Former Milwaukee corporate lawyer gets 16 months for failing to pay taxes

A former corporate lawyer who recently pleaded guilty to not paying federal taxes on $3.4 million of income is going to prison for more than a year.

Eric E. Lenzen, once a leading partner at a major Milwaukee law firm, pleaded guilty in May to failing to pay taxes on about $3.4 million of income he received in 2016 and 2017, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee.

On Tuesday, a judge ordered him to serve a total of 16 months behind bars. Lenzen, 44, of Mequon, also will serve one year of supervised released when he completes his prison time.

Lenzen at one point led the national Financial Services & Capital Markets Industry team at the Milwaukee law firm Husch Blackwell before he and six other partners joined Dykema Law, a national firm.

At sentencing, U.S. Magistrate Judge William E. Duffin described Lenzen's conduct as "exceptionally aggravated" and said incarceration was warranted, particularly given Lenzen's status as an attorney.

"When a crime is committed by an attorney, it undermines respect for the law and the legal profession," the judge said.

"Individuals who seek to line their own pockets and willfully fail to pay their taxes cause harm to every individual and business that plays by the rules," Gregory J. Haanstad, the U.S. Attorney for Wisconsin's Eastern District, said in a statement.

The prison sentence fell in line with a recommendation by prosecutors, according to a plea agreement between Lenzen and the U.S. Attorney's office. The agreement noted that federal sentencing guidelines recommend a sentence of 30 to 37 months.

In addition to serving a 16-month term of imprisonment, Lenzen was ordered to pay $2,462,705.50 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, plus penalties and interest.

Online records show his law license is suspended for failing to take continuing legal education classes.