Inside the Bar
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.
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Gov. Gwendolyn Connolly of Milwaukee studies board issues.
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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.
Inside the
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