Kenosha attorney who said he 'did nothing wrong' to lose license for 6 months.

Byline: Michaela Paukner, mpaukner@wislawjournal.com

A Kenosha attorney who maintained he "did nothing wrong" willlose his law license for six months for eight misconduct violations.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court announced Terry Constant's suspension on Tuesday. The misconduct charges were mostly trust-account violations related to a Kenosha woman's personal-injury lawsuit.

The Office of Lawyer Regulation had asked for a two-year license suspension. A referee called the proposed suspension "extreme" and "unduly punitive" andinstead recommended a five-month suspension.

Constant denied the charges and argued the OLR had failed to meet the burden of proof. He said he didn't owe the client any money and blamed his behavioron malfunctioning software, a bank employee who had given him "incorrect instructions on how to operate his trust account" and his not knowing his actions could be considered misconduct. Hethoughteven a five-month suspension would be excessive.

The OLR countered by recommending a suspension of at least a year,saying Constant's trust-account violations were "systemic and intentional" and hisinability to identify whose money he used for disbursement means the true extent of his trust-account misconduct is unknown.

The high court decided a six-month suspension would be appropriate because Constant will have to file a formal...