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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What ethical duties apply to a Wisconsin lawyer who works remotely or from outside the state?
The opinion concludes that working remotely does not change a lawyer's core duties of competence, diligence, communication, and confidentiality, but heightens the need for technological competence, re…
Can in-house counsel for a non-law-firm company provide legal services to the company's customers?
The opinion concludes that an in-house lawyer who provides legal services to the customers of a non-law-firm employer, for the employer's financial benefit, assists the employer in the unauthorized pr…
Does a lawyer presenting a forms seminar create a lawyer-client relationship, and may law students help attendees fill out the forms?
If the lawyer gives only legal information, no lawyer-client relationship forms and students may help complete forms; if legal advice is given, the program must run under SCR Chapter 50 supervision an…
Can a law firm send a paralegal, instead of a lawyer, to attend a real estate closing on a client's behalf?
The opinion concluded that a properly trained paralegal may attend a real estate closing on a client's behalf where a firm lawyer has reviewed the documents, the paralegal gives no legal advice, and t…
Can an estate-planning lawyer hire nonlawyer financial planners as contractors to gather client data and help prepare documents?
The opinion concluded that an estate-planning lawyer's use of nonlawyer financial planners and investment advisors as independent contractors, paid hourly to give free consultations gathering data for…
Can a lawyer help a company market and prepare living trust plans sold to the public by nonlawyer salespeople?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer who participates in a company's marketing of living trust products faces serious problems. Drawing on its earlier Opinion E-90-7, the committee warned of nonwaivabl…
Can a Wisconsin lawyer work with a company that sells living-trust and estate-planning products to review or draft documents for its customers?
The opinion concluded that whether the organization is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law is a threshold issue the committee could not decide, but if it is, a lawyer may not assist it under S…
What ethics rules constrain a company's in-house counsel who is asked to let the employer bill other entities for the lawyer's work, do personal legal work for the owner or the owner's family, or represent affiliated companies?
The opinion concluded that full-time house counsel may not take part in any arrangement under which the employer charges other entities for the lawyer's legal services, because a for-profit business m…
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 lawyer use a lay consulting service for medical-legal research and expert witnesses in personal injury cases, paid on a contingent or flat fee basis?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may use such a service if it does not engage in the unauthorized practice of law, the lawyer does not share legal fees with it, and no contingent fee is paid for ex…
Can a corporation's in-house lawyer provide legal services to the general public when the corporation markets those services and keeps the fees?
The opinion concluded that no, an in-house counsel for a community economic development corporation may not provide legal services to the general business public where the corporation markets the serv…
Can a lawyer co-own a corporation with a nonlawyer that handles a landlord's entire eviction process and hires the lawyer to do the legal work?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not enter such an arrangement, because it risks aiding the unauthorized practice of law, sharing fees and a law partnership with a nonlawyer, and compromising t…
Can a paralegal who is also a licensed real estate broker handle a client's real estate closing if the file was prepared under an attorney's supervision?
The opinion concluded that a paralegal may not appear for the client at a closing, because the client is entitled to have the legal effect of the documents explained by the attorney, and a paralegal d…
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 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 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…
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 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…
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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.