MADISON, Wis. (WTAQ) - The Wisconsin Supreme Court was scheduled to hold a public hearing Monday on a plan to enforce the state law against non-attorneys doing certain legal work. The State Bar Association wants the court to legally define what it calls the “unlicensed practice of law.” It also wants a state department to enforce a law against such practices. A non-lawyer faces a year in jail and a $500 fine for performing unlicensed legal activities – but the law is rarely enforced.
Thomas Zilavy of the State Bar says people take unnecessary risks when they non-lawyers do things like prepare will, write home-buying contracts, or appeal criminal cases. He says it opens the door to what he calls “charlatans and incompetents.” And he says 90 percent of State Bar members favor the rule, which it’s been trying to adopt since 2005.
But attorney Steve Levine of the State Public Service Commission says the Bar is, “making a mountain out of a mole hill.” He says there’s Wisconsin has survived quite nicely for years without such a legal mandate. Other opponents say the Bar is just trying to protect its members economically – and the proposed rule would add duplication with other professions like banking and accounting.
