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Vol. 74, No. 7, July 2001
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Practice
alert:
Law firms must
send privacy notices to clients by July 1
Provisions of a federal law enacted in late 1999 under the "Gramm-Leach-Bliley
Act" became effective on July 1, 2001. The law requires every "financial
institution" that provides certain financial services to its individual
clients to send them a notice explaining its privacy policies by July
1, 2001.
To the surprise of many, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has
the legal responsibility to enforce the Act's provisions, determined in
mid-June that law firms are "financial institutions" under the Act. Therefore,
law firms are required to send privacy notices by July 1, 2001, to individual
clients who receive covered financial services from them. Covered financial
services include tax planning and preparation, certain real estate settlement
services, and other types of financial services provided "primarily for
personal, family, and household" purposes.
Even though professional standards of client confidentiality are more
stringent than those imposed by the Act, the Act's provisions still apply.
Sanctions for failure to comply. According to a memo from the
Philadelphia Bar, financial institutions may be precluded from divulging
any private information if they fail to comply with the notice rules.
Since a law firm is already precluded from such actions, that sanction
would have no meaning. And while there may be issues with respect to the
agency's regulating lawyers' activities, the FTC is empowered to require
compliance and may impose a $10,000 fine per failure to comply. The FTC
also is authorized to grant exemptions to the regulations.
The ABA responds. The ABA Board of Governors passed a resolution
on June 8 calling for the FTC to issue an administrative ruling exempting
the practice of law from the statute's implementing regulations. It is
not known when the FTC will respond.
The ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education and Taxation and Tort
& Insurance Practice sections recently offered a teleseminar on the Act,
including articles to help law firms identify to whom the Act applies
and how to comply, an alert from the Philadelphia Bar with sample model
notice, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. To purchase the seminar
audiotape or access an online pay per listen version of the program, go
to the ABA Web site at www.abanet.org/cle.
What to do if you missed the July 1 deadline. Law firms should
send privacy notices to individual clients as near the July 1 deadline
as possible. "The notice needn't be complicated or lengthy for most lawyers.
A more difficult issue is determining to whom to send it," says Charles
Horn, partner of Mayer, Brown & Platt in the firm's Washington, D.C. office
and a panelist for the ABA's teleconference.
For more information. The State Bar of Wisconsin Taxation Law
and Real Property, Probate and Trust Law sections have developed a "Practice
Alert" that provides a synopsis of the Act and a sample privacy notice.
Award
honors women lawyers
Seeking nominations
for Marygold Melli 2001 Achievement Award
When
you think of Wisconsin women who have significantly advanced the interests
of women, the legal profession, justice, and society as a whole, does
anyone immediately come to mind? The Legal Association for Women invites
you to nominate that individual for the 2001 Marygold Melli Achievement
Award.
Presented annually since 1994, the award honors Wisconsin women who
have made significant contributions to women in the law by: advancing
the interests of women in the legal profession; promoting improvements
in the administration of justice; promoting equality and social justice
for all people; or improving relations between the legal profession and
the public.
The award honors Marygold Melli, professor emerita at the U.W. Law School,
who managed a distinguished career at the school while writing prolifically,
doing extensive community and professional service, and raising four children.
Previous award recipients include: Ruth B. Doyle, Atty. Mary Lou Munts,
Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, Hon. Barbara Crabb, Atty. Diane Greenley,
Prof. June Weisberger, and Prof. Louise Trubek.
For nomination forms and additional information, contact Nancy Wettersten
at (608) 255-4501 or nwettersten@prmk.com.
The deadline for nominations is July 31, 2001.
U.S. Court
of Appeals seeks input on bankruptcy judge reappointment
Chief Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Martin of the U.S. District Court for
the Western District of Wisconsin seeks reappointment by the U.S. Court
of Appeals to a new 14-year term when his current term expires on May
31, 2002. A bankruptcy judge is a judicial officer of the U.S. District
Court who exercises the authority of the district court with respect to
any action, suit, or proceeding under Chapter 6 of Title 28 of the U.S.
