State Bar of Wisconsin

Meeting Minutes
June 25, 1998

The Paralegal Practice Task Force was called to order at approximately 9:00 a.m. by Chair, Attorney Pamela Barker. Other members attending were Attorney Casey Andringa, Attorney John Decker, Attorney Mary Lynne Donohue, John Goudie, Amy Klien (filling in for Christine Ouimet-Durow), Sally Mueller (filling in for Mary Celantani), Attorney Bill Mulligan and Nancy Warner. State Bar staff liaison Linda Barth was also present.

Chair Barker explained that at the November meeting, the Task Force had decided to go to the State Bar Board of Governors to make a presentation. As the Board Liaison, Attorney Mulligan made the presentation to the Board of Governors. Chair Barker noted the memo she sent to the Board asked for two things:

1. Eliminate the program now if you do not support our mission.
2. Otherwise, give us your comments and suggestions.

A copy of the minutes from that Board of Governor's meeting (January 28, 1998) was distributed to the Task Force. Chair Barker noted that, as negative as the comments are, having served on the Board of Governors she actually realizes they are not that negative. There is a group on the Board with concerns, Chair Barker explained, but by and large there is not overwhelming negative response.

Attorney Mulligan said that there are some themes that came through at the Board meeting that the Task Force needs to address before the final report is produced. He noted that if the Board was hostile to the work of the Task Force, they would have eliminated the Task Force on the spot.

Chair Barker agreed and said the Task Force needs to do a better job of educating the Board of Governors on what they are about and how much work and thought has already been put into this project.

Chair Barker explained that after the Board of Governors presentation, the next hurdle was funding from the State Bar. Originally, due to an oversight, there was no funding sheet for the Task Force. Chair Barker thanked Attorney Mulligan for catching the omission. Chair Barker said that the Task Force was funded and that the President-Elect (very soon to be President) Susan Steingass was very supportive of the Task Force.

Attorney Mulligan explained that the funding was a good sign. This year a number of budget reductions were made at the Board of Governors meeting, he pointed out. It's a good sign that the Task Force is still funded. He added, the Finance Committee wants to see major progress.

Attorney Decker advised that the Task Force needs to communicate more with the Board of Governors even prior to the final report.

Chair Barker said she expects this to be a very active year and that the Task Force must conclude its work within a year. That means working very closely with the Board of Bar Examiners and the Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility, she added.

Attorney Andringa said that his Ethics Subcommittee has a final product that may need some minor mechanical tinkering. He said the major thing that's left to work on is the education. He said he thinks the work can be completed in the next 6 months and that the Task Force should send pieces of the report to the Board of Governors and ask for their individual comments now...not when we give them the total final report.

Chair Barker agreed that a report could be completed within the next 6 months and a draft could go to the Board of Governors for comments before the Task Force officially addressed them. She noted that it is important for the Task Force to have something that the BAPR and BBE directors can take to their respective Boards, as well.

Mr. Goudie said he was concerned about the Board of Governors' comments regarding the concept that paralegals want to practice without the supervision of an attorney. He is concerned that this is still a pervasive belief among attorneys. Mr. Goudie also indicated that his association, Paralegal Association of Wisconsin, is concerned that there has been no activity in the Task Force, which had been moving along well until last November.

The Task Force agreed that a Board of Governors education campaign is a good idea, starting with small issues papers.

Chair Barker asked Mr. Goudie if he would prepare a response to the Board comments and also prepare a state-by-state chart of paralegal practice in other states. He agreed.

Chair Barker instructed Ms. Barth to send the Ethics Subcommittee work product to the entire Task Force and to BAPR.

Attorney Andringa noted that the Board of Governors gets tons of paper-we need something short and to the point...it should not be part of the regular Board materials.

Ms. Barth suggested that the Task Force may want to give a 10 minute presentation during the Board of Governors' lunches, in order to get their attention.

The Task Force agreed that there should be presentations to the Board of Governors at every meeting on the paralegal issue and that mailings should go out to Board members that are separate from their meeting materials.

Attorney Mulligan said that the Task Force should watch the timeline and that the June Board meeting is not the best for a final vote...the Task Force should shoot for April.

Attorney Andringa suggested that there should be a theme or slogan to all the educational materials-something like "Paralegals: With us or against us?"

Attorney Mulligan pointed out that the Board of Governors has a portion of the State Bar's website and we should consider putting information on the website for the Board members.

Attorney Decker advised the group to make use of the website but that is not the only communication tool-not every Board member gets their information through the website. Ms. Barth agreed to get information on the website.

The group also decided that there should be broader dissemination on the issue because Board members could dismiss that final report, saying that they needed to talk to their respective constituents before moving on the issue.

Attorney Mulligan suggested articles on paralegal topics be printed in the Wisconsin Lawyer.

Attorney Andringa said that his local bar had a newsletter and he could work to get a good, short article in that publication.

Chair Barker asked both Mr. Goudie and Attorney Andringa to work together on writing the first educational piece. They agreed.

Mr. Goudie suggested that the first piece should dispel the myth that paralegals want to practice without the supervision of an attorney.

Chair Barker said that at the next meeting the group will look at the Ethics Subcommittee recommendations. She directed Ms. Barth to pull out of the minutes the issues that the Task Force still needs to address.

Mr. Goudie said that the Paralegal Association of Wisconsin believes in the Task Force and has slashed their lobbying budget.

Chair Barker summarized by saying that the Board of Governors comments show the Task Force has an educational challenge.

Finally, the group expressed their grief over the death of Task Force member Attorney Dan Tuchscherer. His special talents and insights in paralegal practice will be hard to replace on the Task Force.

Before adjourning the group had some housekeeping tasks:

1. Chair Barker asked Mr. Goudie to provide a name of another PAW member to serve on the Task Force.
2. Chair Barker indicated she will discuss possibilities of another Task Force member from the Legal Service Corporation with Attorney John Ebbott.
3. Chair Barker also said she will contact a professor at the University of Wisconsin regarding serving on the Task Force.
4. She also indicated that she will set the next meeting date for sometime next month and that every possible effort should be made to get State Bar CLE Director Katy Duren at the meeting.

The meeting adjourned.

Paralegal Task Force Main