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- Memorandum Opinion 2/78: Office sharing - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: Attorneys who "share" office space, secretarial help and other facilities should keep several ethical considerations in mind. They should not hold themselves out as in partnership with those with whom they are not in fact partners. Consequently, office signs, letterheads, professional cards and the like should not create the impression of a partnership. The use of "associates" is also not proper in office-sharing situations. The arrangement of offices should be such as to belie the impression of a partnership.
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- Memorandum Opinion 3/78 A: Sale of law practice - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: It is improper to offer a law practice for sale. A lawyer's clients are not merchandise, nor is a law practice properly the subject of sale. A lawyer may properly sell the physical assets of her/his practice, and those accounts receivable which represent work completely finished. As for accounts representing work in progress, the client must be informed s/he is free to select any attorney to finish the work begun by attorney whose law practice has ended. 4.03 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 2/77 A: Competitive bidding - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: There is nothing in the Code of Professional Responsibility which prohibits an attorney from responding, along with other selected attorneys, to an invitation to state what s/he would charge for rendering services for a government agency, so long as the factors listed in DR 2-106(B) are taken into account. It would be desirable for the attorney to indicate the number of hours of service contemplated by his/her bid, and the amount that would be charged hourly for additional time. 4.06 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 4/77 A: Law and other offices in shared building - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: It may be ethically proper for an attorney to share a building and a receptionist with other businesses. The basic inquiry should be whether the arrangement is such that it is clear to the public the law offices and other businesses are entirely separate and independent entities. Thus, they should not occupy the same physical space, should have separate telephones, and there should be an office directory with appropriate lines or space between listings to indicate that the entities are not connected. 4.12 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 5/76: General counsel - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: It is proper for a corporation to designate an attorney as its general counsel on its corporation letterhead if the attorney is an "in-house" lawyer or is an outside attorney engaged full-time by the corporation to render legal services for it. If the attorney is not employed full-time by the corporation, s/he may be designated as general counsel only on specialized executive type stationery used only for corporate legal matters and used only by the attorney so designated. Such an attorney could also use a letterhead with no reference to the corporate client so long as it is not used in a misleading manner. 4.20 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 10/75 A: Disputed attorney's fees - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: If there is a dispute between an attorney and a client as to the value of services, the attorney should try to resolve it. If only part of the billing is in dispute then the attorney may deduct the undisputed part of the fee from funds held on behalf of the client and must hold the balance of the disputed funds in his/her trust account so that (s)he does not have immediate access to them, and return the balance of the fund to the client. 4 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 2/72 C: Management consultation advertising by lawyer improper - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: A lawyer who sought to act in the capacity as a "management consultant" in addition to his engaging in private law practice was informed that he would be bound by the Code of Professional Responsibility as to advertising and solicitation, and considering the overlap in the two that he cannot advertise his legal background in conjunction with the management activities, nor could he solicit legal work through that work. Ideally, a lawyer engaged in such occupations or professions should keep the two activities in separate locations. 4.23 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 4/71 A: Disposing of clients' files upon closing office - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: In response to two inquiries concerning the disposal of clients' files upon the dissolution of a law partnership or the closing of a sole practitioner's office upon his retirement or death, there is an obligation for the attorneys or the personal representative of the estate in such instance to go through the active files and promptly notify the client of the conclusion of the partnership or law practice and indicate that the files will be available at a given location for them to reclaim, or request guidance from them as to the forwarding of the file to a new attorney. 4.37 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 1/71 A: Open house invitations limited - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: In response to an inquiry regarding the propriety of an attorney or law firm conducting an open house for committees and personal friends upon moving into a new office suite or building, the committee concluded that this activity is covered in ABA Informal Opinion 623 which states that such open house may be held so long as invitations are limited to persons with whom the lawyer or lawyers have personal relationships, including present and past clients, members of the local bar and personal friends but not public officials. Such conduct is permitted under Canon 2, Code of Professional Responsibility. 