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wisconsin
bar admission administrative agency:
supreme court of wisconsin
board of bar examiners
110 east main street, suite 715
madison, wisconsin 53703-3328
tel: 608-266-9760
e-mail: bbe@courts.state.wi.us
website:
http://www.courts.state.wi.us/
website:
http://www.wisbar.org/
bar admission options:
without bar examination
admission on proof of practice elsewhere. an attorney may be
admitted to practice in wisconsin on the basis of having engaged in the active
practice of law in another u.s. jurisdiction for 3 years within the last 5 years
prior to filing application for admission. eligibility for admission under this
rule shall be limited as follows:
*an applicant from a jurisdiction that does not grant bar admission to attorneys
licensed in wisconsin on the basis of practice in wisconsin shall not be
eligible for admission on proof of practice elsewhere.
*legal service as corporate counsel or trust officer, if conducted in a state
where the applicant was admitted to practice law, may be deemed to be the
practice of law for the purposes of such admission.
*the following activities shall be deemed to be the practice of law for the
purposes of such admission:
(a) service as a judge of a court of record of the u.s., or any u.s.
jurisdiction.
(b) legal service with any local or state government or with the federal
government.
(c) legal service in the u.s. armed forces.
(d) teaching in any aba-approved law school.
*an applicant who has failed the wisconsin bar examination shall not be eligible
for admission on proof of practice elsewhere.
application deadline: none
application/admission fees: $840.00, plus $10.00 application packet fee.
with bar examination
examination required for all other applicants.
examination components:
1. academic: mbe and eight state essays. the board will accept in
transfer a scaled mbe score of 145 or better if the score is no more than 37
months old at the time of the wisconsin bar examination and if the score was
obtained as part of a successful bar examination in another jurisdiction that
was taken no more than 60 days before the j.d. was conferred. acceptance of the
transferred mbe has the effect of waiving that portion of the wisconsin bar
examination.
2. ethics: mpre not required; essay test includes ethics.
examination dates:
february (deadline: december 2 of the preceding year)
july (deadline: may 1)
late filings are permitted for one month with a late fee.
application/admission fees: $450.00
other state bar requirements:
1. minimum age: 18
2. character check by the wisconsin board of bar examiners.
3. graduate of a law school approved by the aba.
4. required admission/annual fees: $100.00 (one-time admission fee); $105.00 (0-2 years after admission); $210.00 (3 years or more after admission). beginning in 2005, there is an annual assessment of $50.00 imposed on each active wisconsin attorney to fund legal services, payable to the wisconsin trust account foundation.
regulation of in-house counsel:
wisconsin bar admission rules do not specifically address in-house counsel. wisconsin unauthorized practice of law rules appear to require that in-house counsel working for corporations in wisconsin be members of the wisconsin bar.
bar association status:
[x] mandatory (see required annual fees above).
[ ] voluntary
specialty certification
wisconsin does not have its own specialty certification plan, but does recognize aba-accredited programs.
areas of specialization include:
- business bankruptcy
- civil trial advocacy
- consumer bankruptcy
- creditors' rights
- criminal trial advocacy
- elder law
- estate planning law
- family law trial advocacy
- professional liability (accounting; legal; medical)
supreme court rule 20:7.4 provides that "a lawyer may communicate the fact that the lawyer does or does not practice in particular fields of law." the rule further provides that a lawyer shall not state or imply that the lawyer is a specialist except if: 1) the lawyer is admitted to engage in patent practice before the united states patent and trademark office; 2) the lawyer is engaged in admiralty practice; or 3) the lawyer has been certified as a specialist in a field of law by a named organization or authority, but only if that organization or authority has been accredited by the american bar association.
