Attorney Disciplinary Proceedings

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WI Supreme Court

Case Name: Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Michael P. Erhard

Case No.: 2018 WI 95

Focus: Attorney Disciplinary Proceedings

We review the report of Referee William Eich, in which he found, based on the admissions of Attorney Michael P. Erhard, that Attorney Erhard had committed 11 counts of professional misconduct, and in which he recommended that Attorney Erhard’s license to practice law in this state be suspended for a period of six months. After carefully reviewing the matter, we accept Attorney Erhard’s admission that he committed the first ten counts of misconduct alleged in the complaint filed by the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR). We do not decide whether Attorney Erhard’s conduct in obtaining a cashier’s check made payable to a third party constitutes a violation of former Supreme Court Rule (SCR) 20:1.15(e)(4)a, as alleged in Count 11, because that determination would not change the level of discipline we impose. We conclude that a suspension of three months is the appropriate level of discipline to be imposed under the particular facts of this case. As the OLR advises that there are no client funds to restore, we do not impose any restitution award. We do require Attorney Erhard to pay the costs of this disciplinary proceeding, which were $3,190.26 as of April 17, 2018.

Affirmed

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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.