SCR
CHAPTER 21
LAWYER
REGULATION SYSTEM
The lawyer regulation system is established to carry out
the supreme court's constitutional responsibility to supervise the practice of
law and protect the public from misconduct by persons practicing law in
Wisconsin.
SCR 21.001 Definitions.
The terms used in this chapter have the
meaning set forth in SCR 22.001.
SCR 21.01 Components.
(1) The
lawyer regulation system consists of the following:
(a) Office
of lawyer regulation, provided in SCR 21.02.
(b) District
committees, provided in SCR 21.06.
(c) Preliminary
review committee, provided in SCR 21.07.
(d) Referees,
provided in SCR 21.08.
(e) Board
of administrative oversight, provided in SCR 21.10.
(f) Supreme
court.
SCR 21.02 Office
of lawyer regulation.
(1) The
office of lawyer regulation consists of the director, investigative and support
staff, and staff counsel and retained counsel.
The office receives and responds to inquiries and grievances relating to
attorneys licensed to practice law or practicing law in Wisconsin and, when
appropriate, investigates allegations of attorney misconduct or medical
incapacity, and may divert a matter to an alternatives to discipline program.
The office is responsible for the prosecution of disciplinary proceedings
alleging attorney misconduct and proceedings alleging attorney medical
incapacity and the investigation of license reinstatement petitions.
(2) The
office of lawyer regulation functions pursuant to the procedures set forth in
SCR chapter 22.
SCR
21.03 Office
of lawyer regulation - director.
(1) The
director of the office of lawyer regulation is appointed by and serves at the
pleasure of the supreme court.
(2) The director shall be admitted to the
practice of law in Wisconsin no later than six months following appointment.
(3) The
director is an employee of the supreme court under the supreme court's ultimate
personnel authority and subject to personnel policies and procedures
administered by the director of state courts.
(4) The performance of the director shall be
formally evaluated every two years by the director of state courts, who shall
consult with the staff of the office of lawyer regulation, the preliminary
review committee, the board of administrative oversight, and attorneys who
represent respondents in proceedings brought by the director. The director of state courts shall report the
evaluation to the supreme court as a personnel matter.
(5) The director may not engage in the private
practice of law.
(6) The duties of the director are:
(a) To investigate any possible misconduct or
medical incapacity of an attorney licensed to practice law or practicing law in
Wisconsin.
(b) To receive, review and direct the
investigation of allegations of attorney misconduct or medical incapacity.
(c) To
close an inquiry or grievance following preliminary evaluation and to dismiss a
grievance following investigation when there is insufficient evidence of cause
to proceed.
(d) To present as the director may consider
appropriate the results of an investigation to the preliminary review committee
for a determination of cause to proceed in the matter.
(e) To
file with the supreme court and prosecute complaints alleging attorney
misconduct and petitions alleging attorney medical incapacity after a
preliminary review panel has determined there is cause to proceed in the
matter.
(f) To divert a matter to an alternatives to
discipline program as the director may consider appropriate and to monitor the
attorney's participation in the program.
(g) To
monitor an attorney's compliance with conditions imposed on the attorney's
practice of law.
(h) To
investigate petitions for license reinstatement and, at the request of the
board of bar examiners, to investigate the character and fitness of an
applicant for bar admission.
(j) To
employ, with the approval of the director of state courts, staff to assist in
the performance of the director's duties.
(k) To
supervise the district committees.
(m) To
prepare annually a budget for the operation of the office of lawyer regulation
and to submit it to the board of administrative oversight for review and
presentation, with comment, to the supreme court.
(n) To
prepare annually a report of the activities of the office of lawyer regulation
during the preceding year and to submit it to the board of administrative
oversight for review and presentation, with comment, to the supreme court.
(o) To
delegate the duties specified in this rule to staff as the director may
consider advisable.
(p) To perform other duties as may be assigned
by the supreme court.
(7) The director may refer a matter alleging
attorney misconduct or medical incapacity to a district committee for
investigation.
(8) The
director may refer a matter involving a fee dispute to a state or local bar
association's fee arbitration committee for resolution.
SCR
21.04 Office
of lawyer regulation - staff.
Staff of the office of lawyer regulation are permanent supreme court employees supervised by the director and over whom the director of state courts has ultimate personnel authority. Staff are subject to personnel policies and procedures administered by the director of state courts. Work assignments to staff are made in accordance with the chain of command established by pertinent job descriptions. Annual performance evaluations of staff are conducted by immediate supervisors in the manner prescribed by the director of state courts.
