News Briefs

BAPR to be notified of overdrafts on lawyer trust accounts

Amendments to SCR 20:1.15 (Safekeeping Property) became effective on Jan. 1. Among other things, the amendments require that all attorneys who hold funds for clients or third parties in connection with their representation or act in a fiduciary capacity provide the Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility (BAPR) with a signed agreement between the attorney and her or his financial institution.

The agreement specifies that the financial institution will notify BAPR if a properly payable instrument is presented against a lawyer trust account containing insufficient funds; the attorney will notify the financial or investment institution of any lawyer trust accounts opened in the future that would be covered by the agreement; and that all accounts have "Trust Account," "Client's Account" or similar words in their title, such as "Client Account, Estate of Sam Jones, Personal Representative."

If an overdraft notice is received, BAPR will hold the notice for up to 10 business days to allow the financial institution to withdraw a notice sent as the result of inadvertence or mistake. BAPR will send letters acknowledging receipt of the notice to the attorney and the financial institution. Upon receipt of the notice, the lawyer may want to take advantage of this time to contact his or her financial institution.

The deposit of additional funds to cure the overdraft will not be a sufficient reason to withdraw the overdraft notice. Also, obtaining overdraft protection on a trust account does not satisfy the intent or purpose of the amendments to SCR 20:1.15.

As noted on the annual State Bar dues statement, each lawyer must certify that he or she either does not have a trust account or that he or she has complied with the specific record keeping requirements for trust accounts contained in SCR 20:1.15(e).

Although an overdraft notice will not automatically present a violation of the rule, if the financial institution's notice is not withdrawn, there will be further inquiry into the reason for the trust account overdraft. If there is a further inquiry, it may be necessary for BAPR to review the account records and the law-yer's accounting procedures for compliance with the Supreme Court Rules.

BAPR has sent out a packet containing the agreement, an information sheet, and selected portions of the new amended rule to those attorneys and law firms most likely to use trust accounts. Each lawyer or law firm must obtain the authorizing signature from their financial institution and return the pink copy of the agreement and the information sheet, identified as "Exhibit A," to BAPR. The due date was Feb. 1. The rule is applicable to all Wisconsin lawyers holding in-trust client's funds. If you believe you have been overlooked in the mailing, immediately contact the Milwaukee office of BAPR at (414) 227-4623.

You can review the Supreme Court Rules online.

A State Bar CLE teleseminar offering an explanation of the rules and required accounting procedures is scheduled for May 21.

Delinquent Wisconsin taxpayers may have their debts reduced

If a taxpayer finds his or her delinquent state tax obligation so large that it can never be paid in full, the taxpayer can administratively petition the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) to settle the obligation for less, according to Wis. Stat. section 71.92(3).

The tax liability must be final and not subject to further appeal. If there is an inability to pay the amount in full, the taxpayer should submit Form A-212 - a Petition for Compromise of Delinquent Taxes. If the DOR accepts a compromise offer, the amount must be paid in full within 10 days of acceptance. DOR Publication 124 describes the process and procedures applicable to compromises of delinquent tax liabilities. Further information, and DOR Publication 124 and Form A-212 can be obtained from any Department of Revenue office.

New address for all support collections

1997 Wisconsin Act 191, section 25.68, established the Wisconsin Support Collections Trust Fund to receive and disburse all support payments in Wisconsin. Creation of this trust fund has resulted in a change of address for all support collections.

The change of remittance address applies to child support, family support, maintenance, and receipt and disbursement debts. By April 1999, all support payments made in Wisconsin should be sent to the new fund.

The remittance address for employers for support payments made via income withholding is: Wisconsin Support Collections Trust Fund, Box 74400, Milwaukee, WI 53274-0400.

All other payments should go to: Wisconsin Support Collections Trust Fund, Box 74200, Milwaukee, WI 53274-0200.

Additionally, 1997 Wis. Act 27 amended Wis. Stat. section 767.29, to require that support payers and payees notify the county child support agency, not the clerk of court, of any address change.

For further information, contact Connie Chesnik, Department of Workforce Development legal counsel, at (608) 267-7295.

