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Mission Possible: Improving Justice in Afghanistan

Three young Wisconsin attorneys work as teachers and mentors to help strengthen the rule of law in Afghanistan.

By Dianne Molvig

Protecting Consumers in the Modern Age: Wisconsin’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act

Wisconsin’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act prohibits untrue, deceptive, or misleading representations in the sale of goods and services to the public. Although the law was enacted almost a century ago to target false print advertising, it effectively affords remedies for wrongful trade practices in the modern age. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has recently decided several important issues arising out of the Act’s application in the ever-changing business and consumer world.

Significant Supreme Court Decisions

For many years, Daniel W. Hildebrand contributed to Wisconsin legal literature by annually describing those Wisconsin appellate decisions that he viewed to be most significant. Attorney Hildebrand passed away in late 2007; these authors, both former supreme court clerks, are attempting to pick up the Hildebrand torch.

Deceptive Trade Practices Act Primary Provision

100.18. Fraudulent representations

Opinions, Voices & Ideas

Inside the Bar
They Already Know
If you need help handling life stresses, don’t try hiding your problems from your friends or colleagues. They probably already know. Instead, call the trained volunteers at WisLAP. They’re ready 24/7 now to help judges as well as lawyers, law students, and their families.

President's Message
Topless Meetings?
Unlike some organizations that are going “topless” to prohibit laptops and BlackBerrys in meetings, the State Bar Executive Committee is experimenting with receiving and reviewing all meeting materials electronically and so is inviting participants to bring their laptops to meetings.

To Learn More
Several Web sites can help you calculate your repayment under the CCRAA

CLE Program Outlines How You Can Afford to Practice Public Interest or Government Law
Perhaps you've wanted to pursue a legal career serving the public interest, but you can't afford to follow your heart. Or maybe you are serving the public, but you're staggering under the weight of student debt. If so, you'll want to attend Practice Public Interest (or Government) Law without Going to the Poorhouse.

Editorial
Public Defenders Deserve Fair Pay
State public defender Nick Chiarkas and State Bar president Diane Diel make their case for increasing the rate paid to private bar attorneys who accept public defender appointments from $40 per hour to $70 per hour.

Ethics
New Rules Affect In-House Counsel
Under recently adopted amendments to SCR 10.03(4), effective Jan. 1, 2009, non-Wisconsin licensed lawyers who are employed by a single entity to provide legal services to their employers must register with the Board of Bar Examiners and meet other requirements.

Meet in Person to See If the Client is a Good Fit With You
At the beginning of a career, it is harder to decide whether to take on a client or subsequently to disengage from one, because of a lack of experience and the need to develop a client base. More than 35 years of practice has given me a fairly well-developed red flag detector.

Keep the Dialog Going…
Add to this discussion.

Respond to our next question
What oversight should I provide the office manager with respect to office expenditures?
Our office manager takes care of payroll and disbursements. What steps should I take to keep an eye on the office manager's activities with respect to office expenditures without making her think I don't trust her with the firm's checkbooks and credit cards?

Career
Financial Help Puts Public Interest Careers in Reach
The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 may help lessen the burden of law school debt that discourages many lawyers from pursuing traditionally low-paying public interest careers.

What Keeps You Awake at Night?
How can I avoid problem clients or ethically disengage from representing one?
I’ve heard horror stories about clients who don’t pay bills, return phone calls, provide information, or timely follow through on actions needed to advance their legal matter. Still other stories recount clients making pests of themselves by too frequent phone calls, or worse, trying to intimidate lawyers or their employees, or disrespecting the court. I’m a new lawyer and just opening a solo office. How can I ethically disengage from representing a problem client, and better yet, how do I identify and

Wisconsin celebrated juror appreciation month in September
In September, Gov. Jim Doyle issued a proclamation, and the Senate and Assembly approved citations, declaring September Juror Appreciation Month. The statewide celebration kicked off with a press conference at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson, State Bar President Diane S. Diel, and then-Milwaukee County Circuit Court Chief Judge Kitty K. Brennan, and other local officials hosted the event. Press conferences also were held in Waukesha County and

Wisconsin Supreme Court seeks volunteers to serve on committee to study Code of Judicial Conduct
The Wisconsin Supreme Court seeks lawyers and nonlawyers for a new committee to study the Wisconsin Code of Judicial Conduct in light of the American Bar Association's 2007 revision of its Model Code of Judicial Conduct, other proposals for modification, and developing case law.

Marquette bolsters law schools in seven African countries
Donated law books from Wisconsin bound for Africa
Marquette University law students and faculty recently donated 1,793 pounds of books to law schools in Africa through a book drive organized by the student organization Association for Women in Law (AWL) at Marquette University Law School.

Mental-health initiative aims to improve Wisconsin's criminal justice system
Wisconsin recently was selected by the Council of State Governments to participate in the Chief Justices' Criminal Justice/Mental Health Leadership Initiative, a project aimed at improving the criminal justice system's response to people with mental illness.