Attorney James O’Neil of Green Bay; ethical misfit

The state of Wisconsin presented James Paul O’Neill with a law license in 1988 after he graduated from Marquette University Law School.

The Office of Lawyer Registration (OLR) found Jimmy guilty of the following misconduct.

In one matter, Jimmy was hired by a man to file a divorce action. Five days after Jimmy was hired, the client’s wife was found dead. When contacted by the police, Jimmy discussed his representation of the client and, at officer’s request, agreed to jot down notes on any future conversations he had with his client. Jimmy never requested his client’s consent to provide said information to the police.

During the criminal investigation, the circuit court issued a subpoena that “requested” Jimmy’s file on his client. Jimmy failed to invoke the attorney-client privilege and turned over the entire case file to the police, including notes, back account records and other financial information.

Subsequently, Jimmy was involved in a second police interview in which he discussed the client’s divorce, and he granted police investigators permission to talk with his secretary regarding her contacts with the client.

As a consequence of her misconduct, the apologists for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Wisconsin Supreme
Court punished Jimmy by gifting him with a complimentary 1-year suspension of his law license.

As we speak (ca. November 2013) Jimmy practices with the O’Neil Law Offices at 403 South Jefferson Street in Green Bay, Wisconsin.