Court revokes license of lawyer charged with misconduct
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A Wausau lawyer charged with 34 counts of misconduct, including maintaining a sexual relationship with a client and misusing a client's trust account, will no longer practice in Wisconsin, the state's highest court decided Wednesday.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed with a referee's recommendation to revoke Ryan Lister's license. Lister, who was licensed to practice law in Wisconsin in 1976, had argued that a public reprimand would have been sufficient punishment since he didn't commit any crimes.
He did not respond phone messages left at his office Wednesday. The revocation will take effect Feb. 27.
Lister was publicly reprimanded by the state Supreme Court in 1986 for unprofessional conduct. In 2007, his license was suspended on 17 counts of violating Supreme Court rules involving seven investigations. His license was suspended again in 2010 for 60 days on four counts of violating Supreme Court rules.
In 2014, Robert Kinney, a referee in the case, recommended that the state revoke Lister's license and that Lister make restitution to two of his clients and to the Wisconsin Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection.
"(Lister) would like to portray himself as a person who helps the poor and downtrodden, who oftentimes works on a pro bono basis, and who puts the interests of his clients before his own," Kinney said in his recommendation. "But to the contrary ... (Lister) has shown himself to be a dishonest manipulator of the weak."
In its decision, the court agreed with Kinney that revocation was an appropriate punishment.
"The scope and severity of the misconduct committed in this matter, attorney Lister's extensive disciplinary history, and the numerous aggravating factors warrant revocation," the court wrote.
Additionally, the court decided that Lister must pay for his disciplinary proceedings to the tune of more than $28,000. The court also ordered that he pay damages to his clients and to the Wisconsin Lawyer's Fund for Client Protection totaling more than $11,000.
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