Vol. 75, No. 8, August
2002
Letters
Letters to the editor: The
Wisconsin Lawyer publishes as many letters in each issue as space
permits. Please limit letters to 500 words; letters may be edited for
length and clarity. Letters should address the issues, and not be a
personal attack on others. Letters endorsing political candidates cannot
be accepted. Please mail letters to "Letters to the
Editor," Wisconsin Lawyer, P.O. Box 7158, Madison, WI 53707-7158, fax
them to (608) 257-4343, or email them to wislawyer@wisbar.org.
Licensure protects the public
I was disappointed in George Brown's rejoinder to attorney Tom
Kelly's criticism of the Bar's "branding" effort in the June
Wisconsin Lawyer.
I agree with George that lawyers do legitimately compete with other
professionals and that some branding may be warranted. The trouble is
that some (a small minority, to be sure) are practicing law without a
license, a crime in this state. Lawyers should not have to compete with
scofflaws. Dare I "brand" such people as criminals?
A small part of my practice, once, was pursuing unlicensed persons,
either passing themselves off as licensed or practicing a discipline
requiring licensure. A chiropractor advertising "physical therapy" and a
designer calling his services "architecture" come to mind. How
embarrassed I would have been if lawyers openly accepted the unlicensed
practice of law!
The Bar seems to be surrendering to the performance of "traditional"
legal work by nonlawyers. The Multidisciplinary Practice Commission
would go so far as to explicitly permit the practice of law by
nonlawyers in some situations.
Licensure is for the protection of the public. Lawyers should not be
self-conscious about complaining about the illegal practice of their
profession. Lawyers certainly should not need marketing to enforce the
criminal law.
It would be ironic indeed if lawyers were to acquiesce in the illegal
practice of law by others, while marketing our profession on the basis
of its fealty to the law. We can burnish our image without diluting our
"brand."
Eddie Marion
Madison
Wisconsin Lawyer
