Donna M. Jones, member of both the State Bar Board of Governors and the Nonresident Lawyers Division board from Atlanta, Ga., speaks to the voluntary/mandatory issue.
May 5, 2010 – At its May 4-5 meeting at the State Bar Center in Madison, the State Bar Board of Governors (Board) debated tough issues concerning the voluntary versus mandatory bar, unauthorized practice of law (UPL) and increased pay for court-appointed attorneys, among other topics. The following is a run-down of the action items that were decided.
Board authorizes petitions for voluntary-mandatory bar resolution
The Board of Governors authorized the Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) to draft two or more petitions that would ask the Wisconsin Supreme Court to review the status of the integrated bar and whether it should be modified or made voluntary.
The petitions will require Board review before they are filed with the court under the resolution adopted by the governors at their May 5 meeting.
The Board had previously voted to accept the Future of the State Bar: Mandatory/Voluntary Membership Report and place it on file. The SPC compiled the report and features a summary of the committee’s research and deliberations, including a sketch of the State Bar’s history, structure, finances, services, and membership in the post WWII era. It also offers comparative structural, dues, service, and budget data for the State Bar of Wisconsin and other state bars, together with committee members’ comments.
District 5 governor
Charles E. Hanson, of Hale, Skemp, Hanson, Skemp & Sleik in La Crosse, makes a point during the Board’s voluntary/mandatory discussion.
Much of the discussion at the May 5 meeting focused on the SPC’s draft resolution, which proposes a process to develop the petitions. That resolution was approved as presented with an amendment striking language that would have allowed the SPC to file the petition(s) without further Board review. That change was approved by a 26 – 19 vote.
Other proposed changes to the SPC’s resolution, including the addition of language that would have invited the court to consider the State Bar’s existing mission and vision statements when contemplating the petitions, were not approved.
As amended, the resolution adopted by the Board reads:
Resolution Regarding the Integrated (Mandatory) Status of the State Bar of Wisconsin
WHEREAS, the issues surrounding the legality of the integrated bar have a long history dating from 1943 to present, involve volumes of decisions in all levels of courts on complicated concepts balancing the integrated nature of the State Bar of Wisconsin, and have been subject to periodic review; and
WHEREAS, individual members of the State Bar hold diverse opinions on whether bar membership should be voluntary or mandatory; and
WHEREAS, a significant number of the members of the State Bar are asking that the status of the integrated bar be reviewed by the Supreme Court; and
WHEREAS, the Strategic Planning Committee has studied the issue, has produced the attached report, and has concluded that it is in the interest of the State Bar that the Wisconsin Supreme Court review the status of the State Bar as an integrated organization.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Wisconsin as follows:
That the report of the Strategic Planning Committee attached to this resolution is accepted and placed on file; and
That the Wisconsin Supreme Court be asked to review the status of the integrated bar; and
That the Strategic Planning Committee is authorized to draft two or more petitions with the Wisconsin Supreme Court requesting that it review the status of the integrated bar and whether it should be modified or made voluntary; and
That all members of the Board of Governors are invited to participate in drafting and advancing the respective petitions.
Kevin J. Palmersheim, Haley Palmersheim S.C., Middleton, District 9 governor and member of the Executive and Public Image committees, articulates his own and constituents’ concerns.
A record of the SPC’s work, together with links to detailed resource and background materials, can be found on the State Bar of Wisconsin's Web site at www.wisbar.org/stratplancomm.
Board approves petition to increase pay for court-appointed lawyers
The State Bar Board of Governors voted unanimously (one abstention) to support a petition to increase the hourly rate of compensation paid to court-appointed lawyers and declare unreasonable the current rate paid to lawyers appointed by the State Public Defender (SPD).
Currently, Supreme Court Rule 81.02 sets a compensation rate of $70 per hour for court-appointed lawyers, and lawyers appointed by the SPD receive $40 per hour pursuant to Wis. Stat. section 977.08(4m)(c).
Petition 10-03 asks for an amendment to provide $80 per hour for court-appointed counsel indexed to the Consumer Price Index and a provision stating that an SPD rate less than $80 is unreasonable under section 977.08. Assembly Bill 224, which would have increased the SPD rate to $70, failed to pass in April.
District 6 governor
Samuel W. Benedict, State Public Defenders Office, Waukesha, takes the floor to express his views.
A group of 12 attorneys, including eight past presidents of the State Bar, filed the petition on March 5, 2010, along with a supporting memo. The Government Lawyers Division, the Senior Lawyers Division, the Elder Law Section, and the Family Law Section also support the petition.
