by Cary Spivak
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| Attorney Robert Menard appearing for a deposition in March. The deposition was taken as part of a lawsuit involving Menard's former law partner. A transcript of the deposition is on file with the Milwaukee County Clerk of Courts. (Photo: Milwaukee County Clerk's office, ) |
Well-known Milwaukee lawyer Robert Menard, already facing felony charges of stealing or misusing nearly $1 million, was disbarred by the state Supreme Court Friday.
Regulators
charged Menard with 30 counts of misconduct saying he misused
settlement monies for clients by pocketing the cash or using it to pay
business expenses.
Regulators also charged Menard
with taking settlement money intended for specific clients to pay
different clients. Menard stipulated to the wrongdoing, records show.
In revoking the law license that Menard has held since 1991, the justices compared his case to the 2012 disbarment of Joseph Weigel.
In
both cases "monies belonging to one client were routinely used to
pay off other clients as well as firm and personal expenses," the
justices wrote. "As in Weigel, in virtually every client matter he
handled, Attorney Menard 'robbed Peter to pay Paul.'"
The
regulatory complaint that led to the disbarment is similar to the
pending criminal complaint that charges Menard with embezzlement and
forgery for running a Ponzi scheme out of his law office.
"Attorney
Robert Menard has, for many years, engaged in an extensive pattern of
theft and fraud through his law practice," prosecutors charged in the
criminal complaint. Menard has pleaded not guilty in the criminal case.
Menard
is also charged with stealing from Alan Derzon, his long-time law
partner. The criminal complaint includes charges that Menard stole
Derzon's retirement account and the law firm they jointly owned.
The
pair ran the firm of Derzon & Menard, which billed itself as the
"average Joe" and used the fictional "Joe Bob" as its mascot. The firm
broke up in 2017 when Derzon sued Menard.
 |
| Joe Bob, the fictional character that had been used as the mascot for the now-defunct Derzon & Menard law firm. (Photo-Screen shot) |
Menard changed the name of the firm to Menard &
Menard and ran it until March when the Supreme Court took the unusual
action of issuing an emergency order immediately suspending Menard's license.
The emergency order was issued after James Mohr Jr., a court-appointed referee, recommended that
Menard be disbarred. The recommendation came after Mohr oversaw the
2019 hearing on the misconduct charges brought by the Office of Lawyer
Regulation.
During the hearing, Mary Hoeft Smith, a now-retired
program administrator for the regulatory office testified that it was a
"common practice for (Menard) to move client trust funds into his
business account and then use those funds to pay 'very hefty expenses
for things like advertising, radio, and billboards.'"
Smith
"described this as a practice of 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' and using
funds belonging to one client in order to pay back a client who was
previously the victim of a conversion by Attorney Menard," Mohr wrote in
his report. Smith testified "virtually every client whose funds went
into the business account were converted."
As
a disbarred lawyer, Menard is banned from practicing for at least five
years. After the revocation period he could apply for reinstatement. In
addition to revoking his license, the court ordered that he pay nearly
$100,000 in restitution to six former clients and $18,191 to cover costs
of the disciplinary proceedings.
Full Article & Source:
Well-known Milwaukee lawyer Robert Menard disbarred by Wisconsin Supreme Court
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