Michelle MacDonald is being investigated by the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility for alleged violations of the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct governing licensed attorneys.
The investigation into the alleged violations by MacDonald was opened after Missing in Minnesota filed a formal complaint with the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility last week after MacDonald filed a “frivolous and vexatious” lawsuit against Missing in Minnesota, which appears to be in violation of an Order of the Minnesota Supreme Court which details the conditions by which MacDonald is allowed to practice law.
The Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility confirmed today in a letter that an investigation had been started based on the complaint filed by Missing in Minnesota which alleges numerous violations by MacDonald.
The filing of the complaint is permitted by the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility, as Missing in Minnesota is a defendant in a lawsuit filed by MacDonald.
Complaint alleges lawsuit filed by MacDonald is frivolous and violates an Order from Minnesota Supreme Court
The Minnesota Supreme Court suspended MacDonald’s law license for 60 days earlier this year and she remains on probation for two years in response to an attorney complaint filed against MacDonald in August 2016.
The conditions of MacDonald’s two-year probation included that she will be supervised by an attorney appointed by the Director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility.
MacDonald is prohibited from engaging in “the solo practice of law,” and she must “work in a setting where she is in daily contact with, and under the direct supervision of another Minnesota licensed attorney.”
Nathan M. Hansen, attorney for Missing in Minnesota, served MacDonald and her supervising attorney, Larry A, Frost, a Rule 11 Motion for Sanctions in Dakota County and Ramsey County for filing the same lawsuit in two counties.
“[i]t appears that the Order of the Minnesota Supreme Court was written in such a way so as to prevent cases like the instant case from being initiated by Ms. MacDonald,” wrote Hansen.
“The safeguards set forth in the Order of the Minnesota Supreme Court relating to her practice of law have been ignored by Ms. MacDonald and her cohorts,” wrote Hansen.
The Rule 11 Motions for Sanctions were included in the complaint filed by Missing in Minnesota.
Complaint alleges MacDonald’s lawsuit contains false statements and she knowingly lied to the Eagan Police Department in making a false report
In her lawsuit, MacDonald claimed she filed a police report against Brodkorb on May 24 and June 11, 2018, regarding a booking photo published on Missing in Minnesota.
MacDonald is suing in part over the publication of the booking photo from her arrest during a court hearing involving Sandra Grazzini-Rucki on September 12, 2013.
In response to a public data request, the Eagan Police Department provided a police report from May 24, 2018, but they could not find a report filed by MacDonald on June 11, 2018.
According to the police report from May 24, 2018, provided by the Eagan Police Department, MacDonald told police that Brodkorb took a picture of MacDonald in public, doctored it to look like a mugshot and uploaded it to a mugshot website.
The Eagan Police Department investigated MacDonald’s claims and found them unfounded. The report states: “the photo turned out to be a valid public booking photo.”
In fact on October 20, 2016, MacDonald testified under oath at her own deposition and acknowledged the existence of the booking photo that she falsely claimed to police Brodkorb created.
MacDonald is currently a candidate for the Minnesota Supreme Court, having previously run twice unsuccessfully for the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2014 and 2016.
In the time since the complaint was filed by the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility last week, staff was also notified that MacDonald’s legal assistant Debbie Sampson filed a letter in Dakota County directing the court to dismiss the lawsuit filed by MacDonald and her supervising attorney in violation of the Order from the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Please follow Missing in Minnesota on Twitter and Facebook for updates on the investigation into Michelle MacDonald.
Allison Mann contributed to this story.
