Professional Discipline
The Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility, an arm of the
Wisconsin Supreme Court, assists the court in discharging its exclusive
constitutional responsibility to supervise the practice of law in this
state and to protect the public from acts of professional misconduct by
attorneys licensed to practice in Wisconsin. The board is composed of
eight lawyers and four nonlawyer members, and its offices are located at
Room 410, 110 E. Main St., Madison, WI 53703, and Room 102, 611 N.
Broadway, Milwaukee, WI 53202.
Hearing to reinstate Herbert L. Usow
On July 26, 1998, Herbert L. Usow filed a petition in the Wisconsin
Supreme Court seeking reinstatement as a member of the bar and
restoration of his license to practice law.
Usow's law license was suspended for six months by the Wisconsin
Supreme Court, effective Jan. 12, 1998. The suspension was based upon
Usow's conduct in a divorce representation. Usow represented a woman who
was suffering from severe mental health problems. During the course of
the representation, he received approximately $1,500 on behalf of the
woman, including dividend checks and support payments from her husband.
Some of the funds were deposited in Usow's business account, rather than
in his trust account, in violation of SCR 20:1.15(a). Usow also failed
to provide the woman with written notice of his receipt of the funds, in
violation of SCR 20:1.15(b).
The divorce action ultimately was abandoned when the woman reconciled
with her husband. Following the reconciliation, the woman and her
husband tried for several months to obtain an accounting from Usow to
substantiate the fees he claimed to be owed. Usow finally provided an
accounting during the process of fee arbitration. That accounting
contained duplicative, speculative, and inflated charges, due primarily
to carelessness and neglect and to Usow's failure to adequately
supervise his office staff.
The court found that, by sending the accounting to the client, Usow
engaged in conduct involving misrepresentation about the legal services
that he had rendered, in violation of SCR 20:8.4(c).
Finally, by advising the Board of Attorneys Professional
Responsibility (BAPR) that he had always sent the woman written
itemizations of his services, Usow made a material misrepresentation to
BAPR during its investigation, in violation of SCR 22.07(2). The
mishandling of client funds was similar to misconduct for which Usow's
license had been suspended previously.
Usow is required to establish by evidence that is clear and
convincing that he possesses the moral character to practice law in this
state and that his resumption of the practice of law within this state
will not be detrimental to the integrity and standing of the bar or the
administration of justice, or subversive to the public interest.
A public hearing will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 1998, at 6 p.m. in
the conference room of Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, Norris &
Rieselbach S.C., 1000 N. Water St., Suite 2100, Milwaukee, Wis. Any
interested person may appear at the hearing and be heard in support of
or in opposition to the petition for reinstatement. Further information
may be obtained from Jeananne L. Danner, Deputy Administrator, Board of
Attorneys Professional Responsibility, 611 N. Broadway, Suite 102,
Milwaukee, WI 53202, (414) 227-4623.
Wisconsin Lawyer
