Attorney suspended for 60 days as reciprocal discipline for disbarment in Minnesota.

Byline: Michaela Paukner, mpaukner@wislawjournal.com

An attorney's Wisconsin law license has been suspended for 60 days as reciprocal discipline for his disbarment in Minnesota.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday inthe Office of Lawyer Regulation's case against Joseph M. Capistrant, a solo practitionerin Osseo, Minnesota.

The case is reciprocal discipline for Capistrant's professional misconduct in Minnesota.A client hired Capistrant in 2014 to probate his son's estate and make changes to come family documentsat a cost of $547. The Wisconsin Supreme Court opinion said Capistrant never deposited the money into his trust account, didn't file the probate action anddidn't respond to communications from the client or his daughter.

The Supreme Court of Minnesota disbarred Capistrant in 2018. The Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation filed a complaint in 2020 requesting reciprocal discipline, and the opinion said Capistrant did not respond.

In February, the Wisconsin Supreme Court directed the parties to explain why a 60-day suspension, rather than revocation, would be the appropriate level of discipline. The OLR said Minnesota's disciplinary system uses a different method of counts and rule violations, and the heart of the matter was one client who lost the "relatively low" amount of $547. The OLR also cited a number of similar Wisconsin cases that resulted in 60-day suspensions.

"Upon...