Douglas County attorney faces license suspension

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A Douglas County attorney faces a license suspension over allegations that he broke nine attorney-ethics rules.

On Dec. 20, the Office of Lawyer Regulation charged Jesse Johansen, a solo-practitioner out of Superior, with the alleged misconduct.

The charges resulted from an investigation prompted by an overdraft notice the OLR received from National Bank of Commerce, where Johansen had a trust account.

According to the allegations, Johansen did not have a client sign a written contingent-fee agreement as required by Wisconsin Supreme Court rules and settled that client’s personal-injury case but without giving the client written notice that he had received money from the settlement.

Moreover, the OLR alleges various violations of trust-account rules, including that Johansen failed to hold a client’s settlement money in the account until he had, as instructed by the client, paid a lawyer who had handled a separate matter for the client.

Although Johansen initially responded to the OLR’s request for trust information, a request prompted by the overdraft notice, the OLR alleges Johansen failed to keep complete records of his trust account and that he stopped responding to the OLR.

Eventually, his failure to respond led the Wisconsin Supreme Court to suspend Johansen’s license in October. His license remains suspended, according to the State Bar of Wisconsin website.

The OLR is asking the high court to suspend Johansen’s license for 60 days and order him to pay $250 in restitution.

Johansen could not immediately be reached. He has not responded to the OLR’s complaint, according to online court records.

Johansen, who has been admitted to practice law in Wisconsin since 2008, received his law degree at Hamline University School of Law in 2007. Follow @erikastrebel