Attorney Disciplinary Proceedings

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WI Supreme Court

Case Name: Office of Lawyer Regulation v. James C. Ritland

Case No.: 2021 WI 36

Focus: Attorney Disciplinary Proceedings

This disciplinary matter comes to the court on Attorney James C. Ritland’s appeal and the Office of Lawyer Regulation’s (OLR) cross-appeal of a report and recommendation of Referee Allan Beatty. After holding an evidentiary hearing, the referee concluded that the OLR had proven the sole misconduct charge asserted in its complaint; namely, that Attorney Ritland’s conduct resulting in convictions for two counts of attempted adultery and one count of disorderly conduct reflected adversely on his honesty, trustworthiness, and fitness as a lawyer in other respects. See Supreme Court Rule (SCR) 20:8.4(b). As a sanction, the referee recommended that the court suspend Attorney Ritland’s Wisconsin law license for three months and order him to pay the full costs of this disciplinary matter, which total $21,017.24 as of March 2, 2020. Restitution is not at issue; because this case solely concerns Attorney Ritland’s sexual misconduct, there are no funds to restore.

Both Attorney Ritland and the OLR have appealed the referee’s report and recommendation. In his appeal, Attorney Ritland generally contests the sufficiency of the evidence against him and claims his behavior merits, at most, a public reprimand. In its cross-appeal, the OLR argues that a six-month suspension——not a three-month suspension, as the referee recommended——is warranted.

After reviewing this matter and considering Attorney Ritland’s appeal and the OLR’s cross-appeal, we accept the referee’s factual findings, and we agree with the referee that Attorney Ritland committed the charged SCR 20:8.4(b) violation. We deem the referee’s recommended three-month suspension insufficient: Attorney Ritland’s conduct and our case law call for a two-year suspension. We impose full costs. The OLR initiated this disciplinary proceeding with the filing of a one-count complaint in September 2018, alleging an SCR 20:8.4(b) violation. Attorney Ritland filed an answer in which he denied any misconduct.

Attorney’s license suspended

Concur:

Dissent:
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Derek A Hawkins is Associate Corporate Counsel, IP at Amazon.