Code, 28 U.S.C. § 151.
The court is accepting comments regarding Judge Martin's reappointment.
Written comments should be sent by July 31 to: Collins T. Fitzpatrick,
Circuit Executive, 219 S. Dearborn St., Room 2780, Chicago, IL 60604.
Activity book educates children in court process
What's Happening in Court? is an activity book for children who are going
to court in Wisconsin. Whether they are involved in a case, accompanying
a family member, or on a school trip, children should understand the basics
of court process, know who works in the courthouse, and know rules of
court decorum. The activities educate and entertain children, ages six
to nine.
"Children come to our courthouses every day for all sorts of reasons.
Going to court can be scary for adults as well as for children," says
Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson. "We want to make the experience of
going to court easier on children by helping them to understand the process.
This booklet explains what happens in court, who works here, and what
the rules are."
The book was written in 1999 by the legal staff of the California Office
of the General Counsel within the Administrative Office of the Courts.
This year, Wisconsin judges, attorneys, and court staff tailored the book
for Wisconsin and reproduced it with funding from the Wisconsin Supreme
Court and the Milwaukee Bar Association.
This free book can be downloaded from the court's Web site at www.courts.state.wi.us/media/activity_book.htm.
Professional printing instructions are included for quantity printing
needs. For more information, contact Amanda K. Todd at (608) 264-6256
or amanda.todd@courts.state.wi.us.
Economy affects malpractice claims
The economy typically has an effect on the number of malpractice claims
filed against lawyers; after an economic downturn, claims usually increase.
During the healthy economy of the late 1990s, malpractice claims against
lawyers remained stable, according to a report, Profile of Legal Malpractice
Claims: 1996 - 1999, from the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional
Responsibility. For more information, contact Jon Murphy at (312) 988-6136
or murphyj@staff.abanet.org.
Access court
opinions, case, and docket information online
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin recently
announced two Internet services: Opinions Online and WebPACER.
Opinions Online, a free search site, provides access to a repository
of published and unpublished opinions selected by the issuing judge on
briefs filed with the Western District court. Visit Opinions Online at
http://www.wiwd.uscourts.gov
or access the link through WisBar's legal resources area.
WebPACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) now is available
on the Internet. WebPACER is a nationally administered system that provides
Internet access to the federal court's docket sheets, court calendar,
judgments, and party and attorney indexes. If you have a PACER account,
you can use your existing login and password to access the PACER system
at http://pacer.wiwd.uscourts.gov. To set up an account, contact the PACER
Service Center at http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov. PACER is a fee-for-use
service.
For more information, contact Mark Doerr at U.S. District Court, Western
District of Wisconsin at (608) 261-5724 or mark_doerr@wiwd.uscourts.gov.
Access status
of appeals filed with Wisconsin courts through Internet
A new feature on the Wisconsin court system Web site, Wisconsin Supreme
Court and Court of Appeals Case Access (WSCCA.i), offers access to check
the status of pending appeals filed with Wisconsin courts.
The WSCCA.i database is updated at approximately noon and 6 p.m. Monday
through Friday. WSCCA.i can be searched by litigant or lawyer names, county
where the case originated, filing or release date, or case number or citation.
The database contains information on cases that were opened in the supreme
court and court of appeals from the end of 1993 to the present.
"Giving the public a quick way to check on the status of supreme court
and court of appeals cases improves access to the court system," Director
of State Courts J. Denis Moran said. "I anticipate that this database
will become, as our circuit court database has, a model for the nation."
The circuit court database, Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA), provides
instant access to the status of cases in the state's trial courts except
for those in Outagamie and Walworth counties, which are not yet on the
same computer system.
Visit WSCCA.i and WCCA at http://www.courts.state.wi.us/misc/court_records.html.
Both sites also are accessible from WisBar's legal
resources area.
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