Ms. Morgan’s position with the National Labor Relations Board has always involved the practice of law and, more recently, has also involved the supervision of other lawyers in their practice of law. Ms. Morgan was therefore required to maintain an active state law license. The only state in which Ms. Morgan has ever been licensed, however, is in Wisconsin, and that license was suspended for a failure to pay mandatory State Bar dues as of October 30, 1990. Another suspension, for failure to comply with continuing legal education requirements (CLE), followed on June 7, 1991. Despite the fact that she was already suspended in Wisconsin, in 1991, Ms. Morgan petitioned and was admitted to practice law before the United States Southern District Court of New York on the basis of her Wisconsin licensure.

Ms. Morgan states that she was never notified of her Wisconsin suspensions; that at the time of her admission to the Wisconsin State Bar, the issue of whether membership to the Bar was required as a condition of practicing law was being litigated; that she never received notice that she was required to pay Bar dues; and that she was unaware of Wisconsin’s continuing legal education requirements. In approximately June of 2001, pursuant to an inquiry by the Inspector General for the National Labor Relations Board, Ms. Morgan contacted the Wisconsin State Bar regarding her status and was informed that she was suspended and that, because of the length of that suspension, she would be required to file a petition for reinstatement. Although Ms. Morgan learned of this requirement in June 2001, she did not file a petition for reinstatement with the Wisconsin Supreme Court until late October or early November of 2001. Ms. Morgan nevertheless continued to practice law with the National Labor Relations Board. Her license to practice law was reinstated by the Wisconsin Supreme Court by order dated March 5, 2002.

Although Ms. Morgan’s practice of law for a period of in excess of eleven years may have been inadvertent until June of 2001, Ms. Morgan had an affirmative obligation to determine the requirements of her state licensure and then comply with them. Upon learning that she was not properly licensed in June of 2001, Ms. Morgan had an obligation to immediately remedy the situation and refrain from the practice of law until her law license was reinstated. As to her practice of law subsequent to the October 30, 1990 suspension of her license for failing to pay mandatory State Bar dues, Ms. Morgan violated SCR 10.03(6), which states, in relevant part, “[N]o person whose membership is so suspended for nonpayment of dues may practice law during the period of suspension.” SCR 10.03(6) is enforceable under the Rules of Professional Conduct through SCR 20:8.4(f), which states, “It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to… violate a statute, supreme court rule, supreme court order or supreme court decision regulating the conduct of lawyers.” With respect to law practice subsequent to her June 7, 1991 CLE suspension in jurisdictions where licensure was dependent on her maintenance of an active state law license, Ms. Morgan violated SCR 20:5.5(a), which states, “A lawyer shall not… practice law in a jurisdiction where doing so violates the regulation of the legal profession in that jurisdiction…”

For the above misconduct, and in accordance with SCR 21.09(2), Attorney Terry Ann Morgan is hereby publicly reprimanded.