Title: Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Lynn Morrissey

State: wisconsin

Issuer: Wisconsin Supreme Court

Document:

2005 WI 2 
 
 
 
SUPREME COURT OF WISCONSIN 
 
 
 
 
 
CASE NO.: 
04-1869-D 
COMPLETE TITLE: 
 
 
In the Matter of Disciplinary Proceedings 
Against Lynn Morrissey, Attorney at Law: 
 
Office of Lawyer Regulation,  
          Complainant, 
 
     v. 
 
Lynn Morrissey,  
          Respondent. 
 
 
 
 
DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS AGAINST MORRISSEY 
 
 
OPINION FILED: 
January 14, 2005   
SUBMITTED ON BRIEFS: 
        
ORAL ARGUMENT: 
        
 
 
SOURCE OF APPEAL: 
 
 
COURT: 
        
 
COUNTY: 
        
 
JUDGE: 
        
 
 
 
JUSTICES: 
 
 
CONCURRED: 
        
 
DISSENTED: 
        
 
NOT PARTICIPATING:         
 
 
 
ATTORNEYS: 
 
      
 
 
2005 WI 2 
NOTICE 
This opinion is subject to further 
editing and modification.  The final 
version will appear in the bound 
volume of the official reports.   
No.  04-1869-D  
 
 
STATE OF WISCONSIN  
 
 
   : 
IN SUPREME COURT 
 
 
In the Matter of Disciplinary Proceedings 
Against Lynn Morrissey, Attorney at Law: 
 
Office of Lawyer Regulation,  
 
          Complainant, 
 
     v. 
 
Lynn Morrissey,  
 
          Respondent. 
 
FILED 
 
JAN 14, 2005 
 
Cornelia G. Clark 
Clerk of Supreme Court 
 
 
 
 
 
ATTORNEY disciplinary proceeding.    Attorney's license 
suspended.   
 
¶1 PER CURIAM.   We review the recommendation of the 
referee, John A. Fiorenza, that Attorney Lynn Morrissey's 
license to practice law in Wisconsin be suspended for 60 days 
for professional misconduct.  The misconduct at issue consisted 
of Attorney Morrissey's handling of two client matters.  In the 
first 
case 
the 
misconduct 
involved 
representing 
that 
a 
satisfaction of lien would not be filed until payment of the 
lien amount was mailed to the person entitled to the money and 
No. 04-1869-D 
   
 
2 
 
by receiving and filing the satisfaction of lien prior to 
remitting payment.  In the second case the misconduct involved 
failing to file acceptable findings of fact, conclusions of law 
and a judgment in a divorce action with reasonable promptness.  
The referee recommended that Attorney Morrissey's license be 
suspended for 60 days. 
¶2 
We 
determine 
that 
the 
seriousness 
of 
Attorney 
Morrissey's professional misconduct warrants a suspension of her 
license to practice law for 60 days.  We further agree with the 
referee that Attorney Morrissey should pay the costs of this 
proceeding. 
¶3 
Attorney Morrissey was admitted to practice law in 
Wisconsin in 1995.  On October 19, 2004, her license to practice 
law was temporarily suspended due to her failure to respond or 
cooperate 
with 
the 
Office 
of 
Lawyer 
Regulation's 
(OLR) 
investigation into grievances that had been filed against her.  
Those grievances do not involve the conduct at issue here.   Her 
license remains suspended. 
¶4 
The complaint filed by the OLR in this action alleged 
that in March of 2001 Attorney Morrissey was retained to 
represent a client in the sale of real estate in Washington 
County.  The real estate was subject to division in a Colorado 
divorce action.  The divorce order provided that the client's 
former wife had a lien of $60,000 and a 50 percent interest in 
any value in excess of $100,000 in real estate the couple owned 
in Wisconsin. 
No. 04-1869-D 
   
