Vol. 73, No. 7, July
2000
Court targets September for new system
The new lawyer regulation system that replaces
the Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility (BAPR) is anticipated
to go into effect in September 2000. Wisconsin SCR
Chapters 21 and
22,
which describe the state's lawyer regulation system, were redrafted at
the request of the justices after they agreed on a tentative new
framework for lawyer discipline in January. Details are in process, but
the system outlined at the supreme court's open conference May 19 and 22
includes:
Phone seminar scheduled
A State Bar CLE phone seminar on the new lawyer regulation system is
scheduled for Friday, Sept. 22, from noon to 1 p.m. The speakers will be
Jim Martin, interim administrator of the Office of Lawyer Regulation
(OLR), and William Weigel, OLR staff attorney. For further information,
call the
State Bar at (800) 728-7788 or (608) 257-3838.
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If the new Chapters 21 and 22 go into effect in September, the court
will invite written comments on the new system over the ensuing six
months and hold a public hearing on the rules in April 2001.
The new rules are expected to be adopted and available around
mid-July and published in the September 2000 Wisconsin Lawyer.
More information is available on WisBar or the
state courts' Web
site.
Additional mandatory court forms effective July 1
Standard court forms that are required for use by parties and court
officials in civil actions go into effect July 1, 2000. These mandatory
forms for small claims, family, and other civil proceedings join the
criminal and juvenile forms that became effective Jan.1, pursuant to
Wisconsin Supreme Court Order
98-01.
The July 1 forms also include 28 revised and two new versions of
probate forms for informal probate, summary settlement, summary
assignment, and other matters. Absent from the July additions is the
parenting plan form, which the Records Management Committee (RMC)
withdrew pending further development.
Since the juvenile and criminal forms were posted earlier this year,
many have been enhanced to allow the expansion of some fields to an
unlimited number of lines.
Order
98-01, which was supported by the RMC, the Director of State Courts
Office, the Wisconsin Clerks of Circuit Court Association, and the
Wisconsin Juvenile Court Clerks Association, created section
758.18 of the Wisconsin Statutes. The section provides for adopting
standard forms for use by parties and court officials in all civil and
criminal actions and proceedings in the circuit court. The order also
created sections 971.025
and 807.001,
mandating standard forms in Children's Code and Juvenile Justice Code
proceedings and civil actions, respectively. Proponents of mandatory
forms sought to standardize and maintain all state court forms to be
consistent with Wisconsin statutory and case law and compatible with the
growing trend toward automation.
Standard court forms are available
online in PDF and MS Word. For background and information on using
standard court forms, visit the circuit court forms page cited or see
the December Wisconsin
Lawyer.
NBTA schedules July exam, honors first class certified
The National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) will administer its 41st
exam to certify attorneys as specialists in civil, criminal, and family
law trial advocacy July 29, 2000, in Milwaukee and 36 other locations.
The daylong essay exam, which is one part of NBTA's certification
application, tests practical knowledge of trial practice, ethics, and
evidence relative to the specific certification area. It evaluates
applicants' knowledge of the substantive law and their ability to
evaluate, handle, and resolve model controversies.
NBTA recognizes original members. This year marks the 20th
anniversary of the nonprofit NBTA's certification program, which is
designed to provide an objective measure of skill and expertise in trial
advocacy. Two Wisconsin attorneys - Robert L. Habush of Habush, Habush,
Davis & Rottier, Milwaukee, and Robert W. Lutz of Lutz, Burnett,
McDermontt, Jahn & King, LLP, Chilton - are among 62 members of
NBTA's inaugural class who will be honored at a reception the evening
preceding the July exam.
For further information regarding NBTA certification, call (617)
720-2032, or visit the Web
site.
2000 Law Firm Technology Survey: MS Word use continues to rise
WordPerfect remains the predominant word-processing software used in
Wisconsin law firms, but the use of Microsoft Word continues to grow.
According to the recently issued State Bar of Wisconsin "2000 Law Firm
Technology Survey," the percentage of Wisconsin law firms using MS Word
for Windows has increased from 28 percent in 1998 to 38 percent today.
However, the State Bar's fourth annual technology study also cites an
increase in the use of WordPerfect from 41 to 45 percent in the same
period.
The report further notes that while one-fifth (22 percent) of survey
respondents plan to upgrade their current word-processing program in the
coming year, only 6 percent plan to switch to a different
word-processing package. Six in 10 firms changing word-processing
programs are going to Microsoft Word.
The State Bar's "2000 Law Firm Technology Survey" is based on 607
responses to a questionnaire mailed to a representative sample of 1,773
firms. A report on survey results will be published in the August 2000
Wisconsin Lawyer.
Comfort with email confidentiality grows
As email use becomes more widespread, it is gaining acceptance as a
means of attorney-client communication. According to a March 1999 ethics
opinion published by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee
on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, barring special
circumstances, a lawyer does not violate a client's confidentiality by
transmitting documents to or about the client via unencrypted electronic
mail.
Because the mode of transmission affords "a reasonable expectation of
privacy" from a technological and legal standpoint, the committee
believes that the same privacy accorded U.S. and commercial mail,
land-line telephonic transmissions, and facsimiles applies to Internet
email.
Lawyers have an obligation to take reasonable steps to protect
confidential client information against unauthorized use or disclosure;
however, the obligation does not require an absolute assurance of
privacy in a communication medium, the committee found.
Although states' earlier ethics rulings focused attention on email's
potential susceptibility to unauthorized interception, "The ABA opinion
is consistent with the opinions of most authors and ethics committees
today," says Dean R. Dietrich, member of the State Bar of Wisconsin
Professional Ethics Committee. "It recognizes that email communications
are a part of everyday client communications and that email is as
confidential as conventional mail. Wisconsin lawyers can be comfortable
using email for all but the most confidential client correspondence and
documents, such as letters summarizing trial strategy and drafts of
asset purchase agreement."
The full text of ABA Formal Opinion No. 99-413, "Protecting the
Confidentiality of Unencrypted E-mail," is online.
Wisconsin
Lawyer