Cheyenne attorney and former AG publicly censured
Cheyenne attorney and former AG publicly censured
CHEYENNE (WNE) — The Wyoming Supreme Court on Wednesday issued an order of public censure of Cheyenne attorney Gay Vanderpoel Woodhouse, a news release from the Wyoming State Bar said.
The order came after an attorney disciplinary panel determined Woodhouse violated rules prohibiting conflicts of interest and brought forward claims that lacked a factual or legal basis.
The court ordered that Woodhouse be publicly censured and pay an administrative fee of $750, as well as $50 to the State Bar.
Public censure, a public statement of disapproval, does not limit an attorney’s “right to practice law,” according to the Wyoming Rules of Disciplinary Procedure for attorneys.
Woodhouse was Wyoming’s first female attorney general, serving from 1998 to 2001. She has been licensed to practice law in the state since 1978. She currently works for local law firm Woodhouse Roden Ames & Brennan, LLC, but at the time of the incidents worked for Woodhouse Roden Nethercott, LLC.
“The order stemmed from a disciplinary complaint against Woodhouse that was submitted to the Office of Bar Counsel by a Cheyenne couple whose LLC was sued by Woodhouse in 2020,” the news release explained. “The lawsuit related to a startup business that operated a workout facility. Two LLCs partnered to operate the gym via a third LLC, in which the two member LLCs owned equal shares. Woodhouse sued on behalf of one of the member LLCs seeking various relief against the other member LLC and the LLC that operated the gym.”
The panel recommendation explained Woodhouse had a conflict of interest because she was “in effect representing and suing her clients,” as the defendant in the lawsuit she brought owned 50% of one of the LLCs she was representing.
“I have a couple of rules in life, and one is to always make amends when I do make an error, which I’ve done, and also to be sure that I learn from my mistakes,” Woodhouse told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle on Wednesday.
This story was published on June 30, 2022.
