Eau Claire attorney challenging misconduct allegations

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An Eau Claire attorney is denying allegations of misconduct brought by the state’s lawyer regulation agency earlier this year.

The Office of Lawyer Regulation filed a complaint on July 30 alleging that Michael Rajek of the Eau Claire-based firm The Law Office of Michael M. Rajek had broken four attorney-ethics rules while he was representing an Illinois man in a criminal case in Sawyer County.

According to the charges, Rajek failed to enter a proper fee agreement with the client, failed to act promptly and diligently in representing the client, did not cooperate with the OLR in its investigation of the grievance the client had filed and did not properly terminate his representation of the client by failing to give the client a copy of his file.

The OLR has asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to publicly reprimand Rajek for the alleged rule violations and order him to return the client’s file.

Rajek filed an answer in September denying the allegations of misconduct and calling them “false and misleading.” He also alleged that the facts in the OLR’s complaint were “inaccurate,” “false” or “misleading.”

The high court has appointed Allan Beatty to be the referee in the case. Beatty will now decide whether to hold an evidentiary hearing and then issue recommendations for discipline.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will review Beatty’s recommendations and issue a final decision in the matter. Follow @erikastrebel