Why? He has earned an academic PhD. I would have big trouble with it if is were honorary or purchased. I think that it is standard for lawyers who have earned a Juris Doctorate degree to still be called "Mister." Not sure of the history of that convention.
Technically, an attorney (lawyer who passed the bar) could be referred to with Esquire, or Esq. after their name. Now, a ton of people get this wrong, but you should never refer to yourself as Esquire or even have it on a signature block. You can tell someone is a rube in the legal community if they have it on their signature block.
Additionally, you should never use Mr. or Ms. AND Esquire, you should use one or the other. For example, Mr. Johnnie Cochran (correct) and Johnnie Cochran, Esq. (correct) but Mr. Johnnie Cochran, Esq. (incorrect). Now, while all of this probably seems like pretentious remnants of English common law it is actually for a practical purpose. Keep in mind these traditions started hundreds of years ago and communications with an attorney have always been protected. T
The Esquire title was actually the result of people wanting it crystal clear when they are writing their attorney that the communication is privileged. It's on the envelope and in the writing itself. It's almost like a more formal privileged and confidential footer you see in so many people's emails today.If someone has JD in their title, it means they graduated law school but are not working in a legal capacity (so your communications with them would not be privileged). I've never heard of the convention of calling a lawyer Mr. anymore than calling any other professional Mr.
I know that's probably way more than anyone wanted to know so I'll bring it back to the topic at hand.
This writer is an absolute joke and I believe anyone who gets a PhD that refers to themselves as Dr. sucks. They're almost as bad as chiropractors who use the title.