Eau Claire attorney faces 60-day suspension

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An Eau Claire attorney faces a 60-day suspension over alleged misconduct over the course of his representation of a couple in a bankruptcy case.

The Office of Lawyer Regulation filed a complaint on Sept. 28 against Brandon Buchanan of Buchanan Law Office, alleging five counts of misconduct.

According to the OLR, Shannon and Knute Lindquist had hired Buchanan in November 2015 to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy for them and paid him a $1,835 advanced fee that included a $355 filing fee. Under state rules, the money should have been deposited into Buchanan’s trust account, but it was instead placed in his general account.

Buchanan did some legal work on the matter but only filed the bankruptcy on Jan. 3, after the couple had fired him in June 2016, according to the complaint. The OLR alleges he had failed to regularly respond to their inquiries, keep them reasonably informed about the case and heed their request to hand their file over to Daniel Freund, the lawyer who had referred them to Buchanan,

Freund and the couple filed grievances with the OLR against Buchanan, who failed to respond even after the court ordered him in February to show cause as to why his license ought not be temporarily suspended.

The OLR is seeking a 60-day suspension of his license and is asking the court to order Buchanan to pay $335 in restitution to the couple. The OLR noted in its complaint that it could not reasonably determine if any of the advanced fees Buchanan had received had been unearned. Failing to refund unearned fees is also a violation of the state’s lawyer ethics rules.

Buchanan, who graduated from Marquette University Law School in 2012, could not be reached using the information listed on the State Bar and OLR websites. Buchanan has no history of being publicly disciplined by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Buchanan was admitted to practice in the state of Wisconsin in 2014. Buchanan’s license has been temporarily suspended for failing to cooperate with the OLR since April. Before that, it had been suspended for failing to pay bar dues and not filing a trust account certification since October 2016. He was also suspended for not having completed continuing legal-education requirements since May 31.

He has 20 days to respond to the OLR’s complaint. A referee will be appointed to review the matter and issue a recommendation as to whether misconduct occurred and whether any discipline is appropriate. The high court will review those findings and issue a final decision on the matter. Follow @erikastrebel