The first matter concerns Attorney Knudson’s representation of the petitioner in a divorce. The final judgment in the matter was filed on October 10, 1997. Knudson was thereafter responsible for filing an approved Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) to divide his client’s pension fund.

When no QDRO had been filed as of April, 1998, opposing counsel filed a motion for contempt. In May, 1998, after the issuance of an order to show cause, Attorney Knudson prepared a draft of the QDRO and submitted it to his client’s pension fund. The fund’s administrator rejected the draft. Despite four subsequent inquiries from opposing counsel in late 1998 and early 1999, Knudson did not submit a revised QDRO to the administrator. Opposing counsel renewed the motion for contempt, and the court issued another order to show cause.

On May 14, 1999, the circuit court found Attorney Knudson’s client in contempt and awarded $465 in costs and fees to the opposing party. Knudson thereafter made a series of amendments to the QDRO. On December 15, 1999, Knudson submitted a revised QDRO that was approved by the pension fund’s administrator. Knudson subsequently filed the approved QDRO with the court, and in January, 2000, Knudson completed the matter by sending a certified copy of the QDRO to the pension fund.

With regard to Grievance One, Attorney Knudson engaged in the following misconduct:

In the second matter, Attorney Knudson represented an automobile rental agency regarding damage to one of its vehicles. On September 6, 1993, an employee of the rental company had had a collision with a pickup truck at an intersection near Rhinelander, Wisconsin. The rental car was traveling westbound on a two-lane road. Because there was a line of westbound vehicles stopped in the traffic lane waiting to make a left-hand turn at the intersection, the rental car had moved over into the parking lane and was passing vehicles on their right. The pickup was traveling eastbound. The vehicles collided when the rental car entered the intersection just as the pickup was making a left-hand turn. No one was injured. The damage to each of the vehicles was less than $2,000. The insurance company for the driver of the pickup denied any liability on the part of its insured.

On August 23, 1995, the rental agency referred this matter to Attorney Knudson to act as its local counsel in pursuing a recovery. The agency’s referral letter noted that the statute of limitations regarding the accident would run on September 6, 1999. By memo dated August 29, 1995, Knudson acknowledged receipt of the file and agreed to provide representation on it. By letter dated January 19, 1996, Knudson stated that he would accept the case for a 25% contingent fee, plus court costs and expenses. Respondent requested and received an advance of $57.00 for payment of the filing fee.

On December 2, 1996, in response to a series of requests from the rental agency regarding the status of the file, Attorney Knudson wrote to his client that “suit will be filed as soon as possible” and that Knudson would forward an authenticated copy of the summons and complaint as soon as he received those documents. On February 4, 1997, and April 10, 1997, the rental agency sent Knudson written requests for a status update but received no response. On November 26, 1997 a member of the rental agency’s staff called Knudson’s office and was told that the suit had been filed and that Knudson’s office was awaiting return of service and the setting of a court date. The agency’s records do not show who in Knudson’s office provided that information.

Subsequent to November 26, 1997, the rental agency made at least a dozen attempts to obtain further information about the status of the case without receiving any further information from Attorney Knudson. On September 21, 1999, rental agency staff reached Knudson by telephone. Knudson stated that he would provide status information by the following day, but he failed to do so. As of August 1, 2000, despite a series of further attempts by the rental agency to get a status report, the agency had still received nothing further from Knudson.

In his written response to the grievance, Attorney Knudson stated that the rental agency’s claim was “mishandled” in his office, and therefore, suit was never filed. Knudson subsequently stated that the file “got lost in the shuffle” and that it was “set aside” and never properly pursued. Respondent further indicated that based on his review of the materials initially sent to him by the rental agency, Knudson concluded that there were questions about whether the driver of the pickup was liable, or at least solely liable, for the September 6, 1993 accident. Knudson denied any knowledge about the alleged misrepresentation by someone in his office that suit had been filed. Attorney Knudson stated that the $57.00 check from the rental agency had been deposited into his office account. Knudson has not returned that sum to the rental agency.

At the request of the Office of Lawyer Regulation, Attorney Knudson provided his entire file regarding the rental agency’s claim. The only evidence of any work performed by Knudson on the file is a collection letter dated August 29, 1994 (sic), which appears to have been erroneously addressed to the rental agency rather than to the driver of the pickup truck. There is no indication in the file that Knudson ever contacted the pickup driver’s insurance company or made any attempt to further investigate the accident.

With regard to Grievance Two, Attorney Knudson has engaged in the following misconduct:

On April 1, 1999, Attorney Knudson consented to a private reprimand for his handling of two client matters. In the first, a debt collection, Knudson failed to act with reasonable diligence, contrary to SCR 20:1.3, and failed to keep his client reasonably informed about the status of the matter, contrary to SCR 20:1.4(a). In the second, Knudson paid his fees from funds he held in trust without first obtaining the consent of his client, contrary to SCR 20:1.15(d).

For all of the above misconduct, as aggravated by his prior private reprimand, and in accordance with SCR 21.09(2), Attorney Gary D. Knudson is hereby publicly reprimanded.