4.91 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 7/71: Accepting fees from criminal indigent improper - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: The committee confirmed its 1965 informal opinion in which it had held that it is ethically improper for an attorney to accept funds from an indigent criminal defendant or his family for defense of the case after accepting funds from the state or county for such representation, without disclosing the entire matter to the court and to the governmental unit involved, on the basis that the attorney would be working a potential fraud or deception on the court which authorized the disbursement of public funds to the attorney for the defense of such defendant. 4.32 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 6/70 D: Branch office requirements - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: A lawyer may establish limited office hours in a branch office in a bank in a town nearby his main office. Such conduct is proper if the lawyer is not trying to use the bank as a business feeder, and he should use a separate room or facility in the bank building if possible. If the lawyer is an officer of the bank, he must maintain his law office in quarters separate from the bank proper. 4 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 6/70 G: Legal services center conflict - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: Attorneys on the staff of a legal services center activity should avoid appearing on opposite sides of a divorce action in the same manner as attorneys in private practice must avoid a conflict of interest. In addition, attorneys must avoid even the appearance of impropriety. Although a legal aid case presents a unique situation, lawyers on the staff should obey the Code of Professional Responsibility in all instances. 4 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 11/69 F: Lawyer appearance on television - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: It is proper for an attorney to appear on a national, regional or local television program concerning legal topics, in the case of educational programs for the public sponsored by or supported by bar associations, or on non-commercial programs of an educational nature produced by radio or TV broadcasting companies as a public service. The attorney may be identified by his profession. Further, he must conform to the Code of Professional Responsibility. 4.1 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 7/68 A: Trust officer as private attorney - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: In response to an inquiry as to whether a bank trust officer who is admitted to practice law in this state may act as counsel to another lawyer retained in a probate matter upon request by that lawyer and his client, the committee concluded that if the trust officer was acting in such capacity, it would be improper for him to handle probate, estate planning and tax orders under the circumstances. 4.04 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 6/68: Branch office - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: It is improper for a Minnesota law partnership to hold itself as being entitled to practice in Wisconsin where an associate of the firm, licensed to practice in this state, is the lone attorney in the Wisconsin branch office of the partnership and neither partner is admitted in Wisconsin, only in Minnesota under Canon 33. 3.91 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 3/67 B: Interstate law firm - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: It is proper for attorneys licensed to practice law in different adjacent states to form a partnership for the practice of law, so long as the letterhead and other listings make it totally clear in which states the individual lawyers are admitted. Obviously a lawyer from the firm not admitted in a particular jurisdiction will have to associate with local counsel if he makes appearances in court or consults with clients in such jurisdiction. 4.04 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 3/67 C: Finders fee improper - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: The Ethics Committee reaffirmed Opinion 1-1964 in holding it is improper for a lawyer to accept a "finder's fee" or "referral fee" from an outside source as compensation for placing a client's business with such firm unless he makes full disclosure to his client and obtains express permission to accept such compensation. A lawyer owes complete allegiance and fidelity to his client and cannot divide such responsibility by accepting financial inducement from an outside source. 4.22 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 2/67: Conflict in accident case - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: It is improper for an attorney-partner or associate of a lawyer who is a member of a local school board to represent minor passengers injured while riding a school bus, even though it is contemplated that such resulting legal claim shall be made against the liability insurer for the contracting school bus company, and not against the school board or district. 4.14 KB
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- Memorandum Opinion 9/65 A: Specialized legal service to attorneys - State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Committee: In reply to an inquiry as to whether an attorney may properly offer his services to other attorneys only for research, brief writing, and appellate work, the committee chairman cited Canon 46, as amended in 1956, which states that a lawyer available to act as associate of other lawyers in a particular branch of law or legal service may send to local lawyers and publish in a local legal journal only a brief and dignified announcement of such availability. 4.20 KB
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