OLR district committees seek lawyer and public applicants
March 10, 2003
The Wisconsin Supreme Court's Appointment Selection Committee is
seeking applicants for lawyer and public appointments to the district
committees. "District committees are an important part of the Office of
Lawyer Regulation (OLR) system, making the initial investigation and
recommendations in grievance matters," says Appointment Selection
Committee chair, Michelle Behnke. "If these district committees are not
filled, it will hurt the effectiveness of the OLR process."
"The district committees are in desperate need of public applicants
for 2003 in districts 2, 4, 10, and 11, and lawyer applicants are sought
for Districts 6 and 7," says Behnke. "Nominations and hence appointments
for these districts are not complete for terms that were to begin Jan.
1, 2003. The Appointment Selection Committee will meet at the end of
April to try to complete nominations for 2003, but we need applicants to
complete the process."
"Public members from all walks of life are eligible to apply, but we
especially need public applicants who are active in their communities
and willing to participate in public service."
"Lawyers are in a unique position in their communities to identify
and encourage public members to serve on the district investigative
committees," urges State Bar President Pat Ballman. "If lawyers want to
continue to have peer review of discipline matters, it is imperative
that we support the district committees. It is up to all of us to help
recruit lawyer and nonlawyer members to these committees."
According to Behnke, the selection committee must forward to the
supreme court two names for every vacancy. To the extent possible,
one-third of the members of each district committee should be
nonlawyers. Lawyers must have at least five years of practice experience
and no record of public discipline.
Send a letter of interest and/or resume to:
Appointment Selection Committee
c/o Cornelia Clark, Clerk of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin,
P.O. Box 1688
Madison, WI 53701-1688,
fax to Clark's attention at (608) 267-0980, or email Clark. cornelia.clark@courts.state.wi.us.
For more information about the role of district investigative
committees, see Supreme
Court Order 99-03.
