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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Is the identity of a current or former client protected by the duty of confidentiality?
The opinion concludes that under SCR 20:1.6 the duty of confidentiality protects all information relating to the representation, whatever its source, including a client's identity, so a lawyer may not…
Can a lawyer who also owns a financial-planning business advertise her law practice there and offer legal services to that business's clients?
She may mention her law practice in the side business's marketing if it meets SCR 20:7.1 and 7.2, but SCR 20:7.3(a) bars her from offering legal services in person to that business's clients; she may …
Does a stranger who sends an unsolicited email become a prospective client the lawyer owes confidentiality to?
The opinion concludes that a person who sends a unilateral, unsolicited communication has no reasonable expectation that the lawyer is willing to discuss forming a relationship, so the duties owed to …
Can a lawyer represent someone who decides to hire the lawyer after attending the lawyer's seminar presentation?
The opinion concluded that yes, a lawyer may accept as a client a person who chooses to consult the lawyer as a result of attending the lawyer's presentation at a seminar or other educational or clien…
Can a law firm mail written invitations to a law-office open house to local business owners it has no prior relationship with?
The opinion concluded that yes, a firm may send written invitations to a law-office open house to members of the public, including neighboring business owners. Relying on Shapero v. Kentucky Bar Assoc…
Can a personal injury lawyer's direct-mail letter say the lawyer can suggest health-care providers to accident victims who have no treating doctor?
The opinion concluded that such advertising is misleading without a caveat. Telling accident victims by targeted direct mail that the lawyer 'can suggest various health-care providers' is misleading u…
Can a lawyer advertise holding a public office, or advertise being licensed in another profession such as medicine or accounting?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may advertise holding a public office or position, subject to SCR 20:7.5(c) (a public officeholder's name may not be used in a firm name while the lawyer is not act…
Can lawyers who only share office space use the same letterhead or a joint name to hold themselves out to the public as a firm?
The opinion concluded that lawyers or firms who associate only to share office space, equipment, library, personnel, or other resources are prohibited from sharing the same letterhead and may not impl…
Can a lawyer pay a community greeting service like Welcome Wagon to advertise the lawyer's practice to new residents?
The opinion concluded that lawyers may use Welcome Wagon services to advertise their practices, subject to compliance with the advertising rules SCR 20:7.1 through 20:7.5, and provided the service onl…
Can a lawyer accept clients who come to the lawyer after reading the lawyer's book or attending an educational seminar the lawyer gave?
The opinion concluded that nothing in SCR 20:7.2 or 20:7.3 prohibited a lawyer, subject to SCR 20:7.1, from accepting clients who contacted the lawyer because of a book, audiotape, or videotape, and t…
Can a lawyer who gets clients through a bar association's lawyer referral service pay the service a percentage of the fees earned from those clients?
The opinion concluded that under SCR 20:7.2(b) lawyers registered with a bar association's lawyer referral service may contribute a percentage of collected fees toward operating the service, but only …
Can a lawyer running for judge keep their membership and offices in a political party during the campaign?
The opinion concluded no. The committee read SCR 20:8.2(b), which requires lawyers who are candidates for judicial office to comply with the applicable provisions of the code of judicial conduct, toge…
Can a Wisconsin lawyer who works full-time for an accounting firm list their J.D. and LL.M. degrees on the accounting firm's business card?
The opinion concluded yes, a Wisconsin-licensed lawyer employed full-time by an accounting firm may indicate J.D. and LL.M. degrees on a business card, withdrawing the committee's earlier Formal Opini…
Can a law firm list its legal assistants or paralegals on the firm's letterhead?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may list legal assistants on law firm letterhead, so long as the listing complies with the rule barring advertising that is false, misleading, deceptive, or unfair.…
Can a law firm mail a letter describing its practice areas to union members in a geographic area, and may it call those practice areas its specialties?
The opinion concluded that general direct-mail advertising to a geographic group is permissible if the letter is not false, misleading, deceptive, or unfair and is not tailored to recipients with an i…
Can a law firm mail announcements that it has hired a nonlawyer, such as a former agency official, as a technical assistant?
The opinion concluded that yes, a firm may mail formal announcements of hiring a nonlawyer assistant, with a disclaimer that the person is not licensed to practice law, and it withdrew the contrary pa…
Can an attorney list a public office he or she currently holds on the law firm letterhead?
The opinion concluded that an attorney may not designate a presently held public office on his or her letterhead, because such a title is not relevant information for selecting counsel, is a form of s…
After mailing a prospective client an advertising letter or brochure, can a lawyer follow up with a phone call to that person?
The opinion concluded that such follow-up calls are improper, because Wis. Stat. sec. 757.295 prohibits solicitation of legal business and the Wisconsin Supreme Court required attorneys to avoid solic…
Can two lawyers and a nonlawyer run a company out of the lawyers' office offering trucking-industry regulatory services without holding it to the rules of professional conduct?
