Stevens Point attorney loses license for 60 days for fabricating motion

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A Stevens Point attorney will lose his law license for 60 days for fabricating a motion and disappearing on his clients.

The Office of Lawyer Regulation charged Willem J. Noorlander, who used to practice in Milwaukee, with five counts of misconduct stemming from a civil suit in Racine County in 2015 and a breach-of-contract and replevin case in 2016.

The OLR said Noorlander didn’t respond to an order in the civil suit but told the client that he had obtained judgment. The office also accused Noorlander of not responding to the client in 2016 case and then not responding to several communications from the state Supreme Court following a grievance filed by the client.

In a stipulation with the OLR, Noorlander admitted to the misconduct and agreed to a 60-day suspension of his law license. The state Supreme Court found the punishment appropriate and ordered his license suspended starting on Thursday.

The state Supreme Court’s opinion said the OLR initially sought costs, but since Noorlander agreed to the stipulation before a referee was appointed, the high court did not impost the costs of the proceeding on him.

Noorlander did not immediately respond to the Wisconsin Law Journal’s request for comment.