Get Involved!
Retired Justice Wilcox on the unauthorized practice of law: 'Let the court know your concerns' – Inside Track, Dec. 2, 2009
The State Bar’s UPL Policy Committee joins Justice Wilcox’s call to action and urges State Bar members who are concerned about UPL to get involved in persuading the court to adopt the petition as proposed by the State Bar. Because the court is acting in a rule-making capacity, it is perfectly appropriate for members to contact the court directly and support the State Bar petition.
Your action is needed today! Letters and comments in support of State Bar petition 07-09 should be emailed to Carrie Janto and Supreme Court Clerk David Schanker. Hard copies of any such comments or letters should also be mailed to:
Wisconsin Supreme Court
110 East Main Street, Suite 215
P.O. Box 1688
Madison, WI 53701-1688
In addition, if you have examples of UPL that you are aware or if you have any questions, please contact Adam Korbitz at (800) 444-9404, ext. 6140 or (608) 250-6140.
The State Bar’s activities regarding Supreme Court rule-making petitions are coordinated by the State Bar’s government relations team.
Jan. 26, 2010 – It makes divorce sound so easy and inexpensive.
“To start your divorce, click here,” the website says.
Clicking on the link takes prospective customers to a page with a questionnaire.
“Please fill out and print the questionnaire to begin the process for your divorce,” the instructions say. “As soon as we receive your completed questionnaire, we will prepare your first sets of completed documents for your review and signature to begin the process for divorce.”
This Internet-based divorce program – targeted at Wisconsin residents - appears to be yet another example of the unauthorized practice of law that members of the State Bar of Wisconsin have identified in recent months.
However, because Wisconsin Supreme Court rules currently lack both a workable definition of the practice of law and an effective enforcement mechanism, it is unlikely anything can be done about this and other probable instances of UPL in Wisconsin – unless and until the Wisconsin Supreme Court adopts the State Bar of Wisconsin’s 2007 petition regarding the unauthorized practice of law.
The Supreme Court has ordered a public hearing and open administrative conference on the petition at 9:45 a.m. on Monday, March 8, 2010, in the Supreme Court’s hearing room in the Capitol. It is the second public hearing and third administrative conference to be held on the petition in the two and a half years since the State Bar filed the petition with the court.
A series of weekly articles being published on Wisbar.org in January and February is detailing recent examples of UPL in Wisconsin and giving State Bar members the opportunity to contact the Wisconsin Supreme Court directly and voice their support for the State Bar’s UPL petition. It is imperative that State Bar members communicate to the court their concern about the adverse impact of UPL on the public - today.
“A Complete Divorce”
The website for the Wisconsin-based company promises its customers a “divorce made easy and economically feasible.” It also claims that the company “was started to help people go through the process of divorce without the added expense of attorneys” and that it has “hundreds of satisfied Wisconsin clients.”
A review of the website shows that the for-profit business uses non-lawyer “advocates” to determine and service the legal needs of its customers.
The owner of the business makes no effort to conceal the fact that he is not an attorney and that he has no formal legal training.
While the owner says the company “would never suggest that you come to us for legal advice and we would always suggest you seek the advice of an attorney if you have legal questions beyond what our documents state,” the website offers no direction or discussion of issues that might complicate a pro se divorce in Wisconsin or require the expertise of a trained attorney.
The website also promises paying customers an “economically priced pro se divorce” using an “easy and fast process.” Customers are also promised “professional preparation of all documents” with “no waiting - immediate service” and even a “free name change.”
However, the website suggests that the company goes far beyond filling in the blanks on forms. The website says the operation is “a full service company who prepares all documents for your review and signatures making sure that the right documents are presented to the courts at the right time through the 120 day waiting period.” [emphasis added]
“Once we receive your questionnaire and deposit, the questionnaire is handed to your advocate who starts putting together the proper documents to begin the process of divorce,” the website explains.
According to the website, “advocates” who are assigned the cases, are “real, caring people handling your documents, not a bank of computers or programs with just standard formats. This gives your advocate the ability to see your needs and provide the documents needed to get through your divorce successfully and with as little stress as possible.” [emphasis added]
The business reports that “we have been successful for our clients for many years doing hundreds and hundreds of divorces each year,” with “no complaints.”
State Bar UPL petition would protect consumers
The State Bar’s initiative to curb UPL operations like that described above, called the Legal Services Consumer Protection Act, responds to a directive issued by the court in 2004 asking the State Bar to document the consumer impact of unqualified individuals practicing law and to recommend changes. Wisconsin residents seeking legal services will gain additional consumer safeguards against businesses engaging in UPL if the court approves the petition.
The State Bar’s petition asks the court, which has exclusive jurisdiction over the practice of law in the state, to take two actions: 1) Adopt a new rule to clearly define what constitutes the “practice of law” for consumer protection purposes; and, 2) Create an administrative system to enforce the new rule.
The court previously held a public hearing and open administrative conference on the petition in December 2007, as well as two additional open conferences in March and October of 2008. The court deferred the petition last session without acting to approve it.
The original State Bar petition offers dozens of examples of instances where Wisconsin consumers have been hurt when people without proper training or oversight attempt to practice law. In 2008, based on feedback from other interested parties, the State Bar filed an amended version of the petition and supporting comments.
In December, the State Bar’s Board of Governors unanimously approved a resolution urging the court to adopt the State Bar’s petition in order to protect the public from harm by those who engage in the unauthorized practice of law.
In addition, the State Bar’s UPL Policy Committee published a strongly-worded editorial in the October 2009 issue of Wisconsin Lawyer urging the court to approve the petition. State Bar President Doug Kammer reappointed the committee in July and added several new members, including former Supreme Court Justice Jon Wilcox.
Justice Wilcox calls on State Bar members to support petition
Justice Wilcox recently spoke of the need for the court to approve the State Bar’s UPL petition in an address to the 2009 Class of Fellows of the Wisconsin Law Foundation.
“There is a need for a mechanism to address this problem,” Wilcox told the audience.“I believe some consumer protection is warranted here.”
“The Wisconsin Supreme Court has the exclusive power to regulate the practice of law,” Wilcox said. “The court’s regulation of the practice of law is intended to protect society from the harm that can result from the activities of unlicensed practitioners.”
“The majority of other states that have adopted a definition of the practice of law and court rule to deal with the unauthorized practice of law,” Justice Wilcox concluded. “Our supreme court should do no less . . . on the unauthorized practice of law question I urge you to get involved and let the court know your concerns.”
By
Adam Korbitz,
Government Relations Coordinator, State Bar of Wisconsin
Related articles:
Business guilty of UPL in Ohio now soliciting clients in Wisconsin with impunity - Jan. 20, 2010
Case of independent paralegal raises UPL questions - Jan. 13, 2010
Supreme Court must approve UPL petition to protect public, State Bar members say - Jan. 6, 2010
Board of Governors calls on Supreme Court to approve UPL petition - December 4, 2009
Retired Justice Wilcox on the unauthorized practice of law: 'Let the court know your concerns' – Inside Track, Dec. 2, 2009
Only Lawyers Need a License to Practice Law in Wisconsin – Wisconsin Lawyer, October 2009
Legal Services Consumer Protection Act, State Bar president statement – June 19, 2007
The Unauthorized Practice of Law: Court Tells Profession, Show Us the Harm – Wisconsin Lawyer, October 2005
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