SCR
21.05 Office
of lawyer regulation - counsel.
(1) Staff
of the office of lawyer regulation may include persons admitted to the practice
of law in Wisconsin whose duties are to conduct or assist in investigations,
present matters to the preliminary review panels, prosecute complaints alleging
attorney misconduct and petitions alleging attorney medical incapacity, conduct
or assist in reinstatement investigations and represent the office of lawyer
regulation in hearings, and perform other duties assigned by the director.
(2) The
director may retain attorneys engaged in the practice of law in Wisconsin to
assist in the performance of the director's duty to present matters to the
preliminary review panels, to prosecute complaints alleging attorney misconduct
and petitions alleging attorney medical incapacity, and to conduct or assist in
reinstatement investigations and represent the office of lawyer regulation in
hearings, and perform other duties assigned by the director. Retained counsel are independent contractors
and serve at the pleasure of the director.
SCR
21.06 District
committees.
(1) A
district committee in each of the state bar districts established under SCR
10.05(2) consists of lawyers and public members appointed by the supreme
court. The number of members of each
committee shall be in proportion to the geographic and population size of the
district. To the extent feasible, at
least one-third and preferably two-fifths, of the members shall be public
members. Members serve staggered 3-year
terms. A member may serve not more than
3 consecutive 3-year terms.
(2) District committees function under the
supervision of the director.
(3) The duties of a district committee are:
(a) To
educate the bar and the public about the high ideals of the legal profession
and the practice of law consistent with the rules of professional conduct for
attorneys set forth in SCR chapter 20.
(b) To refer promptly to the director any
possible misconduct or medical incapacity of an attorney that comes to its
attention.
(c) To
assist in the investigation of possible misconduct or medical incapacity of an
attorney upon referral by the director.
(d) To
make a recommendation to the director as it may consider appropriate as to the
disposition of any matter the committee has investigated.
(e) To assist upon request of the director in
monitoring an attorney's participation in an alternatives to discipline program
or compliance with conditions imposed on the attorney's practice of law.
(f) To resolve or adjust at the request of the
director a dispute between an attorney and a client or other attorney if the
dispute does not involve misconduct or medical incapacity and the complaining
person agrees to the procedure. Within
30 days after receiving notice of the dispute, the committee shall report to
the director each dispute resolved, adjusted or unresolved.
(4) Each district committee shall hold regularly
scheduled meetings as needed to complete its work timely. Meetings also may be
held at the call of the chairperson. At
the first meeting held each calendar year, the committee shall elect a chairperson
and a vice-chairperson to act in the absence of the chairperson. A majority of
members constitutes a quorum, except that the chairperson may designate a
subcommittee of one or more members to conduct a preliminary investigation or
investigative meeting and prepare a report and recommendation for consideration
and action by the committee. A
subcommittee also may be designated to monitor an attorney's participation in a
diversion from discipline program or compliance with conditions imposed on the
attorney's practice of law.
(5) The
portions of the meetings of a district committee relating to specific
disciplinary matters are closed. The portions of the meetings relating to other
matters are open.
SCR
21.07 Preliminary
review committee.
(1) The 14-member preliminary review committee
consists of 9 lawyers and 5 public members appointed by the supreme court. Members serve staggered 3-year terms. A member may serve not more than 2
consecutive 3-year terms.
(2) The preliminary review committee, having a
quorum of 8 members, is comprised of 2 7-member panels, each having at least 4
lawyers and 2 public members and a quorum of 4 members. The chairperson of the preliminary review
committee shall designate the members of each panel and shall devise and
implement a rotation system by which each member of the committee serves on
each panel during each 3-year period.
(3) The duties of the preliminary review panels
are:
(a) To review the results of investigations of
allegations of attorney misconduct or medical incapacity presented by the
director and to determine whether there is cause for the director to proceed in
the matter. The affirmative vote of four
or more members of a panel is required to determine cause to proceed in a
matter.
(b) To
review at the request of a grievant the director's closing of a matter prior to
investigation under SCR 22.02(6)(a) and dismissal of a grievance following
investigation under SCR 22.05(1)(a).
(c) To
confer periodically with the board of administrative oversight about the
operation of the preliminary review committee and panels and suggest
improvements in their operation.
