May 2006
Inside the Bar
May 2006
Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection disburses $170K-plus,
sets FY 07 assessment at $25
In April, the Wisconsin Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection Committee
approved $171,479 in reimbursements to 14 victims of lawyer theft. The
committee denied seven claims and deferred five claims totaling $61,188
to its Aug. 1 meeting.
Fourteen claims were approved for clients of Thomas A. Fadner II (one
claim for $300), Daniel R. Grade (one claim for $7,780), Arik J.
Guenther (one claim for $541), Charles R. Koehn (seven claims totaling
$21,760), Mark Gerard Pierquet (one claim for $400), and Gerald Proost
(three claims totaling $140,398).
The committee approved 82 claims during fiscal year (FY) 2006, July
1, 2005 - June 30, 2006, for a total of $450,900. The committee also set
the FY 2007 assessment at $25, which is the maximum assessment that can
be set. The committee determined the assessment amount by dividing the
claims paid in FY 06 by the number of attorneys to be assessed and
considering the anticipated fund balance at the end of the current
fiscal year and claims anticipated to be filed in FY 07. The supreme
court mandates that the Bar maintain a fund balance of $250,000 as of
May 1 each year.
"This has been an unprecedented year of disbursements, and the
committee is dedicated to fiscal responsibility," says Committee Chair
Dave Reddy. "Due to the anticipated claims to be filed in 2007 and
considering the claims deferred to the August meeting, we found it
necessary to assess the maximum amount of $25."
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 12.04-11.
Wisconsin-licensed attorneys, except those classified as inactive,
subsidize the fund through an annual assessment. Reimbursement decisions
are made at the discretion of the committee, which meets three times a
year.
For more information, visit www.wisbar.org/clientprotection
or contact Kris Wenzel at kwenzel@wisbar.org, (800) 444-9404, ext. 6185,
or (608) 250-6185.
Inside the
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