Justices suspend Appleton attorney’s license over unearned fees

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has suspended an Appleton patent attorney’s license for keeping thousands in unearned fees.

Wednesday’s discipline stems from an Office of Lawyer Regulation complaint filed last year charging Alan Stewart with taking $12,400 in advanced fees to file and draft a patent applications but never doing any work and refusing to issue a refund.

The OLR had asked that the justices suspend Stewart’s license for nine months and pay restitution. Referee William Eich issued a report in January agreeing with the OLR.

Stewart did not contest the charges and has said that he had become incapable of doing the work because he was struggling with depression.

The justices on Wednesday agreed with the OLR and Eich, suspending Stewart’s license for nine months and ordering him to pay $8,000 in restitution to one client and $4,400 to the Wisconsin Lawyers Fund for Client Protection, which had reimbursed another client.