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According to a disciplinary opinion, Sarah Schielke sent a demand letter on behalf of a client who is also her close friend. The letter was to a lawyer whom the client alleged had injured her in February 2022 at a music concert in Mexico featuring the band Phish. The client alleged the lawyer, while naked, shoved the client and other crowd members when he attempted to rush the stage at the concert. According to the disciplinary opinion, Schielke used demeaning and unprofessional language to refer to the lawyer in the letter.
In the letter, Schielke allegedly requested the lawyer pay Schielke’s client $50,000 and enter an agreement never to touch or contact the client again and to stay at least 25 feet away from the client at future Phish concerts. In exchange, Schielke’s client wouldn’t sue the lawyer for claims arising from the incident or contact other potential plaintiffs from the incident about joining the client’s case or litigating against the lawyer themselves, according to the opinion.
Schielke also allegedly wrote her client wouldn’t disclose the incident to the lawyer’s undergraduate university, potentially barring the lawyer from participating in future alumni events, nor would she make a formal complaint to the lawyer’s employers. But if the lawyer declined the proposal, Schielke wrote she would issue a press release with the complaint and an un-redacted video allegedly showing the lawyer engaged with security at the concert, according to the opinion. Her client would also bring claims against the lawyer in federal district court and in Mexico as well as report the lawyer’s conduct to the local police where the incident took place.
The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved Schielke’s stipulation to discipline and publicly censured her, effective Jan. 26.