Ethics changes take effect

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After months and even years of arduous preparation, drafting and re-drafting, the new Rules of Profes-sional Conduct for Attorneys along with the new Trust Account Rules took effect on July 1.

The State Bar of Wisconsin and Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) have worked diligently to inform the legal community of the pending changes, which were adopted separately by the Supreme Court earlier this year.

“I think everyone is on target as to what the major changes are at this point,” said attorney Dean R. Dietrich, Ruder Ware LLSC, who was a member of the Trust Account Working Group.

Education has been ongoing since mid-January on the updated conduct rules including State Bar-sponsored continuing legal education programs (CLE) in February. Informative sessions on the Trust Account updates have increased since its adoption in May.

Dietrich has personally spoken with many members of the bar on the revisions, which are admittedly similar to the old rules, but certainly worth a read.

“I think it’s important for lawyers to be aware of the changes, especially with regards to the Trust Accounts because a lot of those changes were made to help solve the problems of the last revisions,” said OLR Director, Keith Sellen.

He specifically pointed to changes which allow credit cards for payment of advanced fees (SCR 20:1.15(e)(4)h) and alternative protection of advanced fees (SCR 20:1.15(b)(4m).

Attorneys will have the ability to deposit advanced fees into a business account, provided they notify the client in writing. While this is meant to be a benefit to attorneys, Sellen noted that the advantage comes with becoming familiar with the option.

“Technically, attorneys could continue to have funds deposited in their trust accounts, and be in compliance with the new rules, but there is more flexibility,” said Sellen. “I really don’t think there is anything that’s going to trip anyone up.”

The new conduct rules also require attorneys to provide certain written notifications when entering a relationship with a new client (SCR 20:1.5(b). Attorneys need to outline the amount of money to be charged, as well as the rate for expenses that the attorney will charge for reimbursement by the client. The attorney is also responsible for communicating the “scope of the representation.”

Feedback on the changes has been minimal, but participation in the informative bar programs has been steady according to Thomas Solberg, a spokesperson for the bar.

The initial Web casts of the Trust Account changes on May 17 and June 19 were viewed by about 120 and 80 people, respectively. A Rules of Professional Conduct session was shown in February and re-broadcast on two other occasions.

“Most members seem interested in learning how to comply with the changes, rather than airing any opinions on them,” said Solberg, who noted that the recent launch of CLE On-demand programs has made information on the changes much more readily available than in the past.

The On-demand programs will continue to be available after July 1 and several other initiatives are planned throughout the end of the year. The Annual Ethics Update will offer a Web cast on Oct. 18 and a live session on Oct. 19 as well as two more showings on Nov. 13 and Dec. 13.

One-hour Ethics Telephone Seminars will also take place throughout November and December. And the bar regularly updates information on its Web site, www.wisbar.org.

The abundance of literature, both electronic and paper, has Sellen confident that violations of the new rules should be few and far between.

“We’re not going to be consciousl
y looking for things, but we’re going to be mindful,” said Sellen. “I don’t foresee and immediate impact and I think for the most part, attorneys are going to adapt.”