Oregon lawyer publicly reprimanded in Wisconsin

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A lawyer is being publicly reprimanded in Wisconsin as a reciprocal disciplinary measure for failing to protect a client’s interests in the state of Oregon.

The action in Wisconsin comes after Elizabeth Farrell, who lives in Oregon, was publicly reprimanded by the Supreme Court of the State of Oregon on May 17 for failing to protect a client’s interest upon the termination of her representation. After being disciplined in Oregon, Farrell, who was admitted to practice law in Wisconsin in 1999, then failed to meet Wisconsin’s requirement that she take no more than 20 days to notify the Office of Lawyer Regulation of a disciplinary measure imposed in another state.

Farrell noted that her Wisconsin law license had been suspended in 2009 for failing to pay State Bar dues and sign the trust-account certificate on her dues statement. She said she thought her license was inactive and, for that reason, that she was not required to tell the OLR of her disciplinary troubles in Oregon.

On July 30, Farrell and the OLR reached a stipulation in which she agreed to not contest the public reprimand the OLR had proposed imposing on her as a reciprocal disciplinary measure. Because the matter was resolved without the need to appoint a referee, Farrell was charged no fees. Follow @TDR_WLJDan