Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Thomas O. Mulligan

SHIRLEY S. ABRAHAMSON, J.

¶ 58. (concurring). OLR sought a two-year suspension. The referee recommended an 18-month suspension. After a contested proceeding, the court imposes a nine-month suspension for repeated significant violations of trust accounting rules (not merely "technical" violations).

¶ 59. This is Attorney Mulligan's fourth brush with OLR. In 1997, Attorney Mulligan received a private reprimand. In 2005, he received a private reprimand. In 2009, he received a public reprimand.

¶ 60. Attorney James T. Runyon also violated substantive trust accounting rules. OLR v Runyon, 2015 WI 95, 365 Wis. 2d 32, 870 N.W.2d 228. He has *70had two prior brushes with OLR. In 1988, his license was suspended for one year. In 2006, he received a private reprimand.

¶ 61. I have difficulty reconciling the significantly different levels of discipline imposed in these two trust accounting cases.