William Blaisdell answers questions from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Portland in July. Blaisdell, a probate judge in Hancock County, is accused of not paying child support or filing his taxes, and faces sanctions or removal by the high court. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

The oversight board for Maine attorneys has sanctioned a lawyer in Ellsworth who serves as an elected probate judge after learning he had failed to file several years of taxes and make court-ordered child support payments.

William Blaisdell, 54, is still allowed to practice law, but he must be monitored by another lawyer, according to an agreement he signed Friday with the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar. It was one of two professional sanctions Blaisdell was facing. The state’s highest court is still considering whether to sanction him for the same conduct in his role as a probate judge.

The agreement with the bar also describes a grievance filed by a former client whom Blaisdell was appointed to represent on “serious criminal charges.” That client, identified only by the initials “M.J.,” told the board in July 2023 that he spent months in jail while Blaisdell had failed to file any motions to adjust his bail, despite the client’s repeated requests.

The defendant said he struggled to get in touch with Blaisdell and that the attorney failed to share video evidence with him. The defendant wrote several letters to a judge asking for help. Blaisdell withdrew in August 2023. The defendant then conducted his own bail hearing and was appointed a new lawyer, who helped him access evidence in his case.

In the agreement, Blaisdell admitted this conduct demonstrated a “serious lack of diligence.”

Then in March, a Belfast judge found Blaisdell in contempt of court for failing to provide court-ordered information on his finances, and for failing to pay more than $33,000 dollars in child support to his ex-wife, even though he could afford the payments.

“The order found by clear and convincing evidence that Attorney Blaisdell had the ability to pay previously ordered child support and attorney fees, and had willfully, wrongfully and contemptuously refused to pay as ordered,” the agreement stated.

Blaisdell had to pay his ex-wife $50,000, including attorney fees and interest, to avoid a 90-day jail sentence, according to court records.

He also had not filed at least three years of tax returns from 2020 to 2022, records state.

Blaisdell’s voice mailbox was full Monday when a reporter tried to reach him about the board’s decision. He did not immediately return a message left with the Hancock County Registry of Probate, where Blaisdell is an elected probate judge.

Under the agreement, which was signed by York County Superior Justice James Martemucci on Friday, Blaisdell will be monitored for a year by another attorney, Matthew Foster, who was district attorney until 2022, when he lost his bid for reelection.

Foster is allowed to speak with clerks and judges about Blaisdell’s performance, but he can’t initiate contact with any of Blaisdell’s clients – and if Blaisdell was to withdraw, Foster isn’t allowed to represent them, as that poses a conflict of interest.

Foster will have produce regular reports to the board on Blaisdell’s performance.

Blaisdell also has agreed to therapy and “appropriate medical management” for any medication needs. He agreed to catch up on his taxes, and he will have to provide proof of that in three months. If he fails any of these conditions, his license to practice law in Maine could be suspended.

The Board of Overseers of the Bar decision only affects Blaisdell’s work as an attorney.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court was asked earlier this month to discipline Blaisdell for the same conduct. The court hadn’t released a decision as of Monday.

Blaisdell also was suspended from taking new court-appointed cases through the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services in July, the commission’s director said.

The commission’s investigations are not public, but according to a letter of suspension, the commissioner had received a complaint or allegation, and the director found Blaisdell was “no longer qualified” to provide quality indigent legal services.