2023 WI 62

SUPREME COURT OF WISCONSIN

CASE NO.: 2023AP1144-D

COMPLETE TITLE: In the Matter of Medical Incapacity Proceedings 

Against Jeffrey L. Murrell., Attorney at Law:

Office of Lawyer Regulation,

 Complainant,

 v.

Jeffrey L. Murrell,

 Respondent.

DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS AGAINST MURRELL

OPINION FILED: August 23, 2023 

SUBMITTED ON BRIEFS: 

ORAL ARGUMENT: 

SOURCE OF APPEAL:

COURT: 

COUNTY: 

JUDGE: 

JUSTICES:

Per curiam. 

ATTORNEYS:
2023 WI 62

NOTICE

This opinion is subject to further 

editing and modification. The final 

version will appear in the bound 

volume of the official reports. 

No. 2023AP1144-D

STATE OF WISCONSIN : IN SUPREME COURT

In the Matter of Medical Incapacity Proceedings 

Against Jeffrey L. Murrell, Attorney at Law:

Office of Lawyer Regulation,

 Complainant,

 v.

Jeffrey L. Murrell,

 Respondent.

FILED

AUG 23, 2023

Samuel A. Christensen

Clerk of Supreme Court

The Court entered the following order on this date: 

¶1 Attorney Jeffrey Lee Murrell was admitted to practice 

law in Wisconsin in 1995 and practices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

¶2 On June 29, 2023, the Office of Lawyer Regulation 

(OLR) filed a petition, pursuant to Supreme Court Rule (SCR) 

22.34, requesting that Attorney Murrell be found to have a 

medical incapacity and that the court impose conditions on 

Attorney Murrell's continued practice of law in Wisconsin. See

SCR 22.34.
No. 2023AP1144-D 

2

¶3 The petition was accompanied by a stipulation executed 

by OLR and Attorney Murrell. In the stipulation, Attorney 

Murrell acknowledges that he suffers from a medical incapacity 

that at times substantially prevents him from performing the 

duties of an attorney to acceptable professional standards. 

Attorney Murrell admits that each of the factual allegations in 

OLR's petition is true and accurate. 

¶4 The parties jointly recommend that conditions be 

imposed on Attorney Murrell's practice of law, requiring him to:

a. Enter into a contract with the Wisconsin Lawyer 

Assistance Program (WisLAP) to participate in its 

monitoring program for a period of three years;

b. Obtain follow-up care with his mental health 

providers as recommended by WisLAP;

c. Immediately self-report to OLR any police contact, 

arrests, or criminal charges; and

d. Arrange repayment of the $6,500 that the Wisconsin 

Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection paid to M.K. to 

reimburse her for the advance fee that she paid to 

Attorney Murrell to represent her son.

¶5 In the stipulation, Attorney Murrell represents and 

verifies that he fully understands his right to contest OLR's 

allegations of medical incapacity, to see and cross-examine 

witnesses called by OLR, to call witnesses and present testimony 

and evidence on his own behalf, to require OLR to prove its 

allegations by clear, satisfactory and convincing evidence, and 

to make arguments to the referee that OLR has failed to meet its 

burden of proof. Attorney Murrell further avers that he 

understands the ramifications of his entry into the stipulation; 
No. 2023AP1144-D 

3

that he has the right to consult counsel; and that his entry 

into the stipulation is made knowingly and voluntarily. The 

parties also state that the stipulation is not the result of a 

plea bargain, but instead represents Attorney Murrell's 

admission of a medical incapacity that substantially prevents 

him from performing the duties of an attorney to acceptable 

professional standards and his agreement to the conditions on 

his practice of law recommended by OLR. 

¶6 The stipulation further provides that, in the event 

OLR determines that Attorney Murrell has failed to comply with 

the WisLAP monitoring condition, OLR may petition this court for 

a summary and immediate suspension of Attorney Murrell's license 

to practice law pending any further investigation or proceedings 

that may be necessary under the circumstances, and if OLR 

determines that Attorney Murrell has failed to comply with the 

other conditions set forth above, OLR may seek the issuance of 

an order to show cause why Attorney Murrell's license to 

practice law should not be summarily suspended.
No. 2023AP1144-D 

4

¶7 Based on the parties' stipulation, which this court 

approves and adopts pursuant to SCR 22.34(10),1 the court finds 

that Attorney Murrell currently suffers from a medical 

incapacity that at times substantially prevents him from 

performing the duties of an attorney to acceptable professional 

standards. 

¶8 IT IS ORDERED that the petition is granted.

¶9 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the following conditions 

shall be imposed on Attorney Jeffrey Lee Murrell's practice of 

law: 

a. Attorney Jeffrey Lee Murrell shall enter into a 

contract with WisLAP to participate in its 

monitoring program for a period of three years;

b. Attorney Jeffrey Lee Murrell shall obtain follow-up 

care with his mental health providers as recommended 

by WisLAP;

 

1 SCR 22.34 (10) provides: "The petition may be accompanied 

by a stipulation of the director and the respondent to a 

suspension or to the imposition of conditions on the 

respondent's practice of law. The supreme court may consider 

the petition and stipulation without the appointment of a 

referee. If the supreme court rejects the stipulation, it shall 

issue an order consistent with the stipulation. If the supreme 

court rejects the stipulation, an available referee shall be 

selected from the panel provided in SCR 21.08, based on the 

location of the respondent's place of residence. The chief 

justice or, in his or her absence, the chief justice's delegee 

shall issue an order appointing the referee, and the matter 

shall proceed as a petition filed without a stipulation. A 

stipulation rejected by the supreme court has no evidentiary 

value and is without prejudice to the respondent's defense of 

the proceeding or the prosecution of the petition."
No. 2023AP1144-D 

5

c. Attorney Jeffrey Lee Murrell shall immediately selfreport to OLR any police contact, arrests, or 

criminal charges; and

d. Attorney Jeffrey Lee Murrell shall arrange repayment 

of the $6,500 that the Wisconsin Lawyers' Fund for 

Client Protection paid to M.K. to reimburse her for 

the advance fee that she paid to Attorney Murrell to 

represent her son.

¶10 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that in the event OLR determines 

that Attorney Jeffrey Lee Murrell has failed to comply with the 

WisLAP monitoring condition, OLR may petition this court for a 

summary and immediate suspension of Attorney Jeffrey Lee 

Murrell's license to practice law pending any further 

investigation or proceedings that may be necessary under the 

circumstances, and if OLR determines that Attorney Jeffrey Lee 

Murrell has failed to comply with the other conditions set forth 

above, OLR may seek the issuance of an order to show cause why 

Attorney Jeffrey Lee Murrell's license to practice law should 

not be summarily suspended.

¶11 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that no costs shall be imposed 

on Attorney Jeffrey Lee Murrell relating to this medical 

incapacity proceeding. 
No. 2023AP1144-D 

1