State Bar petition seeks to protect consumers against unauthorized practice of law
Wisconsin residents seeking legal services will gain additional consumer safeguards if the Wisconsin Supreme Court adopts a State Bar petition filed on June 19, 2007. The initiative, called the Legal Services Consumer Protection Act, responds to a directive issued by the court in 2004 asking the State Bar to document the consumer impact of unqualified individuals practicing law in Wisconsin and to recommend changes.
Unauthorized Practice of Law Policy committee chair Tom Zilavy presents proposed changes to SCR Chapter 23 to Board of Governors in December 2006.
"People can get hurt when individuals without proper training or oversight handle their legal matters, and we need to do a better job of protecting consumers against bad advice that can result in lost money, lost opportunities, or lost rights," says State Bar President Tom Basting.
The petition asks the court to take two actions: 1) adopt a new rule to clearly define what constitutes the practice of law for consumer protection purposes; and 2) create an administrative system to enforce the new rule.
The petition notes that in recent years 25 states and the District of Columbia have adopted rules or statutes similar to those proposed in the petition for Wisconsin, including our neighboring states of Michigan and Minnesota. "Like these other states, Wisconsin has experienced what amounts to `legal mission creep' as more people seek to offer legal services, sometimes for altruistic reasons and other times for private gain, but often at the expense of consumers," says Basting.
"Wisconsin already enforces professional standards for nursing, accounting, landscape architecture, and many other professions," says Basting. "Yet while the court has adopted rules regulating who can practice law in Wisconsin, no clear definition of what constitutes the practice of law is spelled out. This proposed rule, which is modeled after similar initiatives successfully implemented in other states, would resolve this ambiguity and create a legal services office of consumer protection to allow civil remedies when violations occur."
The State Bar thanks the following members for serving on the Unauthorized Practice of Law Policy Committee:
- Thomas D. Zilavy (chair), Madison
- Andrew J. Chevrez, West Allis
- Helen Marks Dicks, Madison
- John R. Zwieg, Madison
- Gene R. Rankin, Madison
- Thomas J. Basting Sr., Madison
History. In 2003, the State Bar petitioned the Wisconsin Supreme Court to appoint a committee to define the practice of law and create a mechanism for enforcement of the unauthorized practice of law (UPL). In 2004, the court dismissed the petition and declined to appoint a committee. Instead, the court encouraged the State Bar to undertake its own effort.
The Unauthorized Practice of Law Policy Committee was appointed in 2004 by then President George Burnett, and comprised several members of the State Bar Consumer Protection Committee, the former repository for UPL complaints received by the State Bar.
In December 2006, the Board of Governors approved the committee's proposed changes to SCR chapter 23, Regulation of the Unauthorized Practice of Law. The new rule defines the practice of law and places oversight duties in a new office of consumer protection within the Office of Lawyer Regulation.
- More information, and to read the petition