Lawyer 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 342 N. Water St., 3rd
Floor, Milwaukee, WI 53202.
Private
Reprimand Summaries
Disciplinary Proceeding Against Robert B. Fennig
On July 1, 1999, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered a two-month
suspension of the law license of Robert B. Fennig, 71, Milwaukee,
effective Aug. 16, 1999.
Fennig became successor trustee of an Illinois testamentary trust in
January 1990, at the request of the attorney for the trust. The trust
was to terminate when the sole beneficiary reached age 50. The trust
assets totaled approximately $938,000. Two days after his appointment,
Fennig loaned $71,000 from the trust to a new land development company
formed by the beneficiary. The trust held all the company's stock and a
note for the loan. Fennig filed a trust inventory in April 1990, which
did not list the stock or the note as assets. In March 1990 the trust's
attorney began negotiations with a bank for financing for the company,
with the trust as guarantor or entering directly into a loan agreement.
A copy of the trust's inventory was provided to the bank. Over the next
few months, the bank loaned $40,000 to the company.
The company, however, had failed to elect officers, and no one had
authority to enter into agreements on behalf of the company. In early
1991 Fennig was named vice president of the company, and the trust's
attorney, as secretary/treasurer, signed a corporate resolution
authorizing the company to borrow and pledge collateral to the bank. The
bank then loaned the company an additional $12,000. After the note went
into default, Fennig and the trust's attorney signed a guaranty for the
company's indebtedness to the bank. Thereafter, Fennig signed a $45,000
note secured by the trust's guaranty to obtain a loan from the bank that
consolidated the prior loans and provided $20,000 of new money.
Subsequently, the bank made additional loans to the company, and the
company thereafter defaulted on the loans.
In February 1992 Fennig met with bank representatives regarding
repayment of the loans and the trust's guaranty. In response to repeated
contacts from the bank, on two occasions Fennig promised payment by
specific dates, which passed without any payment. Fennig also sent the
bank documents showing the imminent sale of the trust's real estate,
stating sufficient funds would be generated to satisfy the company's
loan obligations. The bank continued to press for payment to the end of
1992. The beneficiary turned 50, and Fennig terminated the trust,
repaying some debts but not the bank's loans. Fennig transferred the
remaining assets to the beneficiary but did not retain assets to satisfy
the guaranty, despite his promises to the bank. He did not inform the
probate court of the trust's guaranty, the notes, the borrowing
resolutions, or his promises to the bank.
The bank filed a foreclosure action against the company, the trust,
and Fennig, and a judgment was entered against the defendants for
$93,000. When the bank learned that the trust had been terminated, it
filed an action against the trust and Fennig in Illinois. Following
trial, Fennig was found to have committed fraud against the bank, and
judgment was entered against him for $103,749, which Fennig later
settled for $97,000 of his own funds.
It was found that Fennig had engaged in conduct involving dishonesty,
fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, in violation of SCR
20:8.4(c). The court took into consideration that Fennig was over
age 70 and had practiced for 40 years with no prior discipline, had an
impeccable personal record, and had personally paid the bank without
contribution. Fennig also was ordered to pay the costs of the
proceedings.
Wisconsin Lawyer