What is the Professional Ethics Committee?
The State Bar Professional Ethics Committee is a standing committee
whose purpose is to provide guidance and assistance to State Bar members
in the area of professional ethics. The committee issues formal and
informal opinions on ethics issues by responding to questions or
hypotheticals presented by State Bar members. Ethics
opinions now can be located on WisBar, the State Bar's Internet
site.
The committee members also work closely with State Bar ethics
consultant Keith Kaap to provide the Ethics Hotline service to State Bar
members. This service allows attorneys to contact Kaap or a committee
member by telephone to discuss an ethics problem. Contact Kaap all day
on Wednesdays at (800) 444-9404, ext. 6168 or (608) 250-6168, and at
(608) 629-5721 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings.
While the opinions and Hotline consultations are not considered
precedential, an attorney may be able to argue the reasonableness of his
or her conduct in any professional discipline proceeding if he or she
acts in accordance with recommendations from an informal or formal
ethics committee opinion or Hotline consultation. Ethics Hotline
consultations are considered attorney-client protected and members of
the Professional Ethics Committee are specifically exempted from an
obligation to report any attorney misconduct they may become aware of
while providing consultation services.
Members of the Professional
Ethics Committee are Tom Basting (chair), Ralph Cagle (reporter),
Dean R. Dietrich, Mary Lynne Donohue, Hannah C. Dugan, Robert A. Dupuy,
Jerome L. Fox, Mel Johnson, Alexander T. Pendleton (board liaison), Jo
Ann Prust, H.S. Riffle, Karma Rodgers, Eric Schulenburg, and James D.
Wickhem.
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