Wisconsin
Lawyer
Vol. 79, No. 6, June 2006
Legal News & Trends
State Bar welcomes 175 new
members
State Bar President Michael Guerin, Wisconsin BBE Director John
Kosobucki, and Marquette Law School Dean Joseph Kearney, at swearing-in
ceremony.
Marquette Law School class sworn in at Capitol
On May 22, 175 Marquette Law School graduates were admitted to
practice. The new lawyers were welcomed to the profession by the
Wisconsin Supreme Court justices, Marquette Law School Dean Joseph D.
Kearney, State Bar President D. Michael Guerin, and Wisconsin Board of
Bar Examiners Director John E. Kosobucki.
Following each swearing-in ceremony, Justice N. Patrick Crooks spoke
to the new lawyers, "We have every reason to take great pride in our
profession and have the most solemn obligation to all others who have
gone before us to carry on our functions as lawyers and judges in a
manner so as to pass on this heritage undiminished and untarnished. On
the matter of professional pride and integrity, I suggest that these are
the hallmarks which distinguish the true lawyer from the mere
attorney-at-law."
This brings State Bar membership to 22,160. U.W. Law School graduates
will be sworn in on June 20.
Kosobucki is new BBE director
On April 24, the Board
of Bar Examiners (BBE) wel-comed John
E. Kosobucki, a retired U.S. Army colonel, as its new director.
"The BBE looks forward to working with John and the State Bar on a
number of ways to improve service to Wisconsin-licensed lawyers," says
BBE Chair Hon. Charles H. Constantine of Racine. "John brings more than
30 years of service in leadership positions exercising command over
20,000 Army Reserve soldiers in six states."
Marinette attorney James A. Morrison, BBE vice chair, cites
automating the filing of CLE reporting forms and character and fitness
applications as examples of changes that will make the credit recording
and bar application processes more user friendly and efficient.
"I look forward to working with the BBE board and the State Bar to
streamline these processes," says Kosobucki. "I'm also looking forward
to meeting with attorneys as I travel the state and listening to
concerns they have with the BBE. I'm particularly interested in talking
with attorneys interested in drafting questions for the bar exams we
administer. There's a great deal of expertise among the law school
professors and practicing attorneys, which I hope to draw on.
"Finally, my main role is to protect the public by assuring that only
qualified candidates who meet the competence standards and the character
and fitness requirements are admitted to the bar. That's the foremost
challenge. I'm excited about the opportunity to serve the public and
Wisconsin-licensed attorneys."
Kosobucki's military career began in the ROTC at Marquette in 1971.
Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a distinguished military
graduate in the Adjutant General's Corps. His most recent assignment was
as deputy commander for readiness with the 88th Regional Readiness
Command at Fort Snelling, Minn.
Kosobucki earned a law degree and a certificate in labor/management
relations from Marquette University and a master's degree in management
from Webster University in St. Louis.
Contact Kosobucki at
(608) 261-2347.
Mandatory court form updates: juvenile
forms
- As of May 23, 2006, the Wisconsin Records Management Committee has
updated the following Juvenile forms.
- JC-1605 Petition for Appointment of Relative as Guardian/Notice of
Plea Hearing
- JC-1606 Dispositional Order Concerning Petition to Appoint Relative
as Guardian
- JC-1644 Notice of Right to Seek Postdisposition Relief
- JD-1753 Notice Concerning Grounds to Terminate Parental Rights
Forms and summaries are available in PDF or MS Word format at www.wisbar.org/forms. For more information, contact
Terri Borrud at (608)
266-7143.
Wisconsin Lawyer