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Wisconsin Lawyer
Vol. 77, No. 8, August 2004

Legal News & Trends

Young Lawyers Division enacts pro bono program to assist children

Every day in the United States, there are hundreds of thousands of children who have no one to advocate for their needs, no voice in their future, and no source to approach for legal assistance on issues important to them. Lawyers have a unique ability to use their skills to assist these children. To help address this situation, the State Bar Young Lawyers Division (YLD) has implemented the American Bar Association YLD's One Child, One Lawyer program.

One Child, One Lawyer is a child advocacy-based initiative to provide lawyers with the skills and contacts to make a difference in the life of a child.

The State Bar YLD will begin by presenting a free CLE seminar on the guardianship process, including applicable law and the necessary forms to complete a guardianship, on Sept. 30 at the Milwaukee Children's Court Center. The program will cover all the basics of guardianship and is free to any lawyer who agrees to accept one pro bono guardianship case by June 30, 2005. For more information, contact State Bar YLD cochairs Amy Wochos or (414) 225-4060 or David Muth at (414) 277-5621.

U.W. Law Library updates guide to legal information

The U.W. Law Library recently updated the "Sources of Legal Information for the Wisconsin Attorney." The guide compiles sources of authoritative legal information for Wisconsin attorneys, emphasizing reliable free and low-cost resources. Legal resources are arranged by case law, citators, legislation, regulations, law review and legal journal articles, books, treatises, State Bar of Wisconsin resources, and government documents. The guide also includes information on legal resources available for delivery via fax, mail, and email from Wisconsin libraries, and electronically by credit card.

The guide was previously published in the October 2002 Wisconsin Lawyer. The updated guide is available online at www.wisbar.org/legalres.

Mandatory court form updates: civil, general, probate, and small claims

In July, the Wisconsin Records Management Committee, an advisory committee to the Director of State Courts Office that develops and distributes mandated forms, updated the following forms.

Civil (release date July 1)

  • CV-423 Earnings Garnishment - Exemption Notice
  • CV-424 Earnings Garnishment - Debtor's Answer
  • CV-426 Garnishment Exemption Worksheet
  • CV-427 Poverty Guidelines

General (release date July 15)

  • GF-115 Execution Against Property
  • GF-166 Notice to Submit Standard Court Form
  • GF-171 Judgment for Unpaid Fines, Forfeitures and Other Financial Obligations

Small Claims (release date July 1)

  • SC-500 Summons and Complaint - Small Claims
  • SC-506 Order for Financial Disclosure and Financial Disclosure Statement
  • SC-515 Motion to Reopen Small Claims Judgment and Order

Probate (release date July 1)

  • PR-1832 Notice of Estate Administration Deadlines
  • PR-1833 Petition for Extension of Time
  • PR-1834 Order for Extension of Time

The probate forms are a product of a subcommittee appointed by the Committee of Chief Judges in August 2002 to review probate benchmarks and case processing techniques in an effort to provide time management standards in probate cases. For more information, see "Chief Judges Approve Probate Case Management Review" in July Wisconsin Lawyer.

Forms, summaries, background, and information on using standard court forms are available in PDF or MS Word format at www.wisbar.org/forms. For more information, contact Judy Mahlkuch at (608) 266-7143.

Wisconsin Lawyer