Dear State Bar member,

The coronavirus pandemic went from, it seems, mere mentions on the nightly news to a national and world health crisis in short order. With the events of the past week just behind us, we know there is nothing more important than the safety of your family and serving your clients confidently.

I want to assure you, the State Bar of Wisconsin is committed to providing you with the services and support you need to ensure the continued administration of justice.

Continue to Lean on Us

Last week, just like many of you, State Bar staff quickly pivoted to working remotely – without missing a beat. This means you can continue to lean on us for the services and support you need, including our Practice411, Ethics Hotline, and WisLAP services.

Of course, these unprecedented times call for special measures to support each other. In our commitment to do our part, here are some of the things we’re working on to help you through the challenges ahead:

• Offering a series of 10 virtual town hall meeting forums, every weekday from March 23 to April 3, covering various areas of practice affected by the turn of events. The first session, for solo and small-firm practitioners, begins tomorrow at noon.
  
  Open to all members at no cost, these one-hour sessions facilitated by State Bar sections bring together practicing lawyers in the community to share how they’re coping with the abrupt disruption to their practices.

• Working with our state Supreme Court, the Governor’s Office, and various state agencies to resolve the many issues affecting the court operations and our justice system statewide. Many of you, for example, are impacted by various emergency orders restricting local circuit court calendars and procedures.
  
  In addition, at our request, the Supreme Court has temporarily eased CLE rules. Through the end of the year, you can now get 30 credits (instead of 15) through on-demand programming.

• The need for timely information analyzing the legal issues surrounding this virus is never more important. In response, your State Bar is developing timely CLE programming and publishing a new Coronavirus & the Law blog and other information to keep you up to date. In addition, you can find the latest State Bar and court announcements on our Coronavirus webpage.

• If you missed last week’s Business Continuity & Disaster Planning for COVID-19 program, you can catch a free webcast through April 13. In addition, we are offering free webcasts of Ethical & Logistical Considerations During COVID-19 Response through April 15.

We’re Here for You!

While we are all practicing social distancing, we remain part of a vital and vibrant legal community. Stay safe, be well, we will get through this together. Thank you for your commitment to justice. We remain committed to you.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us by phone, email, or through our various social media channels.  You can reach us at service@wisbar.org, (800) 728-7788, or (608) 257-3838.

Larry J. Martin
Executive Director