The supreme court has wrapped up its initial open administrative conferences on the Ethics 2000 petition, and released a draft version reflecting the most recent tentative votes. The court has also approved a timetable for final consideration and implementation of the new rules. An order will be forthcoming.
Wisconsin Lawyer
Vol. 79, No. 4, April
2006
Supreme court releases tentative draft of new ethics rules
On March 15, the Wisconsin Supreme Court wrapped up its initial open
administrative conferences on the Wisconsin Ethics 2000
Committee's petition to amend the Supreme Court Rules, Chapter 20
Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys.
The court spent many hours reviewing the proposed changes to Chapter
20," said Dean Dietrich, State Bar Professional Ethics Committee
chair. "Many of the changes will improve lawyer-client
relationships and how lawyers conduct themselves in the practice of
law.
The court expects to review the current draft over the coming weeks
and will work on composing any statements or dissents it wishes to make
on the record. These statements, and the current draft version of the
rules, will be the subject of an open administrative conference to be
held in mid-May. After the May conference, the court will release the
final draft and ask for all interested parties to review the document
and submit any written comments by Aug. 1, 2006. The court will
reconvene in September to consider final language changes and issue a
final order and determine whether the new rules will become effective on
Jan. 1 or July 1 of 2007.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court created the Ethics 2000 Committee to
study the ABA's proposed changes to the model rules. The
committee's report and petition, filed July 29, 2004, is the most
comprehensive proposal for changes to SCR Chapter 20 since the
mid-1980s.
To learn more about proposed changes to SCR Chapter 20 and the Rules
of Professional Conduct for attorneys, attend the State Bar Professional
Ethics Committee and the Nonresident Lawyers Division program on May 4
at the State Bar Annual Convention in Madison. The "Changing the
Rules of Professional Conduct: A Journey to Improve Compliance and
Relationships with Our Clients," is scheduled from 8:30 - 11:30
a.m. To learn more about the program or to register, visit www.wisbar.org/convention or
call (800) 728-7788 or (608) 257-3838.
Wisconsin Lawyer
