Title: Office of Lawyer Regulation v. J. L. M.
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: 2023AP001144-D
State: Wisconsin
Issuer: Wisconsin Supreme Court
Date: August 23, 2023

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 self-
report 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