State Bar of Wisconsin

Meeting Minutes
July 27, 1998

Chair, Attorney Pam Barker called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. In attendance was Attorney Casey Andringa, Attorney John Decker, Kathy Donovan, Amy Klein, Lynn Retzak and staff liaison Linda Barth. Attending by telephone were Rochelle Loewenhagen and Attorney Frank Remington.

Next Meeting

While waiting for the members on the telephone to be linked to the meeting, Chair Barker scheduled the next meeting for Wednesday, August 19th at the State Bar Center in Madison.

New Members

Chair Barker discussed the addition of new members to the Task Force. She has asked Professor Herbert Kritzer from the University of Wisconsin Department of Political Science to join and he has agreed. She also explained that she has been exchanging telephone calls with Legal Services Director John Ebbott to get his input on another member. In addition, she said that it has been suggested that a jurist or administrative law judge be added to the Task Force and she will check with Mr. Goudie and others for suggestions.

Article on Paralegal Practice

Attorney Andringa reported that he has not been able to connect with Mr. Goudie regarding putting together an article on paralegal practice. He indicated he would follow up.

Presence on Website

Ms. Barth asked for guidance on which materials should be put on the website. Ms. Retzak said it is helpful to have information on the Internet because everyone is watching Wisconsin's efforts regarding paralegal practice. Chair Barker said it is our marketing tool and we should be careful about the materials we submit. It was also suggested that a contact person be provided for those who would like more information and that the Chair would be appropriate.

It was agreed that the following materials should be on the website: the Task Force roster, the interim report, Chair Barker's memo to the Board of Governors, Prof. Kritzer's article, the ethics proposal (once it is approved) and the article that Attorney Andringa and Mr. Goudie are working on. Ms. Barth was directed to put these materials on the website, once the article is finished.

Ethics Subcommittee Report

Attorney Andringa explained that the Ethics Subcommittee was very thorough in their work and the entire subcommittee approved the final proposal. He explained that the subcommittee started with the attorney's professional code and worked from there.

Chair Barker said that Mr. Sternberg thought (speaking for himself) it was a good idea to closely model paralegal ethics after attorney ethics. Ms. Retzak thought the report was great and goes along with the ethics currently taught to students in paralegal programs.

Chair Barker thanked Attorney Remington for his work on the ethics rule.

Attorney Andringa moved and Attorney Remington seconded adoption of the paralegal ethics package. Attorney Decker noted a typo on page 15 and the group agreed that it should be corrected. Those present voted unanimously for adoption. However, a quorum of voting members was not present and Ms. Barth was instructed to survey the voting members for an official vote on adoption of the paralegal ethics rules.

Topics for Next Meeting

Chair Barker said that the next meeting would cover the issues of education requirements, continuing education requirements and a grandfather clause. She said that implementation will be the most difficult issue to tackle, especially the cost and which agency oversees paralegal practice-should it be BAPR and BBE or another agency.

Coordinating Efforts with Agencies

Chair Barker also explained that she had a long conversation with the Gerald Sternberg, Director of the Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility, regarding the best way to work with him and his board on our efforts.

She said that Mr. Strenberg is willing to test the waters with his board to get their comments and to find out if they are interested in administering paralegal practice. If they don't want to administer the program, Chair Barker pointed out, then we need to know that right away. She also noted that Mr. Sternberg is willing to help on determining cost.

As to the cost issue, she noted that we need to know how many paralegals would be affected. BAPR knows it covers 19,000 attorneys. The number of paralegals has an impact on the administration of the program and its costs.

New Subcommittees

The group discussed the issues ahead-grandfathering for existing paralegals, education standards and implementation. Ms. Klein raised a concern regarding ABA-approved education programs versus correspondence courses. Ms. Retzak raised the idea of an exit exam so a program would not necessarily need to be ABA-approved but the correspondence courses would be weeded out. She said that the American Association of Paralegal Education was looking at developing such an exit exam but it is a long way off.

Two subcommittees were formed. The Grandfathering Subcommittee would look at training, work experience and a grandfather clause. Members include Attorney Andringa, Mr. Goudie, Ms. Klein, Ms. Loewenhagen, Ms. Olley, Attorney Remington and Ms. Retzak.

The Education Subcommittee would look at proficiency exams, education standards and continuing legal education. Members include Attorney Barker, Ms. Celentani, Attorney Decker, Attorney Donohue, Attorney Lubner, Ms. Ouimet-Durow and Ms. Retzak.

Ms. Barth was instructed to check with Katy Duren, State Bar CLE Director, regarding the possibility of her attending the next meeting, too.

The meeting adjourned.

Paralegal Task Force Main