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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    July 01, 2001

    Wisconsin Lawyer July 2001: Lawyer Discipline

    Lawyer Discipline


    The Office of Lawyer Regulation (formerly known as the Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility), an agency of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and component of the lawyer regulation system, assists the court in carrying out its constitutional responsibility to supervise the practice of law and protect the public from misconduct by persons practicing law in Wisconsin. The Office of Lawyer Regulation has offices located at Suite 315, 110 E. Main St., Madison, WI 53703, and Suite 300, 342 N. Water St., Milwaukee, WI 53202. Toll-free telephone: (877) 315-6941.


    Public Reprimand of John E. Raftery

    John E. Raftery, 56, Sheboygan, has been publicly reprimanded.

    Raftery had represented a client for many years. In about 1994, the client was attempting to sell a timeshare and consulted with Raftery regarding the sale. Raftery offered to purchase the timeshare himself and paid the client the $2,500 purchase price. Raftery agreed to prepare and register the appropriate documents to transfer title to the property, but he failed to do so.

    The client subsequently received bills for timeshare maintenance fees, which he turned over to Raftery. Raftery assured him that he would take care of the bills, but in early 1999, the client received collection notices for unpaid maintenance fees. Raftery failed to respond to phone calls and letters from the client. In May 1999, although Raftery negotiated a compromise settlement with the timeshare owners for the outstanding fees and made a payment of $1,500, he still did not prepare any transfer documents.

    When the client filed a grievance, Raftery failed to respond to two requests for a written response. Raftery also failed to respond to an initial inquiry from a committee investigator, but did subsequently cooperate with the committee's investigation. The Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility voted to publicly reprimand Raftery on the condition that he conclude the timeshare transaction. Raftery eventually accomplished the transfer in early 2001.

    Raftery was publicly reprimanded for entering into a business transaction with a client without giving the client a reasonable opportunity to seek the advice of independent counsel or obtaining the client's written consent to the transaction, contrary to SCR 20:1.8(a)(2)&(3); failing to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in preparing the transfer documents, contrary to SCR 20:1.3; failing to respond to the client's reasonable attempts to communicate, contrary to SCR 20:1.4(a); and failing to cooperate with the grievance investigation, contrary to SCR 22.07 (1999).


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