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Judiciary

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice agrees to license suspension for alleged election-review misconduct

By Debra Cassens Weiss

April 11, 2025, 11:00 am CDT

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Gableman has agreed to the suspension of his law license to resolve an ethics complaint that stems from his investigation of the 2020 election for the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Gableman and the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation agreed a three-year suspension of Gableman’s law license is an appropriate sanction in a stipulation signed on April 7 and filed with the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The court must approve the suspension.

The stipulation acknowledges that Gableman can’t successfully defend against the misconduct allegations.

The Associated Press, Reuters and the Washington Post have coverage. Law Forward had filed a grievance against Gableman, according to a press release.

Gableman’s $2.3 million election review did not find significant fraud, according to past reporting by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The ethics complaint accused Gableman of failing to tell a legislative committee about cooperation by the cities of Madison and Green Bay in Wisconsin and falsely stating in court documents that the cities’ mayors had failed to appear for depositions without justification.

He was also accused of criticizing a judge instead of responding to questions during a court hearing on a group’s public-records request in Dane County, Wisconsin. He claimed that Judge Frank Remington “has abandoned his role as a neutral magistrate” and later said, “You want to put me in jail, Judge Remington? I’m not gonna be railroaded.”

“With this deal,” said Jeff Mandell, president and general counsel of Law Forward, “Gableman stipulates that he misled courts, lied in public meetings, and violated government transparency laws.”

Gableman served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 2008 to 2018. He filed the stipulation a week after a Democratic-backed candidate won election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, giving the court a 4-3 liberal majority, the Washington Post points out.

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3. Law grads with past substance-use disorders…

Disability Law

Law grads with past substance-use disorders suffered disability bias in quest for license, DOJ says

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 6, 2025, 3:15 pm CST

Would-be Tennessee lawyers encountered unlawful disability discrimination when they were required to submit to “burdensome examinations” and conditions triggered by their past diagnosis or treatment for a substance-use disorder or a mental health disorder, the U.S. Department of Justice has concluded.

The Tennessee Board of Law Examiners and the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program violated Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act, which protects people with from being excluded from programs of state and local governments, according to a letter of findings released Dec. 17.

The DOJ investigated after receiving complaints from two bar applicants, “D.S.” and “C.B.,” who were previously treated for substance-use disorders related to prescription drugs. Both suffered “significant economic harm,” including loss of jobs because of delays in obtaining a law license and costs incurred in complying with required evaluations by treatment facilities.

The conditions for obtaining a law license were “burdensome, intrusive and unnecessary,” the letter said.

NBC News has identified D.S. as Derek Scott, who was taking buprenorphine, a Food and Drug Administration-approved medication that his doctor prescribed, to treat the opioid-use disorder that he developed after becoming addicted to painkillers. The network chronicled Scott’s battle for a law license.

Scott, now an attorney in Clarksville, Tennessee, has been treated continuously for opioid-use disorder since 2012. He graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2019. On his bar application, Scott disclosed charges that were later dismissed, most of which happened when his addiction to painkillers was untreated.

Because Scott was taking buprenorphine, he was required to undergo a multiday assessment at an addiction-recovery facility that cost him $2,000. No drugs were found in his system other than buprenorphine. No cognitive impairment was found. The facility nonetheless recommended a six-month inpatient treatment program that would cost Scott $30,000, an amount lowered to $15,000 with credit for the $2,000 already spent because of scholarship money from the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program.

Scott’s treating physician “emphatically” disagreed with the need for inpatient treatment to stop a medication that was effectively treating his disability, the DOJ letter said. If he didn’t comply, Scott was told, he wouldn’t get a law license.

“Thus, D.S. was left with the choice of continuing the treatment that is successful for him in treating his [opioid-use disorder] or obtaining his license to practice law,” according to the letter of findings.

The law firm that had employed Scott as a law clerk fired him in November 2021 because of his inability to get a law license.

Scott sought a second evaluation by another facility and was granted permission. A psychiatrist there found that the drug therapy had been successful, and there were no legal, educational or occupational deficiencies. The medical report nonetheless concluded that Scott was not fit to practice law, and that abstinence treatment at a facility should be considered.

After the DOJ notified the Tennessee agencies in September 2023 that it was investigating, Scott received his law license.

