Practice alert: Law firms must send privacy
notices to clients by July 1
Provisions of a federal law enacted in late 1999 under the
"Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act" became effective on July 1, 2001. The law
requires every "financial institution" that provides certain financial
services to its individual clients to send them a notice explaining its
privacy policies by July 1, 2001.
To the surprise of many, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which
has the legal responsibility to enforce the Act's provisions, determined
in mid-June that law firms are "financial institutions" under the Act.
Therefore, law firms are required to send privacy notices by July 1,
2001, to individual clients who receive covered financial services from
them. Covered financial services include tax planning and preparation,
certain real estate settlement services, and other types of financial
services provided "primarily for personal, family, and household"
purposes.
Even though professional standards of client confidentiality are more
stringent than those imposed by the Act, the Act's provisions still
apply.
Sanctions for failure to comply. According to a memo
from the Philadelphia Bar, financial institutions may be precluded from
divulging any private information if they fail to comply with the notice
rules. Since a law firm is already precluded from such actions, that
sanction would have no meaning. And while there may be issues with
respect to the agency's regulating lawyers' activities, the FTC is
empowered to require compliance and may impose a $10,000 fine per
failure to comply. The FTC also is authorized to grant exemptions to the
regulations.
The ABA responds. The ABA Board of Governors passed
a resolution on June 8 calling for the FTC to issue an administrative
ruling exempting the practice of law from the statute's implementing
regulations. It is not known when the FTC will respond.
The ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education and Taxation and Tort
& Insurance Practice sections recently offered a teleseminar on the
Act, including articles to help law firms identify to whom the Act
applies and how to comply, an alert from the Philadelphia Bar with
sample model notice, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. To
purchase the seminar audiotape or access an online pay per listen
version of the program, go to the ABA Web site at www.abanet.org/cle.
What to do if you missed the July 1 deadline. Law
firms should send privacy notices to individual clients as near the July
1 deadline as possible. "The notice needn't be complicated or lengthy
for most lawyers. A more difficult issue is determining to whom to send
it," says Charles Horn, partner of Mayer, Brown & Platt in the
firm's Washington, D.C. office and a panelist for the ABA's
teleconference.
For more information. The State Bar of Wisconsin
Taxation Law and Real Property, Probate and Trust Law sections have
developed a "Practice Alert" that
provides a synopsis of the Act and a sample privacy notice.
Award honors women lawyers
Seeking nominations for Marygold Melli 2001 Achievement Award
When you think of Wisconsin women who have
significantly advanced the interests of women, the legal profession,
justice, and society as a whole, does anyone immediately come to mind?
The Legal Association for Women invites you to nominate that individual
for the 2001 Marygold Melli Achievement Award.
Presented annually since 1994, the award honors Wisconsin women who
have made significant contributions to women in the law by: advancing
the interests of women in the legal profession; promoting improvements
in the administration of justice; promoting equality and social justice
for all people; or improving relations between the legal profession and
the public.
The award honors Marygold Melli, professor emerita at the U.W. Law
School, who managed a distinguished career at the school while writing
prolifically, doing extensive community and professional service, and
raising four children.
Previous award recipients include: Ruth B. Doyle, Atty. Mary Lou
Munts, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, Hon. Barbara Crabb, Atty. Diane
Greenley, Prof. June Weisberger, and Prof. Louise Trubek.
For nomination forms and additional information, contact Nancy
Wettersten at (608) 255-4501 or nwettersten@prmk.com. The
deadline for nominations is July 31, 2001.
U.S. Court of Appeals seeks input on bankruptcy
judge reappointment
Chief Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Martin of the U.S. District Court
for the Western District of Wisconsin seeks reappointment by the U.S.
Court of Appeals to a new 14-year term when his current term expires on
May 31, 2002. A bankruptcy judge is a judicial officer of the U.S.
District Court who exercises the authority of the district court with
respect to any action, suit, or proceeding under Chapter 6 of Title 28
of the U.S. Code, 28 U.S.C. § 151.
