Case Citation
Legal Case Name

Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Carl H. Creedy Case Brief

Wisconsin Supreme Court2014Docket #1444002
358 Wis. 2d 345 2014 WI 114 854 N.W.2d 676 2014 Wisc. LEXIS 656

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Case Brief Summary & Legal Analysis

General Brief
4 min read

tl;dr: Attorney publicly reprimanded for professional misconduct involving conflicts of interest, improper business transactions with a client, and unauthorized disclosure of client information, stemming from a business arrangement with a non-lawyer.

Legal Significance: Reinforces strict adherence to rules on conflicts of interest (SCR 20:1.7(a)), business transactions with clients (SCR 20:1.8(a)), and protecting client information (SCR 20:1.8(b)), even if harm is minimal.

Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Carl H. Creedy Law School Study Guide

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Case Facts & Court Holding

Key Facts & Case Background

Attorney Carl H. Creedy entered an unwritten business arrangement with Joseph Murphy, a non-lawyer, to represent Social Security disability claimants. Murphy’s company, American Disability Entitlements LLC, worked with Creedy, and they would mutually agree on fee divisions. Murphy was also considered Creedy’s client. Murphy engaged in taking unlawful advance fees from claimants. Creedy maintained he was unaware of this until March 2010, after which he began dissolving the arrangement. A conflict arose when Creedy, representing a Social Security claimant, learned Murphy (also his client and business partner) had taken an improper advance fee. Creedy agreed to refund the fee on Murphy’s behalf without Murphy’s written informed consent. Creedy also failed to provide Murphy with written terms of their business transaction, advise him in writing to seek independent counsel, or obtain Murphy’s written informed consent to the transaction’s terms and Creedy’s role. Later, Creedy provided information about Murphy to law enforcement, to Murphy’s disadvantage, without his informed consent, during an investigation into Murphy’s activities.

Court Holding & Legal Precedent

Issue: Did the attorney’s conduct in his business and professional relationship with a non-lawyer client, including handling a fee dispute involving a concurrent conflict, entering into a business transaction without required disclosures and consents, and providing client information to law enforcement without consent, violate Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules of Professional Conduct warranting a public reprimand?

Yes. The attorney’s conduct violated SCR 20:1.7(a), SCR 20:1.8(a), and SCR 20:1.8(b), Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute iru

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Legal Issue

Did the attorney’s conduct in his business and professional relationship with a non-lawyer client, including handling a fee dispute involving a concurrent conflict, entering into a business transaction without required disclosures and consents, and providing client information to law enforcement without consent, violate Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules of Professional Conduct warranting a public reprimand?

Conclusion

This case underscores the strict requirements for attorneys regarding conflicts of interest, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate

Legal Rule

An attorney violates SCR 20:1.7(a) by representing a client if the representation Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut

Legal Analysis

The court affirmed the referee's findings of misconduct based on Attorney Creedy's Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad mi

Flash-to-Full Case Opinions

Flash Summary

  • Attorney publicly reprimanded for conflicts of interest and improper business transactions
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in volupta

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