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  • December 01, 2003

    Inside the Bar December 2003: Board supports legislation allowing temporary supreme court service, petition to adopt Federal Rule 11, and more

    At its Nov. 14 meeting, the Board of Governors supported adopting Federal Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure and legislation allowing temporary service on the supreme court, and authorized the Finance Committee to consider a dues increase, among other actions.

    Inside the Bar Inside the Bar
    December 2003

    Board supports legislation allowing temporary supreme court service, petition to adopt Federal Rule 11, and more

    At its Nov. 14 meeting, the Board of Governors supported adopting Federal Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure and legislation allowing temporary service on the supreme court, and authorized the Finance Committee to consider a dues increase, among other actions.

    Gov.Gwendolyn Connolly of Milwaukee studies     board issues.

    Gov. Gwendolyn Connolly of Milwaukee studies board issues.

    Temporary service on supreme court. The board voted 25-15 to support legislation proposing a constitutional amendment to permit, under certain circumstances, a court of appeals judge chosen by lot to serve temporarily on the supreme court. (See article below.)

    Federal Rule 11. The board approved the Litigation Section's request to join in petition with the Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Civil Trial Counsel of Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates to adopt Federal Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure (FRCP) in Wisconsin, re-placing §802.05 and §814.025. A public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 19.

    Litigation Section board member Catherine La Fleur highlighted the advantages of adopting Federal Rule 11, which, unlike current Wisconsin law, allows a party to withdraw a frivolous pleading and avoid a sanction.

    Amicus regarding attorney/client privilege. The board opposed authorizing the Litigation Section's request for the section to file an amicus in Harold Sampson Children's Trust v. Linda Gale Sampson Trust, relating to waiver of attorney client privilege. Governors raised concerns about the adequacy of notice for member feedback and confusion about whether procedural rules for seeking board approval were strictly followed.

    Revenue Review Committee. The board supported the Revenue Review Study Committee's recommendation to allow the Finance Committee to consider a dues increase in preparing the next budget. (See page 3.)

    Clients' Security Fund. The board approved a Clients' Security Fund request to petition the supreme court to change the fund's name to "Wisconsin Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection to better reflect the fund's purpose and also to require a lawyer seeking license reinstatement to make restitution to the fund for any payments made as a result of the lawyer's previous misconduct.

    Strategic Plan Report. The board unanimously adopted a slightly revised State Bar Strategic Plan. The plan, first approved by the board in November 2002, is reviewed annually by the Strategic Planning Committee.

    "The review process enables us to ensure the Strategic Plan encompasses the State Bar's critical objectives, said State Bar President-elect Michelle Behnke. "Our review showed one clear priority and seven second place priorities. The number one priority is to provide relevant and useful services to members.

    Ancillary Business Rule. The board unanimously agreed to take no action on the Multidisciplinary Practice (MDP) Commission's proposed ancillary business rule but will make a recommendation after the Ethics 2000 Committee completes its final report. The supreme court recently decided it would not take action on SCR 1.5 until it receives the final report.

    The commission recommended that the Rules of Professional Conduct be clarified, allowing lawyers to own ancillary businesses. In November 2002, the board unanimously approved a resolution to refer the proposed ancil-lary business rule as recommended by the MDP Commission to the Executive Committee and the Professional Ethics Committee for review and refinement. The board also voted to refer this issue to the supreme court committee to study the Rules of Professional Conduct for Wisconsin attorneys contained in Supreme Court Rule Chapter 20.

    The minutes will be posted on WisBar after approval at the Jan. 16 board meeting.


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