Expand Your Practice: Seminar offers federal appellate training

Would you like to expand your practice to handle criminal appeals in the Seventh Circuit, but lack experience? On May 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit will host a day-long seminar designed for attorneys with limited or no federal appellate experience who wish to handle criminal appeals in the Seventh Circuit by appointment.

In the morning, experienced appellate practitioners and Seventh Circuit judges will cover the basics of handling a criminal appeal. In the afternoon, attendees will assemble in small groups. Each group, led by an experienced criminal appellate attorney, will review the record in a criminal case and learn how to construct a brief. Hon. Prentice Marshall will conclude the program with a talk on the legacy of attorneys representing indigent defendants in criminal cases. A reception for attendees and presenters will follow.

This free seminar will be held on Wednesday, May 24, at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. To register, or for more information, contact Donald J. Wall, counsel to the circuit executive, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, at (312) 435-5805.

Exploring the need for - and role of - interpreters in court

The challenges presented by an increasing need for courtroom interpreters in Wisconsin has led Director of State Courts J. Denis Moran to form the Committee to Improve Interpreting and Translation in the Wisconsin Courts.

According to Moran, the committee is charged with recommending policies and practices that will promote equal court access to people from all language backgrounds.

"The committee will discuss what law and language training should be provided for court interpreters, whether interpreters should be screened or tested before serving in court, and whether interpreters should be subject to a code of ethics.

"It also will examine how to finance court interpreters' services, what new technology might be cost effective, and how courts in other states approach interpreting. The committee also will investigate possible training for judges, court staff, and attorneys," said Moran.

The committee's first report, which Moran will receive by October, will recommend court priorities, suggest statute and rule changes, and propose items for the next biennial budget. Hon. Elsa Lamelas, Milwaukee County circuit court, chairs the committee.

Anyone interested or involved in this issue is encouraged to provide input.

For more information, please contact Marcia Vandercook, 110 E. Main St. #410, Madison, WI 53703; phone (608) 267-7335; fax (608) 267-0911.

Racine County Bar reinstates call of the calendar

Attorneys who have practiced in Wisconsin for more than 25 years may remember the traditional call of the calendar. Under former section 270.12 (9), Wis. Stats., a presiding judge could hold an annual call of the calendar, where lawyers who practiced before that court would assemble and give the status of their cases.

In Racine County, the call of the calendar was followed by a memorial to all local attorneys who had passed away since the previous call, with a friend or colleague paying tribute to each one. The court reporter entered the memorials into the record, retaining the tributes for posterity. Unfortunately, this practice disappeared along with the call of the calendar in the early '70s.

The Racine County Bar Association recently revived the tradition - at least the memorial service. Each September association members gather at the Racine County Courthouse to pay their respects to those Racine attorneys who passed away in the previous year. As before, friends and colleagues read tributes to the professional and personal accomplishments of the deceased.

After the memorial service, any new members of the association are then sworn in. They also sign the association's registration book, which dates back approximately 150 years.

Conference focuses on Midwest women attorneys

At the 1995 annual meeting of the American Bar Association (ABA), a group of women attorneys from the Midwest met and discussed their practices and lives. That discussion led to the idea of a Midwest Regional Conference for Women in the Law. The first biennial conference was held in Milwaukee in 1996; the second, in Kansas City in 1998.

This year's conference will be held April 27 and 28 in Indianapolis. The conference will address challenges faced by women attorneys over the past century and will identify leadership roles available to women in the future. Three main conference sessions will offer insights on the global status of women, views from the bench, and women's health issues. Other breakout sessions will focus on starting a firm, family and work conflicts, courtroom ethics and civility, trial skills, technology, and the media's effect on the image of women in the law.

Featured speakers include Louise Raggio, a Texas attorney and family law pioneer; Leslye Obiora, a gender-and-the-law specialist at the World Bank Africa Project; Laurel Bellows, former chair of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession; George Edwards, director of the International Human Rights Law Program at Indiana University; Betty Barteau, mission chief for the Russian Judicial Project; and Joan Williams, author of Unbending Gender - Why Family and Work Conflict and What to Do About It.

The cost of the conference is $250; nonlawyers pay $125. For more information, or to register, call (800) 428-4337, ext. 2301.

Ethics Pointers: Charging a percentage fee is prohibited in probate matters

In the last six months, the Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility (BAPR) has seen several violations of Wis. Stat. section 851.40(2)(e), which prohibits the charging of percentage fees in probate matters. SCR 20:8.4(f) provides that it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to violate a statute, supreme court rule, supreme court order, or supreme court decision regulating the conduct of lawyers. Attorneys who charge a percentage of an estate's value as their fee to probate that estate are in violation of the statute and supreme court rule. Disciplinary Proceedings Against Sylvan, 202 Wis. 2d 123, 548 N.W.2d 447 (1996).

Legal Action's Web site provides directory of services, opportunities for involvement

Since 1967 Legal Action of Wisconsin Inc. has provided legal representation for Wisconsin's low-income residents. The organization's Web site explains the services Legal Action offices provide, including public benefits/health, family, housing, education, and elder law. The site also provides information on the income requirements necessary to qualify for assistance through Legal Action.

Volunteer opportunities through Legal Action's Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) also are presented on the site. Each year, VLP attorneys donate more than 3,000 hours of legal work on projects like Pro Bono panels, the Domestic Violence Injunction Project, Legal Services intake panels, the SeniorLAW Clinic, and the Consumer Advocacy & Bankruptcy Assistance Project.