Attorney Disciplinary Hearing

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WI Supreme Court

Case Name: Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Wendy Alison Nora

Case No.: 2020 WI 70

Focus: Attorney Disciplinary Hearing

Attorney Wendy Alison Nora appeals from various interlocutory orders and a final report issued by the referee, Attorney James Winiarski. Attorney Nora challenges the conduct of the proceeding by the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) and Referee Winiarski, as well as the referee’s findings of fact and his legal conclusions that she engaged in professional misconduct as alleged in Counts 2, 3, and 5 of the OLR’s second amended complaint. She also challenges his recommendation that this court should suspend her license to practice law in Wisconsin for a period of two years.

The OLR has filed a cross-appeal from the referee’s legal conclusions that Counts 1 and 4 of its second amended complaint should be dismissed on due process grounds because those counts failed to specify which subsections of Supreme Court Rule (SCR) 20:3.1(a) Attorney Nora’s conduct had violated. We reject Attorney Nora’s arguments on appeal and conclude that the OLR proved violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys on all five counts of the second amended complaint. We do not agree with the referee’s conclusion that Counts 1 and 4 should be dismissed on due process grounds because we determine that Attorney Nora forfeited any due process notice challenge by not raising it before the referee. Had she raised the issue in a timely manner before the referee, the OLR could have amended its complaint to more fully specify the subsections at issue. Moreover, the OLR’s complaints did specify the particular actions by her that constituted violations of the rule. Attorney Nora had notice of the allegations against her.

We further conclude that the appropriate level of discipline to impose upon Attorney Nora for her professional misconduct is a further two-year suspension of her license to practice law in this state. Given the nature of her misconduct at issue in this proceeding, we do not require her to pay any restitution. We do, however, require that if Attorney Nora seeks the reinstatement of her license, her reinstatement petition must allege that she has made a good faith effort to pay all outstanding amounts that she personally owes as a result of sanction orders imposed by any court, and she must prove that good faith effort as one of the conditions of reinstatement.

Because the OLR has requested that we not impose the costs of this proceeding on Attorney Nora, we do not impose any costs.

Attorney’s license suspended

Concur:

Dissent:

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.