Pence v. Slate

¶1 Wisconsin has a long-standing rule that an attorney is not liable to a non-client for "acts committed in the exercise of his [or her] duties as an attorney." See Auric v. Continental Cas. Co. , 111 Wis. 2d 507, 512, 331 N.W.2d 325 (1983). There are exceptions to this rule and one of those exceptions, established in Auric , applies in the estate-planning context.

¶2 In this case, beneficiaries of a trust seek to hold an attorney liable for his alleged negligence related to the trust, despite the fact that the beneficiaries were never clients of the attorney. They rely on the Auric exception.…