(4) The preliminary review committee shall hold
regularly scheduled meetings at least quarterly. At the first meeting of each calendar year,
the preliminary review committee shall elect a chairperson and a
vice-chairperson to act in the absence of the chairperson.
(5) Each panel shall meet as needed and shall
report its determinations to the chairperson of the preliminary review committee.
(6) The
portions of the meetings of the preliminary review committee and of the panels
relating to specific disciplinary matters are closed. The portions of the meetings relating to
other matters are open.
(7) The
preliminary review committee and the panels shall take and retain full and
complete minutes of the open and closed sessions of their meetings. The minutes of the open sessions are
available to the public.
(8) The
preliminary review panels shall function pursuant to the procedures set forth
in SCR chapter 22.
(9) Members of the preliminary review committee
are entitled to reimbursement for expenses incurred in connection with
membership on the committee.
SCR
21.08 Referees.
(1) Members of a permanent panel of attorneys
and reserve judges appointed by the supreme court shall serve as referees to
conduct hearings on complaints of attorney misconduct, petitions alleging
attorney medical incapacity, and petitions for license reinstatement, to make
findings, conclusions and recommendations and submit them to the supreme court
for review and appropriate action, to review consensual discipline under SCR
22.09, and to review determinations of the preliminary review panels under SCR
22.07(4) that the director has failed to establish cause to proceed in a
matter.
(2) Referees shall function pursuant to the
procedures set forth in SCR chapter 22.
SCR
21.09 Supreme
court.
(1) The supreme court determines attorney misconduct and medical incapacity and imposes discipline or directs other action in attorney misconduct and medical incapacity proceedings filed with the court.
(2) The supreme court shall meet with the
director, with the preliminary review committee, and with the board of
administrative oversight annually to discuss the operation of the lawyer
regulation system and consider improvements in its operation.
SCR
21.10 Board
of administrative oversight.
(1) The 12-member board of administrative oversight of the lawyer regulation system consists of 8 lawyers and 4 public members appointed by the supreme court. Members serve staggered three-year terms. A member may serve not more than two consecutive three-year terms.
(2) The duties of the board of administrative
oversight are:
(a) To
monitor the fairness, productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency of the
attorney regulation system, including intake, the time required for disposition
of an allegation of attorney misconduct or medical incapacity, the presence of
a quorum at meetings of the preliminary review panels and the frequency of
divided votes determining cause to proceed, variations in specific matters
among the discipline sought by the director, the discipline recommended by the
referee, and the discipline imposed by the supreme court.
(b) To monitor implementation of new
procedures in the lawyer regulation system.
(c) To
assess the public's and the bar's perception of the integrity of the lawyer
regulation system.
(d) To
report its findings to the supreme court.
(e) To review periodically with the supreme
court the operation of the lawyer regulation system and to file an annual
report with the supreme court of the system's activities during the preceding
year.
(f) To
propose for consideration by the supreme court substantive and procedural rules
related to the regulation of lawyers.
(g) To inform and educate the public and the bar
about the operation of the lawyer regulation system.
(h) To propose to the supreme court, after
consultation with the director, an annual budget for the office of lawyer
regulation.
(3) The board of administrative oversight has no
substantive or procedural function in the lawyer regulation system as it
concerns particular matters and does not exercise administrative oversight or
supervision of the operation of the lawyer regulation system in respect to
specific matters or proceedings involving allegations of attorney misconduct or
medical incapacity. A member of the
board may not contact investigative or prosecutorial staff directly in respect
to a particular investigative or prosecutorial matter, whether completed,
pending or contemplated. A member of the
board may contact investigative or prosecutorial staff directly and privately
in respect to purely administrative matters.
(4) The board shall hold at least four regularly
scheduled meetings each year. The
meetings shall be open to the public except as otherwise provided by law. A majority of members currently serving
constitutes a quorum of the board. At
its first meeting each calendar year the board shall elect a chairperson, a
vice-chairperson to act in the absence of the chairperson, and such other
officers as it may consider necessary.
(5) The board shall take and retain full and
complete minutes of the open and closed sessions of its meetings, including the
identification of members whose motions, votes, and comments are recorded, and
shall provide a copy of the minutes of the open session of each meeting to each
member of the supreme court as soon as practicable following the meeting. The minutes of the open sessions are
available to the public.
