7th circuit decision, imposing discipline
Sanctions – Abandonment of Client
It is apparent from this final motion for additional time that Boyle-Saxton elected to put work for other clients ahead of her obligations to Rodriguez and this court. That is unprofessional; lawyers have an ethical obligation to take no more work than they can perform. …
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She is unfit to practice law in this court. Abandonment of a client in a criminal case is reprehensible. Ignoring orders entered by a court is inexcusable. We have disbarred lawyers in similar circumstances. See, e.g., In re Riggs, 240 F.3d 668 (7th Cir. 2001). That is the appropriate step here too. Boyle-Saxton is disbarred. She is further ordered to refund to Rodriguez all fees she may have been paid for handling this appeal, and to provide the court within 21 days evidence that this has been done. Failure to do so will be treated as contempt of court.
The court will send copies of this opinion to the Office of Lawyer Regulation of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and to the clerks of each district court within the circuit. Boyle-Saxton must send a copy to any other jurisdiction in which she may be licensed to practice law.
