June 2004
Board supports creating petition affecting MJP for in-and
out-of-state attorneys, among other actions
At its final 2003 - 04 meeting in May, the Board
of Governors approved the Rules and Bylaws Committee recommendations
and approved in principle the Multijurisdictional Practice (MJP) Working
Group recommendations, among other actions.
MJP Report. The board approved, 42-2, the conceptual
basis of the MJP Working Group's report and summary of recommendations,
which will be used as a guiding principle from which to draft a petition
to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
MJP provides Wisconsin lawyers the ability to practice on a temporary
basis in other states and lawyers from other states the right to
practice on a temporary basis in Wisconsin.
MJP Working Group Chair Dean Dietrich urged the board to review the
group's recommendations on MJP, pro hac vice, and the rule on admission
by motion. "We have received feedback from several organizations
including Board of Bar Examiners Director Gene Rankin regarding language
proposed on admission by motion," said Dietrich. "With the board's
approval, the MJP group will create a petition to amend the rules,
particularly the rules on unauthorized practice of law and
multidisciplinary practices, based on this feedback and using the
principles outlined in the series of recommendations as our guide."
The MJP Working Group, which was appointed by the State Bar in 2003
and is not part of the Ethics 2000 Committee, will prepare a petition
for presentation to the court in the early fall.
Read the committee's reports:
Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation (WisTAF). The
board unanimously approved the appointment of attorneys William
Mulligan, Milwaukee, and Susan Steingass,
Madison, and public member Susan Sorenson, vice
president of Unipro Food Service, Ripon, to the WisTAF board. WisTAF,
which manages the state's Interest on Lawyers Trust Account program,
provides financial support for the delivery of legal services to
Wisconsin's poor.
Other actions. The board approved the Nomination
Committee's recommendation to appoint Pamela Pepper,
Milwaukee, to serve as FY 05 board chair.
Board members elected to serve on the FY 05 Executive Committee
include: James Brennan, Milwaukee; Kent
Carnell, Madison; Andrew Chevrez, West Allis;
Gwendolyn Connolly, Milwaukee; Jeffrey
George, La Crosse; and Grant Langley,
Milwaukee. Michelle Behnke, Madison, president, D. Michael Guerin,
Milwaukee, president-elect, and George Burnett, Green Bay, immediate
past president, also serve on the committee. All terms begin July 1.
Jo Swamp, Milwaukee, will fill the District 2 board
vacancy created by Elaine Richards' move out of Wisconsin.
The board unanimously approved the FY 05 annual State Bar budget.
The minutes will be posted on WisBar after they are approved at the
July 23 board meeting.
Inside the
Bar
