Sign In
    Wisconsin Lawyer
    March 01, 2003

    Legal News and Trends

    Wisconsin Lawyer
    Vol. 76, No. 3, March 2003

    Legal     News & Trends

    Office of Lawyer Regulation consolidates operations

    In January 2004, the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) will consolidate its Madison and Milwaukee offices, further increasing the agency's efficiency. "While the Milwaukee office has performed an important role, the future need for staff in Milwaukee is substantially outweighed by the advantages of a consolidated office," says OLR Director Keith Sellen.

    "Central intake, established in January 2001, has made the lawyer regulation system accessible to the public through a toll-free number," continues Sellen. "Our two-year experience validates our expectation that a centralized approach to receiving and evaluating grievances is superior to the geographic approach. This approach has substantially increased the system's accessibility, its capacity to resolve grievances, the timeliness with which matters are processed, and has raised the level of satisfaction among members of the public and the bar.

    "The important goals of ensuring access to and confidence in the system can be accomplished well by a consolidated office," concludes Sellen. "Taking advantage of our new system's strengths will further improve the system's ability to carry out the supreme court's responsibility to supervise the profession and protect the public.

    Phil Habermann, first State Bar executive director, father of Judicare, dies

    On Feb. 11, 2003, Philip S. Habermann, 89, passed away in Madison following a lengthy illness. Habermann was hired as the State Bar of Wisconsin's first executive secretary, serving in the position from December 1948 until his retirement in November 1974. During the 26 years of Habermann's leadership, the Bar achieved several milestones, including leasing its first office in 1948 in Madison and then later building - and enlarging - its own offices at 402 W. Wilson St. In Habermann the Bar also had its first lobbyist.

    As the legal profession saw rapid growth following World War II, the Bar through Habermann's efforts adapted to a surge in membership in the voluntary association. And, with Habermann's guidance, the Bar embarked on publishing Wisconsin-specific law books and increasing the number and quality of seminar offerings through a partnership with ATS-CLE (the precursor to State Bar CLE Seminars and Books).

    In March 1994 Habermann was awarded the U.W. Law School Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his lifetime of service to the legal profession as State Bar executive director. Habermann included the Bar's transition from a voluntary to a mandatory organization in 1957 and the establishment of mandatory CLE in 1977 as two of the most important issues he and the Bar faced.

    In a July 7, 1994, Lodi Enterprise article reporting his achievements, Habermann said, "I get the most pride from having conceived and developed the Judicare program, which is still active in Wisconsin and has been adopted in some other states." The Judicare program responded to a mandate to make civil legal services more accessible to poor people during President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. Habermann also worked to create the Wisconsin Bar Foundation.

    Habermann influenced the Bar's efforts to provide ethics guidance to lawyers and to apply sound business practices to law office management, just as he applied those practices to managing the Bar's finances. Some attorneys referred to Habermann fondly as "Frugal Phil" and respected his abilities to do much with a slim budget.

    In 1986 Habermann wrote "A History of the Organized Bar in Wisconsin," which will be posted on WisBar as part of the Bar's legal history project.

    Born on Aug. 11, 1913, Haberman, a Lodi native and noted local historian, served in the U.S. Navy during WWII and upon his discharge earned a law degree in 1947 from the U.W. Law School under the G.I. Bill.

    Marquette University names Kearney law school dean

    Effective July 1, Joseph Kearney, a Marquette University Law School professor, will become dean of Marquette University Law School. Kearney succeeds Janine Geske, who has served as interim law school dean since the death last June of Dean Howard Eisenberg.

    "It is a privilege to be appointed dean of the law school," said Kearney. "The faculty and alumni have long made substantial contributions to the Wisconsin legal system and the larger Wisconsin community, and we expect our students to continue and advance this tradition. It also is humbling to succeed Dean Eisenberg and Justice Geske, both of whom made extraordinary contributions to society even before serving as dean. I am excited about the future of the law school and the collaborative possibilities within both the university and the larger community."

    Kearney has been a member of the law school faculty since 1997. He is a nationally recognized scholar in telecommunications law and previously practiced for six years at Sidley & Austin, Chicago's largest law firm. Kearney, 38, is an honors graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School.

    Program addresses issues facing managing partners

    The State Bar and the Wisconsin Association of Legal Administrators will host the Managing Partners' Dinner on May 1, from 4 to 6 p.m., at the Milwaukee Athletic Club.

    Keynote speaker Blane R. Prescott, a partner and consultant with Hildebrandt International, San Francisco, will address "What's Keeping Managing Partners Awake at Night, and What Can You Do About It?" Topics covered include: sudden loss of key clients, flight risk of top rainmakers, dealing with problem partners, and more.

    The program, approved for 2.0 CLE credits, costs $60. To make a reservation, contact Sharon Ewers at (608) 259-2623 or sewers@staffordlaw.com by April 11.

    Mandatory court forms updated; new victim notification cards introduced

    As of Jan. 31, the Wisconsin Records Management Committee, an advisory committee to the Director of State Courts Office, which develops and distributes mandated forms, released the following forms to comply with the 2001 Wis. Act 109 truth-in-sentencing laws. New (N)/Revised (R)

    Victim notification
    CR-240 (R) Victim Notification Card
    CR-241 (R) Victim Notice of Rights

    Modification of extended supervision conditions
    CR-250
    (N) Petition to Modify Court-Imposed Conditions of Extended Supervision, § 302.113(7m)
    CR-251 (N) Verification of Date of Release to Extended Supervision, § 302.113(7m)
    CR-252 (N) Order Modifying Conditions of Extended Supervision, § 302.113(9g)

    Release from initial confinement based upon age or terminal illness
    CR-254
    (N) Petition to Modify Bifurcated Sentence, § 302.113(9g) (Geriatric/Terminal)
    CR-255 (N) Referral by Department of Corrections to Sentencing Court, § 302.113(9g) (Geriatric/Terminal)
    CR-256 (N) Order Concerning Sentence Modification, § 302.113(9g) (Geriatric/Terminal)

    Sentence adjustment
    CR-258
    (N) Petition for Sentence Adjustment, § 973.195
    CR-259 (N) Notice to District Attorney/District Attorney Response on Petition for Sentence Adjustment, § 973.195
    CR-260 (N) Order Concerning Sentence Adjustment, § 973.195
    CR-261 (N) Verification of Time Served, § 973.195

    Forms and form summaries are available online in PDF or MS Word format at www.courts.state.wi.us/circuit/search_forms.html.

    For more information, contact Judy Mahlkuch at Judy.mahlkuch@courts.state.wi.us. or call (608) 266-7143.

    ABA president-elect Archer comes to Milwaukee in May

    Dennis W. Archer, the first African-American to become president-elect of the American Bar Association, is the featured speaker at two upcoming events in Milwaukee. On May 7, Archer will speak at the Wisconsin Association of African-American Lawyers 14th Annual W. Dale Phillips Scholarship Banquet at the Marcus Center for the performing Arts Bradley Pavilion, and he will speak on May 8 at the State Bar Annual Convention.

    The WAAL event begins at 5:30 p.m. The cost is $60 per person or $700 per table. For more information, call (414) 277-8500 or email main@gshllp.com. For more information about the State Bar's Annual Convention, call (800) 728-7788 or visit www.wisbar.org/convention/2003.


Join the conversation! Log in to comment.

News & Pubs Search

-
Format: MM/DD/YYYY