The opinion concluded that the proposed trucking-service company was a law-related second occupation and, because it operated from the lawyers' office, was inseparable from the law practice and so sub…
Can lawyers advertise to find plaintiffs for a class action or other lawsuit?
The opinion concluded that yes, attorneys may advertise for clients in a class action or other lawsuit, so long as the advertising is not false, misleading, deceptive, or unfair under SCR 20.08(7).
After speaking at a seminar, can a lawyer send a follow-up letter to attendees who asked the sponsor for more information?
The opinion concluded that sending such a letter would be improper solicitation, because it amounts to recommending the lawyer's own employment to nonlawyers who did not seek the lawyer's advice.
Can lawyers own an outside business such as a collection agency while practicing law, and can their firm accept referrals from that business?
The opinion concluded that owning a collection agency is not prohibited per se, but accepting referrals from it is governed by the solicitation and barratry rules and may often result in a violation.
Can a law firm publish a newsletter of general legal information and mail it to clients and acquaintances under the firm's name?
The opinion concluded that a firm may publish and distribute such a newsletter, with the firm's name listed, provided it helps readers recognize legal problems, is not misleading, and does not appear …
Can a law firm present its own public legal seminars without a bank or other institution as sponsor?
The opinion concluded that a firm may present public seminars if the lawyers are motivated to educate the public rather than to obtain employment, with the conduct judged objectively after the seminar…
Can a lawyer or law office practice under a trade name rather than the lawyers' own names?
The opinion concluded that, under the rules then in force, a lawyer or law office could not operate under a trade name, reaffirming a prior opinion that a name like 'City Legal Clinic' was improper.
Can a law firm that serves as counsel to labor unions advertise in the union's trade paper, and say it is counsel for the local unions?
The opinion concluded that a firm may advertise its availability in a union trade journal, including that it is counsel for the local unions, provided the advertisement is not false, misleading, decep…
Can a lawyer write and publish an 'Ask the Lawyer' newspaper column?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may prepare and disseminate an 'Ask the Lawyer' column, within limits: the column must not give individual legal advice or appear to solve individual problems, the …
Can a lawyer form a commercial 'traffic consultant' corporation that audits freight bills and handles related legal work, and advertise it under that name?
The opinion concluded that an ordinary commercial corporation may not render legal services to the public even though one of its officers is a lawyer, so providing legal services through it (such as a…
Can a lawyer advertise that the practice is 'limited to' particular fields of law, such as tax planning and tax litigation?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may advertise that the practice is 'limited to' named fields, such as federal and state tax planning, tax litigation, and tax audits, provided the entire advertisem…
Can a law firm or legal-service corporation practice under a trade name like 'City Legal Clinic'?
The opinion concluded that it would be improper to use the name 'City Legal Clinic' for either a law partnership or a legal-service corporation, because it is a trade name that misleads the public abo…
Can a law firm send its clients a private letter offering to match their charitable gifts to an educational institution?
The opinion concluded that it could. A law firm's private letter offering, with a limit, to match clients' gifts to an educational institution violated no provision of the Code of Professional Respons…
Can a law firm put a paralegal or legal assistant's name on its letterhead, and can paralegals carry firm business cards?
The opinion concluded that, under the rule as it then stood, paralegals' names could not appear on the firm letterhead, but legal assistants could use a business card identifying the firm and their ca…
Can lawyers (here, law professors) operate a for-profit legal research service for other attorneys and announce it by mail and bar-journal advertising?
The opinion concluded that the service could be operated with ethical propriety if proper safeguards were observed. A lawyer may announce availability to serve other lawyers in a branch of law, but th…
Can a lawyer publish a do-it-yourself divorce kit of forms and explanations for couples seeking an uncontested divorce?
The opinion concluded that publishing such a kit would not itself be the unauthorized practice of law, because Wisconsin permits self-representation, but it cautioned that promoting the author as a la…
Can a lawyer give a divorce handbook with general information to the lawyer's own divorce clients?
The opinion concluded the lawyer may circulate a divorce handbook of the type proposed to give general information to the lawyer's own divorce clients, while expressing no view on the accuracy of its …
Can a law firm send other lawyers an announcement that it is available to consult in labor law and that it has 19 years of experience in the field?
The opinion concluded that the firm could distribute a dignified announcement of availability to consult or associate in a branch of law, but the announcement could not claim special competence or exp…
Can a collection lawyer give creditor-clients pre-printed forms with his name on them to send to debtors threatening to put the matter in his hands?
The opinion concluded that the arrangement would violate professional ethics. It denies the lawyer personal judgment over accepting employment, aids the unauthorized practice of law, amounts to solici…
Browse State Bar of Wisconsin opinions by topic
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.