{"id":4095,"date":"2005-09-20T17:06:34","date_gmt":"2005-09-20T21:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2005\/09\/20\/the-delinquent-discipline-of-"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:57:23","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:57:23","slug":"the-delinquent-discipline-of-lawyer-hausmann","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/09\/20\/the-delinquent-discipline-of-lawyer-hausmann\/","title":{"rendered":"the delinquent discipline of lawyer Hausmann"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Thanks to the HALT<\/A> eJournal<\/EM>, I just learned the fascinating story of <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Milwaukee <\/FONT>personal-<\/FONT>injury lawyer Charles J. Hausmann<\/A>:<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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\"tiny His firm Hausmann Mc Mally SC<\/A> is one of the largest p\/i firms in <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Wisconsin, <\/FONT>and he’s been in practice since 1971, with no prior disciplinary <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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record.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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\"tiny In June 2002<\/EM>, Hausmann pleaded guilty<\/A> to federal fraud charges for taking  \"jailbird  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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kickbacks of $77,000 from a local chiropractor — that was 20% of the fees <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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that were charged for medical services to over 200 of Hausmann’s uninsured <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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clients, <\/FONT>who were never told of the referral arrangement.  (The plea was <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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conditional, allowing him to appeal the denial of a motion to dismiss.)<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“tinyredcheck” Hausmann would have the chiropractor write checks to<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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third parties, including a charity whose bank account <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Hausmann controlled (and which used some of the funds<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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for landscaping at Hausmann’s residence).  One of the <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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charities named Hausmann its “attorney of the year” in <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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August 2003. [many more details on the skullduggery —<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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how the scheme was structured and where the money <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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went — can be found at Paragraphs 6 – 8 of this opinion<\/A>]<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT><\/DIV>\"tiny In September 2003<\/EM>, Hausmann lost his appeal<\/FONT><\/STRONG><\/A> to the 7th Circuit, and on <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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November 28, 2003, he started a 60-day sentence<\/A> at the minimum security <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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priso<\/FONT><\/FONT>n at Oxford.   Hausmann told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal<\/EM> that “I <\/FONT><\/DIV><\/DIV>
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expect to pay my penalty and come back and be the most caring and <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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empathetic lawyer in history.” <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the thief
is just as he is…
hazy moon<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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                   Issa<\/EM><\/FONT><\/STRONG><\/A><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/DIV><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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\"bullG\" Despite all of the above, until August 2005<\/EM>, the Wisconsin Bar would  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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inform anyone who inquired that Charles J. Hausmann was an “attorney <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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in good standing.”  He continued his practice, using brochures that urge<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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injured persons to “Find a lawyer and law firm they can really trust.”  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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\"tiny You see, the Office of Lawyer Regulation never bothered <\/FONT>to file a complaint <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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against Hausmann until January 15, 2004, and Wisconsin’s Supreme <\/FONT>Court <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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didn’t issue its opinion in the matter until July of this year, <\/FONT>ordering a one-year<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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suspension effective August 30, 2005. <\/FONT>Matter of Hausmann<\/A>, C<\/FONT>ase <\/FONT>#2004AP156-D, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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filed July 19, 2005).  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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\"tiny The Office of Lawyer Regulation [OLR] argued that Charles <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Hausmann <\/FONT>deserved a two-year suspension, as he failed <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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to admit to <\/FONT>any harm to his 200 clients or conflict of <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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interest.  The <\/FONT>Referee was very impressed with Hausmann’s<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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charitable service — calling it “far above anything I have ever <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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seen <\/FONT>before” — and recommended a one-year <\/FONT>suspension.  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Pointing to his <\/FONT>restitution and long record of community <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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service and <\/FONT>lack of prior discipline, Hausmann wanted 5 <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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months. <\/FONT>He refused to call the payments kickbacks, but <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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did <\/FONT>concede it was an “ill-conceived plan.”<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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Many observers, including HALT’s Suzanne Blonder<\/A> (Fox 6 News, “Justice <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Delayed?”, Aug. 29, 2005), believe that Hausmann’s discipline came far <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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too late and is far too lenient.   I agree with Blonder and the OLR.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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harvest moon–
wherever you are
someone’s annoyed<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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          Issa<\/EM><\/FONT><\/STRONG><\/A><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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There are a few other interesting wrinkles to this story:<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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