State Bar of Wisconsin Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the State Bar of Wisconsin, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can a lawyer maintain and disburse a bail fund for people charged with crimes, even non-clients?
The opinion concluded the lawyer cannot. Running such a fund would do indirectly what the statute barring an attorney from acting as bail forbids directly, would place the lawyer in the bail bond busi…
Can a lawyer organize, buy tickets for, attend, or contribute to a testimonial dinner for a judge or a candidate for judge?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not organize, purchase tickets for, attend, or contribute to a testimonial dinner for a sitting judge or a candidate for judicial office unless the event is spo…
Can a lawyer organize, buy tickets for, attend, or contribute to a testimonial dinner for a sitting judge?
The opinion concluded that a testimonial for a sitting judge may be organized only by a recognized bar association, and that it is unethical for individual lawyers to organize one or to purchase ticke…
Can the partners of a lawyer who sits on a city police and fire commission represent criminal and traffic defendants in that city?
The opinion concluded they may not, in the cases the commissioner-partner must avoid. No partner may represent criminal or traffic defendants where the partner on the commission would have to abstain;…
Can the law partners of a lawyer who is bargaining agent for a deputy sheriffs' association take criminal defense cases in that county?
The opinion concluded they may. The committee found no inherent conflict that would absolutely foreclose the partners from criminal or juvenile defense work, but the lawyer must advise the client of t…
Can a former State Bar president use that title when publicly endorsing a political candidate?
The committee declined to rule on the conduct, citing its policy against opining on past or present conduct outside a grievance referral, but it recommended (and the Board adopted) a policy against an…
Can a lawyer contribute to the re-election campaign of a sitting judge?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may contribute to a judge's re-election campaign, provided the contribution is not to influence the judge; it is preferable to give to a campaign committee rather t…
Can a lawyer turn away a legal-aid (Judicare) client or accept them only at full customary fees?
The opinion approved a Judicare policy: it is improper for an attorney to reject Judicare clients while offering to take them at customary fees, and improper to reject a client solely because the clie…
Can the same lawyer draft the documents in a real estate deal and also represent the broker at the closing?
The opinion concluded the lawyer cannot. In drafting closing documents the lawyer acts for the buyer and seller whose property rights are affected, so also representing the broker creates conflicting …
Can a lawyer who serves as a court commissioner represent private clients in litigation before the judge who appointed him?
The opinion concluded that it is proper. A court commissioner is not a public officer for incompatibility purposes, and the responsibility to avoid impropriety rests on the judge, not the lawyer. The …
Can a lawyer who is also a municipal justice of the peace represent clients in matters opposed to the same city?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may not. A municipal justice of the peace is an officer of the city, so representing police officers in wage negotiations against that city, or private clients adverse…
Can a lawyer write a will that leaves a bequest to the lawyer who drafted it?
Applying State v. Collentine, the opinion concluded a lawyer may draft a will in which he is a beneficiary only when he is a natural object of the testator's bounty and receives no more than he would …
Can a lawyer use insurance agents to solicit clients for a master pension plan the lawyer's firm would handle?
The opinion concluded that the solicitation activities of insurance agents acting on the lawyer's behalf to promote the master pension plan were improper under Canon 27 and had to be terminated.
Can a lawyer partner with a non-lawyer to provide labor-management or business consulting when some of the work is legal work?
The opinion concluded that because part of the proposed labor-management work would constitute law practice, Canon 33 made a partnership between the lawyer and a non-lawyer unethical, and Canon 27 lim…
Can a lawyer employed by an accounting firm provide legal services, such as estate planning, to the firm's customers?
The opinion concluded the lawyer cannot. A lawyer-employee who supplies legal advice that enables a lay employer to render legal services to the employer's customers aids the unauthorized practice of …
Can a district attorney represent a private landowner in a condemnation case brought by the state, while the county and state are his public clients?
The opinion concluded the district attorney may not. A full-time or part-time district attorney represents the county and state at all times, and taking a condemnation case against the state highway c…
Can a lawyer accept and keep a commission or rebate from an insurer, abstractor, or lender connected to a client's matter?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may accept no compensation, commission, rebate, or other advantage from others without the client's knowledge and consent after full disclosure, and even when disclosed,…
Can a retiring lawyer sell the goodwill of his practice to a younger lawyer, and does a client get his files back?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may not sell or otherwise dispose of the goodwill of his practice, though he may sell office furniture, equipment, and library; a client has an absolute right to withdra…
Can a Wisconsin law firm incorporate as a service corporation, and how must its name and any profit-sharing plan be handled?
Pending ABA Opinion 303, the committee gave informal thoughts: lawyers in a law corporation must stay personally responsible to clients, the firm name must add a corporate designation (S.C., Chartered…
Can a lawyer take suits referred by a lay collection agency where the agency pays the lawyer, uses his name, and controls the litigation?
The opinion concluded the lawyer cannot. An attorney may not accept employment from a lay collection agency to litigate the agency's customers' claims where the agency pays or divides fees, controls t…
Can a lawyer manufacture a dispute in a workers' compensation case just to charge the maximum allowed contingent fee?
The opinion concluded the lawyer cannot. It is unethical to concoct an aura of contest where there is no true contest, or before any conflict is known, for the sole purpose of charging the statutory m…
Can a lawyer who is a city council or county board member sue that same city or county on behalf of a private client?
The opinion concluded the lawyer should not. An attorney who serves on a city council or county board cannot give undivided loyalty both to the governing body and to a client suing that body, so repre…
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Legal ethics opinions from the State Bar of Wisconsin interpret the rules of professional conduct for working lawyers, in response to inquiries from members and committees. They are not binding like court discipline decisions, but courts and discipline boards treat formal opinions as substantial guidance on how the rules apply. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the original source on the bar's site.