The other lawyer, C.B., had completed an inpatient rehabilitation program in 2010 and graduated from law school in 2020. C.B. informed the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners that several misdemeanor arrests happened while he was abusing alcohol and Xanax, which is often used to treat anxiety disorders and anxiety caused by depression. A board interviewer concluded that C.B. had no mental or psychological disorder that would affect his ability to practice law.

C.B. was nonetheless referred to the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program for evaluation and was required to pay $6,000 for a psychological and drug assessment. The medical report found that C.B. was fit to practice law but recommended abstinence-based outpatient therapy for substance-use management and physical therapy for pain. He should also quit smoking and get his cholesterol checked, the report said.

The Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program said C.B. should get outpatient treatment in a drug program four days per week. C.B. lost his job and moved from Ohio to Tennessee to attend a seven-week program. He was then allowed to obtain a law license as long as he entered a five-year monitoring contract and submitted to random drug tests.

The restrictions and conditions imposed on Scott and C.B. “were based on speculation about their disabilities that were contrary to demonstrated conduct, and as to D.S. in particular, they were based on stigma and stereotypes about his prescribed treatment,” the letter said.

Scott told NBC News that he felt validated by the findings.

“I felt like they had put up an obstacle that they knew I couldn’t overcome,” he said.

Scott works as a lawyer primarily handling criminal defense cases, according to NBC News. He continues to take his medication.

NBC News spoke with civil rights attorney David Sinkman, who handles substance-use bias cases, about the DOJ letter. He was not involved in the case.

“This is a powerful finding by the Department of Justice that applies beyond admission to practice law in Tennessee, since there are similar licensing restrictions in other states and for other professions,” Sinkman said.

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3. KPMG asks Arizona to OK alternative business…

Practice Management

KPMG asks Arizona to OK alternative business license for subsidiary law firm

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 9, 2025, 8:51 am CST

A subsidiary of accounting company KPMG US is applying to operate as an alternative business structure in Arizona under state ethics rules that permit nonlawyers to own or invest in law firms.

If approved by the Arizona Supreme Court, KPMG Law US would complement the services of traditional firms, a spokesperson told Law.com, Bloomberg Law and Reuters.

Legal teams “face substantial and wide-ranging process challenges that can benefit from legal expertise and technology at scale,” KPMG said in a statement emailed to Law.com. “We aim to solve those pain points, especially on tight timelines.”

The aim is to “bring legal capabilities to managed services, such as contract lifecycle management,” the spokesperson told Bloomberg Law.

Approval would be “a game changer,” according to Law.com.

KPMG Law already offers legal services globally in more than 80 jurisdictions and has more than 3,750 employees. But bans on nonlawyer ownership of firms in most states have prevented companies such as KPMG from offering legal advice with its law-related services in the United States.

The Arizona Supreme Court’s Committee on Alternative Business Structures will consider the proposal Jan. 14. The state supreme court has the final say on approval.

Arizona has already approved more than 100 alternative business structures, but they “have largely been granted to firms practicing personal injury, mass torts and products liability law, as well as trusts, estates and probate law,” according to Law.com.

See also:

KPMG aims to employ 3,000 lawyers within the next few years

Pilot project allowing nonlawyer legal providers gets OK in Washington

A Florida woman is behind bars after allegedly hitting a 16-year-old boy crossing the street on a scooter with her pickup truck. After striking the teen with her vehicle, she got out and used some tape and paper to cover her license plate, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. She then allegedly drove away.

It happened a little before 4 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Gage Avenue and Noah Street in Deltona. Deputies said the boy was on his scooter headed home from school. As he crossed the street, the woman later identified as 37-year-old Sarah Wright of Palm Coast, hit him with her Chevrolet Silverado, deputies said in a Facebook post.

More from Law&Crime: Driver arrested for hit-and-run appears in court as long history of traffic troubles is revealed

After hitting him, she got out and briefly checked on him before hatching a scheme to cover the license tag in an apparent hope to evade authorities. It did not work.

Deputies quickly identified the vehicle “thanks to great witnesses, clear video, and the best technology.” One of the witnesses was able to see a portion of Wright’s license plate before she covered it, according to cops. A neighborhood Ring camera also captured the truck leaving the scene. The victim also gave a vehicle description.

Armed with that information, deputies scoured license plate reader cameras and obtained the tag information “within minutes.”

The medical license of an Arkansas doctor with a family medicine practice has been suspended following allegations that he harassed and engaged in sexual activity with members of his staff — who were also his patients — and was walking about his medical clinic completely nude.