(6) Members
of the board are entitled to reimbursement for expenses incurred in connection
with membership on the board.
SCR
21.11 Training
of lawyer regulation system participants.
(1) The director and current staff
of the office of lawyer regulation shall provide formal training for new
members of the staff.
(2) The director shall provide formal training
in procedural and substantive ethics rules to the members of the
district committees.
Committee members shall attend at least one training session within the
first year of appointment as a condition of appointment, unless the director
extends the time to fulfill the training requirement.
(3) The director and current members of the preliminary review committee shall provide formal training to new members of the preliminary review committee.
(4) Staff of the supreme court shall provide
formal training to the referees.
(5) The director and current members of the
board of administrative oversight shall provide formal training to the new
members of the board of administrative oversight.
(6) The training provided in (1) through (3) and
(5) shall emphasize the role and the importance of the contributions of public
member participants in the lawyer regulation system.
SCR
21.12 Roles
of office of lawyer regulation, grievant, and district committees.
In the investigation process and in the
prosecution of complaints alleging attorney misconduct and petitions alleging
attorney medical incapacity, the director and staff of the office of lawyer
regulation and the district committees do not represent the complaining person,
the attorney against whom a grievance has been made, the bar generally, or any
other person or group. The director,
staff of the office of lawyer regulation, and district committees represent the
interests of the supreme court and the public in the integrity of the lawyer
regulation system in its search for the truth.
A grievant is not a party to a misconduct or medical incapacity
proceeding brought by the office of lawyer regulation.
SCR 21.13 Official duties.
When acting in the course of their official
duties under SCR chs. 21 and 22, the following are acting on behalf of the
supreme court in respect to the statutes and supreme court rules and orders regulating
the conduct of attorneys:
(1) The
director and staff of the office of lawyer regulation.
(2)
Retained counsel.
(3)
Members of district committees.
(4)
Special investigators.
(5)
Members of the preliminary review committee.
(6)
Members of a special preliminary review panel.
(7)
Referees.
(8)
Members of the board of administrative oversight.
(9)
Attorneys designated by the director to monitor compliance with
diversion agreements or with conditions imposed by the supreme court in
misconduct and medical incapacity proceedings, or to investigate or conduct a
hearing in a reinstatement proceeding.
SCR
21.14 Conflict
of interests, recusal.
(1) The following may not take part
in a matter in which they are a complaining person, grievant, or respondent or
in which their own interests outside of their official duties under SCR chs. 21
and 22 reasonably may be perceived to impair their impartiality or when a judge
similarly situated would be disqualified under s. 757.19, 1997 stats. or
recusal would be required under SCR 60.04(4):
(a) The
director and staff of the office of lawyer regulation.
(b)
Retained counsel.
(c)
Members of district committees.
(d)
Special investigators.
(e)
Members of the preliminary review committee.
(f)
Members of a special preliminary review panel.
(g)
Referees.
(h)
Attorneys designated by the director to monitor an attorney's
participation in a diversion from discipline program or compliance with
conditions imposed on the attorney's practice of law.
(i)
Members of the board of administrative oversight.
(2) Allegations of misconduct or
malfeasance against the director, staff of the office of lawyer regulation,
retained counsel, a member of a district committee, a special investigator, a
member of the preliminary review committee, a member of a special preliminary
review panel, a referee, an attorney designated by the director to
monitor an attorney's participation in a diversion from discipline program or
compliance with conditions imposed on the attorney's practice of law, or a
member of the board of administrative oversight shall be governed by the
procedures under SCR 22.25.
SCR
21.15 Duties of attorneys.
(1) Pursuant
to SCR 20:8.5(a), an attorney admitted to practice law or practicing law in
Wisconsin is subject to the lawyer regulation system, whether he or she
practices in Wisconsin or in other jurisdictions and regardless of where the
attorney's conduct occurs.
(2) A license to practice law authorizes a
person to practice law and to participate in the administration of
justice. It is the duty of every
attorney to act in conformity with standards imposed upon attorneys as
conditions of the privilege to practice law set forth in SCR chapter 20: rules
of professional conduct for attorneys.
(3) An attorney has the duty to refer a member
of the public who wishes to communicate an inquiry about or a grievance against
an attorney to the director.
