Will Hart has been an attorney in Colorado since 2009. (Larimer County Sheriff’s Office)
A Denver attorney who once threw a sign at children and told police, “I’m a lawyer, I can do whatever I want” will be suspended from practicing law for punching his neighbor.
Will Hart, who has been practicing securities law at Hart & Hart in Uptown since 2009, agreed to the punishment Oct. 10. His nine-month suspension begins Nov. 14.
Shortly after noon on Feb. 4, Hart walked to the home of a neighbor in Loveland he had never met and said that “he heard something wrong” coming from the man’s apartment. Hart later told police that he went next door to “investigate” loud noises and yelling.
The neighbor, who was home with his wife, adult son and 3-year-old grandson, told Hart to leave. He initially did, then returned, refused to leave a second time, and punched the neighbor, breaking his nose. Hart was subdued but continued to threaten the man.
Police arrived and smelled alcohol on Hart’s breath, though he denied drinking. He was charged with assault, spent two nights in jail, and later pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation, 200 hours of community service and $3,948 in restitution.
That brought him to the attention of the state’s Office of Attorney Regulation, which investigates lawyers. On Oct. 10, he and the office agreed to the suspension. Their agreement said Hart “caused harm or potential harm to the reputation of lawyers and the legal profession.”
“My case was never about whether a violation of the rules of professional conduct had occurred,” Hart said by email Monday. “I gave up when I realized that they were never going to let me make a record of my arguments. They were never going to let me be heard.”
Last month, Hart asked a state disciplinary judge to throw out the Office of Attorney Regulation’s case against him. He called it a “dog and pony show” brought by an “office of clowns,” including a “nitwit investigator” and a “wannabe attorney playing dress-up in a suit and tie.”
Hart said that his “scumbag neighbor” started the fight by putting his hands around Hart’s throat. He only pleaded guilty to avoid the risk of a prison sentence, Hart says.
Hart also takes issue with the state’s system of attorney discipline, which includes posting a brief summary of a lawyer’s wrongdoing online. Hart considers this to be “public shaming,” along with “mental and psychiatric torture and an effective death to his professional and personal life.” He compared it to Roman crucifixions, pillories and other corporal punishments.
“This practice is wrong and evil, it harms people and is disrespectful to the profession,” he wrote. “What this court does in these matters has no honor. What you do in facilitating and condoning this abomination … has caused far more damage than I have ever done.”
His motion was not granted. The next month, he consented to the nine-month suspension.
It was not Hart’s first run-in with police or the Office of Attorney Regulation.
In March 2017, Hart was taking out the trash when he saw kids, ages 11 to 13, photographing a BMW that was parked in front of a “No Parking” sign. He yelled at the kids to stop taking photos, then ripped the sign off a fence and threw it at them while also hurling expletives.
As Hart was being arrested for criminal mischief, he argued with Lakewood police and called them names. He had a glass of whiskey with him and a blood-alcohol level of .301.
“I’m a lawyer, I can do whatever I want,” he told police. Hart later acknowledged that he was wrong, saying to the officers, “Yeah, I was an ass.”
On Halloween that same year, a woman in Lakewood called police to say that an adult man had come to her home to trick-or-treat, asked her 12-year-old grandson questions about his age and where he went to school, and then put his hand on the boy’s face.
Officers found Hart, who matched the woman’s description, a short time later. Despite carrying a bag of candy, he denied trick-or-treating and said he was only walking his dog. But he admitted going to the woman’s home, giving the boy a fist bump and patting his cheek.
Hart was convicted of misdemeanors for both incidents, agreed to stop drinking alcohol and was sentenced to probation. The Office of Attorney Regulation recommended that he be publicly censured rather than suspended, so a disciplinary judge censured him in 2019.
Hart & Hart was founded in 1982 by Bill Hart, who has been a lawyer since 1976 and has a spotless disciplinary record. The firm specializes in securities law and business law and operates out of a historic home at 1624 N. Washington St., online records show.
