MILWAUKEE -- He's one of the most familiar faces in Milwaukee law boasting great results for accident victims for nearly 50 years.

Joe Weigel, a local personal injury lawyer finds himself at the center of an investigation that raises questions about legal ethics and the disciplinary system for lawyers.

Weigel's commercials are a staple of late-night television and his Web site promises aggressive and experienced lawyers who can get the best possible results.

In one of Weigel’s commercials, the slogan says, “Don’t drop the ball. Make the call.”

Joseph Bradley, who used to work for Weigel, filed a grievance with Weigel’s law firm and said the firm was the one who “dropped the ball.”

The law firm of Weigel, Carlson, Blau and Clemens is under investigation by Wisconsin's Office of Lawyer Regulation Bradley found a letter he said shows serious ethical breaches.

“Twenty-four people made the call. Twenty-four people signed up and 24 people got screwed,” Bradley said.

Bradley said a clerk at the firm wrote the letter to Weigel and his partners to tell those 24 clients they had lost their right to sue because the firm missed the deadlines for filing a lawsuit.

An excerpt from the letter reads: “I am concerned that if and when the clients call for status updates of their files and the computer shows the case dropped with no explanation, any one of these cases could become a bar complaint.”

Bradley said when he found the letter he reluctantly obeyed what lawyers call the "rat rule" Wisconsin's Supreme Court requires lawyers to report evidence of misconduct by other attorneys. So Bradley filled out the required forms for the Office of Lawyer regulation or OLR. That was 15 months ago.

“It's been 15 months, what's happened? Zero. Nothing. I've written, made telephone calls, begged for a response, I haven't gotten it,” Bradley said.

Bradley said OLR told him it had nothing to report because Weigel never responded even though the OLR investigator demanded a written reply by July 17, 2007.

“You have to respond. Failure to respond is a violation of the code itself,” Bradley said.

Failure to respond can also result in the suspension of an attorney's law license, yet Weigel continues to practice law.

No one at the Office of Lawyer Regulation would talk on camera citing a Supreme Court rule. It requires confidentiality in the case of all grievances against attorneys.

WISN 12 News has learned Weigel's son, Bill Weigel, is a top lawyer for Wisconsin's Office of Lawyer Regulation. And, it appears Bradley's grievance is not the only one OLR has reviewed.

Bradley said after he confronted Weigel about the expired cases, Weigel sent him a note reading: "In the past two years since we moved from our friends on Wells Street; I've had almost 40 "client" complaints with the bar association. Even though almost all of them have been dismissed; it has cost us a fortune in time, effort, expense..."

Weigel declined to talk on camera but 12 News caught up with him by telephone.

When asked about the expired case list Bradley found, Weigel said, “He's got a bad list and there were no such cases. You may want to have him tested for Alzheimer’s."

When asked if he'd responded to OLR, Weigel said he was unsure.

A day later, Weigel sent 12 News this statement:

"During the recent breakup of our law firm, a number of complaints were made against me. These were investigated and most were resolved without disciplinary proceedings. A few are still under investigation. To protect client confidentiality, I cannot try this matter in the media. I feel that my public record over the past 48 years speaks for itself."

In fact, the Supreme Courts own statistics suggest the turnaround time for the Weigel case is only slightly longer than average.

According to the Supreme Court, the average processing time for formal investigations at OLR is 357 days.

“It's flawed, it's seriously flawed,” Bradley said. “The purpose of OLR is to police its ranks to protect the public and to protect lawyers from themselves.”

Bradley said he worries about those still answering the Weigel firm's ads

“It's got to shake whatever faith the public has in the legal system today,” he said.

Bill Weigel forwarded this comment:

"Supreme Court rules prohibit me from even acknowledging to you the existence or non-existence of any lawyer regulation grievance matter if there were an investigation concerning the conduct of any lawyer who is a close relative or where my ability to act impartially could reasonably be questioned, I certainly would not participate."

Bradley and others have argued lawyers should be regulated by the agency that oversees virtually every other profession from barbers to brain surgeons.

For now, lawyers discipline themselves.

Weigel, Carlson, Blau & Clemens has not been affiliated with the law firm of Eisenberg & Riley for several years.