Jan. 8, 2009 – New rule changes ordered by the Wisconsin Supreme Court have already begun to take effect. The following are the most recent orders directing changes to the court’s rules:

Admission by proof of practice. By order effective Jan. 1, 2009, lawyers with proof of three years’ practice of law in any American jurisdiction may be admitted to practice in Wisconsin. Previously, Wisconsin only welcomed lawyers on proof of practice from 20 states and the District of Columbia through reciprocity agreements to treat Wisconsin lawyers similarly.

Notification of suspension and reinstatement. By order effective Jan. 6, those receiving notice of suspensions and reinstatements on account of noncompliance with CLE requirements will include:

• Clerk of circuit courts,
• Registers of probate,
• State public defender,
• State Bar of Wisconsin,
• Court commissioners appointed under SCR 75.02(1),
• Clerks of federal district courts, and
• Tribal and juvenile courts.

Under the old SCR 31.10 and 31.11, the Board of Bar Examiners notified lawyers not in compliance with CLE requirements that they faced suspension from the practice of law. The board then transmitted a list of the lawyers not in compliance to the clerk of the supreme court and each judge of a court of record. Upon reinstatement, only the clerk of the supreme court received notification.

Citation to unpublished opinions. By order effective July 1, unpublished opinions issued on or after July 1, 2009, that are authored by a member of a three-judge panel or by a single judge may be cited for their persuasive value.  A per curiam opinion, memorandum opinion, summary disposition order, or other order are not included in this rule.  The new rule cautions that an unpublished opinion will still not be a precedent binding on any court of this state.  Accordingly, a court need not distinguish or otherwise discuss an unpublished opinion and a party has no duty to research or cite it.

E-filing in appellate and supreme courts – By order effective July 1, 2009, lawyers are required to file an electronic copy of briefs, no-merit reports, and petitions for review with the clerk of the supreme court and the court of appeals. All briefs shall be filed as separate documents in text-searchable portable document format (PDF). A text-searchable PDF document is converted directly from Word™ or WordPerfect™ instead of being scanned.

Electronic filing will be mandatory for lawyers and guardians ad litem but optional for self-represented parties. Both attorneys and non-attorneys still must serve paper copies of briefs and appendices on the opposing party.

Although electronic briefs must be filed when the paper copies are filed, the timeliness of the filing date will be determined by the date the paper copy is filed, and the paper copy will be used for jurisdictional purposes.

Watch a webcast of the Nov. 18 hearing recorded by WisconsinEye.