Attorney Disciplinary Proceedings

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WI Supreme Court

Case Name: Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Linda L. Gray

Case No.: 2018 WI 39

Focus: Attorney Disciplinary Proceedings

Pending before the court is the report of referee Jonathan V. Goodman, following a hearing and the receipt of a stipulation and supplemental stipulation between the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) and the respondent, Attorney Linda L. Gray. Attorney Gray has opted to plead no contest to the sole misconduct count brought against her: a violation of SCR 20:1.8(c) related to her drafting of the will of M.A., who died at age 71 in January 2015. Although Attorney Gray is not related to M.A., she received a significant testamentary gift from her: the balance of her estate after specific bequests to charities were distributed, which resulted in Attorney Gray receiving $298,742.12. Consistent with the parties’ stipulation, the referee recommended that this court suspend Attorney Gray’s Wisconsin law license for 60 days for her professional misconduct. The referee further recommended that Attorney Gray should be assessed the full costs of the proceeding, which are $2,067.67 as of January 17, 2018. The OLR does not seek the payment of restitution in these proceedings, and the referee does not recommend it.

No appeal has been filed so we review this matter pursuant to SCR 22.17(2). We approve and adopt the referee’s findings and conclusions and we agree that a 60-day suspension is sufficient discipline for Attorney Gray’s misconduct. We further order that Attorney Gray pay the full costs of this disciplinary proceeding. We decline to order restitution.

Affirmed

Concur:

Dissent:

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.