The Arkansas State Medical Board on Wednesday issued an emergency order of suspension pending a hearing regarding alleged violations of the Medical Practices Act against Dr. David Diffine, documents obtained by Law&Crime show.

According to the order, the board received information indicating that Diffine’s practice required immediate action regarding the “public health, safety, and welfare.”

A mother and daughter were arrested in Texas for allegedly trying to inject butt implants despite not having a medical license.

Consuelo Dal Bo, 56, and her daughter Isabella Dal Bo, 18, were arrested March 28. Consuelo is facing a delivering a controlled substance charge while Isabella is facing a charge of practicing medicine without a license, records show.

According to a criminal complaint, the Dal Bos showed up to a home in Houston with the intent on charging $6,000 to inject a person with butt implants. But the “customers” were actually with Houston police and the Food and Drug Administration. The suspects were using bottles of an “unlabeled brown liquid.”

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3. Convicted alderman keeps law license after…

Ethics

Convicted alderman keeps law license after recusals prevent state supreme court from acting

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 12, 2024, 10:46 am CDT

A convicted former alderman from Chicago remains licensed to practice law after recusals prevented the Illinois Supreme Court from acting on a petition for an interim suspension.

The Illinois Supreme Court was unable to reach a quorum after a majority of the state supreme court’s seven justices recused themselves from the petition to suspend former Ald. Ed Burke. The state supreme court revealed the result in a Feb. 2 order that came to light in March 11 reports by the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, which published a joint story with WBEZ.

Burke was convicted in December 2023 on charges of racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion. His wife, Anne Burke, had served on the Illinois Supreme Court from 2006 until her November 2022 retirement. She was chief justice from October 2019 to late October 2022.

Court spokesperson Christopher Bonjean told WBEZ that he thinks that some state constitutions allow the substitution of other judges when there are recusals, “but the Illinois Constitution does not have a provision for that.”

At least four of the Illinois Supreme Court’s seven justices are needed for a quorum. Four of the state supreme court’s present justices were on the Illinois Supreme Court when Anne Burke was there, but there is no indication which justices recused themselves.

When Burke is sentenced in June, the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission will be required to file another petition for interim suspension, as called for by court rules, according to the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ.

Burke’s lawyer, Chris Gair, said Burke has not practiced law in a number of years and would like to retire. But attorney discipline officials told Gair that it wasn’t possible for Burke to retire, Gair told the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ.

Burke was convicted “in a city hall shakedown scheme designed to enrich his law firm,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ. He was accused of holding up construction permits if companies did not send their tax appeal work to his former law firm, according to past coverage by the ABA Journal.

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3. Lawyer accused of spying on Muslim colleagues…

Ethics

Lawyer accused of spying on Muslim colleagues gives up law license

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 5, 2024, 12:25 pm CST

A lawyer has resigned from the bar after he was accused of spying on his colleagues at an Ohio-based chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy and civil rights organization.

The Ohio Supreme Court accepted the resignation of lawyer Romin Iqbal of Dublin, Ohio, on Monday, the Columbus Dispatch reports.

A disciplinary action against Iqbal was pending, but details are sealed in such cases.

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat Fischer dissented because of the “transparency problem” posed by sealed proceedings. He went on to offer information on Iqbal that is available from public sources, including the Columbus Dispatch.

Iqbal worked with the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations for 15 years, including three years in which he was the executive director beginning in 2018. An internal investigation by the Council on American-Islamic Relations found that since at least 2008, Iqbal had provided confidential information about the group to the Investigative Project on Terrorism.

The investigative project is a nonprofit that seeks to expose terrorist organizations. The Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other groups have labeled the project an anti-Islamic hate group.

Iqbal reportedly shared confidential meeting recordings, emails and strategic plans with the investigative project. The Council on American-Islamic Relations fired Iqbal in 2021.

“Iqbal broke the trust and confidentiality of the organization he was working for, and by working directly contrary to that organization’s interests, he opened himself up to disciplinary charges,” Fischer wrote. “For transparency purposes and for the protection of the public, I would not accept Iqbal’s application for retirement or resignation with disciplinary action pending.”

The Columbus Dispatch was unable to reach Iqbal for comment. A lawyer who once represented Iqbal, David Thomas, declined to comment to the publication. The ABA Journal left a message at a phone number for Iqbal listed by the state bar but did not get an immediate response.

Amina Barhumi, the current executive director of the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the Columbus Dispatch that Iqbal’s resignation from the bar “begins to provide some sort of closure for the community.”