File copies of direct mail ads with BAPR

The Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility reminds Wisconsin attorneys that, pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 20:7.3(b), any lawyer sending out a direct mail advertisement to a person the attorney believes has a need for legal services is required to file a copy of the letter with BAPR within five days after the letter has been sent.

The lawyer need not file a list of persons to whom the letter was sent with BAPR, but must retain a copy of it, and a record of where and when the letter was used and a mailing list, for two years. A copy of each kind of direct mail advertisement, whatever the area of practice, must be filed annually with BAPR.

For more information, contact BAPR at (608) 267-7274.

Domestic violence conference includes forum on legal issues

The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence presents "One Cause/Many Voices," its first statewide conference in six years, on May 10-12. The conference, featuring national and state experts on domestic violence, addresses domestic violence-related issues including legal and health systems, corrections, legislative issues, welfare and poverty, same-sex battering, people with disabilities, aging populations, and under-served/ethnic populations.

Workshops on Monday and Tuesday explore legal issues such as cooperation between attorneys and domestic violence advocates, court monitoring programs, crime victims' rights, and "best practice" victim services.

On Wednesday, May 12, Dr. Evan Stark, a nationally recognized pioneer and researcher on interpersonal violence, is the keynote speaker. Dr. Stark's presentation is followed by two workshops crafted specifically for attorneys that focus on the nuts and bolts of expert witness examination and cross-examination.

Attorney General James E. Doyle presides at the conference's awards presentation and closing ceremony on Wednesday afternoon. The program honors those who have made significant contributions to systems and communities fighting domestic violence throughout Wisconsin.

Program sponsors and underwriters include Attorney General James E. Doyle, Badger Sheriffs Association, State Bar of Wisconsin, State Bar Participation of Women in the Bar Committee, Wisconsin Chiefs of Police, Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Wisconsin District Attorney's Association, and Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance.

For a brochure and registration form, email or fax your request with name and mailing address to the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence at 608-255-3560. No phone requests, please. Application has been made to the Board of Bar Examiners for continuing education credits for the conference workshops.

Potential new law to require caregiver background checks

The Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) is writing rules to implement a new law requiring caregiver background checks. The new law requires health-care facilities to conduct background checks on employees who may have access to patients, and prohibits the employment of persons who have been convicted of certain crimes.

The State Bar Health Law and Individual Rights and Responsibilities sections are closely watching the new rules. They are concerned that the new law and rules may be overly broad and include employees who have little or no access to patients, and that the crimes used to bar employment are not substantially related to the employee's job. The DHFS held public hearings on the proposed rules in early February and is in the process of modifying them.

For more information on this issue or to obtain a copy of the proposed rules, check out the DHFS Web site.

This month on the web...

Tobacco information site offers library of lititgation documents

To date, 41 state attorneys general, including Wisconsin Attorney General James E. Doyle, have filed litigation against the tobacco industry for the violation of their states' laws. Four of these states (Minnesota, Texas, Florida, and Mississippi) have reached settlements with the tobacco companies.

The State Tobacco Information Center was created as a service to attorneys general and the public to keep them abreast of these legal actions. The site, which is under the direction of former Maine Attorney General James E. Tierney, offers an online library of key litigation documents, searchable by state. It also offers resource links to other tobacco-related sites on the World Wide Web and information on the Tobacco Retailer Responsibility Initiative, a project of the Tobacco Control Resource Center at Northeastern University that assists offices of attorneys general in their efforts to reduce teenage tobacco addiction.

Site provides copyright information for attorneys and nonattorneys

The Copyright Web site offers easy-to-understand advice and information on the basics of copyright law such as how to register a work, and the difference between fair use and public domain. It also includes copyright news, a discussion group, and links to relevant sites.

The site also provides a look at - and audio samples of - some of the more famous cases of copyright infringement, including Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby," which used riffs from "Under Pressure" by David Bowie and Queen without permission, and George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord," the melody of which was found to be a "subconscious appropriation" of the Chiffon's hit "He's So Fine."