(4) Every attorney shall cooperate with the
office of lawyer regulation in the investigation, prosecution and disposition
of grievances, complaints filed with or by the director, and petitions for
reinstatement. An attorney's wilful
failure to cooperate with the office of lawyer regulation constitutes violation
of the rules of professional conduct for attorneys.
(5) An attorney found guilty or convicted of any crime on
or after July 1, 2002, shall notify in writing the office of lawyer regulation
and the clerk of the Supreme Court within 5 days after the finding or
conviction, whichever first occurs. The
notice shall include the identity of the attorney, the date of finding or
conviction, the offenses, and the jurisdiction.
An attorney’s failure to notify the office of lawyer regulation and
clerk of the supreme court of being found guilty or his or her conviction is
misconduct.
SCR 21.16 Discipline.
(1m) Any of the following may be imposed on an
attorney as discipline for misconduct pursuant to the procedure set forth in
SCR chapter 22:
(a) Revocation
of license to practice law.
(b) Suspension
of license to practice law.
(c) Public
or private reprimand.
(d) Conditions
on the continued practice of law.
(e) Monetary
payment.
(em) Restitution, as provided under sub. (2m).
(f) Conditions
on seeking license reinstatement.
(2m)
(a) An attorney may be ordered to do any
of the following as restitution under sub. (1m)(em):
1. Pay monetary restitution to the person
whose money or property was misappropriated or misapplied in the amount or
value of such money or property as found in the disciplinary proceedings.
2. Reimburse the Wisconsin lawyers' fund for
client protection for awards made to the person whose money or property was
misappropriated or misapplied.
(b) Any payment made as restitution under par.
(a) does not limit, preclude or impair any liability for damages in any civil
action or proceeding for an amount in excess of the payment.
(c) Upon ordering restitution to the Wisconsin
lawyers' fund for client protection under par. (a)2., the supreme court shall
issue a judgment and furnish a transcript of the judgment to the Fund. The transcript of the judgment may be filed
and docketed in the office of the clerk of court in any county and shall have
the same force and effect as judgments docketed under ss. 809.25 and 806.16,
stats.
SCR 21.17 Medical incapacity suspension, conditions.
The
license of an attorney to practice law may be suspended indefinitely or
conditions may be imposed on the attorney's practice of law with the attorney's
consent or upon a finding that the attorney has a medical incapacity, pursuant
to the procedure set forth in SCR chapter 22.
SCR 21.18 Limitation.
(1) Information,
an inquiry, or a grievance concerning the conduct of an attorney shall be
communicated to the director within 10 years after the person communicating the
information, inquiry or grievance knew or reasonably should have known of the
conduct, whichever is later, or shall be barred from proceedings under this
chapter and SCR chapter 22.
(2) The
time during which a person who knew or should have known of the attorney's
conduct is under a disability as provided in Wis. Stat. § 893.16 (1997-98)
and the time during which the attorney acted to conceal the conduct from or mislead
the person who knew or should have known of the conduct regarding the conduct
are not part of the time specified in sub. (1).
SCR
21.19 Privileges,
immunity.
Communications with the director, staff of the
office of lawyer regulation, a district committee, a special investigator,
retained counsel, the preliminary review committee, and a special preliminary
review panel alleging attorney misconduct or medical incapacity and testimony
given in an investigation or proceeding under SCR ch. 22 are privileged. No lawsuit predicated on these communications
may be instituted against any grievant or witness. The director, staff of the office of lawyer
regulation, members of a district committee, special investigators, retained
counsel, members of the preliminary review committee, members of a special
preliminary review panel, referees, members of the board of
administrative oversight, and attorneys designated by the director to monitor
compliance with diversion agreements or with conditions imposed on the attorney's
practice of law, shall be immune from suit for any conduct in the course of
their official duties.
SCR
21.20 Cooperation
with other agencies.
(1) The
office of lawyer regulation shall cooperate with the board of bar examiners in
matters of mutual interest. The office
and the board may exchange confidential information and may conduct joint
proceedings.
(2) The
office of lawyer regulation shall cooperate with lawyer regulatory bodies from
other jurisdictions and may share confidential information with them.
(3) The office of lawyer regulation shall
cooperate with district attorneys in the state of Wisconsin and may share
confidential information with them.
Chapter
repealed and recreated by S.Ct. Order 99-03, effective October 1, 2000. Amended November 14, 2001; January 23, 2002;
May 5, 2005; July 1, 2007.