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Referee recommends public reprimand for Fond du Lac attorney

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//March 1, 2017//

Referee recommends public reprimand for Fond du Lac attorney

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//March 1, 2017//

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A referee is recommending that the Wisconsin Supreme Court publicly reprimand a Fond du Lac attorney over 10 counts of alleged misconduct.

The referee’s report filed Feb. 24 stems from a complaint filed by the OLR last year alleging that Philip Shepherd had, among other things, practiced law while his license was suspended and mishandled fees.

The OLR had asked that the high court publicly reprimand Shepherd and that he pay $622.50 in restitution to a client and $1,000 to the Wisconsin Lawyers’ Fund for Client protection.

Shepherd, who is representing himself, only contested the OLR’s proposed discipline. He contended that he intended to leave the practice of law, so a public reprimand served no purpose.

Shepherd also contended that the misconduct stemmed from his depression and its consequences, including financial problems stemming from a recent divorce, two home foreclosures, personal bills in collection and two children in college.

However, the referee, Reserve Judge John Murphy, did not buy those arguments. He wrote in his report that there was no guarantee that Shepherd would leave the practice of law unless Shepherd surrendered his license.

Murphy also noted that the depression does not explain why Shepherd didn’t enter a written fee agreement, didn’t use his trust account for fee deposits and did not immediately return unearned fees.

“Shepherd was an experienced attorney and his violations really related to the most basic of procedural practices,” Murphy wrote. “It is hard to see the nexus between the illness and his poor practice habits.”

Murphy recommended that the justices publicly reprimand Shepherd, order him to pay the restitution requested by the OLR and that Shepherd pay the cost of the proceeding.

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