Board approves a resolution for petition on unauthorized practice of law
At the urging of President Douglas W. Kammer, the Board passed a resolution allowing the State Bar’s Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL) Committee, in its petition to the supreme court, "to define the ‘practice of law,’ impose sanctions for the unauthorized practice of law, and to create a Supreme Court Rule similar to Rule 24 of the Indiana Rules of Court.”
However, the Board approved a motion to require that any proposed petition drafted by the UPL Committee be reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee.
Board adopts resolution to petition supreme court on OLR fund lapse
John P. Macy, chair of the State Bar Strategic Planning Committee (SPC), which lead the effort to gather and study member input and other data regarding the impact of either remaining a mandatory bar association or becoming a voluntary bar, explains the SPC’s petition recommendation to the Board at its May meeting. Macy is with Arenz, Molter, Macy & Riffle S.C., Waukesha.
The Board by unanimous vote passed a resolution that the supreme court not be required to lapse lawyer regulation funds to the state’s general fund. The Board also directed the State Bar’s lobbyists to work with the court and the legislature on the issue to ensure appropriate funding for court operations.
As part of a deficit reduction plan for 2009-11, all state agencies were required to lapse money back to the state’s general fund. The court’s portion of that requirement was $7.4 million, and the court resolved to lapse funds equally among all court agencies and departments. Of this, $293,000 will lapse from the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR), $175,000 this year and $118,000 next year. Attorney-assessments fund approximately 95 percent of the OLR budget.
Board approves modifications to bylaws concerning dispute resolution between sections
The Board approved unanimously modifications to the State Bar’s bylaws to define the process for resolving public policy disputes between sections.
The approved proposal from the Legislative Oversight Committee (LOC) will formalize the existence of the LOC as a “standing committee” of the State Bar and final arbiter of section disputes on public policy. Specifically, a three-member subcommittee will review materials, hold a hearing, and issue a written decision should informal or mediation efforts fail.
The nonprevailing section may appeal to the full committee, which will review the fairness of the subcommittee’s decision based on the record. That is, the full committee will determine “whether the subcommittee fairly applied State Bar Rules, By-laws, and procedures in reaching its decision.” A decision of the full committee is final and nonappealable. The finality of a decision was cited as necessary to provide full and fair representation while making conflict resolution quicker and more efficient.
District 2 governor,
Nate Cade Jr., Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Milwaukee, asks SPC chair Macy for clarification on the committee’s process to gather data on the voluntary/mandatory issue.
Board approves motion to support petitions relating to appellate practice
The Board approved a motion to support two petitions before the supreme court seeking to require that a party petitioning for appellate review include in the appendix a copy of any unpublished opinion cited by the party and append an additional certification confirming compliance.
The Hon. Richard S. Brown, presiding judge for the court of appeals, filed petition 10-01 on Jan. 13, 2010, seeking to amend Wis. Stat. section 809.19(2) relating to Content of Appellate Appendices. David R. Schanker, supreme court clerk, filed petition 10-02 on Feb. 5, 2010, to amend Wis. Stat. Rule 809.62(2)(f) relating to content of Appendix to Petitions for Review.
The Appellate Practice Section opposed the petitions, citing redundancy, increased costs, and a concern that only petitioners, not respondent, would be required to follow the new appendix rule. The Board voted to support the petition 36-8 with assurances that a new rule also would require respondents to append.
A public hearing on both petitions is scheduled for May 11, 2010, at 1:30 p.m. in the Supreme Court Hearing Room.
Board approves proposal to move additional Board meeting offsite for 2010-11 term
The Board approved a proposal to move an additional Board meeting to an off-site location for the 2010-11 term. Only one member dissented.
Currently, three of the five annual Board meetings are held at the State Bar Center in Madison, another is held in the location of the State Bar’s Annual Convention – this year Madison − and one is held at a different location around the state.
The Board approved that both the September 2010 and April 2011 meetings will be held off-site. The September meeting will be held in Minocqua as planned and the location of the April meeting is to be determined.
Young Lawyers Division representative Jessica J. King stated that moving an additional meeting off-site “puts the organization back among the constituents where it needs to be.”
The proposal seeks to create more interaction between the Board and local bar members, and more personal interaction between Board members to facilitate better decision-making. The additional cost to the State Bar is estimated at $15,918.
Board approves appointments to the Board Nomination Committee
The Board approved President-elect James Boll's appointments to the Board Nomination Committee − Kevin G. Klein, Robert R. Goepel, and Kevin J. Palmersheim.
Related articles:
Board of Governors discusses mandatory/voluntary bar report, takes other actions – Feb. 26, 2010
Strategic Planning Committee hears testimony on mandatory/voluntary Bar issue – Dec. 16, 2009
Comments regarding the mandatory/voluntary bar issue welcome – Dec. 2, 2009
State Bar seeks insights on mandatory/voluntary bar issue – Oct. 6, 2009
