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¶5 In the disciplinary proceeding, the
Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) filed a
complaint, an order to answer, and a motion
requesting that this court issue an order
directing Attorney Gall to inform the court
in writing of any claim, predicated upon the
grounds set forth in Supreme Court Rule
(SCR) 22.22(3), that the imposition of
discipline identical to that previously
imposed in Minnesota would be unwarranted,
and of the factual basis for any such
claim. The OLR was unable to serve a copy
of the complaint and order to answer
personally on Attorney Gall. Ultimately, it
accomplished service on Attorney Gall by
sending by certified mail an authenticated
copy of the complaint and order to answer to
the most recent address that Attorney Gall
had provided to the State Bar of Wisconsin,
pursuant to SCR 22.13(1). The court then
granted the OLR's motion and issued the
requested order to show cause. Attorney
Gall did not respond to the order to show
cause. He also has not filed an answer or
other response to the OLR's complaint.
¶6 The facts set forth below are taken
from both the OLR's complaint and the BBE's
motion. Attorney Gall has not disputed the
facts set forth in either the complaint or
the motion.
¶7 The OLR's complaint alleges that on
May 16, 2013, the Supreme Court of Minnesota
publicly reprimanded Attorney Gall. The OLR
attached copies of the Minnesota order, the
petition for disciplinary action, and
Attorney Gall's stipulation, in which he
unconditionally admitted the allegations of
the petition for disciplinary action and
agreed to request the imposition of a public
reprimand.
¶8 The facts underlying Attorney Gall's
public reprimand involved his failure to
comply with the Consent Agreement for
Conditional Admission to the practice of law
in Minnesota (the Minnesota Agreement) and
his false statements to the Minnesota lawyer
regulatory authorities.
¶9 Specifically, the Minnesota
Agreement, which Attorney Gall executed with
the Minnesota Board of Law Examiners (MBLE)
in March 2011, contained a requirement that
Attorney Gall comply with the conditions of
probation imposed in November 2010 as a
result of a conviction for Fourth Degree
Driving While Intoxicated. One of those
conditions was a requirement that for a
period of two years Attorney Gall would have
no driver's license violations. The
Minnesota Agreement also required Attorney
Gall to submit quarterly reports detailing
his compliance with all of the terms and
conditions of that agreement, as well as to
submit narrative statements detailing the
steps he was taking to support his decision
to abstain from alcohol. The Minnesota
Complaint provided that it would be in
effect for a period of two years (until
March 2013). The agreement also stated,
however, that if a complaint was filed with
the Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional
Responsibility during the term of the
agreement, then the period of conditional
admission would be extended until the
disposition of that complaint. Once
Attorney Gall signed the Minnesota
Agreement, he was admitted to the practice
of law in that state.
¶10 The BBE's motion alleges that
Attorney Gall signed a similar Consent
Agreement for Conditional Admission (the
Wisconsin Agreement) in August 2011. The
Wisconsin Agreement provided that its
duration would be coterminous with the
Minnesota Agreement, but that the period of
conditional admission in this state could be
extended under SCR 40.075(6) and (8). In
addition to requiring Attorney Gall to obey
all laws and rules governing the active
practice of law, the Wisconsin Agreement
also mandated that Attorney Gall comply with
all of the terms and conditions of the
Minnesota Agreement.
¶11 Contrary to Attorney Gall's
probation and his conditional admission
agreements in both states, he was cited for
11 traffic violations in the period from
June 2011 to September 2012. Among those
traffic violations were two instances of
failing to obey a traffic sign, three
speeding citations, one instance of illegal
or improper passing, and three occasions on
which Attorney Gall was found to be driving
after the suspension of his driver's
license. He failed to report any of these
infractions to the MBLE, which constituted a
violation of his conditional admission
consent agreements. In addition, Attorney
Gall also violated the Minnesota Agreement
and applicable ethics rules by submitting
multiple quarterly reports falsely stating
that he had abided by all laws and was in
compliance with the conditions of his
criminal probation.
¶12 On the basis of the stipulation of
facts executed by Attorney Gall, the Supreme
Court of Minnesota issued an order publicly
reprimanding him and placing him on
disciplinary probation for a period of two
years with a number of conditions. In re
Disciplinary Action Against Gall, 830
N.W.2d 441 (Minn. 2013). Those conditions
included maintaining complete abstinence
from alcohol and other non-prescription,
mood-altering chemicals, submitting to
random urinalysis screenings, and abiding by
all laws. The Supreme Court of Minnesota's
order, however, did not contain any
provisions regarding the extension of the
Minnesota Agreement or regarding the
authority of the MBLE to extend the
agreement, which would have expired,
according to its terms, at the conclusion of
the Minnesota disciplinary proceeding.
