SCR CHAPTER 11
REGULATION OF
MEMBERS OF THE STATE BAR
JUDICIAL COUNCIL
COMMITTEE'S NOTE, 1979: The following
rules govern the members of the state bar of Wisconsin and have been clarified
and numbered SCR 11.01 to 11.08 for uniformity and convenience. The following chart shows the new rule and
the 1977 statute from which it was derived.
Rule Statute
SCR 11.01 757.29
SCR 11.02 757.27
SCR 11.03 757.285
SCR 11.04 757.287
SCR 11.05 757.293
SCR 11.06 757.294
SCR 11.07 753.076
SCR 11.08 757.32
The following statutes
also govern members of the state bar of Wisconsin and are listed here for
reference purposes:
757.22 Judge not to act as attorney, etc.;
attorneys not to have office with judge.
757.295 Barratry.
757.30 Penalty for practicing without license.
757.45 Sharing of compensation by attorneys
prohibited.
SCR 11.01
Attorneys regulated. An attorney is subject to discipline for
professional misconduct, as provided in SCR 20:8.4.
SCR 11.02 Appearance by attorney. (1) Authorized. Every person of full age and sound mind may
appear by attorney in every action or proceeding by or against the person in
any court except felony actions, or may prosecute or defend the action or
proceeding in person.
(2)
Service of notice. Upon the
service of notice of appearance or retainer generally, by an attorney for any
party, any other party may file the notice and have the appearance of the party
entered as of the time when the notice was served.
(3)
Substitution of attorneys. No
order for the substitution of an attorney for a party may be made without
consent signed by the party and his or her attorney; or for cause shown and
upon such terms as shall be just, and on such notice as the court or judge
shall direct.
SCR 11.03
[Deleted.]
SCR 11.04 Suspension for nonpayment of support, noncompliance with subpoena or warrant.
(1) In
this rule:
(a) “Subpoena or warrant” means a subpoena or warrant
issued by the department of workforce development or a child support agency and
relating to paternity or support proceedings.
(b) “Support” means support as defined in 42 United
States Code section 654(4)B.
(2) Upon receipt of certification
from the department of workforce development pursuant to section 49.857,
stats., that a person licensed to practice law in this state is delinquent in
making court-ordered payments of support or is not in compliance with a subpoena
or warrant, the supreme court may suspend the license of that person to
practice law for up to 5 years in the case of delinquency in making
court-ordered payments of support or for up to 6 months in the case of failure
to comply with a subpoena or warrant.
(3) Before entering an order
suspending an attorney’s license under sub. (2), the supreme court shall issue
an order requiring the attorney to show cause why his or her license to
practice law should not be suspended.
The supreme court may inquire into the reasons for the delinquency or
any other matters the court considers appropriate. The court may enter such orders as it deems appropriate.
(4) The supreme court may return
the certification to the department of workforce development upon a showing by
the attorney that the department failed to provide notice of its intent to seek
license suspension and that, as a result, the attorney was not aware of the
right to a hearing as provided by section 49.857, stats., or has not had a
reasonable opportunity to pay the delinquency or resolve the noncompliance with
the subpoena or warrant.
(5) A license to practice law
suspended under sub. (2) shall be reinstated as follows upon whichever of the
following first occurs:
(a) Automatically upon the expiration
of the period for which suspended.
(b) By order of the supreme court upon
notification by the department of workforce development that the attorney has
paid the delinquent support or has made satisfactory alternative payment
arrangements or has satisfied the requirements under the subpoena or warrant.
(6) An attorney whose license to
practice law is suspended under sub. (2) shall comply with the provisions of
SCR 22.26.
(7) The supreme court may disclose the social security
number of a member of the state bar to the department of workforce development
for the purpose of administering s. 49.22.
SCR 11.05
[Deleted.]
SCR 11.06
Group or prepaid legal services plans. (1) A "group or prepaid legal services plan" means a plan
by which legal services are rendered to a person participating in the plan by
an attorney recommended or selected as provided in the plan.
(2) An
attorney may furnish legal services in this state pursuant to a group or
prepaid legal services plan which complies with the following conditions:
(a) The
plan shall be written and provide:
1. The
benefits to be provided, including all exclusions and conditions;
2.
Procedures for the review and resolution of disputes arising under the
plan;
3. That
a person participating in the plan may obtain legal services independently of
the plan;
4. That
an attorney furnishing legal services under the plan is free to exercise
independent professional judgment; and
5. That
the sponsoring organization or any person or entity connected with it shall not
directly or indirectly derive a profit from or retain any part of the
consideration paid for rendering legal services, except those amounts utilized
to:
a.
Improve the benefits of the plan;
b.
Reimburse the plan for its reasonable and necessary administrative
expenses; or
c.
Refund surpluses to the users of the legal services and enrollees in the
plan, but not to members of a sponsoring organization who have not enrolled in
or used the plan.
