At its Sept. 18 meeting the State Bar of Wisconsin Board of Governors heard a petition to create a new Supreme Court rule authorizing supervised non-lawyer advocates to advise and represent clients in limited civil matters, and set a schedule for member comments and a public hearing.
Petition 26-04, filed by the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission, seeks a new SCR Chapter 51 to certify non-lawyer "legal advocates" to work under lawyer supervision in small-value civil cases.
The proposal models supervised practice on Wisconsin’s student practice rule (SCR Chapter 50) and was drafted in part by James E. Goldschmidt and Quarles & Brady team members.
Panelists at the Board meeting included academics, a Court of Appeals judge, legal aid leadership, and attorneys involved in drafting the petition.
# What happened On Sept. 18 the 53-member State Bar of Wisconsin Board of Governors reviewed Petition 26-04, a proposed Supreme Court rule that would authorize certified non-lawyer "legal advocates" to advise and represent clients in certain small-value civil matters under the supervision of a licensed attorney. The petition was filed by the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission in early September.
# The rule being proposed The petition would create SCR Chapter 51, establishing a certification process and a limited scope of permitted work for legal advocates. The model for supervised practice is Wisconsin's existing student practice rule, SCR Chapter 50, which allows law students to appear under lawyer supervision. The petition frames legal advocates as nonlawyer personnel who would operate under comparable oversight for defined civil case types.
# Who presented and why A guest panel explained the rationale and answered Board questions. The panel was led by Section Leaders Council Representative James E. Goldschmidt, who helped draft the petition with colleagues at Quarles & Brady LLP. Other panelists included:
The presenters described the proposal's purpose as expanding access to legal help in routine civil matters by creating a supervised, certificated role for nonlawyers.
# Board response and next steps Board members asked pointed questions but did not take action at the Sept. 18 meeting. Elizabeth A. Fernandez, chair of the Board of Governors for FY 2027, chaired her first Board meeting of the term. State Bar members were invited to submit written comments before the Dec. 4 Board meeting. The Board anticipates a public hearing on the petition early next year.
# Context and scale of the problem Prof. James Sandman told the Board that in 76% of civil cases in state courts nationwide at least one party appears without a lawyer. That statistic was presented to underscore the access-to-justice gap the petition aims to address.
# What the petition does not yet decide
# Practical takeaway for State Bar members Members who wish to influence the rulemaking should prepare written comments for submission before Dec. 4 and follow announcements about the public hearing slated for early 2027. The petition's supporters include law‑school faculty, judiciary representatives, legal-aid leadership, and attorneys involved in drafting the rule language.
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