757.30 Penalty for practicing without license.

(1) Every person, who without having first obtained a license to practice law as an attorney of a court of record in this state, as provided by law, practices law within the meaning of sub. (2), or purports to be licensed to practice law as an attorney within the meaning of sub. (3), shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than $500 or imprisoned not more than one year in the county jail or both, and in addition may be punished as for a contempt.

(2) Every person who appears as agent, representative or attorney, for or on behalf of any other person, or any firm, partnership, association or corporation in any action or proceeding in or before any court of record, circuit or supplemental court commissioner, or judicial tribunal of the United States, or of any state, or who otherwise, in or out of court, for compensation or pecuniary reward gives professional legal advice not incidental to his or her usual or ordinary business, or renders any legal service for any other person, or any firm, partnership, association or corporation, shall be deemed to be practicing law within the meaning of this section.

(3) Every person who uses the words attorney at law, lawyer, solicitor, counselor, attorney and counselor, proctor, law, law office, or other equivalent words in connection with his or her name or any sign, advertisement, business card, letterhead, circular, notice, or other writing, document or design, the evident purpose of which is to induce others to believe or understand the person to be authorized to practice law or who in any other manner represents himself or herself either verbally or in writing, directly or indirectly, as authorized to practice law in this state, shall be deemed to be purporting to be licensed to practice law as an attorney within the meaning of this section.

(4) No person shall practice law in this state under any other given name or any other surname than that under which originally admitted to the bar of this or any other state, in any instance in which the board of bar examiners shall, after a hearing, find that practicing under the changed name operates to unfairly compete with another practitioner or to mislead the public as to identity or to otherwise result in detriment to the profession or the public. Any person violating this subsection shall be subject to the penalty provided in sub. (1). This subsection does not apply to a change of name resulting from marriage or divorce.

History: 1977 c. 26; 1977 c. 187 s. 96; Stats. 1977 s. 757.30; 1979 c. 98; 1991 a. 32, 39; 1993 a. 490; 2001 a. 61.

When the record did not indicate that a tenant union provided inadequate, unethical, or complex legal advice to tenants, the tenant union information service was protected by free speech guarantees. Hopper v. Madison, 79 Wis. 2d 120, 256 N.W.2d 139 (1977).

A nonlawyer may not sign and file a notice of appeal on behalf of a corporation. To do so constitutes practicing law without a license in violation of this section and voids the appeal. Requiring a lawyer to represent a corporation in filing the notice does not violate constitutional guarantees of equal protection, due process or the right of any suitor to prosecute or defend a suit personally. Jadair Inc. v. United States Fire Insurance Co. 209 Wis. 2d 187, 561 N.W.2d 718 (1997), 95-1946.

Section 799.06 (2) authorizes a non-lawyer employee to represent a party to a small claims action at the appellate as well as trial court level and is an exception to the rule stated in Jadair. Holz v. Busy Bees Contracting, Inc. 223 Wis. 2d 598, 589 N.W.2d 633 (Ct. App. 1998), 98-1076.

A nonlawyer's questioning of a witness on the state's behalf at a John Doe hearing, even if constituting the unauthorized practice of law, did not require exclusion of the testimony at trial. State v. Noble, 2002 WI 64, 253 Wis. 2d 206, 646 N.W.2d 38, 99-3271.

No exception was found under this section to permit an attorney unlicensed in this state to represent a person at a peer review hearing at which representation by legal counsel was allowed. Seitzinger v. Community Health Network, 2004 WI 28, 270 Wis. 2d 1, 676 N.W.2d 426, 02-2002.

A nonlawyer personal representative of an estate may not represent the interests of the estate in a mortgage foreclosure proceeding and may not commence an appeal from a mortgage foreclosure. Accordingly, the notice of appeal filed by the nonlawyer personal representative in this case was ineffective to initiate a valid appeal on behalf of the estate. Ditech Financial, LLC v. Estate of Stacey, 2018 WI App 18, 380 Wis. 2d 447, 909 N.W.2d 180, 16-2371.

Officers and employees of a bank are not illegally practicing law by filling out lease forms designed and prepared by the attorney representing the owner of the property being leased under a property management agreement between the owner and the bank. 60 Atty. Gen. 114.

Drafting of articles of incorporation constitutes the practice of law within meaning of (2). 65 Atty. Gen. 173.

Sub. (2) is inapplicable to practice in federal courts. United States v. Peterson, 550 F.2d 379.

Nonlawyer Practice: An Expanding Role. Tenenbaum. Wis. Law. Nov. 1994.

The Unauthorized Practice of Law: Court Tells Profession, Show Us the Harm. Zilavy & Chevrez. Wis. Law. Oct. 2005.

When Nonlawyers “Represent" LLCs. Mehl. Wis. Law. March 2009.