Minnesota attorney could receive second Wisconsin reciprocal punishment

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A Minnesota attorney with a lengthy disciplinary history will learn Tuesday if he’ll receive reciprocal punishment in Wisconsin for a second time.

Minnesota courts indefinitely suspended Tracy Eichhorn-Hicks’ license in July for violating three attorney ethics rules. The Office of Lawyer Regulation filed a complaint in December charging Eichhorn-Hicks with two counts of misconduct, saying he’s subject to reciprocal discipline in Wisconsin for his behavior and failure to report his punishment. The OLR is asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to suspend Eichhorn-Hicks’ Wisconsin license for 120 days and adopt conditions for reinstatement imposed by the Minnesota Supreme Court. The Wisconsin Supreme Court will release its opinion on Eichhorn-Hicks’ case Tuesday.

Wisconsin justices previously suspended Eichhorn-Hicks’ license in April 2012 in response to discipline from the Minnesota courts. Eichhorn-Hicks never reported the Minnesota disciplinary action in Wisconsin, as required by law. The office learned about it from other sources in 2011 and filed a complaint, and Wisconsin courts ordered a year-long suspension of his license in April 2012. His license was reinstated in May 2014, but it has been suspended since October 2018 for failing to pay mandatory bar dues and certify his trust account information.

Eichhorn-Hicks, who earned his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School, was first licensed in Wisconsin in 1984 and in Minnesota in 1975.