Inside the Bar
December 2008

Wisconsin Supreme Court will continue to review the ‘Legal Services Consumer Protection Act’

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will schedule another public hearing on Rules Petition 07-09, advanced by the State Bar of Wisconsin, regarding the unauthorized practice of the law (UPL). The court discussed the rule (Legal Services Consumer Protection Act) at an Open Administrative Conference & Rules Hearing on Oct. 28. A motion to deny the proposed rule was rejected on a vote of 3 to 4.

The initiative was developed by the State Bar in response to a directive issued by the court seeking documentation of the consumer impact of unqualified individuals practicing law and asking for proposed remedies. The Bar’s petition offered dozens of examples of Wisconsin consumers who have been hurt when those without proper legal training or oversight attempted to practice law, including consumers who paid large sums for canned revocable trusts that failed to achieve the primary goal of such an arrangement -- avoiding probate.

The State Bar petition would: create a definition of the practice of law; house administrative oversight in the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR); and fund oversight activities with a $10 annual assessment on attorneys. While several justices stressed their agreement that the underlying consumer protection problem merits a response by the court, questions were raised about some of the proposal’s key features, including assignment of UPL oversight duties to OLR and the proposed $10 annual assessment.

“I want to thank members of the Bar’s UPL Committee (Tom Zilavy, Andrew Chevrez, Helen Marks Dicks, Jack Zwieg, Gene Rankin and Tom Basting) for their tireless work on behalf of the Bar and consumers of legal services,” State Bar President Diane Diel said. “I will continue to keep you informed as work on this complex but important issue proceeds.”

Inside the Bar