State Bar of Wisconsin

Articles

Wisconsin Lawyer November 2009: Ethics: Lawyers Owe Fiduciary Duty to Client: The relationship between client and lawyer is rooted in confidence and trust. It is the nature of this relationship that creates a lawyer’s fiduciary duty to clients.

Wisconsin Lawyer October 2009: Ethics: A Lawyer’s Threat to File OLR Grievance: …Or Else I’m Telling! : A lawyer may not engage in behavior or conduct that is strictly designed to harass or intimidate another person, including threatening to file a grievance about another lawyer with the Office of Lawyer Regulation. Yet, lawyers have an ethical obligation to report on the known misconduct of other lawyers. The test may come down to proving intent and defining “knows.”

Wisconsin Lawyer October 2009: Editorial: Only Lawyers Need a License to Practice Law in Wisconsin : Why do lawyers need a license to practice law in Wisconsin? No one else does! And no one else will until the Wisconsin Supreme Court adopts a workable definition of what constitutes the practice of law and provides an effective enforcement mechanism.

Wisconsin Lawyer September 2009: Rapport with Reporters: Lawyers who spend a lot of time talking for a living might view media relations as a no-brainer. Seven media-savvy individuals debunk the myth that ‘talking is talking,’ and explain why professional skill is needed in media relations and what works best when relating to news reporters.

Wisconsin Lawyer September 2009: Ethics: Talking to the News Media about Civil Legal Matters: This article discusses the Rules of Professional Conduct and what a lawyer can say and cannot say in a civil matter triable to a jury. A future ethics column will discuss what types of statements can be made and cannot be made about a criminal proceeding.

Wisconsin Lawyer August 2009: Ethics: Destroying Client Files: Even after representation ends, lawyers still have a duty of confidentiality to clients. Lawyers must be very careful when destroying client records to ensure that they are properly destroyed and no access is granted to anyone else.

Wisconsin Lawyer August 2009: Ethics Opinion: E-09-03 Communicating Attorneys Fees and Expenses: The State Bar Professional Ethics Committee issued Formal Opinion E-09-03, outlining what information attorneys must convey to clients regarding attorney fees and expenses and scope of representation.

Wisconsin Lawyer July 2009: Conflict Waivers and the Informed Consent Standard: Lawyers owe a duty of loyalty to clients, and the existence of a conflict means that duty is impaired. Waiver letters force clients and lawyers to think hard about what they are doing, because waiving a conflict is an important decision with long-range effects. This article discusses the types of information that must normally be included in a waiver letter and provides a framework for thinking about the issue.

Wisconsin Lawyer July 2009: Practice Tips: How to Handle Nonrefundable Fees: Since changes to the Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules dealing with fees went into effect in July 2007, the issue of the validity and use of nonrefundable retainers continues to emerge. The underlying question is whether Wisconsin recognizes nonrefundable fees, and if so, when and how they may be used.

Wisconsin Lawyer July 2009: Managing Risk: Should you take on a bankruptcy case?: Make sure you know what you’re doing before you expand your practice by taking on a bankruptcy case – or any other matter outside your usual practice area.

Discipline summaries, court digests and orders

Wisconsin Lawyer April 2008: Lawyer Discipline: The Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR), an agency of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and component of the lawyer regulation system, assists the court in carrying out its constitutional responsibility to supervise the practice of law and protect the public from misconduct by lawyers.

Wisconsin Lawyer March 2008: Lawyer Discipline: The Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR), an agency of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and component of the lawyer regulation system, assists the court in carrying out its constitutional responsibility to supervise the practice of law and protect the public from misconduct by lawyers.

Wisconsin Lawyer February 2008: Lawyer Discipline: The Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR), an agency of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and component of the lawyer regulation system, assists the court in carrying out its constitutional responsibility to supervise the practice of law and protect the public from misconduct by lawyers.

Wisconsin Lawyer February 2007: Supreme Court Orders: The Wisconsin Supreme Court has repealed and recreated SCR Chapter 20 - the Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys. The court also set public hearings on March 21 regarding the use of electronic signatures by court officials and electronic filing in the circuit courts. The court also set public hearings on April 12 regarding multi-jurisdictional practice and State Bar classes of membership relative to U.S. administrative law judges.

Wisconsin Lawyer November 2006: Lawyer Discipline: The Office of Lawyer Regulation, an agency of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and component of the lawyer regulation system, assists the court in carrying out its constitutional responsibility to supervise the practice of law and protect the public from misconduct by lawyers.

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