinary Proceedings Against Cooper, 2007 WI 37, 300 Wis. 2d 61, 729 N.W.2d 206 (imposing three-year suspension due to 35 counts of misconduct); In re Disciplinary Proceedings Against Cooper, 2013 WI 55, 348 Wis. 2d 266, 833 N.W.2d 88 (imposing two-year suspension, retroactive to and consecutive to the expiration of the 2007 suspension as a result of 42 counts of misconduct). The referee considered Attorney Hicks’ misconduct to be less egregious than Attorney Cooper’s misconduct, which would support a consecutive one-year suspension in this case.”

Full Text


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.

Polls

Should Steven Avery be granted a new evidentiary hearing?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Legal News

See All Legal News

WLJ People

Sea all WLJ People

Opinion Digests