James Goldschmidt Lays Out Rationale for Proposed Legal Advocates Program in Article for Wisconsin Lawyer
In an article for the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Wisconsin Lawyer publication, James Goldschmidt explained how a newly proposed rule to create a legal advocates program in Wisconsin could make a significant difference in the effort to address the access-to-justice gap in the state.
Goldschmidt is a Quarles & Brady partner, chair of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group and member of the Quarles team that partnered with the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission to create the petition for the new rule, which was filed in September.
In the article, Goldschmidt details why simply adding more attorneys isn’t a viable solution to the state’s justice gap, how the proposed legal advocates program would operate and why it would be an important step in addressing the problem.
An excerpt:
It’s no secret that in Wisconsin, as throughout the nation, there is a vast gulf between the number of people who need help with legal problems and the number of people who can help solve them. That our courts are increasingly overwhelmed with self-represented litigants scarcely needs documentation. Nor does the reality that Wisconsinites — especially (but not exclusively) in rural areas — are having a harder time finding legal assistance.
Could that be in part because we continue to insist that the only ones who can help with legal problems are lawyers?
…
Rule Petition 26-04, In the Matter of Creation of Supreme Court Rule Chapter 51, Authorized Practice by Legal Advocates, takes a new and Wisconsin-specific approach to the problem. Filed in early September on behalf of the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission and my firm, Quarles & Brady LLP, the petition seeks to create a new class of helpers, called “legal advocates,” who would work under the supervision of licensed Wisconsin attorneys to extend their reach into underserved corners of the legal system. Legal advocates could give supervised legal advice, negotiate on clients’ behalf, and appear before courts and public agencies.
These legal advocates would be certified to work in discrete areas for which they are qualified based on their individual training and experience. Credentialing would come, in the first instance, from the legal organization for which they work (called a “certifying entity”), which would certify that the individual meets the rule’s requirements for registration as a legal advocate. A standing committee appointed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court would then review, approve, and monitor applications.
Like our current law student practice rule (SCR chapter 50), the proposed rule requires legal advocates’ work to be supervised by licensed Wisconsin attorneys, who must assume professional liability for a legal advocate’s work. Courts could restrict or revoke legal advocates’ certification for cause, and both the standing committee and the supreme court itself could revoke any legal advocate’s certification at any time. The rule also contains numerous other protections for clients and the public.