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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    October 30, 2006

    Legal News and Trends

    Wisconsin LawyerWisconsin Lawyer
    Vol. 79, No. 11, November 2006

    Legal news &   trends

    Wisconsin Supreme Court rules implementation of new Rules of Professional Conduct effective July 1, 2007

    On Oct. 25, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in open administrative session, adopted nearly final revisions to Chapter 20, the Rules of Professional Conduct for Wisconsin Attorneys. The supreme court has been studying the recommendations from a court-appointed committee to modify Chapter 20 in light of the changes made to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct proposed by the ABA Ethics 2000 Commission. At its last open administrative conference, the court decided that the new Rules of Professional Conduct will be effective July 1, 2007, giving the State Bar of Wisconsin a six-month window to communicate the new Rule changes to Wisconsin lawyers.

    While the court has made a final decision on the majority of changes to Chapter 20, it has reserved time to consider possible changes to the Comment to SCR 20:1.5 on fees as well as the Comment on SCR 20:8.4 regarding lawyer misconduct. In addition, the court will continue to review the proposed Rule Changes as they affect municipal lawyers that prosecute matters on behalf of local government entities. It is anticipated that a final decision will be made on these areas at an open administrative conference in early December.

    The court made some minor changes to the March 2006 draft of the proposed Rule Changes document and will publish a final draft of the Rules in late December or early January on the Supreme Court's Web site.

    EEOC fact sheet addresses reasonable accommodations for employers hiring lawyers with disabilities

    Attorneys with disabilities may need a range of accommodations to apply for and perform many types of legal jobs. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released a guidance that reviews reasonable accommodations that lawyers with disabilities may need. Some of these accommodations, such as modified schedules and telecommuting, often are used by legal employers generally to attract and retain attorneys.

    The EEOC document reports the barrier to employment that lawyers with disabilities cite most often is lack of access to reasonable accommodations. Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires private and state and local government employers with 15 or more employees to provide "reasonable accommodation" to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities, unless doing so would cause an undue hardship.

    Court releases petition for review guide

    A 13-page guide,"Filing a Petition for Review," was recently released by the clerk of the supreme court and the supreme court commissioners.

    "The guide is intended to be a simplified guide to the Wisconsin rules of appellate procedure as they relate to supreme court practice and is intended primarily for people who are not lawyers and lawyers with limited appellate experience," says supreme court commissioner Nancy Kopp.

    Visit www.wicourts.gov/about/pubs/index.htm#supreme to download a copy of the guide or contact the clerk's office at (608) 266-1880.

    Are Americans right about their Constitutional rights?

    According to a recent survey more than eight of 10 Americans can correctly identify that freedom of speech, freedom of the press, right to free exercise of religion, right to a fair and speedy jury trial in criminal cases, and the right to peaceably assemble are rights explicitly granted by the U.S. Constitution and its amendments.

    However, many Americans identified certain rights as being explicitly granted by the Constitution and its amendments when, in fact, they are not. For example:

    • 78% believe that the right to vote is guaranteed by the Constitution.
    • 68% believe the pursuit of happiness is a constitutionally protected right.
    • 28% believe there is a right to public education in the Constitution.
    • 12% believe there is a constitutional right to housing and a right to health care.

    The survey was conducted for FindLaw.com by Harris Interactive.

    Women account for half of State Bar members under 30

    According to State Bar statistics, women comprise 30 percent of the State Bar of Wisconsin's 22,000-plus membership. Women account for 50 percent of the members under 30 years of age, 42 percent of the 30-39 age group, 35 percent of the 40-49 age group, 25 percent of the 50-59 age group, and 9 percent of members in the 60 years and older category.

    New projects will help courts provide access to legal information for self-represented litigants

    Three pilot projects are under way in Wisconsin that will help raise public understanding of the legal process. Development of the projects began at the Midwest Regional Conference on Pro Se Litigation, presented by the American Judicature Society, in Des Moines, Iowa, in September. Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson appointed eight team members to represent the state at the conference.

    pro se team

    Wisconsin Pro Se team members include (seated from left): Ann Zimmerman, Supreme Court Pro Se Coordinator; Jane Colwin, State Law Librarian; Robert Hagness, Judicial District 10 Access to Justice Coordinator; and Gregg Moore, 10th Judicial District Administrator. Standing: Marsha Mansfield, U.W. Law School; Trudy Schmidt, Burnett County Circuit Court Clerk; Jeffery Brown, State Bar of Wisconsin Pro Bono Coordinator; and Judge Ed Vlack, St. Croix County Circuit Court.

    One pilot project will provide information to self-represented litigants at public libraries, with library staff training to be provided by the State Law Library and local courts. The project will be tested in the Tenth Judicial District, head-quartered in Eau Claire.

    Another project will expand the familiar free legal information clinic model to more rural areas by using videoconferencing to connect members of the public with volunteer lawyers located in another county. This project will be tested in the Ninth Judicial District, headquartered in Wausau.

    The third project will involve developing a self-help clinic in a county courthouse (location to be determined). The clinic will be staffed by volunteer lawyers and others, possibly with additional assistance from interested court members.

    "Our intent is to make use of existing resources and creative ideas with track records in other states to help our courts provide meaningful access to legal information for self-represented litigants while alleviating the burden of providing such assistance on court personnel," said Ann Zimmerman, Wisconsin's statewide pro se coordinator who is a member of the team that will develop these projects.

    The conference was sponsored by the American Judicature Society with funding from the Chicago Bar Foundation, the Iowa State Bar Foundation, Drake University Law School, and the State Justice Institute, a nonprofit organization established by federal law to award grants to improve the quality of justice in state courts nationwide. Representatives from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah also attended the conference.

    Wisconsin Lawyer


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