Attorney Walter Stern III of Kenosha, WI; drunk, serial offender

The State Wisconsin presented Walter W. Stern III with a law license in 1974 after he graduated from Marquette University Law School.

The Office of Lawyer Registration (OLR) found Walt guilty of the following misconduct.

Walt’s 1^st bite at the Attorney Misfit Apple Tree - 1988

In one matter, Walt communicated through an investigator he had hired, with a party he knew to be represented by counsel. The matter involved a divorce, and the investigator had obtained signed stipulations to a custody transfer from the party in question. Walt failed to advise opposing counsel of the stipulations and sought a temporary transfer of custody without providing opposing counsel with the moving papers.

As a consequence of his misconduct, the cheerleaders for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court punished Walt by gifting him with a complimentary reprimand.

Walt’s 2^nd bite at the Attorney Misfit Apple Tree - 1992

In one matter, Walt represented a client regarding a Worker’s compensation claim. Walt told the client’s doctor he would protect his interest in the settlement of the matter to the extent his office was able to do so, but indicated he would not guarantee payment. However, the client signed a lien which authorized Walt to withhold settlement funds to pay the doctor.

Walt never received the settlement funds that included the amount owed to the doctor because the settlement funds were paid directly to this client. The client failed to pay the doctor. After the doctor found out about the settlement, he wrote to Walt, asking payment of his bill and reminding him of the lien. Walt’s written reply included the following:

• “I owe you nothing.’
• “Stop writing me or I will come to Madison and kick your Germanic ass.”
• “You idiot I don’t owe your bills.”

In another matter, Walt named a Milwaukee attorney as a legal expert in a legal malpractice case to testify regarding tax free annuities. In his response to interrogatories to opposing counsel, Walt indicated that the Milwaukee attorney would directly and indirectly indicate that malpractice had occurred.

The Milwaukee attorney was totally unaware of having been named as an expert in this case until being subpoenaed for deposition by opposing counsel. Furthermore, the Milwaukee attorney had not been asked to review the case or to provide Walt with an opinion as to legal malpractice.

Shortly thereafter, opposing counsel moved to have the case dismissed by filing a motion for summary judgment because Walt had never provided an expert witness on the legal malpractice claim. In a lame attempt at levity, Walt filed his own affidavit containing his opinion as a so-called expert, that negligence had taken place. The court was not impressed since it granted the summary judgment motion.

Subsequently, opposing counsel asked to order that Walt pay his attorney fees and costs. The court then set a date for a hearing on the motion. Walt wrote to the court that he would not be able to attend “because on a scale of one to ten, ten being the most important, this hearing is about a two.” The court then awarded opposing counsel attorney fees in the amount of $4,850.82.

As a consequence of his misconduct, the Patron Saints for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court punished Walt by gifting him with a complimentary reprimand.

Walt’s 3^rd bite at the Attorney Misfit Apple Tree - 1993

• Failed to pay lien from settlement after receipt of lien notice

As a consequence of his misconduct, the Patron Saints for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court punished Walt by gifting him with a complimentary reprimand.

Walt’s 4^th bite at the Attorney Misfit Apple Tree - 2008

• Committed criminal acts
• Engaged in conduct adversely reflecting on fitness to practice
• Pled no contest to a second and third DUI offense
• Engaged in conduct reflecting on honesty and trustworthiness

As a consequence of his misconduct, the Patron Saints for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court punished Walt by gifting him with a complimentary reprimand.

Walt’s 5^th bite at the Attorney Misfit Apple Tree - 2013

In one matter, Walt pled guilty in federal court to conspiring to commit money laundering as was sentenced to one year and one day in a federal prison. Subsequently, Walt’s conviction was reversed, which led him to pled guilty to one count of criminal contempt of court, a misdemeanor. He was then released from after serving about six months of his original sentence.

As a consequence of his misconduct, the Patron Saints for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court punished Walt by gifting him with a complimentary 2-year suspension of his law license.

As we speak (ca. June 2016), Walt practices at 920 8^th Street in Kenosha, Wisconsin.