State Bar of Wisconsin

ELIST Round up

10/21/09

Solo and small firm practitioners across the state are networking with each other on a daily basis thanks to the email list sponsored by the Solo and Small Firm Practice Committee. Here’s a look at some of the information you’ve missed if you don’t subscribe:

• Advice on how to handle support employees whose discussion is disruptive to the office. One response suggested distributing the complaints in writing at an office meeting, asking each staffer to acknowledge the notice in writing, and filing the results in the respective employment folders. One writer noted that in Wisconsin,  an employer does not need to have any reason to terminate a person's employment.
• An update on secured claims in Chapter 13 bankruptcies.
• Background on the difference between how Wisconsin and other states would respond to the holder of a mortgage secured by different rental properties who wanted to pick which of the properties on which to foreclose. 
• Suggestions on what kind of television to buy to watch Packer games, the evening news and an occasional movie, in response to an attorney overwhelmed by the choices in the marketplace.
• A reminder that whether a corporation is a C or S entity for tax purposes has no bearing on the stockholders' personal liability for debts.
• Advice on how to help a client deal with a pre-paid contractor who didn’t finish a job or pay subcontractors. Suggestions included contacting the district attorney and reviewing the paperwork to see if the subcontractors qualify to file liens under Wis. Stat. 779.
• An answer as to whether an attorney can collect process server fees for serving a
  contempt motion in a small claims case.
• Help in finding the best deals for someone looking to upgrade their computers to Office 2007, and in finding software so a practitioner can burn photos to be accessed with a DVD player.
• A swift response on whether Wis. Stat.  973.015 requires that an order to expunge a criminal record be sought at the time of sentencing.
• Referrals to an entertainment lawyer, a probate practitioner and an elder law attorney.

You can join easily join the ongoing conversation Just subscribe or contact Julie Ethridge at the State Bar and she will subscribe you. Be sure to mention you wish to join the Solo and Small Firm Practice Committee email list.