In May 1992, Attorney Robert T. Malloy graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School and was admitted to the Wisconsin State Bar. In the fall of 1992, Malloy was hired as the sole staff attorney for an entity known as Affordable Legal Services. As the sole staff attorney, Malloy handled all client files and was also responsible for handling the client trust account in Affordable Legal Services' name.

In May 1993, differences between Malloy and the owners of Affordable Legal Services resulted in Malloy leaving their employ. Malloy informed his present clients of his move and offered them the opportunity to remain with him or seek other counsel. Many clients chose to stay with Malloy.

Some of those clients who remained with Malloy had pending court appearances. In one of these cases, Malloy defended two clients against a Milwaukee city citation for selling beer to an under-aged individual. In April 1993, Malloy had appeared at the trial before a Municipal Court Judge and requested an adjournment. The case was then rescheduled for June 16, 1993.

However, Malloy did not appear at the June 16th trial. The Judge adjourned the matter to July 19, 1993 and sent a notice to Malloy at the Affordable Legal Service address advising him of the new date. On July 19, 1993, Malloy again failed to appear in court. Both defendants than indicated that they wished to dismiss Malloy and retain another lawyer. However, the matter was again adjourned and the court issued an order to Malloy to show cause why he should not be held in contempt. A hearing was also scheduled on this order for August 12, 1993. The order was sent to Malloy at the Affordable Legal Services' address. Malloy did not appear for that hearing and was found in contempt. In representing another client at this same time, Malloy also failed to appear at another trial on August 30, 1993 before a different Municipal Court judge. Although that judge did not find Malloy in contempt, he did report Malloy's failure to appear at the trial to the Board.

Malloy admits that he miscalendared the initial June 16, 1993 trial date, but insists that he did not receive any of the notices from the court concerning the adjournment or show cause order. It does appear that Affordable Legal Services did not forward any mail or telephone messages to Malloy's new address. However, Malloy admits that he took no actions to advise the court of his new address and that he did not inquire about the status of his client's pending court cases. Therefore, the Board concludes that, by failing to appear on his clients' behalf on scheduled court dates, by failing to notify the courts of his new address, and by failing to check on the status of pending court cases, Malloy failed to act with reasonable diligence and promptness, in violation of SCR 20:1.3.

A review of the Affordable Legal Services' client trust account under the management of Malloy also revealed that Malloy failed to maintain complete and accurate client trust account records. Malloy's entire trust account record consisted of the trust account checkbook and the checkbook's register. A review of the register revealed that there was no tracking of client funds either deposited into the account or disbursed from the account. Several transactions from the account were not described and, at times, no running balance was kept. Malloy also admitted that no individual ledger cards were kept for any clients.

A review of the client trust account also revealed two instances in which Malloy withdrew small amounts of cash while depositing funds into the trust account. Malloy stated that one instance involved the payment of fees, while the other involved a reimbursement for costs. Malloy also admitted that in both instances, he was commingling his personal and business funds with the client funds.

In regards the Affordable Legal Services' client trust account under Malloy's management, the Board determined that Malloy had failed to keep accurate and complete trust account records, in violation of SCR 20:1.15(e). The Board also found that Malloy had failed to keep client funds separate from his personal and business funds, in violation of SCR 20:1.15(a).

Finally, in the fall of 1993, Malloy was notified by the State Bar that he was late in paying his State Bar dues. On November 1, 1993, Malloy's license to practice law was suspended by the Wisconsin State Bar for his failure to pay dues. Shortly thereafter, a letter from the State Bar was sent to Malloy notifying him of the suspension and that, in order to become reinstated he must pay both the dues and a penalty fee. On November 24, 1993, Malloy sent a check for his dues payment to the State Bar. However, this check failed to include an amount to cover the penalty fee. The State Bar then returned Malloy's check with a letter again informing him of his suspension. In addition, on December 9, 1993, Board staff sent Malloy a letter informing him of the suspension and requesting information concerning the closing of his practice during the suspension. Malloy admits that he received these letters.

However, Malloy further admitted that he continued to fully practice law during this two month administrative suspension period, including representing clients and making court appearances. Malloy stated that he misunderstood the notices from the State Bar, believing them to be warning letters concerning the payment of his dues. Malloy further stated that he did not take the letters seriously in terms of being actually suspended from the practice of law. Malloy also stated that he believed that as long as he eventually paid the State Bar dues, there was no problem with continuing to practice law. Malloy finally made his payment in January 1994 and was reinstated on January 13, 1994.

The Board concluded that Malloy's continued practice of law while administratively suspended for failing to pay his State Bar dues, constituted practicing law in a jurisdiction where doing so violates the regulation of the legal profession in that jurisdiction, in violation of SCR 20:5.5(a).

In accordance with SCR 21.09(2), the Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility does hereby publicly reprimand Attorney Robert T. Malloy, of Milwaukee.