Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Scott F. Anderson

2020 WI 82, 950 N.W.2d 191, 394 Wis. 2d 190
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 28, 2020
Docket2018AP001837-D
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2020 WI 82 (Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Scott F. Anderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Scott F. Anderson, 2020 WI 82, 950 N.W.2d 191, 394 Wis. 2d 190 (Wis. 2020).

Opinion

2020 WI 82

SUPREME COURT OF WISCONSIN CASE NO.: 2018AP1837-D

COMPLETE TITLE: In the Matter of Disciplinary Proceedings Against Scott F. Anderson, Attorney at Law:

Office of Lawyer Regulation, Complainant, v. Scott F. Anderson, Respondent.

DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS AGAINST ANDERSON

OPINION FILED: October 28, 2020 SUBMITTED ON BRIEFS: ORAL ARGUMENT:

SOURCE OF APPEAL: COURT: COUNTY: JUDGE:

JUSTICES: Per Curiam. NOT PARTICIPATING:

ATTORNEYS: 2020 WI 82 NOTICE This opinion is subject to further editing and modification. The final version will appear in the bound volume of the official reports. No. 2018AP1837-D

STATE OF WISCONSIN : IN SUPREME COURT

In the Matter of Disciplinary Proceedings Against Scott F. Anderson, Attorney at Law:

Office of Lawyer Regulation, FILED Complainant, OCT 28, 2020 v. Sheila T. Reiff Clerk of Supreme Court Scott F. Anderson,

Respondent.

ATTORNEY disciplinary proceeding. Attorney's license

suspended.

¶1 PER CURIAM. We review the report of Referee Kim

Peterson in which she found that Attorney Scott F. Anderson had

committed six counts of professional misconduct with respect to

his handling of two client matters. The referee recommended

that Attorney Anderson's license to practice law in this state

be suspended for a period of 30 days. Upon careful review of

the matter, we uphold the referee's findings and fact and

conclusions of law. Rather than a 30-day suspension, we conclude that a 60-day license suspension is an appropriate No. 2018AP1837-D

sanction for Attorney Anderson's misconduct. We further agree

that Attorney Anderson should be required to pay the costs of

this proceeding, which are $19,339.98 as of June 11, 2020.

¶2 Attorney Anderson was admitted to practice law in

Wisconsin in 1985 and practices in Milwaukee. In 1991 he

received a consensual private reprimand. Private reprimand No.

1991-13 (electronic copy available at https://compendium.

wicourts.gov/app/raw/000038.html). In 2004, he received a

consensual public reprimand for misconduct arising out of three

cases. Public Reprimand of Scott F. Anderson, No. 2004-05

(electronic copy available at https://compendium.wicourts.

gov/app/raw/002075.html). In 2005, he received a second

consensual public reprimand. Public Reprimand of Scott F.

Anderson, No. 2005-06 (electronic copy available at

https://compendium.wicourts.gov/app/raw/001776.html). In 2010,

Attorney Anderson's license to practice law was suspended for 60

days as a sanction for professional misconduct that included

failing to file claims timely and failing to take action on his client's behalf; failing to respond to his client's reasonable

requests for information and failing to communicate case

developments to his client in a timely manner. In re

Disciplinary Proceedings Against Anderson, 2010 WI 39, 324

Wis. 2d 627, 782 N.W.2d 100.

¶3 On September 26, 2018, the Office of Lawyer Regulation

(OLR) filed a complaint alleging ten counts of misconduct

arising out of two client matters. The first client matter detailed in the complaint arose out of Attorney Anderson's 2 No. 2018AP1837-D

representation of D.J., who faced felony charges in two separate

Racine County cases. On March 11, 2016, the State Public

Defender's Office (SPD) appointed Attorney Anderson to represent

D.J. in both cases. At that time, a status conference in one

case and a preliminary hearing in the second case had been

scheduled for March 24, 2016.

¶4 On or about March 15, 2016, Attorney Anderson filed a

Demand For Discovery and Inspection with the district attorney.

Attorney Anderson did not send a copy of the discovery demand to

D.J. On March 18, 2016, the SPD informed Attorney Anderson that

D.J. requested to see him prior to the March 24, 2016 status

conference and preliminary hearing. Attorney Anderson did not

meet with D.J. D.J. was in court on March 24, 2016. The court

held the scheduled hearings in both cases and set a pretrial

conference for May 6, 2016. The pretrial conference was later

rescheduled to June 10, 2016.

¶5 Attorney Anderson met with D.J. on April 25, 2016, for

about 1 1/2 hours. On May 17 and June 3, 2016, the SPD informed Attorney Anderson about D.J.'s growing concern with the lack of

communication from Attorney Anderson. Attorney Anderson was

informed by the SPD that D.J. wanted to see him prior to the

June 10, 2016, pretrial conference. Attorney Anderson had no

communication with D.J. between his April 25, 2016 visit and the

June 10, 2016 pretrial conference. D.J. was not produced for

the June 10, 2016 pretrial, and Attorney Anderson did not inform

him what occurred at the pretrial conference.

3 No. 2018AP1837-D

¶6 D.J. contacted the SPD to learn what had happened at

the June 10, 2016 pretrial conference, to express his continued

dissatisfaction with the lack of communication from Attorney

Anderson, and to raise the possibility of Attorney Anderson's

replacement due to his failure to timely inform D.J. about the

status of his case. On June 13, 2016, the SPD emailed Attorney

Anderson about D.J.'s concerns and asked Attorney Anderson to

meet with D.J.

¶7 On June 17, 2016, Attorney Anderson advised D.J. of

his status conference scheduled for August 9, 2016. Attorney

Anderson did not communicate or meet with D.J. between June 17

and August 8, 2016. In a July 27, 2016 letter to Attorney

Anderson, D.J. expressed his frustration with the lack of

communication, asked about the status of the discovery demand,

requested an in-person meeting, and again raised the possibility

of Attorney Anderson's withdrawal.

¶8 On August 8, 2016, Attorney Anderson met with D.J. for

an hour. D.J. requested that Attorney Anderson file three separate motions, and he requested that Attorney Anderson file a

Miranda-Goodchild motion or otherwise challenge, via

interlocutory appeal, the circuit court's earlier ruling

permitting the use of D.J.'s statements at trial. Finally, D.J.

requested Attorney Anderson have an investigator interview two

witnesses and obtain the co-defendant's plea/cooperation

agreement.

¶9 Other than the demand for discovery filed on March 15, 2016, Attorney Anderson never filed any motions or appeals on 4 No. 2018AP1837-D

D.J.'s behalf. Until October 11, 2016, Attorney Anderson did

not explain to D.J. why he had not filed any motions or appeals.

Attorney Anderson never had witnesses interviewed and never

obtained a copy of the co-defendant's plea/cooperation

¶10 At the August 9, 2016 status conference, the circuit

court set a final pretrial date for October 17, 2016, and it

scheduled the jury trial for November 1, 2016. Between August

9, 2016, and October 4, 2016, Attorney Anderson had no

communication with D.J. and took no action to prepare the case.

¶11 In August 2016, D.J. requested Attorney Anderson to

timely respond as to whether he had filed the requested motions

concerning discovery, the suppression of evidence, and the

Miranda-Goodchild motion. D.J. inquired whether an investigator

had interviewed witnesses or if the co-defendant's video

statement had been reviewed. Attorney Anderson did not respond.

¶12 On September 18, 2016, D.J.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2020 WI 82, 950 N.W.2d 191, 394 Wis. 2d 190, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/office-of-lawyer-regulation-v-scott-f-anderson-wis-2020.