Green Bay attorney faces 15-month license suspension

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A Green Bay lawyer is facing a 15-month license suspension for allegedly breaking 28 ethics rules.

The Office of Lawyer Regulation filed a complaint on Sept. 26 against Cole White of White Law Offices, alleging that White had violated lawyer ethics rules 28 times while representing four clients in different cases.

Among other things, White was alleged to have filed a civil-rights lawsuit in the Eastern District of Wisconsin against the city of Neenah over a raid of his client’s business and named Winnebago Circuit Court Judge Scott Woldt in the complaint although there was no legal basis to do so. For the same reason, he also failed to respond to a motion to dismiss the judge from the case on the grounds of judicial immunity.

The OLR also alleges that, in the same case, Cole failed to respond to discovery requests, failed to prosecute his client’s case, failed to respond to opposing counsel and failed to place the $4,500 advance fee the client paid him into his trust account.

When the OLR tried to investigate the grievance the client had filed against Cole, he fabricated emails to show he had responded to opposing counsel and lied to investigators by saying that he had called opposing counsel, according to the complaint.

The OLR is asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to suspend White’s license for 15 months and order him to pay more than $14,000 in restitution to two of his clients.

In the matter of a client who hired him in a custody matter and defamation claim, Cole is alleged to have charged the client $11,000 to bring a standard motion to modify a custody order despite Cole’s having no experience in the matter, doing little work and achieving no results. The OLR also alleges Cole failed to hold in his trust account that money, as well as the $2,700 the client paid him for the defamation case.

White could not be immediately reached.

He has 20 days to respond to the complaint. The matter will first be handled by a court-appointed referee who will make recommendations, typically after an evidentiary hearing, on whether any misconduct occurred and if any discipline is appropriate. The Wisconsin Supreme Court will review those findings and issue a final decision in the matter.

White graduated from Marquette University Law School and has been able to practice law in Wisconsin since 2013. His license is active and in good standing, according to the State Bar and OLR websites. According to the OLR, he has never been publicly disciplined by the court. Follow @erikastrebel