New Web site helps consumers navigate legal
system
The State Bar's new consumer Web site, LegalExplorer, is up
and running, providing 24/7 access to information about legal services
and resources of consumer interest.
"The new site represents a milestone in the Bar's
commitment to public service," says Mark Pennow, who chairs the
Electronic Bar Services and Lawyer Referral Service committees.
LegalExplorer gives the public quick, convenient access to a wealth of
material helpful in understanding and dealing with the legal
system."
Consumers can use the online adjunct of the State Bar's Lawyer
Referral and Information Service (LRIS) to find a lawyer. They also will
find:
- answers to frequently asked legal questions;
- a searchable database of State Bar publications, videotapes, and
programs and links to government, community, and other Internet
resources to help resolve their legal problem;
- law-related education resources to introduce the general public to
the legal system; and
- consumer-oriented news and consumer scam alerts.
Lawyers benefit by building their practices through the dignified,
noncommercial Internet exposure LRIS offers. They also can refer to the
site for answers to commonly asked legal questions outside their
practice area and to access and direct clients to a wide range of
up-to-date legal resources.
"LegalExplorer demonstrates the character of the Bar and its
willingness to provide information and assistance free of charge," notes
Pennow. "It is an exemplary tool for improving the profession's public
image."
Multidisciplinary practice
ABA rejects economic partnerships between lawyers &
nonlawyers
The American Bar Association's House of Delegates recently voted 314
to 106 to maintain its position that lawyers not be permitted to share
fees with nonlawyers and that nonlawyers not be permitted to own or
control entities that practice law. In so doing, the ABA effectively
rejected the concept of multidisciplinary practice (MDP), or economic
partnerships of lawyers and nonlawyers providing legal and other
professional services. The vote reaffirmed rules contained in the ABA
Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
MDP has been under review by lawyers and legal organizations for at
least two years. More than two dozen state, local, and specialty bar
associations and legal groups, including the State Bar of Wisconsin,
have issued or are in the process of developing reports on the
topic.
The ABA Commission on Multidisciplinary Practice recently recommended
that the legal profession loosen its rules to allow fee-sharing with
nonlawyers. At the House of Delegates' July 11 annual meeting, the
commission's recommendations met with strong opposition from state and
county bars in Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio.
Wisconsin report urges further study
The ABA action follows the State Bar of Wisconsin Board of Governors'
recent approval of the Multidisciplinary Practice Committee's report
recommending further study of the issue. The recommendations proposed at
the June 28 board meeting call for distribution of the committee's June
14 final report to Bar members. They also call for the board to
determine whether the issue should be considered from the legal
profession's perspective or a wider public policy standpoint. The board
is charged with developing mechanisms for collecting input from Bar
members and other sources, discussing the issue, and choosing whether to
adopt a State Bar position on MDPs.
While noting that the ABA vote "is certain to slow the 'progress' of
those pushing for MDP adoption," MDP Committee Chair Thomas L. Shriner
"seriously doubts that this is the end of the discussion."
"Ultimately," he says, "the decision is not going to be made by the
ABA, but by the supreme courts and, to some extent, the legislatures of
the country. Supreme courts have the final word on lawyers' professional
responsibility rules, and legislatures typically define the practice of
law. Therefore, I think education and discussion ought to go forward in
Wisconsin, and that we still should debate the issue, form conclusions
as a Bar, and share our views with the supreme court and others. I hope
the leadership of the Bar will continue the process."
The State Bar MDP Committee Report and links to other MDP-related
sites are online.
For further information, or to voice MDP comments, contact Keith Kaap at (800) 444-9404, ext.
6168.
Court reporting classified as legal occupation
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has moved court reporting from the
Administrative Support Occu-pations to the Legal Occupations category of
the revised Standard Occupational Classification (SOC).
According to the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), the
reclassification, which was part of an SOC overhaul begun in 1998,
recognizes a court reporter's work as similar to that of other legal
professionals.
Court reporters previously had been listed in the same category as
bank tellers, hotel desk clerks, mail carriers, telephone operators, and
office stenographers. The 28,000-member NCRA argued that court reporting
involves different skills, training, and knowledge and petitioned the
SOC to create a separate section for the profession and to reclassify it
under Legal Occupations.
Explains Gwen Bever, president of the Wisconsin Court Reporters
Association, "Listing court reporter under the Legal Occupations
category defines the profession in the area with which it is
associated."
"An added benefit," notes Bever, "is that the reclassification
encourages guidance and career counselors to learn more about the field.
Until now, a court reporting career may have been overlooked as a
profession because of the way it was listed. The change should give
counselors a more accurate understanding of the field and help attract
more and better students to it."
Cyber searches offer speed and economy
Six months ago, "Pat X" vanished - along with $600 a month in child
support. Now Pat's ex-spouse sits in your office, desperately needing
Pat's address - and child support check. You could call a private
investigator, or you simply could log onto your PC and quite possibly
come up with a name, address, phone number, and even a place of
employment in the time it would take to hire outside assistance - for a
fraction of the cost.
Web locator services showcase three of the Internet's biggest
advantages: economy, speed, and reach.
Take our hypothetical scenario. Locating Pat online might take little
more than going to a locator site and entering Pat's surname. Knowing
that Pat is a dental lab technician, the attorney might go to a search
site, type in "dental labs" and come up with a list of possible
employers. This search could be narrowed to labs in a state or region.
The attorney then could check the Web sites of individual labs for
employee lists and possibly lock onto Pat's whereabouts and proof of
ability to pay in the same keystroke.
Other scenarios might involve doing a "reverse search" to find the
name that goes with a phone number or searching for an individual by the
schools he or she attended. A number of sites offer "simple searches"
free and more advanced (defined) searches for a minimal fee.
Indeed, says Gregg Herman, who uses electronic searches in his family
law practice at Loeb & Herman S.C., Milwaukee, it should not be long
before an Internet search is an acceptable - or even required -
exhibition of reasonable diligence in attempting to locate a respondent
for personal service of divorce or other legal notice. "Internet
searches are fast and usually free; so don't be afraid to experiment
with them," he advises.
The following is only a sampling of the individual search services on
the Internet.
- 37.com searches telephone white and
Yellow Pages, and performs reverse searches.
- AnyWho is an AT&T site that
allows searches by various fields.
- InfoSpace offers a free
simple search, a $19.95 "deluxe," and a $39.95 "super" search. For an
additional $8, it expands the super search to an "exhaustive" one.
- Switchboard does people
searches by names and high school, business searches by name and
category, and email searches.
- locateme.com charges $39 per
search if successful.
- Whowhere? offers free
simple searches and $39.95 advanced searches. It includes a Web search
feature.
- 555-1212.com performs
searches by area and country code of residential and business listings
and reverse telephone, email, Web, and domain name searches.
Court appoints Keith L. Sellen Office of Lawyer Regulation
director
The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently appointed retired Army legal
officer Keith L. Sellen, U.W. 1984, director of the newly created Office
of Lawyer Regulation (OLR), effective Sept. 11. Sellen replaces BAPR
acting interim director James L. Martin.
Sellen, as chief of doctrine and training development at the JAG's
School in Charlottesville, Va., designed, developed, coauthored, and
published the future legal services program for 4,200 lawyers serving
worldwide. Sellen also spent three years in Germany managing legal
staff, supervising professional misconduct investigations, advising
government ethics investigators, and mediating disputes between the
State Department and foreign legal officials.
The Supreme Court rules creating the OLR to replace BAPR are
anticipated to take effect in September.
Wisconsin Lawyer