| ► Attorney James Gende II of Pewaukee, WI; ethical leprechaun |
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Attorney James Gende II of Pewaukee, WI; ethical leprechaun
The state of Wisconsin presented James Gender II with a law license in 2000 after he graduated from John Marshall Law School.
The Office of Lawyer Registration (OLR) found James guilty of the following misconduct.
James’ misconduct arose during the time he was employed with the Cannon & Dunphy law firm. Over a period of four years, James represented more than 90 of the firm’s clients in personal injury matters and signed retainer contracts on the firm’s behalf with all but two of those clients. The retainer contracts gave the firm a lien against a client’s recovery if the client changed attorneys before a case was resolved.
Subsequently, James decided to leave the firm and start his own practice. James and the firm negotiated a separation agreement that provided that 80% of any fees generated by a departing client would be paid to the firm and 20% to James.
6 of the 16 cases James continued to handle settled within 10 weeks of his departure form the firm. Disputes relating to fees and costs arose and were litigated over several years, with James pursuing appeals as high as the U.S. Supreme Court. No court found that James was entitled to the disputed fees.
While the litigation between James and Cannon & Dunphy was pending, James held in trust his former firm’s 80% of the fees ($235,284), while he immediately paid himself the remaining 20%. However, in regards to two cases litigated in Illinois, James failed to hold any portion of the disputed fees in trust and paid himself 100% of the fees in both cases.
As a consequence of his most recent misconduct, the Patron Saints for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court punished James by gifting him with a complimentary reprimand. .
As we speak (ca. March 2013) James practices with Gende Law Office SC at North 28 West 23000 Roundy Drive in Pewaukee, Wisconsin.
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