Attorney Robert Howard of Janesville, WI; ethical troll

The state of Wisconsin presented Robert Carrington Howard with a law license in 1995 after he graduated from the University of Wisconsin School of Law.

The Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) found Bobby guilty of engaging in the following misconduct.

• One of Booby’s clients asked if he would be willing to meet with a friend (the prospective client) to discuss potentially representing the prospective client in a family law case.
• Bobby’s client told him that the prospective client was not able to pay a significant advanced fee and was interested in a payment plan or a barter of services, that the client and the prospective client worked as adult entertainers, and that the prospective client might be willing to barter adult entertainment services for legal representation
• Bobby met with the prospective client, and she informed him that she could not afford to pay his $2,000 advance fee
• Bobby suggested she perform various errands or cleaning services of his law office and he would credit the advance fee at $15 per hour
• Bobby also presented another barter option, which, he informed the prospective client, would have to be kept “just between them”
• Bobby offered to accept sexually themed role play with the prospective client, including some physical intimate touching, for credit of $100 per half hour toward the advanced fee
• On the next day after meeting with the prospective client at his office, Bobby confirmed the payment option in a text message sent to the prospective client the following day

As a direct consequence of his misconduct, the enablers for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court punished Bobby by gifting him with a complimentary reprimand.

As we speak (ca. November 2022), Bobby practices his so-called brand of law with the Howard Law Office at 215 West Court Street in Janesville, Wisconsin.