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  • November 01, 2004

    Inside the Bar November 2004: Clients' Security Fund disburses $110K-plus in claims, supreme court approves name change and reinstatement requirements

    The Clients' Security Fund approved reimbursements totaling $110,634.19 to 16 victims of lawyer theft at its October meeting. The committee also deferred three and denied four claims for reimbursement. The Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously approved a State Bar petition to change the requirements for attorneys seeking reinstatement of a suspended or revoked license and to change the name of the fund. Effective Jan. 1, the fund will be called the Wisconsin Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection.

    Inside the Bar
    November 2004

    Clients' Security Fund disburses $110K-plus in claims, supreme court approves name change and reinstatement requirements

    The Clients' Security Fund approved reimbursements totaling $110,634.19 to 16 victims of lawyer theft at its October meeting. The committee also deferred three and denied four claims for reimbursement. The Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously approved a State Bar petition to change the requirements for attorneys seeking reinstatement of a suspended or revoked license and to change the name of the fund. Effective Jan. 1, the fund will be called the Wisconsin Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection.

    Multimedia training tapes available to promote diversity and retention in the legal profession

    The State Bar Diversity Outreach Committee announces the availability of the American Bar Association's (ABA) multimedia package, "Raising the Bar: Diversity and Retention in the Legal Profession," to assist law firms, legal employers, and legal organizations in enhancing their diversity programs.

    "The Diversity Outreach Committee is committed to a racially and ethnically diverse State Bar and a legal profession that is conscious of differences and committed to valuing those differences," says Milwaukee attorney Curry First, committee cochair. "We believe `Raising the Bar' is a useful tool that can be used by groups wishing to improve or expand their programs. `Raising the Bar' answers diversity and retention questions and offers a perspective on the issues, problems, and real-world solutions to retaining minority lawyers."

    Produced by the ABA Commission on Racial & Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, "Raising the Bar" is made available through a donation from American Family Insurance Company. The package features three videotapes, two audiotapes, and written materials. Workbooks include diversity and retention scenarios for individual or group workshops and a leader's guide that provides discussion points.

    To borrow "Raising the Bar," contact the State Bar at (800) 728-7788 or (608) 257-3838. There is a minimal cost of approximately $15 for shipping and handling.

    "We should be proud of our profession, which stands alone in providing this method of voluntary reimbursement for client losses," says Committee Chair David Reddy, Delavan. "Increasing public awareness of the Fund remains one of our top priorities."

    Claims were approved for clients of John V. Asher (one claim for $815), the late Brian Blacher (one claim for $19,500), Alan D. Eisenberg (three claims totaling $11,500), Daniel Ensley (one claim for $800), Phaidra Knight (one claim for $41,514.95), Robert Emmett Mahoney (two claims totaling $5,750), Francis W. Murphy (two claims totaling $24,573.24), Virginia Rose Ray (one claim for $2,500), Hans Ribbens (one claim for $950), Clay Teasdale (two claims totaling $1,425), and Michelle Tully (one claim for $1,306).

    The Wisconsin Supreme Court established the fund in 1981 to reimburse people who lost money through dishonest acts of Wisconsin attorneys, including unearned retainer, theft from estate, misappropriation of funds, conversion of trust account funds, and theft by investment. All claims for reimbursement and all committee proceedings are subject to the provisions of SCR 12.04. All Wisconsin-licensed attorneys, except those classified as inactive, subsidize the fund. Reimbursement decisions are made at the discretion of the committee, which meets twice a year.

    Changes to program. On April 21, the Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously approved a State Bar petition to change the fund's name to the Wisconsin Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection. The request reflects amendments made in 1989 when the ABA model rules changed to the Model Rules for Lawyers' Funds for Client Protection. State funds have been encouraged to adopt the new name, which is more descriptive of the fund's purpose.

    The court also approved the petition's request to amend SCR 22.29 to require that an attorney seeking reinstatement of a suspended or revoked license be required to reimburse the fund for any payments made to injured clients as a result of the attorney's conduct, or to explain why this is not possible.

    Currently, SCR 22.29 requires an attorney only to make restitution to injured clients or provide an explanation why it is not possible. The State Bar Board of Governors believes reimbursement should be a condition of reinstatement, because fund payment to a client signifies that the lawyer's dishonest conduct caused a loss that was restored through an assessment against all members of the Bar.

    Because it is recognized that in certain cases it may not be possible for an attorney to make full restitution to injured clients and to the fund, the fund has deferred its right to reimbursement until the clients have been made whole. SCR 22.29 requires that when full restitution is not accomplished, the petitioning attorney must explain why. This requirement provides the court the latitude necessary to balance the rights of the petitioning attorney with the goals of fully restoring injured clients and reimbursing the client protection fund.

    The petition was published in the September Wisconsin Lawyer. The next meeting is scheduled for April 5.


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