Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 757.295 (2026)

Barratry

✓ current as of July 2026

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757.295757.295 Barratry.

757.295(1)(1) Soliciting legal business. Except as provided under SCR 20:7.1 to 20:7.5, no person may solicit legal matters or a retainer, written or oral, or any agreement authorizing an attorney to perform or render legal services.

757.295(2)(2) Solicitation of a retainer for an attorney. Except as provided under SCR 20:7.1 to 20:7.5, no person may communicate directly or indirectly with any attorney or person acting in the attorney’s behalf for the purpose of aiding, assisting or abetting the attorney in the solicitation of legal matters or the procurement through solicitation of a retainer, written or oral, or any agreement authorizing the attorney to perform or render legal services.

757.295(3)(3) Employment by attorney of person to solicit legal matters. Except as provided under SCR 20:7.1 to 20:7.5, no attorney may employ any person for the purpose of soliciting legal matters or the procurement through solicitation of a retainer, written or oral, or of any agreement authorizing the attorney to perform or render legal services.

757.295(4)(4) Penalty. Any person guilty of any violation of this section shall be imprisoned not more than 6 months or fined not exceeding $500.

757.295 HistoryHistory: 1977 c. 187 s. 96; 1977 c. 273, 357; 1977 c. 447 ss. 190, 210; Stats. 1977 s. 757.295; 1985 a. 135; 1997 a. 35.

757.295 AnnotationThe agreement that a non-attorney would solicit clients for an attorney, in violation of this section, in exchange for payment of 25 percent of the attorney’s fee, in violation of s. 757.45, was unenforceable on the grounds of unjust enrichment or restitution. Abbott v. Marker, 2006 WI App 174, 295 Wis. 2d 636, 722 N.W.2d 162, 05-2853.

757.295 AnnotationSolicitation may be barred even though “speech” is a component of that activity. Ohralik v. Ohio State Bar Ass’n, 436 U.S. 447, 98 S. Ct. 1912, 56 L. Ed. 2d 444 (1978).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1999–2022 · leading case: Abbott v. Marker, 2006 WI App 174 (Wis. Ct. App. 2006).

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Abbott v. Marker, 2006 WI App 174 (Wis. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 14× “Abbott then amended his complaint to include a legal malpractice claim, and Marker then moved for summary judgment on the remaining claims.”

State v. Duffey, 981 P.2d 1 (Wash. Ct. App. 1999). “2-451 (Michie 1996); Wis. Stat. Ann. § 757.295 (West 1981). Although several States have statutes that make it a crime to “simulate legal process,” these statutes vary so widely in their language and elements as to be of no assistance.”

Scoll & Remeika, LLC v. Victoria Fueger (Wis. Ct. App. 2022). “§§ 757.295 (barratry) and 757.30 (practicing law without a license) establish that barratry and the unauthorized practice of law are defined as conduct that can be charged as unclassified misdemeanor crimes under Wisconsin law.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.