¶13 Under SCR 22.22(3), this court shall
impose the identical discipline imposed by
the other jurisdiction unless one or more of
three exceptions are present. The first two
exceptions involve situations where the
disciplinary proceeding in the other
jurisdiction deprived the respondent
attorney of due process or suffered from a
lack of proof. SCR 22.22(3)(a)-(b). The
third exception to the imposition of
reciprocal discipline applies where the
misconduct justifies substantially different
discipline in Wisconsin. SCR 22.22(3)(c).
¶14 Attorney Gall has not responded to
our order to show cause and argued that one
or more of these three exceptions are
applicable to his case. Our own review of
the matter does not indicate that any
exception applies to this matter.
¶15 Accordingly, we will publicly
reprimand Attorney Gall as discipline
reciprocal to that imposed by the Supreme
Court of Minnesota. Although that court
also imposed a two-year period of probation
in its disciplinary order, we do not impose
a similar period of probation. Probation is
not one of the forms of discipline that this
court generally imposes. Where another
jurisdiction has imposed a period of
probation in a reciprocal discipline
context, we have replicated the effect of
such probation by ordering the respondent
attorney to comply with the probationary
order entered in the other jurisdiction.
See, e.g., In re Disciplinary
Proceedings Against Moree, 2004 WI 118,
275 Wis. 2d 279, 281, 684 N.W.2d 667
(published order). We will follow that
practice here.
¶16 We now turn to the BBE's motion.
The BBE learned of Attorney Gall's Minnesota
public reprimand and two-year disciplinary
probation within a few days after the
Minnesota disciplinary order had been issued
in May 2013. The BBE conducted an annual
review of Attorney Gall's conditional
admission to the practice of law in
Wisconsin in October 2013. It voted at that
time to extend the Wisconsin Agreement for
two more years.
¶17 Following the BBE's vote, the BBE's
executive director wrote to Attorney Gall to
inform him of the BBE's action and to
request that he either sign an amended
Wisconsin Agreement or advise that he did
not wish to do so. Attorney Gall did not
respond. He also did not respond after two
subsequent communications requesting
execution of the amended agreement.
¶18 The BBE ultimately voted to find
Attorney Gall to be non-compliant with the
Wisconsin Agreement and voted to revoke that
agreement. Following one last communication
warning Attorney Gall that the BBE would
seek the suspension of his license to
practice law in Wisconsin, to which Attorney
Gall still did not respond, the BBE filed
its motion asking for an order to show
cause, and ultimately the suspension of
Attorney Gall's license to practice law in
Wisconsin.
¶19 We conclude that the BBE's motion
should be denied. According to the
materials submitted to this court regarding
the response of the Supreme Court of
Minnesota and its applicable agencies to
Attorney Gall's misconduct, it appears that
Minnesota addressed the misconduct solely
through the means of the public reprimand
and the disciplinary probation imposed by
the Supreme Court of Minnesota. There is no
indication that Attorney Gall was required
to sign a new or amended Minnesota Agreement
or that his conditional admission was
extended. Moreover, the BBE has not
demonstrated that the Minnesota Agreement
remained in effect beyond the completion of
the Minnesota disciplinary proceeding in May
2013. It also has not shown why the
Wisconsin Agreement would have remained in
effect beyond the effective term of the
Minnesota Agreement. In any event, we
conclude that the matter of Attorney Gall's
misconduct was sufficiently addressed by the
Minnesota public reprimand and disciplinary
probation, which is being imposed in this
state via the reciprocal discipline
procedure.
¶20 IT IS ORDERED that Jordan E. Gall is
publicly reprimanded for his professional
misconduct as reciprocal discipline to that
imposed by the Supreme Court of Minnesota.
Jordan E. Gall's license to practice law in
Wisconsin remains administratively
suspended.
¶21 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Jordan E.
Gall shall comply with the terms and
conditions of the disciplinary probation set
forth in the May 16, 2013 order of the
Supreme Court of Minnesota and any
subsequent orders. In re Disciplinary
Action Against Gall, 830 N.W.2d 441, 441-
42 (Minn. 2013).
¶22 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the
director of the Office of Lawyer Regulation
shall advise the court if there has not been
full compliance with all conditions of this
order.
¶23 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that in In
re Conditional Admission of J.E.G., No.
2014XX817-BA, the motion of the Board of Bar
Examiners for the issuance of an order to
show cause is denied.
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