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Vol. 73, No. 8, August 2000 |
Wisconsin's New Lawyer
Regulation System
Reviewing Wisconsin's Lawyer Regulation System
The new system of lawyer regulation clarifies the duties
and responsibilities of the system components and provides new
checks and balances to increase the accountability of the decision
making in order to protect the public and the legal profession.
The effective date is expected to be in September 2000.
by James L. Martin
 he lawyer
regulation system of tomorrow will operate much like the lawyer regulation
system of today. In the new lawyer regulation system1,
the staff of the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) is authorized to
receive oral grievances and central staff and district investigative
committees will do investigations. A Preliminary Review Committee will
function as a neutral magistrate for determining whether the director
has cause to proceed to file a public complaint against a lawyer and
a Board of Administrative Oversight will be responsible for monitoring
the overall fairness, productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency of
the system. The director of OLR will be given the authority to determine
the disposition to seek in misconduct and medical incapacity cases.
The duties of referees include the issuance of consensual private and
public reprimands and, on the request of a grievant, review of some
determinations adverse to grievants.
The implementation of this new system is dependent upon three
events taking place:
- the court selecting the members to make up the Preliminary
Review Committee and the Board of Administrative Oversight, which
is in progress;
- the court appointing a director of the Office of Lawyer Regulation,
which is in process; and
- the adoption of an effective date for the proposed new SCR
Chapters 21 and 22, expected to be in September 2000.
Lawyer Regulation System
 Under
the new system, the office and staff of the Board of Attorneys Professional
Responsibility will become the Office of Lawyer Regulation. Components
of the new regulation system will be the Office of Lawyer Regulation,
including litigation and retained counsel, district investigative committees,
a Preliminary Review Committee, a Board of Administrative Oversight,
court-appointed referees, and the court. The new lawyer disciplinary
system will divide the responsibilities of the previous lawyer discipline
board - BAPR - between two 12-person bodies called the Preliminary
Review Committee and the Board of Administrative Oversight.
The OLR will be responsible for screening, investigating,
and prosecuting alleged lawyer misconduct and alleged medical
incapacity. In addition, the director, appointed by and serving
at the pleasure of the court, will:
- monitor an attorney's compliance with conditions imposed
on the attorney's practice of law;
- investigate petitions for license reinstatement and the applicant's
character and fitness for bar admission;
- employ staff to assist in performing the director's
duties;
- supervise the district investigative committees;
- prepare an annual budget for operating the office of lawyer
regulation and submit it to the Board of Administrative Oversight
for review and presentation, with comment, to the supreme court;
and
- prepare an annual report of the Office of Lawyer Regulation
activities during the preceding year and submit it to the Board
of Administrative Oversight for review and presentation, with
comment, to the supreme court.
The director may retain private practitioners to assist in
performing the director's duties to present matters to the
preliminary review committee and to prosecute complaints alleging
attorney misconduct and petitions alleging attorney medical incapacity.
District Investigative Committees
District investigative committees are retained in the proposed
new system. The court will appoint the members and all members
will serve staggered three-year terms. To the extent feasible,
one-third of committee members will be nonlawyers. District investigative
committees will function under the supervision of the director.
Among the committees' duties are:
- to educate the bar and the public about the practice of law
consistent with the Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys,
SCR Chapter 20 (first
and second
parts);
- to assist in the investigation of possible misconduct or
medical incapacity of an attorney upon referral by the director;
and
- to make a recommendation to the director as they consider
appropriate for the disposition of any matter that the committees
have investigated.
District investigative committees are to conduct their investigation
and file an investigative report with the director within 90
days after the date of referral of a matter.
Preliminary Review Committee
The 12-member Preliminary Review Committee shall consist of
eight lawyers and four nonlawyers appointed by the supreme court.
Members will serve staggered three-year terms. The committee
will be comprised of two six-member panels, each having four
lawyers and two nonlawyers. The preliminary review panels will:
- review the results of investigations of allegations of attorney misconduct
or medical incapacity presented by the director and determine whether
there is cause to proceed2
in the matter. The affirmative vote of four or more panel members
is required to determine cause to proceed;
- review at the request of a grievant the director's dismissal
of a grievance following investigation; and
- confer periodically with the Board of Administrative Oversight
about the operation of the Preliminary Review Committee and panels
and suggest improvements in their operation.
The Preliminary Review Committee will hold regularly scheduled
meetings at least quarterly and each panel will meet as necessary
to carry out its duties.
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