 
3 
 
¶5 
Attorney Morrissey wrote to the client's former wife 
arranging for the closing and the sale of the real estate.  In 
June 2001 Attorney Morrissey wrote to the former wife's attorney 
proposing that Attorney Morrissey prepare a satisfaction of lien 
for $60,000.  Attorney Morrissey advised the other attorney that 
after he obtained his client's signature on the satisfaction of 
lien he should forward it to the title company to hold until the 
closing, at which time the title company could mail his client 
her check. 
¶6 
In July 2001 Attorney Morrissey sent the draft 
satisfaction of lien to her client's former wife and requested 
she sign it and return it.  Attorney Morrissey assured the 
client's former wife that the satisfaction would not be recorded 
until the $60,000 check had been sent.  The client's former wife 
signed the satisfaction and sent it to Attorney Morrissey in 
reliance on the representation that the satisfaction would not 
be filed until payment had been made. 
¶7 
Attorney Morrissey recorded the satisfaction on April 
16, 2002.  On May 16, 2002, Attorney Morrissey's client signed a 
land contract for the sale of the property.  On June 18, 2002, 
Attorney Morrissey's client signed a closing statement which 
indicated 
a 
disbursement 
to 
him 
of 
$92,580.39 
and 
no 
disbursement to his former wife.  The land contract was recorded 
on July 3, 2002.  On July 16, 2002, the bank disbursed proceeds 
of the sale by way of a check to Attorney Morrissey's law office 
in the amount of $2,807.20 and a check to Attorney Morrissey's 
client in the amount of $89,773.19.   
No. 04-1869-D 
   
 
4 
 
¶8 
On August 6, 2002, the attorney representing Attorney 
Morrissey's client's former wife requested a copy of the closing 
statement, which Attorney Morrissey provided.  On March 5, 2003, 
the attorney for the client's former wife wrote to Attorney 
Morrissey requesting the $60,000. 
¶9 
On October 16, 2003, the OLR requested Attorney 
Morrissey's response to a grievance filed by her client's former 
wife.  Attorney Morrissey failed to respond to that request and 
two other requests. 
¶10 The 
OLR's 
complaint 
also 
alleged 
that 
Attorney 
Morrissey engaged in professional misconduct with respect to her 
handling of a divorce action for a client.  The second client 
retained Attorney Morrissey on April 8, 2002.  The final hearing 
was held in the divorce on May 5, 2003.  At the time of the 
hearing the court directed Attorney Morrissey to file findings 
of fact, conclusions of law and a judgment.  The findings filed 
were deemed insufficient and on July 15, 2003, a family court 
commissioner clerk faxed Attorney Morrissey a list of provisions 
for inclusion in the findings.  On September 18, 2003, Attorney 
Morrissey was again faxed a list of mandatory provisions to be 
included in the findings.  On November 1, 2003, because Attorney 
Morrissey had failed to file the findings, the clerk forwarded 
the file to the court to calendar an order to show cause 
hearing. 
¶11 On November 5, 2003, the guardian ad litem in the case 
wrote a letter to the court, with a copy to Attorney Morrissey, 
regarding Attorney Morrissey's failure to have signed findings, 
No. 04-1869-D 
   
 
5 
 
conclusions and a judgment on file.  In her letter the guardian 
ad litem 
said the failure 
to file 
these 
documents was 
exacerbating disputes between the parties. 
¶12 The trial court set the order to show cause hearing 
for December 1, 2003.  Attorney Morrissey failed to appear.  The 
court continued the hearing to December 12, 2003, and had 
Attorney Morrissey served with notice of the hearing.  Although 
Attorney Morrissey again failed to appear at the December 12 
hearing, she did call the court to advise she was ill and could 
not attend.  The court continued the hearing until December 22, 
2003. 
¶13 Attorney Morrissey submitted the completed findings on 
December 22, 2003, more than seven months after the final 
divorce hearing and five months after the clerk had first faxed 
her a list of the missing provisions.  The court signed the 
findings, conclusion and judgment on January 7, 2004. 
¶14 In early January 2004 the OLR requested Attorney 
Morrissey to respond to questions relating to the second 
client's grievance.  Attorney Morrissey failed to respond.  In 
March of 2004, after ordering Attorney Morrissey to show cause 
in the matter and after her failure to do so, this court 
temporarily suspended her license.  Her license was subsequently 
reinstated after she belatedly filed a written response to the 
second client's grievance.  As noted above, her license to 
practice law was again temporarily suspended on October 19, 
2004, when she failed to respond to the OLR's inquiries about 
other grievances.   
No. 04-1869-D 
   
