Attorney loses license for nine months

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An attorney is losing his license for nine months for violating more than a dozen attorney-ethics rules.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered the suspension of Ricardo Perez’s license on Tuesday. The Office of Lawyer Regulation charged him with 21 counts of violating attorney-ethics rules and failing to respond to OLR inquiries. The OLR said Perez lied to clients, wouldn’t respond to their communications, failed to take action on their claims and wouldn’t give them case files.

The Supreme Court opinion said Perez failed to answer the OLR complaint, making the OLR entitled to a default judgement and Perez responsible for the full cost of the proceedings. He must pay the full costs, totaling $1,957.12, within 60 days.

Perez, a former officer at the Wisconsin State Patrol, earned his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1999 and was admitted to practice law in Wisconsin in 2000. He once worked at Habush Habush & Rottier in Kenosha, but the firm said he’s no longer employed there. Perez has not been publicly disciplined before. Follow @WLJReporter