Wisconsin attorney loses law license, ordered to pay $16K fine

Listen to this article

On April 24, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered the law license of Roger G. Merry to be immediately revoked.

According to court documents, Merry’s Aug. 3, 2022, petition to voluntarily surrender his law license was denied by the court.

Merry has 60 days to pay the Office of Lawyer Regulation $16,853.92 in court costs.

Merry was further ordered to comply with the requirements of SCR 22.26 pertaining to the duties of a person whose license to practice law in Wisconsin has been revoked.

Wisconsin’s highest court also ordered the administrative suspensions of Merry to practice law in Wisconsin for failure to pay Wisconsin State Bar dues and failure to file a trust account certification will remain in effect until each reason for the administrative suspension has been rectified, pursuant to SCR 22.28(1).

Justice Annette Ziegler filed a concurring opinion, in which Justices Rebecca Bradley, Brian Hagedorn, Jill Karofsky and Janet Protasiewicz joined.

According to court documents obtained by the Wisconsin Law Journal, the court reviewed the report of Referee Edward Leineweber. After an evidentiary hearing, it was determined that Merry committed two counts of professional misconduct as alleged by the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR).

“We agree with the conclusions of law that flow from the referee’s findings of No. 2022AP35-D 11 fact; namely, that the OLR established by clear and convincing evidence that Attorney Merry violated SCR 20:1.9(c)(1) and (2). ¶23,” the court wrote it its opinion.

“Our ethical rules make clear that attorneys owe a duty of confidentiality to both current and former clients. Supreme Court Rule 20:1.6, titled “Confidentiality,” prohibits a lawyer from revealing information relating to the representation of a client unless the client gives informed consent, or the disclosures are impliedly authorized to carry out the representation, or the disclosures are authorized by SCR 20:1.6(b)9 or (c).10 Supreme Court Rule 20:1.9, quoted above …” court documents noted.

Ultimately the court decided, “the many aggravating factors outweigh the few mitigating factors present in this case. We therefore conclude that revocation is appropriate under the facts of this case.”

History of discipline

Court documents noted that Merry had a history of reprimands.

In 1994 he was privately reprimanded for failing to keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter. Private Reprimand, No. 1994–8.4

In 1999, Merry was publicly reprimanded for engaging in a conflict of interest. Public Reprimand of Roger G. Merry, No. 1999–1.5

In 2008, Merry was publicly reprimanded for making a false statement to a tribunal; offering false evidence; and engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. Public Reprimand of Roger G. Merry, No. 2008–9.6

Merry’s law license is also subject to administrative suspensions for failure to pay Wisconsin State Bar dues and failure to file a trust account certification.