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The firm must withdraw because it employs former Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager and her deputy, who have confidential information that could be used against George, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled.
She ordered Victor Arellano of Lawton & Cates to stop representing Delilah Tucker, who once worked in George’s Capitol office.
Tucker is suing George and his former chief of staff Dan Rossmiller for violating her constitutional rights to free speech. She claims the two retaliated against her after she raised concerns about having to do personal and campaign work for the Milwaukee Democrat. She says she was ultimately fired and replaced by “a European beauty.”
George was convicted in 2004 of accepting kickbacks from a state contractor and using staff for personal and campaign work. He has completed a prison term but remains on probation.
After federal prosecutors indicted George, the Wisconsin Department of Justice investigated his use of state employees and funds. At the time, Lautenschlager was attorney general and Dan Bach was her No. 2. They joined Lawton & Cates last year after leaving office.
George’s attorney moved for the firm’s disqualification after Arellano filed a subpoena asking Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen for state investigative reports of George. Van Hollen has objected to the request, in part because he claims some of the information sought is confidential.
“It appears your partners ... actually obtained privileged and confidential information about the Gary George investigation while working at the Department of Justice,” Van Hollen aide Steven Means wrote to Arellano in June.
Lautenschlager and Bach said in affidavits filed in court they remember little about the investigation, haven’t divulged confidential information about George and have had no involvement in the case.
But Crabb said the law firm failed to formally implement any procedure to isolate the two from the case as required under rules governing lawyers’ conduct and therefore must be disqualified.
“From the court’s perspective, someone at Lawton & Cates ought to have recognized that because Lautenschlager and Bach served as the state’s top law enforcement officials at the time George was under investigation, they had a potential conflict of interest that required formal screening,” Crabb wrote.
She put Tucker’s lawsuit on hold until she finds a new attorney.
“As harsh as this result is for plaintiff, to allow Lawton & Cates to remain on this case would ... send a message to attorneys practicing in this court that the court does not take the Rules of Professional Conduct seriously,” Crabb wrote. “I am not willing to endorse such a result.”
Arellano said he was surprised by the decision and preparing to ask the judge to reconsider. If she does not, he said he may appeal to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
He said Bach and Lautenschlager were unaware of his case involving George. “That is why we were flabbergasted” by the decision, he said.
Assistant Attorney General Richard Moriarty, who is representing Rossmiller, also asked Arellano in May to withdraw from the case, citing the “serious ethical issues” raised by Lautenschlager and Bach’s employment.
The state is defending George and Rossmiller since the lawsuit stems from their state employment. However, it hired an outside counsel, David Geier, to represent George since the Department of Justice’s investigation of him created a conflict of interest.
Taxpayers will be on the hook for any damages Tucker wins.
