Lawyer disbarred for ripping off clients

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday disbarred a Milwaukee immigration lawyer and college instructor who took fees from clients but often provided no help and went so far as to provide them faked pleadings and case numbers when they sought progress reports.

Sergio Magaña, a 2012 graduate of Marquette University Law School, also refused to cooperate with the Office of Lawyer Regulation when it began to investigate and failed to report his own 2014 drunken-driving conviction.

In 2016, the office filed a complaint alleging more than 70 counts of professional misconduct in 22 client matters. Magaña, 32, sought and received extra time to respond, but never did, nor did he appear for a hearing.

When Magaña eventually left the firm where he was working, he didn’t tell his clients or do anything to help protect their interests.

Despite the number of violations and clients, the court ordered restitution only of $620 to one client, $420 to another and $420 to Magaña’s former (unnamed) law firm. He was ordered to pay nearly $5,000 for the cost of the Office of Lawyer Regulation proceedings.

On the current state bar directory, Magaña lists himself as both attorney and professor and lists an address for Cardinal Stritch University, where he is listed as an adjunct faculty member in academic and career advising, sociology and languages.