Prominent Twin Cities attorney suspended and faces disbarment for alleged misconduct

A prominent Twin Cities lawyer has been suspended by the Minnesota Supreme Court and faces possible disbarment for his handling of a series of cases stretching back over a decade.

Among the most egregious allegations made against attorney Michael Padden is that he urged a client in a criminal case in Wisconsin to go on the lam rather than attend his sentencing, and then allegedly lied to a judge about what he told the client.

The client was subsequently arrested and extradited, and spent three years in prison rather than six months under the terms of a plea agreement that had been arranged.

Padden, who has offices in Lake Elmo and is licensed to practice law in Minnesota and Wisconsin, is also accused of misappropriating clients' funds, failing to deposit clients' money in trust accounts as required by state rules and failing to keep proper records.

"It is unusual to have so many violations of the rules on lawyers' professional responsibility," said Joseph Daly, emeritus professor at Mitchell Hamline School of law.

The misconduct allegations against Padden were first disclosed in January 2023 when the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board (OLPR), a state agency that investigates alleged attorney misconduct and prosecutes disciplinary actions against lawyers, filed a 35-page petition for disciplinary action with the state Supreme Court. Signed by OLPR director Susan Humiston, the petition cited seven counts of alleged misconduct and sought Padden's suspension or disbarment.

In an order issued last week, Associate Supreme Court Justice Margaret Chutich wrote that a referee had found seven violations by Padden under Wisconsin court rules and 22 under Minnesota court rules.

"The referee recommended that [Padden] be disbarred and that he be immediately suspended pending resolution of this disciplinary proceeding," the justice wrote.

Chutich ordered Padden suspended, pending resolution of the case. She set filing deadlines for Padden and Humiston, after which the court will hear oral arguments.

In a statement sent Wednesday, Padden said that for more than four years he has "put up with a witch hunt and constant harassment from these people."

"I have admitted mistakes — unintentional — that should have resulted with the sanction of probation to allow me to continue to help Minnesotans," Padden said. "Their main case, a Wisconsin matter, was investigated by that state and after a competent investigation, they concluded I did nothing wrong. The trust account? It showed I saved my clients hundreds of thousands of dollars and stole from no client — ever."

Padden concluded: "I'm looking forward to pointing out to the public the evil nature of this agency (OLPR), and I am confident l will receive relief from the Minnesota Supreme Court. "

According to the allegations, Padden was retained in 2016 by Steven Sweet, a Minnesotan who had been charged in Wisconsin with fraud for alleged participation in a credit card scam. A prosecutor recommended two years probation and no more than six months in jail.

After Sweet drove to Green Bay, Wis., for the sentencing in August 2017, Padden allegedly called to tell him that he faced up to 10 years in prison. That was "knowingly false," according to Humiston.

Padden allegedly advised Sweet to leave Wisconsin, and told him that Wisconsin would not extradite him from Minnesota.

But in a fax, Padden informed the presiding judge that Sweet told him he would not be attending the hearing, that there "was no viable excuse" for it and that he had explained to Sweet the ramifications — all statements that "were knowingly false," Humiston wrote.

Padden later allegedly told the judge in a phone call: "I can't hold a gun to [Sweet's] head and tell him to be in court, and I can assure you it's frustrating to me also."

Sweet was subsequently extradited, in 2020, and sent to prison for three years. He has since been released.

Other allegations against Padden include a series of cases in which he mishandled client funds. Padden's trust account bank statement as of Nov. 30, 2021, showed a balance of client funds of $11,105.39, but the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility audit showed the balance should have been $223,504.65 — a shortfall of more than $212,000. According to the petition, Padden misappropriated funds from some clients to pay obligations related to others.

Prof. Richard Painter, who teaches legal ethics at the University of Minnesota Law School, said that if the allegations against Padden are true, "he would be in deep trouble."

Painter, who advised President George W. Bush as the White House's chief ethics lawyer, said that according to the complaint, Padden advised his client to commit a crime by jumping bail, and then lied about it to a judge.

"And third, a lawyer should never lie to a client in connection with the matter, and they are accusing him of that," Painter said.

Padden and his clients have frequently been in the headlines, often in cases over allegations of misconduct by police. He represented the family of Terrance Franklin, a 22-year-old Black man killed by Minneapolis police in 2013, and later wrote a book about the case.

He defended Diamond Reynolds in an assault case; prior to that she became famous for livestreaming the fatal shooting of her boyfriend, Philando Castile, by a St. Anthony police officer in 2016.

Most recently, Padden won acquittal for Bernard Mack, 28, of St. Paul, who was charged with murder in a New Year's Day slaying last year in north Minneapolis. As of last week, Padden was representing him in a drive-by shooting and traffic stop that led to the discovery of a gun and more than 1,700 fentanyl pills.