Figuratively Speaking

New Briefs

Wisconsin legal service agencies receive
computers through ABA program

Two Milwaukee legal service organizations, Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee Inc. and Legal Action of Wisconsin Inc., are among the first recipients of computers donated through an American Bar Association (ABA) program.

The Technology Exchange Project is the work of three ABA groups - the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense, the Litigation Section, and the Business Law Section - that collect working computers from law firms that are upgrading their systems and donate them to legal service providers.

The computers being shipped to Wisconsin are part of the ABA's upgrade, which will donate approximately 400 computers to the program within the next two years.

Legal Action of Wisconsin Inc., which provides representation in civil matters to low-income individuals and groups in 11 counties in southeastern Wisconsin and to migrant farmworkers statewide, received 21 computers from the Technology Exchange Project.

Susan Conwell, Legal Action's information development director, says the new computers will make a big difference. We serve more than 10,000 people per year, and the new computers speed up research and conflict-of-interest checks. We also save money by obtaining legal texts online or on CD-ROM.

Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee Inc., which received four computers, provides civil legal assistance to low-income clients, primarily in Milwaukee County.

For more information, contact Meredith Mc-Burney, ABA Technology Exchange Project, at (303) 329-8091, via fax at (303) 329-0362, or by email.

Supreme court postpones rules
on judicial court commissioners

New SCR Chapter 75 and amended SCR 70.36 (5), which standardize the appointment, discipline, continuing education, public education, and decisions of judicial court commissioners, were to go into effect on July 1.

However, concerns by the Committee of Chief Judges and the Wisconsin Records Management Committee prompted the Wisconsin Supreme Court to issue Order 97-10. This order holds SCR Chapter 75 and SCR 70.36 (5) in abeyance pending further order of the court.

The committees offered numerous suggestions to clarify the language before the proposed rules go into effect. In addition, they suggest requiring all judicial court commissioners to take an oath of office. While that requirement is in the statutes governing court commissioners, the committees also recommend including it in SCR Chapter 75. The committees further suggest requiring a written notice, which sets forth the reasons for the action, of any disciplinary action against a judicial court commissioner.

Pending the court's further review and action, new SCR Chapter 75 and SCR 70.36 (5) should go into effect on Jan. 1, 1999. Please see the "Supreme Court Orders" column in this issue for the complete text of Supreme Court Order 97-10.

Bankruptcy court seeks comments
on racial and gender bias within its system

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, has created a task force to study racial and gender issues that may be encountered by those who use or are involved in the court - attorneys, judges, clients, debtors, witnesses, and court employees.

The task force is a response to a resolution passed by the Seventh Circuit Judicial Council that recognizes that gender and racial bias have no place in a court of law. The council recommended that each circuit, district, and bankruptcy court within the circuit create a task force to assess the issues and develop strategies to combat any existing problems.

Hon. Margaret Dee McGarity chairs the Bankruptcy Court's task force, which also includes attorneys J. Kenyatta Riley, Penny G. Gentges, and Amelia Ramirez; U.S. Bankruptcy Court clerk Christopher L. Austin; and Rabbi Ronald M. Shapiro. For the next two months, the group will compile comments, suggestions, and concerns regarding gender or racial bias - experienced or perceived - from anyone who has used the court. Attorneys are urged to solicit comments from their bankruptcy clients.

"If the feedback we receive indicates a problem," says Gentges, "we plan to create an educational program for court employees that will be in place by late fall."

Direct comments to Penny G. Gentges, 7040 N. Port Washington Rd., Suite 404, Milwaukee, WI 53217. You can reach her by phone at (414) 228-6700, fax at (414) 228-6620.

Partners judge associates
according to long-term potential

Many associates probably think that the best way to impress partners at their firms is to rack up the billable hours or land "that big client." While these moves couldn't hurt a career, they're not the top qualities partners are looking for in an associate, according to a survey in the summer issue of The Associate.

The magazine surveyed 50 partners nationwide, nearly all of whom say they are more interested in complete lawyers who give the firm and its clients their money's worth over time.

"That translates into three major areas on which partners focus - good lawyering skills and attitude, the ability to foster good professional relationships, and the contributions an associate will make to the firm's growth over the long term," says Jack Crittenden, publisher of The Associate.

Ninety-six percent of those surveyed say that dependability - having a positive attitude and doing top-notch technical work - is either "very important" or "important."

And while it is difficult to measure how an associate will contribute to a firm's success in the future, 92 percent of respondents believe an important indicator and critical attribute is the ability to foster positive professional relationships.

The Associate is published quarterly by National Jurist Publishing.