OLR Compendium > Reinstatement of Straub

Reinstatement of Straub

2002 WI 130, 258 Wis. 2d. 130, 655 N.W.2d 111 (2002)

PETITION for reinstatement. Reinstatement granted.

1. PER CURIAM. We review the recommendation of the referee that Gregory J. Straub's license to practice law in Wisconsin be reinstated. The Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) and the Board of Bar Examiners join in that recommendation.

2. We adopt the referee's findings of fact and conclusions of law and agree with his recommendation that Gregory J. Straub's license to practice law be reinstated, subject to compliance with current Continuing Legal Education (CLE) requirements. Mr. Straub shall also be required to pay the costs of the reinstatement proceeding. In addition, for a period of two years after he opens a trust account, Mr. Straub shall be required to submit said trust account for inspection and monitoring by the OLR on a quarterly basis.

3. Gregory J. Straub was admitted to practice law in Wisconsin in 1990 and engaged in private practice in Milwaukee. By order dated September 16, 1993, Mr. Straub's license to practice law was revoked based on professional misconduct including forging a client's signature on a settlement check and release, converting a client's settlement funds to his own use, misrepresenting to his client and others the amount of the settlement received, settling clients' claims without their knowledge or authorization, depositing personal funds in an account with client funds, failing to keep required records of trust account transactions, and fabricating lien satisfactions in order to obtain a personal loan.

4. On March 20, 2001, Mr. Straub filed a petition for reinstatement of his license under SCR 22.28. Attorney Charles J. Herro was assigned as referee. The referee held a public hearing on the reinstatement petition in August 2002. Various witnesses testified at the hearing. The referee issued his report and recommendation on September 25, 2002.

5. The referee concluded that Mr. Straub had satisfactorily addressed all of the requirements for reinstatement set forth in SCR 22.29(4).

6. The referee recommended that Mr. Straub's license be reinstated subject to monitoring of his trust account on a quarterly basis by the OLR. The referee also recommended that Mr. Straub be required to pay the costs of the reinstatement proceeding.

7. After a review of the record we conclude that Gregory J. Straub has established by clear, satisfactory, and convincing evidence that he has satisfied all the criteria for reinstatement. Accordingly, we adopt the referee's findings of fact and conclusions of law and we agree with the referee's recommendation that Mr. Straub's license to practice law in Wisconsin be reinstated.

8. IT IS ORDERED that the petition for reinstatement of the license of Gregory J. Straub to practice law in Wisconsin is granted, effective the date of this order, subject to compliance with current CLE requirements.

9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that for a period of two years after Mr. Straub opens a trust account he be required to submit said trust account for inspection and monitoring by the OLR on a quarterly basis.

10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that within six months of the date of this order Gregory J. Straub pay to the OLR the costs of this proceeding. If the costs are not paid within the time specified, and absent a showing to this court of his inability to pay the costs within that time, the license of Gregory J. Straub to practice law in Wisconsin shall be suspended until further order of the court.