Milwaukee event showcases legal
technology
The 1st Annual Wisconsin Law & Technology Show, Nov. 30 at the
Sheraton Four Points in Milwaukee, brings together a full day of
seminars and legal technology exhibits specifically geared toward
lawyers, legal and MIS support staff, and court personnel.
Presented by the Milwaukee Bar Association and the American Bar
Association Law Practice Management Section (cosponsors), along with the
State Bar of Wisconsin, Dane County Bar Association, Law Librarian
Association of Wisconsin, and the Paralegal Association of Wisconsin,
the program features sessions ranging from "Developing a Law Firm Web
Site on Little or No Budget" to "Protecting Your System from Techno
Gremlins." Speakers include Wisconsin Attorney General James Doyle and
Hon. Barbara B. Crabb, U.S. District Court Judge for the Western
District of Wisconsin.
Admission is $99 for lawyers and $49 for nonlawyers registering by
Oct. 27. For more information, or to register, call (800) 328-4444, or
visit www.npilaw.com.
Eastern District launches federal
defender program
Federal Defender Services of Eastern Wisconsin
Inc. (FDS), a nonprofit charitable corporation for representing indigent
defendants in federal criminal cases, is setting up shop in Milwaukee.
The program, funded by a federal judiciary grant and
overseen by a board of directors, is one of 15 privately-run community
defender organizations nationwide. An alternative to federal agencies
and CJA (Criminal Justice Act) panels, FDS will seek through its
nine-member staff to provide clients with "a defense as good or better
than they could hire," says Dean Strang, executive director. "Our
overarching goal is to defend indigent people accused in federal court
with legal skill, creativity, and devotion, taking advantage of the
latitude afforded by the organization's private status."
Strang sees the court's decision to implement this program as at
least partially rooted in the "desire for more uniformly good
representation of accused men and women who are too poor to hire an
attorney and are at a great disadvantage when prosecuted by the federal
government. It also is a more cost-effective way to provide defense to
indigents when a federal court caseload reaches a certain number of
indictments," he says.
Panel system continues. FDS supplements, rather than replaces, the
existing panel system. Strang estimates 25 to 35 percent of indigent
criminal defense cases in the Eastern District will continue to go to
private lawyers appointed by his office. "Because of conflicts of
interest and ethical constraints, we're not able to represent everyone
who qualifies," he explains.
Strang cites helping to reform the CJA panel and providing ongoing
support and training for its members as a priority. He also looks to
develop a presence and rapport within Eastern District geographic
pockets that contribute disproportionately to the FDS clientele.
"Confronting and reshaping client and public expectations about
public defenders will be an ongoing challenge," adds Strang. "There is a
perception - particularly among many of our clients - that public
defenders are something less than lawyers; we must change that by
proving we care and doing superior legal work."
Strang anticipates FDS will take its first case in December.
Corporate information available
online
It's now possible to access the Wisconsin Department of Financial
Institutions' (DFI's) Corporate Registration Information System (CRIS)
online at www.wdfi.org. Visitors can
obtain information including legal business name, current status
(incorporated, organized, merged, dissolved), statutory entity
description (corporation, limited liability company, cooperative),
registered agent's name and address, previously used entity names, and
more from 350,000 Division of Corporate and Consumer Services business
records.
DFI Secretary John F. Kundert sees the online service as "saving
customers time and money." He notes it's only the beginning of what the
department hopes to offer on the Internet.
Women lawyers less optimistic
Fifty-six percent of women lawyers responding to a 2000 telephone
survey believe they are treated the same as men at work. However, 52.5
percent of women and 60.4 percent of men believe their prospects for
career advancement are equal, compared to 72 percent of women and 83
percent of men surveyed 17 years ago.
Source: ABA Journal poll
Eight tips for dealing with the
media
The way attorneys approach the media goes a long toward determining
reporting quality, according to a panel of media representatives and
attorneys addressing the image of lawyers in the community at the 2000
State Bar Annual Convention last June.
"Space and time are media commodities," explained attorney and WTMJ
radio talk show host David Melnick. "Those in the media are stretched
for time but need stories."
