Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial endorses State Bar’s legal services consumer protection initiative

August 20, 2007 - The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is the first Wisconsin newspaper to speak out editorially on the State Bar’s June petition to the State Supreme Court proposing adoption of the Legal Services Consumer Protection Act. Journal Sentinel editors endorsed the Bar’s position, noting that we need “more tools to protect consumers from bad legal advice by non-lawyers.” The August 20 editorial explains that the state “has the power to act when lawyers themselves misbehave, but it lacks that kind of control over non-lawyers who dispense legal advice.” The editorial stresses the need for a narrowly-drawn provision “written to target only cases in which consumers may get hurt as a result of outright fraud or well-intentioned error.”

State Bar President Tom Basting recently met with editorial staff from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other media to clarify the petition and urge support. “My goal in meeting with print and electronic media leaders is to convey both the urgency and the merits of our petition. I have emphasized in all of my meetings that the State Bar is working cooperatively with representatives of the real estate, banking and other industries to address their interests as well. Our only goal is to safeguard consumers from unqualified legal advice,” Basting said.

The petition asks the court to take two steps: 1) adopt a new rule clearly defining what constitutes the “practice of law” for consumer protection purposes; and 2) create an administrative system to enforce the new rule. A hearing on the petition has been scheduled for December.