The Wisconsin Supreme Court has suspended the law license of Shorewood attorney Stephanie Rapkin for one year after finding her guilty of six counts of professional misconduct, capping more than six years of legal fallout that began when she spit on a Black teenager during a 2020 protest. The court found that her criminal conduct seriously reflected on her fitness to practice law, and ordered her to pay $3,164.77 within 60 days.
As reported by TMJ4 News, Rapkin was arrested on June 6, 2020, after spitting on Eric Lucas, a Black Lives Matter protester, hitting his face and shirt during a demonstration. According to the criminal complaint, the confrontation began when Rapkin blocked a march of thousands of anti-racism demonstrators after refusing to move her car from Oakland Avenue in Shorewood, where people yelled at her to clear the way outside Metro Market, per Urban Milwaukee. Lucas, who was 17 at the time and was chanting “I'm Black, and I'm proud,” was identified in coverage by Atlanta Black Star.
A Second Arrest Within 24 Hours
Rapkin told Shorewood police she was a cancer survivor and felt threatened because people had surrounded her without wearing masks. She was arrested a second time a day after being detained and released, after allegedly kneeing a responding officer in the groin, according to the case's underlying facts. The following day, demonstrators gathered outside her Shorewood home to write chalk messages supporting Black Lives Matter on the public sidewalk, and Rapkin pushed a protester before police intervened, according to Business Insider.
The felony charge of battery to a law enforcement officer tied to that arrest was ultimately dismissed, per the Atlanta Black Star. A hate crime penalty enhancer initially attached to her misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge was also dismissed by a judge in 2021, capping her maximum criminal exposure at 90 days in jail.
She Chose Jail Over Probation
At her April 2023 criminal trial, Rapkin served as the sole defense witness and raised a self-defense argument. A Milwaukee County jury deliberated for about three hours before finding her guilty of misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
At a hearing the following month, Rapkin appeared before Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Laura Crivello.
The Civil Cases Cut Both Ways
The civil case involving Lucas and Rapkin was separate from the criminal case.
Months later, Rapkin was involved in a separate civil dispute.
Estate Mishandling Added New Charges
Separately from the spitting case, the Office of Lawyer Regulation filed misconduct allegations against Rapkin in 2024 tied to her work as personal representative for the estate and trust of a client identified as N.H.B. Rapkin billed the estate and trust thousands of dollars combined without a valid written fee agreement and without identifying which services applied to each entity.
A probate court eventually removed Rapkin as personal representative after the estate languished for two years, finding she had failed to diligently carry out her duties and had stopped responding to the trustee's requests for information. The court denied her roughly $6,500 claim against the estate for services and ordered her to repay the trust almost $19,000 in improper fees — an order Rapkin appealed. She did not answer the Office of Lawyer Regulation's complaint or appear at the hearing on its motion for default judgment; a referee deemed the allegations established and recommended granting that motion.
Bar Leaders Condemned Her Conduct Immediately
The professional consequences began taking shape almost as soon as the spitting incident occurred in 2020. The incident was followed by professional scrutiny.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ultimately said the incident was an embarrassment to the bar and warranted suspension. Rapkin has told the court she was retired, had not renewed her bar dues, and was no longer a member — but the suspension still stands, and she must comply with the order's conditions before any reinstatement.
