The state Supreme Court Wednesday unanimously agreed to revoke Weigel's law license for misusing client funds by using the money to pay vendors or other clients. Special prosecutor Paul Schwarzenbart has argued that Weigel ran the firm's client trust account like a Ponzi scheme. That is, Weigel, 77, ran hundreds of millions of dollars through the fund and used money won in new cases to pay off clients in older cases. Others, such as consultants and experts who assisted in cases, went unpaid.
"A six or seven figure deficit in an account that holds client funds is an ethical failure of epic proportions," the court said in its 37-page decision.
Schwarzenbart has handled the case since 2006 because Weigel's son, William Weigel, is a top official at the court's Office of Lawyer Regulation and he often is involved in prosecutions of lawyers who violate ethical rules. Schwarzenbart made all decisions in the Joseph Weigel case and did not consult William Weigel or other agency officials, said Keith Sellen, agency director.
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Prominent Milwaukee lawyer loses license for misuse of funds
Good. More and more stories of lawyers taking advantage of their clients or even outright stealing are surfacing. No longer should all lawyers be bundled in the category of "officers of the court" which seperates them from scrutiny.
ReplyDeleteSad that he ended up this way, but it was of his own choice.
ReplyDeleteLawyers who do this should have to pay resitution, do community service, jailtime, and never ever be allowed to go near the legal system again.
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