Board Actions

The following State Bar Board of Governors' actions were taken at the Jan. 21 meeting in Milwaukee.

The board agreed to prepare and file its own amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) programs. The board declined to sign the amicus brief in Washington Legal Foundation v. Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, the Texas case supporting the constitutionality of IOLTA programs, because it neither fit the Wisconsin experience nor reflected Wisconsin facts. That amicus brief has been signed by at least 72 other organizations, including bar associations and IOLTA groups, and will be filed in the Fifth Circuit. The board may reconsider joining the Texas amicus brief at some later point.

FUNDED Project Vision, the Bar's vehicle for strategic and long-range planning of Bar programs and operations.

CREATED the Public Interest Law Committee to be in effect until June 30, 1998, while section status is explored. The committee will study issues on representation of the poor and the underrepresented, and will establish links to other sections but will not duplicate their efforts. The open-enrollment committee is funded with $2,000 from the general fund.

VOTED to petition the supreme court to amend the trust account rule that prohibits commingling of attorney and client funds in a trust account, except for enough funds from the attorney to pay bank fees. The petition seeks to permit lawyers to put enough of their own money in trust accounts to avoid service charges. The Professional Ethics Committee will have an opportunity to comment on the amendment.

SET the Keller membership dues reduction for nonchargeable legislative expenses, based upon historical activity, at $8.40 per member for FY 1998.

APPOINTED Robert Hagness of Mondovi to serve the remainder of District 5 governor Bill Dyke's term on the Board of Governors. Dyke resigned from the board due to his appointment as Iowa County circuit judge.

ACCEPTED and placed on file the report of the Program Committee, which annually reviews the operation of one-third of the Bar's entities. The Board agreed to sunset the Joint Bar and Realtorsr Committee. If there is an issue in the future, a special committee of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section can respond.

Note: To have a matter placed on the advance agenda for the April 4-5 board meeting in Eau Claire, please notify Stephen L. Smay at the State Bar Center and submit appropriate materials at least two weeks before the meeting.