Walworth County attorney faces 60-day suspension

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An East Troy lawyer is facing a 60-day suspension over allegations that he broke six rules of attorney conduct.

According to an Office of Lawyer Regulation complaint filed on March 22, lawyer-regulation officials have charged Patrick Hudec with misconduct stemming from cases in Walworth and Waukesha counties.

Hudec could not immediately be reached Tuesday afternoon.

In one case, Hudec was hired as counsel to the personal representative of a Walworth County woman’s estate in 2012. The client, the woman’s mother, paid Hudec a $1,000 advance fee, but investigators allege Hudec never had a written agreement with the client that laid out the scope of the representation and grounds for the fee. The OLR also alleges Hudec failed to object to a claim against the estate and failed to keep the client reasonably informed about the case.

In another Waukesha County case, a driving school owner hired Hudec in 2012 to represent her in a defamation case. Hudec failed to comply with the opposing party’s discovery requests, failed to reply to the opposing party’s counterclaim and failed to keep the client informed of what was happening in the case, according to the OLR. The clients’ claims were dismissed and the client eventually paid a settlement to the opposing party for default judgment on the counterclaim caused by Hudec.

The client eventually filed a lawsuit against Hudec in December to recover payments she had made to him and other damages she alleges he caused.

The OLR is asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to suspend Hudec’s license for 60 days and require him to follow any judgement from the lawsuit against him filed by the driving-school owner before he can resume practicing law.

Hudec, who earned his degree from Marquette University Law School, has been licensed to practice in Wisconsin since 1979. The Wisconsin Supreme Court publicly reprimanded him in 2014, 2008 and 1989. He was also privately reprimanded in 1993 and 1991. Follow @erikastrebel