(b) A
description of the terms of the plan shall be given to each participant.
(4) (a)
An attorney furnishing legal services pursuant to a plan shall on or
before January 31 of each year report to the state bar on forms provided by it
a summary of the plan operation or the attorney's participation in it,
including but not limited to all relevant fee schedules, the number of persons
receiving legal services, and the kinds of benefits provided.
(b) An
attorney or sponsoring organization of a proposed plan shall file the plan with
the state bar before the plan becomes operative and may inform interested
persons that the plan has been registered with the state bar.
(5) All
information filed pursuant to this rule is confidential, if so requested in writing
at the time of filing, except the name of the plan, the name and address of its
sponsoring organization, the fact that it has an arrangement for the provision
of legal services, and the names of the attorneys providing the services. Plans and required reports filed pursuant to
this rule shall be otherwise open for inspection. All information is available to authorized representatives of the
supreme court and the state bar for information purposes and for disciplinary
and ethical investigations or proceedings, except as provided in this
rule.
(6) An
attorney who receives a written notice of objection to an arrangement or
practice disclosed by his or her report made pursuant to this rule or the state
bar guidelines, shall be afforded a stated reasonable time, as provided by the
guidelines and procedures, within which to conform the arrangement or practice
to professional ethical standards, this rule and the guidelines or to file an
explanation and other supplementary materials.
During that period the report is privileged and shall not be used for
disciplinary purposes. This privilege
does not apply to an attorney who files an intentionally false or fraudulent
report. Failure to conform the
arrangement or practice to professional ethical standards or to dissociate from
an arrangement which continues not to conform, after the expiration of the time
fixed in the notice of objection, shall terminate the privilege afforded by
this rule.
(7)
Failure by an attorney to file a timely report required by this section
constitutes misconduct.
(8) The
board of governors of the state bar of Wisconsin shall adopt guidelines and
procedures for the administration of this rule after consultation with
representatives of sponsoring organizations and participating attorneys. The guidelines and procedures are effective
upon approval by the supreme court.
(9)
This subsection constitutes the guidelines and procedures approved by
the supreme court pursuant to sub. (8):
(a)
Information filed with the state bar is privileged and shall not be used
in any disciplinary proceeding, except as provided by this rule, and will be
examined for completeness. Incomplete
forms will be returned to the registrant with an appropriate explanation.
(b)
Each report will be examined for conformity with this rule and
professional ethical standards. A
registered attorney will be advised, in writing, of any problems found in the
report and afforded an opportunity to respond to questions raised as to the
group arrangement or practice disclosed in the report.
(c) The special committee on group and prepaid
legal services may conclude that no further action is necessary in the case of
an attorney who after receiving a notice of objection files supplementary
materials, within the time stated in that notice, which satisfy the committee.
(d)
Where an ethics opinion is sought by the special committee on group and
prepaid legal services because of uncertainty as to the professional propriety
of an arrangement or practice disclosed by a report, and the professional
ethics committee concludes that a particular arrangement or practice violates
standards of professional conduct, the attorney involved should be advised
promptly of the opinion and given a stated reasonable time, not to exceed 90
days, unless extended by the special committee on group and prepaid legal
services, for cause, within which to conform the arrangement or practice to
professional standards or to dissociate from the arrangement which continues
not to conform.
(e) An
opinion from the professional ethics committee shall not be a prerequisite to a
decision by the special committee on group and prepaid legal services to file a
complaint or report with the office of lawyer regulation in a situation in
which the committee concludes that such a decision is warranted.
(f)
Consultation with representatives of sponsoring organizations prior to
the board of governors' adopting guidelines and procedures for the
administration of this rule means written communication and does not require a
hearing, unless requested in writing by a sponsoring organization or other
interested person. The written
communication shall be made to all attorneys participating in registered plans
and plan administrators, and shall include a request that the attorneys and
plan administrators communicate the substance of the written communications in
an appropriate manner to their plan participants.
SCR 11.07
Reserve judges; service and practice. A reserve judge who has served
as a circuit judge under section 753.075 of the statutes shall not appear as an
attorney nor act as counsel in any contested matter in any court in the county
in which he or she has so served for a period of one year after the
service. A reserve judge who has served
as a court of appeals judge under section 753.075 of the statutes shall not
appear as an attorney nor act as counsel in any matter in the court of appeals
for a period of one year after the service.
Neither the act of serving as a reserve judge, nor the performance of conciliation
or pretrial duties under section 807.09 of the statutes affects his or her
eligibility to engage in the practice of law.
SCR 11.08
[Deleted.]
Amended December 29, 1980; November 1, 1982;
July 1, 1983; March
21, 1986; June 10,
1987; November 6, 1990; April 10, 2001; November 14, 2001; January 23, 2002.