Several states have legalized the recreational or medical use of marijuana and their treasuries are seeing the benefits. Wisconsin is not one of them, yet. Federal law still criminalizes use of marijuana. Lawyers representing marijuana-related businesses must navigate conflicting state and federal laws to help their clients operate legally and reach full commercial potential.

Thousands of disputes are resolved in administrative hearings, and relaxed rules generally apply to them. But some of the rules are not so much relaxed as merely different, and they might trip up parties and lawyers who appear at hearings with an anything-goes mindset. One potentially confusing procedure concerns the admissibility of hearsay evidence in unemployment insurance hearings.

SCR 20:4.4 governs lawyers’ behaviors and obligations when they receive a document or electronically stored information that was inadvertently sent. Read about the types of behavior the rule proscribes, examples of cases in which lawyers have been sanctioned, and a new provision that directs lawyers how to respond if they receive privileged information or work product.

Tomorrow’s law firm “engine room” is not comprised of collected lawyers, but of collected legal expertise, applied to client needs through the innovative use of systems, processes, technology, and expert professionals.