SUPREME COURT OF WISCONSIN

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In the Matter of the Amendment of

Supreme Court Rules: SCR 20:6.1 -- ORDER

Certificate of Lawyer's Pro Bono No. 94-18

Activities

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On December 16, 1994, the court held a public hearing on the petition of the Dane County Bar Association Pro Bono Trust Fund seeking the amendment of SCR 20:6.1 to require members of the State Bar of Wisconsin to file annually with the State Bar a certificate setting forth the member's pro bono activities during the preceding year, providing that a member's failure to file a certificate would constitute grounds for suspension of the member from the State Bar. Following the public hearing, the court requested that the State Bar, which had created a commission to study the matter of lawyer pro bono activity, to survey its membership to determine the amount of pro bono work performed and the amount of financial contribution made to pro bono legal activities during the preceding year. Representatives of the State Bar and of the petitioner then prepared a reporting form to elicit information to provide an empirical base for the study undertaken by the State Bar's commission and the survey was distributed with the members' dues statements in 1995.

The court has considered the results of the survey filed with the court December 11, 1995 and the response of the chair of the petitioner. The court has determined that the requested rule amendment should not be adopted.

IT IS ORDERED that the petition for the amendment of SCR 20:6.1 is denied.

Dated at Madison, Wisconsin, this 24th day of January, 1996. BY THE COURT:

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Marilyn L. Graves, Clerk