Petition for Reinstatement of Naomi E. Soldon
A public hearing will be held at 9 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013, before referee Christine Taylor at Urban & Taylor LLC, 4701 N. Port Washington Rd., Fourth Floor, Milwaukee, on the petition of Naomi E. Soldon, Milwaukee, to reinstate her law license. Any interested person may appear at the hearing and be heard in support of or opposition to the petition for reinstatement.
On April 16, 2010, the Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Soldon’s law license for six months for conduct stemming from a series of retail thefts and subsequent interactions with law enforcement officers. Disciplinary Proceedings Against Soldon, 2010 WI 27. In May 2012, Soldon filed a reinstatement petition.
In August 2012, the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) filed a new disciplinary complaint against Soldon relating to three additional thefts. The supreme court ordered Soldon’s reinstatement petition held in abeyance. On Dec. 7, 2012, the supreme court issued a final order in the second disciplinary proceeding, suspending Soldon’s license for another six months, but imposing the suspension with a retroactive commencement date. Disciplinary Proceedings Against Soldon, 2012 WI 122. Soldon then filed an amended reinstatement petition, resulting in scheduling of the Nov. 15, 2013 public hearing.
To be reinstated, Soldon has the burden of substantiating by clear, satisfactory, and convincing evidence that 1) she has the moral character to practice law in Wisconsin, 2) her resumption of the practice of law will not be detrimental to the administration of justice or subversive of the public interest, 3) all representations in her reinstatement petition are substantiated, and 4) she has complied fully with the terms of the order of suspension or revocation and with SCR 22.26.
Relevant information may be provided to or obtained from the OLR’s counsel, William F. Bedker Jr., 704 Western Meadows Dr., Watertown, WI 53098; (608) 243-4762.
Disciplinary Proceeding Against Patrick M. Cooper
On June 26, 2013, the supreme court suspended the law license of Patrick M. Cooper for two years, effective March 23, 2010 (the end date of Cooper’s prior three-year suspension) and ordered Cooper to pay the full cost of the disciplinary proceedings. Disciplinary Proceedings Against Cooper, 2013 WI 55.
Cooper’s suspension was based on 42 counts of misconduct arising out of nine separate client representations, substantially all of which occurred during the same period as the misconduct giving rise to Cooper’s prior three-year suspension. See Disciplinary Proceedings Against Cooper, 2007 WI 37, 300 Wis. 2d 61, 729 N.W.2d 206.
Among other acts of misconduct, Cooper failed to diligently represent his clients’ interests, failed to adequately communicate with his clients and respond to their reasonable requests for information, made misrepresentations to his clients, failed to return client files after the termination of representation, failed to notify clients of the suspension of his law license, and failed to cooperate with the OLR’s investigation of the grievances filed against him. Cooper was found to have violated the following supreme court rules, most of them in multiple instances: SCR 20:1.3; former SCR 20:1.4(a) (in effect through June 30, 2007); SCR 20:1.4(b); SCR 20:3.4(c); SCR 20:8.4(c); SCR 20:1.16(d); SCR 22.26(1)(a) and (b), via SCR 20:8.4(f); and SCR 22.03(2) and (6), via SCR 20:8.4(f).
