Minnesota Supreme Court rejects reinstatement for controversial attorney Randall Tigue

Randall Tigue, a civil liberties attorney who has represented unpopular causes in Minnesota for nearly half a century, will remain suspended from the practice of law after the Minnesota Supreme Court denied his petition for reinstatement Wednesday.

In a 5-2 decision, the high court concluded that Tigue had failed to demonstrate that his moral compass had changed from where it was when he mishandled his trust account books.

In a lengthy dissent, Justice Paul Thissen wrote that measuring Tigue's moral change was inappropriate and that his suspension should be lifted. Justice G. Barry Anderson joined in the dissent.

Tigue, a former legal counsel to the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, has numbered pornographers and atheists among his many clients. He represented local pornography king Ferris Alexander, who operated adult stores in Minnesota that authorities repeatedly tried to shut down.

In 2007, the high court publicly reprimanded Tigue and placed him on probation for two years for allowing his trust account to be overdrawn and failing to maintain trust account records.

Tigue was suspended for 30 days in 2014 for not maintaining the records, and again the following year for failing to complete the professional responsibility portion of the state bar exam.

In 2017, Tigue was indefinitely suspended for intentionally misappropriating client funds, negligently misappropriating client funds and failing to promptly correct an overdraft in his trust account.

The state Supreme Court affirmed that decision Wednesday, saying Tigue had wrongly dismissed his misconduct as "clerical errors" and did not show remorse or acceptance of responsibility for misconduct, nor a "sufficient moral change" of mind.

"Tigue's misconduct clearly involved a moral failing," the court said. "As we noted in 2017, misappropriation of client funds in any amount — whether negligent or intentional — represents serious misconduct."

According to the court, Tigue made a "deliberate choice to stop maintaining required trust account books and records" as soon as the lawyers board stopped reviewing them.

In arguing Tigue should be reinstated, Thissen said no client had lost money as a result of his mismanagement, and that referring to account issues as clerical errors "is a common sense descriptor."

While Tigue's violations were serious, Thissen wrote, they were "less serious than intentional manipulation of a trust account to line one's pockets." Thissen noted Tigue had arranged for another lawyer to be the signatory on client trust funds.

He added that Tigue was remorseful. "The record plainly discloses that Tigue repeatedly acknowledged that he violated the professional conduct rules on trust account management" and did not plan to violate them again, Thissen wrote.

Randy Furst • 612-673-4224