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Neenah attorney admits to misconduct, agrees to license suspension

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//January 30, 2019//

Neenah attorney admits to misconduct, agrees to license suspension

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//January 30, 2019//

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A Neenah attorney is agreeing to a 6-month license suspension for jumping bail, a felony conviction and practicing law while his license was suspended.

The Office of Lawyer Regulation on Dec. 27 charged the solo-practitioner David Templeton with three counts of misconduct. The OLR alleges that Templeton’s conduct leading up to a felony conviction in May amounted to a violation of the state’s attorney-ethics rules.

Some charges also stem from the suspension of Templeton’s license beginning in May 2017, when he failed to report completing continuing-legal-education requirements.

The OLR alleges Templeton failed to tell his clients and opposing counsel that his license had been suspended. It also alleges Templeton practiced law during the suspension by, for instance, appearing in Winnebago County Circuit Court on the behalf of a client in June 2017, according to the OLR’s complaint.

The OLR asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to suspend Templeton’s license for six months, meaning that in order to get his license reinstated, he will have to present evidence at a hearing showing that he is fit to practice law again.

Templeton filed a hand-written letter on Jan. 7 answering the OLR’s complaint, accepting the OLR’s findings in recommendations.

“I believe they are fair and just and based on my actions,” he wrote. “I take full responsibility and am sorry. I am a recovering addict with 16 months of sobriety. I go to counseling every week for my addiction.”

Templeton and the OLR reached a stipulation in which Templeton stated that he agreed that his license should be suspended for six months and agreed that the reinstatement of his license would have some conditions, including that he provide the OLR with signed medical releases for providers who have given him substance-abuse treatment in the past three years.

The OLR and Templeton are asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to consider the stipulation and complaint without appointing a referee.

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