 
6 
 
¶15 Attorney Morrissey did not file an answer to the OLR's 
complaint or otherwise make any appearance in the case.  The OLR 
filed a notice of motion and motion for default judgment.  
Attorney Morrissey filed no response to the motion.  On October 
12, 2004, the referee granted the OLR's motion for default 
judgment and issued a decision in the case.   
¶16 The referee found that by representing to the first 
client's former wife that the satisfaction of lien would not be 
filed until payment of the lien amount was mailed and by 
receiving and filing the satisfaction of lien prior to remitting 
payment and by failing to include or provide for payment of the 
lien from the proceeds of the sale Attorney Morrissey engaged in 
conduct 
involving 
dishonesty, 
fraud, 
deceit 
and 
misrepresentation, in violation of SCR 20:8.4(c).1 
¶17 The referee also found that by failing to file 
acceptable findings of fact, conclusions of law and a judgment 
in the second client's divorce with reasonable promptness, 
Attorney Morrissey violated SCR 20:1.3.2  In addition, the 
referee found that by willfully failing to respond to the OLR's 
request for written responses to the two grievances, Attorney 
Morrissey 
violated 
SCR 
22.03(2)3, 
SCR 
22.03(6)4 
and 
SCR 
                                                 
1 SCR 20:8.4(c) provides:  "It is professional misconduct 
for a lawyer to:  (c) engage in conduct involving dishonesty, 
fraud, deceit or misrepresentation." 
2 SCR 20:1.3 provides:  "A lawyer shall act with reasonable 
diligence and promptness in representing a client." 
3 SCR 22.03(2) provides:   
No. 04-1869-D 
   
 
7 
 
20:8.4(f)5.  The referee recommended that Attorney Morrissey's 
license be suspended for 60 days and that she be assessed the 
costs of the proceeding.   
¶18 A referee's findings of fact on a disciplinary matter 
will not be set aside unless they are clearly erroneous.  In re 
Disciplinary Proceedings Against Sosnay, 209 Wis. 2d 241, 243, 
562 N.W.2d 137 (1997).  Conclusions of law are reviewed de novo.  
In re Disciplinary Proceedings Against Carroll, 2000 WI 130, 
¶29, 248 Wis. 2d 662, 636 N.W.2d 718.  Since the referee's 
findings of fact have not been shown to be clearly erroneous, we 
adopt them. 
                                                                                                                                                             
(2)  Upon commencing an investigation, the director 
shall notify the respondent of the matter being 
investigated unless in the opinion of the director the 
investigation of the matter requires otherwise. The 
respondent shall fully and fairly disclose all facts 
and circumstances pertaining to the alleged misconduct 
within 20 days after being served by ordinary mail a 
request for a written response. The director may allow 
additional time to respond. Following receipt of the 
response, 
the 
director 
may 
conduct 
further 
investigation and may compel the respondent to answer 
questions, 
furnish 
documents, 
and 
present 
any 
information deemed relevant to the investigation. 
4 SCR 22.03(6) provides:  "(6) In the course of the 
investigation, 
the 
respondent's wilful 
failure 
to provide 
relevant information, to answer questions fully, or to furnish 
documents and the respondent's misrepresentation in a disclosure 
are misconduct, regardless of the merits of the matters asserted 
in the grievance." 
5 SCR 20:8.4(f) provides:  "It is professional misconduct 
for a lawyer to:  (f) violate a statute, supreme court rule, 
supreme court order or supreme court decision regulating the 
conduct of lawyers." 
No. 04-1869-D 
   
 
8 
 
¶19 We also conclude, as did the referee, that the 
seriousness of Attorney Morrissey's misconduct warrants the 
suspension of her license to practice law in Wisconsin for 60 
days.  Finally, we agree with the referee that Attorney 
Morrissey 
should be required 
to 
pay 
the 
costs of 
this 
proceeding. 
¶20 IT IS ORDERED that the license of Attorney Lynn 
Morrissey to practice law in Wisconsin is suspended for 60 days, 
effective the date of this order. 
¶21 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that within 60 days of the date 
of this order, Attorney Lynn Morrissey pay to the Office of 
Lawyer Regulation the costs of this proceeding.  If the costs 
are not paid with the time specified and absent a showing to 
this court of her inability to pay the costs within that time, 
the license of Attorney Lynn Morrissey to practice law in 
Wisconsin shall remain suspended until further order of the 
court. 
 
 
No. 04-1869-D 
   
 
 
 
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