St. Cloud Attorney Suspended Indefinitely by Minnesota Supreme Court

(KNSI) – A St. Cloud attorney has been suspended indefinitely from practicing law after admitting to a long list of professional misconduct tied to a lawsuit involving his own family.

The Minnesota Supreme Court suspended Gregory Walz, who runs Walz Law Office in St. Cloud, in an order signed October 12th. The suspension takes effect October 26th.

Walz agreed to the punishment. In a deal with the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility, the state agency that investigates attorney misconduct, he admitted to every allegation against him without conditions.

According to the court order, Walz created a conflict of interest by representing several family members, including himself. He repeatedly filed baseless court documents and appeals and knowingly ignored numerous court orders.

The order also says Walz made false statements attacking the integrity of several judges, including the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and lied to the court about opposing attorneys. Some of his statements about other attorneys and the courts served no purpose other than to embarrass them. He also falsely claimed on a tax document that he paid $487,888.71 to another attorney on the case.

The case grew out of a 2017 crash. When the complaint against Walz was filed last year, Minnesota Lawyer reported that his son was driving a car that collided with a Coborn’s commercial vehicle. Several members of the Walz family were hurt, and his grandson died. Walz brought in another attorney, James Roberts, to help with the family’s case, then told him to stop working on it. A fight over how to split attorney fees followed, eventually reaching the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

An indefinite suspension isn’t the same as being disbarred. Walz keeps a path back to practicing law, but the suspension has no end date and won’t lift on its own. He can’t ask the Supreme Court to reinstate him for at least six months, and before he can return, he’ll have to pass the same professional ethics exam required of new lawyers and stay current on continuing education. The court will decide whether to let him practice again.

In the meantime, Walz must notify his clients, opposing attorneys and the courts of his suspension, and pay $900 in costs.

Walz has been licensed to practice law in Minnesota since 1987.

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