Will Hart has been an attorney in Colorado since 2009. (Larimer County Sheriff’s Office)
A Denver attorney who once threw a sign at children and told police, “I’m a lawyer, I can do whatever I want” will be suspended from practicing law for punching his neighbor.
Will Hart, who has been practicing securities law at Hart & Hart in Uptown since 2009, agreed to the punishment Oct. 10. His nine-month suspension begins Nov. 14.
Shortly after noon on Feb. 4, Hart walked to the home of a neighbor in Loveland he had never met and said that “he heard something wrong” coming from the man’s apartment. Hart later told police that he went next door to “investigate” loud noises and yelling.
The neighbor, who was home with his wife, adult son and 3-year-old grandson, told Hart to leave. He initially did, then returned, refused to leave a second time, and punched the neighbor, breaking his nose. Hart was subdued but continued to threaten the man.
Police arrived and smelled alcohol on Hart’s breath, though he denied drinking. He was charged with assault, spent two nights in jail, and later pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation, 200 hours of community service and $3,948 in restitution.
That brought him to the attention of the state’s Office of Attorney Regulation, which investigates lawyers. On Oct. 10, he and the office agreed to the suspension. Their agreement said Hart “caused harm or potential harm to the reputation of lawyers and the legal profession.”
“My case was never about whether a violation of the rules of professional conduct had occurred,” Hart said by email Monday. “I gave up when I realized that they were never going to let me make a record of my arguments. They were never going to let me be heard.”
Last month, Hart asked a state disciplinary judge to throw out the Office of Attorney Regulation’s case against him. He called it a “dog and pony show” brought by an “office of clowns,” including a “nitwit investigator” and a “wannabe attorney playing dress-up in a suit and tie.”
Hart said that his “scumbag neighbor” started the fight by putting his hands around Hart’s throat. He only pleaded guilty to avoid the risk of a prison sentence, Hart says.
Hart also takes issue with the state’s system of attorney discipline, which includes posting a brief summary of a lawyer’s wrongdoing online. Hart considers this to be “public shaming,” along with “mental and psychiatric torture and an effective death to his professional and personal life.” He compared it to Roman crucifixions, pillories and other corporal punishments.
“This practice is wrong and evil, it harms people and is disrespectful to the profession,” he wrote. “What this court does in these matters has no honor. What you do in facilitating and condoning this abomination … has caused far more damage than I have ever done.”
His motion was not granted. The next month, he consented to the nine-month suspension.
It was not Hart’s first run-in with police or the Office of Attorney Regulation.
In March 2017, Hart was taking out the trash when he saw kids, ages 11 to 13, photographing a BMW that was parked in front of a “No Parking” sign. He yelled at the kids to stop taking photos, then ripped the sign off a fence and threw it at them while also hurling expletives.
As Hart was being arrested for criminal mischief, he argued with Lakewood police and called them names. He had a glass of whiskey with him and a blood-alcohol level of .301.
“I’m a lawyer, I can do whatever I want,” he told police. Hart later acknowledged that he was wrong, saying to the officers, “Yeah, I was an ass.”
On Halloween that same year, a woman in Lakewood called police to say that an adult man had come to her home to trick-or-treat, asked her 12-year-old grandson questions about his age and where he went to school, and then put his hand on the boy’s face.
Officers found Hart, who matched the woman’s description, a short time later. Despite carrying a bag of candy, he denied trick-or-treating and said he was only walking his dog. But he admitted going to the woman’s home, giving the boy a fist bump and patting his cheek.
Hart was convicted of misdemeanors for both incidents, agreed to stop drinking alcohol and was sentenced to probation. The Office of Attorney Regulation recommended that he be publicly censured rather than suspended, so a disciplinary judge censured him in 2019.
Hart & Hart was founded in 1982 by Bill Hart, who has been a lawyer since 1976 and has a spotless disciplinary record. The firm specializes in securities law and business law and operates out of a historic home at 1624 N. Washington St., online records show.
