Former BigLaw Partner Is Convicted of Stealing from Elderly Client

A former partner at Quarles & Brady in Milwaukee has been convicted of felony theft for stealing $370,000 from an elderly client with dementia.

Jurors in Milwaukee County convicted Jeffrey Elverman, 52, on Thursday, report the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and WTAQ.com. He had power of attorney for the woman, Dorothy Phinney.

Elverman’s lawyer had argued Phinney intended to pay Elverman the money, and she was capable of making her own decisions at the time. The theft occurred in 2003 and 2004. Elverman left Quarles & Brady in 2004.

A separate civil suit by Phinney’s guardian, appointed in 2008, seeks the return of $600,000 from Elverman and Quarles & Brady. It is still pending.