Melnick and fellow panelists Media-Law Relations Committee Chair
Steve Ritt; WISC 3, Madison, Editorial Director Neil Heinen; and
Wisconsin State Journal Associate Editor Tom Still offered lawyers the
following advice for optimizing media exposure:
- Make sure you have a story to tell - something truly
newsworthy.
- Select the best type of medium and the best outlet within that
medium for your story. Consider your target audience, the subject
matter, and the medium. Calculate where you'll get the best
exposure.
- Learn whom to contact within the media regarding a specific type of
story.
- Get the reporter's attention. Don't simply send a press release.
"First, call your media contact and briefly lay out the facts,
explaining the story's importance," said Melnick. "If he or she is
interested, send an executive summary substantiated with facts.
- Package the story. Give the media something to refer to and support
their notes, making sure that handouts are consistent with what you
say
in interviews. This increases the chances of the story being used
because it saves the reporter time, and it ensures against
inaccuracies
and misquotes. "Most reporters want to be fair to a fault, and if you
get them the information, most will be," said Heinen.
"Also, don't assume the media will understand the story," added
Melnick. "The law is a very specialized field with complex issues, and
even an experienced reporter can have difficulty interpreting the
information and presenting it. Provide explanatory materials."
- Bear credibility in mind, especially the first time out. This is an
opportunity to establish your reputation with the media and create an
impression of trustworthiness and reliability. "Too many lawyers
approach dealing with the media as a business opportunity," noted
Melnick. "Be as objective as possible."
- Set ground rules for interviews. Ritt recommends beginning
off-the-record if possible. "Get a feeling for where everyone's coming
from; then, when everyone is comfortable, move onto the record." It's
also important to distinguish between what's off-the-record for
background and what the reporter is allowed to cite but not
attribute.
"Assume you're always on the record unless it's specifically noted
otherwise," Melnick advised.
- Don't be shy about following up on media coverage. If an interview
agreement is violated, point it out.
State Bar, ABA provide career
development resources
Could you use some help honing your professional skills, advancing
your career, or dealing with professional demands? The State Bar's Young
Lawyers Division and the American Bar Association's (ABA's) new legal
Career Resource Center offer free and low-cost products and services
that address these needs.
Through its Career Assistance Committee, the Young Lawyers Division
supports Bar members with programs addressing job satisfaction,
alternative career placement, workplace stress, and other professional
development issues.
- The committee's WisBar job search
page links members to sites including LawJobs Career Center, AttorneyJobs.com, the U.W. Law
School Job Databank, and Marquette Law School's Office of Career
Planning.
- In conjunction with WisLAP, the Bar's 24-hour stress and substance
abuse hotline, the committee offers a "Been There, Done That" program
that enables WisLAP hotline callers to discuss career-related concerns
and ideas with appropriately matched volunteer fellow attorneys. The
WisLAP number is (800) 543-2625.
- YLD's anonymous online "Forum for All
Young Lawyers" allows lawyers to post, read, and respond to
questions, issues, and experiences pertaining to the practice of
law.
- The YLD Educational Resource Library, housed at the Wisconsin State
Law Library, features information on career development, law practice
building, public speaking, and public relations, as well as substantive
topics in print, audio, and video formats. Professional development
offerings range from Alternative Careers for Lawyers and America's
Greatest Places to Work With a Law Degree to The Young Lawyer's
Jungle Book: A Survival Guide. Information on specific titles is
available through WISOLL, the State Law Library's online catalog. State
Bar members can borrow materials by mail for three weeks. There is a
$2-per-item handling fee and no limit on the number of items that can be
checked out. For a complete list of titles in nearly 50 subject areas
and their availability, visit www.wisbar.org/yld/library.html, or call
the State Law Library at (800) 322-9755 or (608) 266-1600 for further
information.
ABA offers career guidance. ABA Career Resource
Center products and services include free Web-based job search
question-and-answer sessions, hosted by ABA-CLE and Career Resource
Center director Kathy Morris, to begin later this fall.
Further career enhancement and job search resources are available
online through ABA's
Career Counsel Web site, which features articles, daily tips, and
special information for law students, lawyers, and employers. ABA
members also can access EmplawyerNet (www.emplawyernet.com) from the
site to receive discounted rates for online access to job listings as
part of the ABA Member Advantage Program. For more information, call the
ABA at (312) 988-5000.
Wisconsin Lawyer
