Dec. 1, 2010 – The Wisconsin Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection Committee approved $32,250 in reimbursements to 7 victims of lawyer theft at its November meeting. The committee considered 20 claims. Six claims were denied and 7 were deferred. The dollar amount being sought for the deferred claims totals is $841,591.

"The total dollar amount of claims made continues to be a major concern," says committee chair Deb Smith. "We had claims totaling $3.7 million at  our last meeting and only $252,912 available to make victims whole. The fund received its first multi-million dollar claim and although the claim was denied, there are several other large claims that will likely need to be paid in the next year."

Disbursements

Claims recently were approved for clients of:

• Peter T. Elliott, Oconomowoc (one claim misappropriation of funds, $2,000)

• T. Christopher Kelly, Madison (two claims for trust account conversion, $10,000)

• Christopher A. Mutschler, Fond du Lac (4 claims for unearned advanced fees, $20,250)

About the fund

The Wisconsin Supreme Court established the fund, formerly named the Clients’ Security Fund, in 1981 to reimburse people who lost money through dishonest acts of Wisconsin attorneys. Claims include unearned retainer, theft from estate, misappropriation of funds, conversion of trust account funds, and theft by investment. Claims for reimbursement and all proceedings of the committee are subject to  SCR 12.04-12. Reimbursement decisions are made at the discretion of the committee, which meets three times a year. The committee meets again in March.

For more information about the fund, email Kris Wenzel or call (800) 444-9404, ext. 6185, or (608) 250-6185.