Board of Governors Actions

RECEIVED several recommendations from the Facilities Committee, and acted to:

• approve the concept of a new building, agreeing that the current facility is inadequate;
  
• purchase for $1 a 90-day option on a building site at the American Center Commercial Business Park on Madison's far northeast side but directed the committee also to continue reviewing other possible sites as they become available;
  
• approve the financing model that includes selling the existing Bar Center, assuming a conventional bank mortgage, and liquidating some intermediate and short-term investments; and
  
• agree to investigate the possibility of a membership fund-raising effort.

ACCEPTED the Finance Committee report and voted to accept and endorse the documentation and methodology presented by the Finance Committee as a conceptual presentation of a three-year rolling budget plan and planning for 1999 and direct that the Finance Committee provide further reports detailing and further specifying proposals for a three-year rolling budget.

ACTED on several recommendations of the joint State Bar/BAPR Committee on Mandatory Fee Agreements. The board:

• disapproved the recommendation to require written fee agreements for matters over $1,000;
  
• approved the recommendation that fee arbitration remain voluntary;
  
• referred to the Office Management Section, the recommendation to develop voluntary sample fee agreement forms; and
  
• recommended that law school curriculum include information on fees and fee agreements.

SUPPORTED the New York State Bar in its fight against the federal "Granny's Lawyers Goes to Jail" law. First, the board issued a resolution, "That the State Bar of Wisconsin supports the efforts of the New York State Bar Association to judicially determine the constitutionality of Section 217 of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act." Second, the board went on record as opposing the law.

APPROVED the report of the Project Vision Task Force, directed its implementation, and authorized the appointment of an implementation committee.

Note: To place a matter on the advance agenda for the April 3-4 meeting in Appleton or the June 24 meeting in Lake Geneva, notify the executive director at the State Bar Center and submit appropriate materials at least two weeks before the meeting. For further information, please contact Stephen L. Smay at the State Bar Center.

• Go to the January 28 meeting minutes
• Go to the Board of Governors page

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