Wisconsin Administrative Code
Public Defender Board
Chapter PD 4 - Private Attorney Payment
Section PD 4.025 - Compensation for public representation after case commenced by retained counsel

Universal Citation: WI Admin Code ยง PD 4.025

Current through August 26, 2024

(1) Except as provided in sub. (3), if privately retained counsel is appointed by the state public defender under s. PD 2.07(1), the total amount reimbursed by the state public defender to that attorney may not exceed an amount equal to the total number of hours shown by contemporaneous time records to have been reasonably expended on the case by that attorney multiplied by the rate the state public defender is authorized by statute to pay private attorneys, less any fees paid to the attorney by or on behalf of the client. The attorney's expenses are not included in the computation of the maximum amount reimbursable by the state public defender.

(2)

(a) Fees, if any, paid by or on behalf of the client shall first be applied to the period of legal representation prior to the effective date of assignment by the state public defender, using the number of hours shown by contemporaneous time records to have been reasonably expended on the case by that attorney during that period multiplied by the rate the state public defender is authorized by statute to pay private attorneys.

(b) Any fees received by the attorney from or on behalf of the client in excess of the amount calculated under par. (a) shall be applied to the period of representation after the effective date of assignment by the state public defender and subtracted from the total amount reimbursable by the state public defender under sub. (1).

(3) The state public defender may, in his or her discretion, use a reasonable hourly rate that is greater than the amount authorized by statute to compute the allowable fees calculated under sub. (2) (a) for the period of representation prior to assignment by the state public defender, if all of the following apply:

(a) The privately retained attorney had a written fee agreement which was signed by the client at the beginning of the attorney's representation;

(b) The attorney had a reasonable expectation of being paid fully for representation of the client at the beginning of the representation, and that expectation is supported by the written fee agreement;

(c) The attorney maintained contemporaneous time records for all time expended in the representation of the client; and

(d) The state public defender finds that the fee paid to the attorney by or on behalf of the client prior to the appointment of publicly compensated counsel was reasonable.

(4) The amount reimbursed by the state public defender may not exceed the amount computed by multiplying the rate the state public defender is authorized by statute to pay times the number of hours actually expended by the attorney in this representation after the effective date of assignment by the state public defender.

The state public defender board presumes access to the attorney's contemporaneous time records of the case as necessary to implement s. PD 4.025.

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