State Bar of Wisconsin

State Bar programs and initiatives

For lawyers

• Ethics 2000: Revisions to the Rules Professional Conduct for Lawyers
• Fee Arbitration Program: An informal and economical way to resolve fee disputes between lawyers and their clients.
• Law Practice Management: Resources to help lawyers manage the business of practicing law.
• Law-related Education: Resources and activities to involve lawyers in helping the public understand and appreciate our legal system.
• Lawyer Referral and Information Service: Professional legal assistants match lawyers with clients who need legal help.
• Lawyer Dispute Resolution: A speedy, private and cost-effective mechanism for resolving professional and economic disputes between lawyers.
• Life planning: Consumers guide and activities for educating the public about the importance of advance planning for future health needs.
• Modest Means: Offer reduced fees to prescreened potential clients.  State Bar members can volunteer to join the Modest Means Program and assist people whose income is too high for pro bono legal services, but who cannot afford to pay an attorney’s standard rate. Referrals will be screened by the Bar’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS).
• Pro Bono/Access to Justice: Opportunities to provide legal services to low-income residents.
• Wills for Heroes: This program is designed to assist emergency personnel in preparing basic estate planning documents to protect themselves and their families.
• Wisconsin Lawyers Assistance Program (WisLAP): Confidential assistance to lawyers, judges, law students and their families in coping with addictions, depression, anxiety, and other stress-related issues.
• Wisconsin Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection: This fund reimburses people who have lost money through dishonest conduct of Wisconsin attorneys.

For the public

• Bridging the Justice Gap: Wisconsin’s Unmet Legal Needs: The Wisconsin Access to Justice Study Committee's report summarizes the results of Wisconsin’s first comprehensive legal needs study of low-income residents.
• Fee Arbitration Program: An informal and economical way to resolve fee disputes between lawyers and their clients.
• Law-related Education: Resources and activities to help educators and the public understand and appreciate our legal system.
• Lawyer Referral and Information Service: Experienced legal assistants help consumers locate the best source of legal help, including referrals to lawyers.
• LegalExplorer.com: State Bar's consumer Web site offers guidance in finding a lawyer, answers frequently asked legal questions, and offers resources for using Wisconsin's legal system.
• Legal Services Consumer Protection Act: Wisconsin residents seeking legal services will gain additional consumer safeguards if a petition proposed by the State Bar of Wisconsin is adopted by the State Supreme Court.
• Life planning: Consumers guide and activities for educating the public about the importance of advance planning for future health needs.
• Diversity Clerkship Program: The Diversity Clerkship Program is an employer-student matching program. Student clerks gain valuable legal experience; employers obtain valuable legal support.  The program offers employers and students a unique opportunity to share experiences and to promote diversity in the legal profession.
• Modest Means: Get legal help at a reduced fee.  If you need legal help but feel a lawyer might be too expensive for you, here’s help. Many lawyers will work with you for a reduced fee, and they can be contacted through their organization, the State Bar of Wisconsin.
• Wills for Heroes: This program is designed to assist emergency personnel in preparing basic estate planning documents to protect themselves and their families.
• Wisconsin Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection: This fund reimburses people who have lost money through dishonest conduct of Wisconsin attorneys.