The court is accepting comments regarding Judge Martin's
reappointment. Written comments should be sent by July 31 to: Collins T.
Fitzpatrick, Circuit Executive, 219 S. Dearborn St., Room 2780, Chicago,
IL 60604.
Activity book educates children in court
process
What's Happening in Court? is an activity book for children who are
going to court in Wisconsin. Whether they are involved in a case,
accompanying a family member, or on a school trip, children should
understand the basics of court process, know who works in the
courthouse, and know rules of court decorum. The activities educate and
entertain children, ages six to nine.
"Children come to our courthouses every day for all sorts of reasons.
Going to court can be scary for adults as well as for children," says
Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson. "We want to make the experience of
going to court easier on children by helping them to understand the
process. This booklet explains what happens in court, who works here,
and what the rules are."
The book was written in 1999 by the legal staff of the California
Office of the General Counsel within the Administrative Office of the
Courts. This year, Wisconsin judges, attorneys, and court staff tailored
the book for Wisconsin and reproduced it with funding from the Wisconsin
Supreme Court and the Milwaukee Bar Association.
This free book can be downloaded from the court's Web site at www.courts.state.wi.us/media/activity_book.htm.
Professional printing instructions are included for quantity printing
needs. For more information, contact Amanda K. Todd at (608) 264-6256 or
amanda.todd@courts.state.wi.us.
Economy affects malpractice claims
The economy typically has an effect on the number of malpractice
claims filed against lawyers; after an economic downturn, claims usually
increase. During the healthy economy of the late 1990s, malpractice
claims against lawyers remained stable, according to a report, Profile
of Legal Malpractice Claims: 1996 - 1999, from the ABA Standing
Committee on Lawyers' Professional Responsibility. For more information,
contact Jon Murphy at (312) 988-6136 or murphyj@staff.abanet.org.
Access court opinions, case, and docket information
online
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
recently announced two Internet services: Opinions Online and
WebPACER.
Opinions Online, a free search site, provides access to a repository
of published and unpublished opinions selected by the issuing judge on
briefs filed with the Western District court. Visit Opinions Online at
http://www.wiwd.uscourts.gov
or access the link through WisBar's legal resources area.
WebPACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) now is available
on the Internet. WebPACER is a nationally administered system that
provides Internet access to the federal court's docket sheets, court
calendar, judgments, and party and attorney indexes. If you have a PACER
account, you can use your existing login and password to access the
PACER system at http://pacer.wiwd.uscourts.gov. To set up an account,
contact the PACER Service Center at http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov. PACER
is a fee-for-use service.
For more information, contact Mark Doerr at U.S. District Court,
Western District of Wisconsin at (608) 261-5724 or mark_doerr@wiwd.uscourts.gov.
Access status of appeals filed with Wisconsin courts
through Internet
A new feature on the Wisconsin court system Web site, Wisconsin
Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Case Access (WSCCA.i), offers access
to check the status of pending appeals filed with Wisconsin courts.
The WSCCA.i database is updated at approximately noon and 6 p.m.
Monday through Friday. WSCCA.i can be searched by litigant or lawyer
names, county where the case originated, filing or release date, or case
number or citation. The database contains information on cases that were
opened in the supreme court and court of appeals from the end of 1993 to
the present.
"Giving the public a quick way to check on the status of supreme
court and court of appeals cases improves access to the court system,"
Director of State Courts J. Denis Moran said. "I anticipate that this
database will become, as our circuit court database has, a model for the
nation." The circuit court database, Wisconsin Circuit Court Access
(WCCA), provides instant access to the status of cases in the state's
trial courts except for those in Outagamie and Walworth counties, which
are not yet on the same computer system.
Visit WSCCA.i and WCCA at http://www.courts.state.wi.us/misc/court_records.html.
Both sites also are accessible from WisBar's legal resources
area.
Wisconsin Lawyer
