|
The Court entered the following order on
this date:
|
|
On September 22, 2004, the Office of Lawyer
Regulation (OLR) filed a disciplinary
complaint against Attorney John A. Krueger
asking this court to impose reciprocal
discipline identical to that imposed on
Attorney Krueger by the Minnesota Supreme
Court. That court suspended Attorney
Krueger's Minnesota law license for 30 days,
effective July 26, 2004. On September 23,
2004, this court issued an order to show
cause directing Attorney Krueger to show
cause in writing by October 13, 2004 why the
imposition of the identical discipline
imposed by the Minnesota Supreme Court would
be unwarranted. Attorney Krueger failed to
respond to the order to show cause.
Attorney Krueger was admitted to practice
law in Wisconsin in 1991 and he became
licensed to practice law in Minnesota in
1990.
|
|
The 30-day suspension in Minnesota resulted
from misconduct involving: notarizing a
client release that contained a forged
client signature; endorsing settlement
checks that contained a forged client
signature and withdrawing attorney's fees
from the settlement proceeds; failure to
supervise a non-lawyer employee thus
enabling the employee to negotiate and
settle personal injury claims on behalf of a
deceased client and to secure the forged
client signatures on the release and
settlement checks; and failure to timely-
file state and federal income tax returns in
1996 and 1997.
|
|
SCR 22.22(3) provides that this court shall
impose the identical discipline or license
suspension unless the procedure in the other
jurisdiction was so lacking in notice or
opportunity to be heard as to constitute a
due process violation; there was such an
infirmity of proof establishing the
misconduct that this court should not accept
as final the misconduct finding; or the
misconduct justifies substantially different
discipline here. Neither OLR nor Attorney
Krueger contend, nor does this court find,
that any of these three exceptions exist.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that the license of John A.
Krueger to practice law in the State of
Wisconsin be suspended for 30 days,
effective the date of this order;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Attorney
Krueger shall comply, if he has not already
done so, with the requirements of SCR 22.26
pertaining to activities following
suspension.
|