Minnesota Lawyer articles from July 2006

Minnesota Lawyer archives from July 2006

Minnesota's rules governing the sale of a law practice.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore For more than a decade Minnesota has allowed attorneys to sell their law practices. The sale can include tangible assets, client files, goodwill and everything else that goes along with running a successful office....

Independence of the judiciary post-'White'.(elections in Minnesota)
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michael Krieger As the 2006 election season begins, many wonder if future judicial campaigns in post-Republican Party, et al. v. White, et al. Minnesota will be well-heeled contests or raucous political dogfights. Providing a...

Hennepin County Bar Association's volunteer lawyers' group celebrates 40.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore In 1966, the Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN) began coordinating the delivery of free legal services to the poorest residents of the state -- Hennepin County in particular. Last week, VLN -- the pro bono arm of the...

Minnesota State Bar convention in Brainerd again proves a hit.(Conference notes)
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore For the second year in a row, the Minnesota State Bar Association scored a hole in one with its annual convention at Madden's on Gull Lake in Brainerd. About 300 lawyers, some with their families in tow, played...

MN Legal Briefs: July 3, 2006.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Cynthia Baumann and Emmerson Ward recently completed the certification process to become Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) Board Certified Real Property Specialists. Baumann and Ward are...

Minnesota State Bar Association Assembly passes several resolutions.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen The Minnesota State Bar Association's annual convention last week ended with the meeting of the MSBA Assembly. The meeting -- which lasted from noon to 3:00 p.m. on Friday, June 23 -- was held in the Town Hall...

Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Russell Anderson delivers address.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore In his first state-of-the-judiciary address, Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Russell Anderson took aim at what he believes is a major area of concern facing the state of Minnesota -- maintenance of a fair and...

MN State Bar Association's Diversity Task Force provides an update of its progress.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen The Minnesota State Bar Association's Task Force on Diversity plans to have its highly anticipated report on the state of diversity in the Minnesota legal profession out next September. Originally the report was...

Tips offered for avoiding a legal malpractice claim.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore Protecting yourself from malpractice claims is imperative for every lawyer, as a recent continuing legal education (CLE) program stressed. The 90-minute seminar -- "Legal Malpractice: Avoiding Doomsday" -- was...

Experts discuss finding the 'perfect' job.(Minnesota State Bar Association)
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore What is the perfect job? That was one of the questions posed by the presenters at a recent continuing legal education (CLE) program. The 90-minute seminar -- "The Perfect Job" -- was held June 22 as part of the...

Minnesota State Bar Association program asks: Should there be a civil 'Gideon' for all?
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michael Krieger California Court of Appeals Justice Earl Johnson Jr. has done a fair amount of traveling in his time, and applauds the Europeans for their expansive view of the right to legal counsel in civil cases. The United...

Commentary: Federal, state panels ponder pregnancy problem.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Federal and state laws prohibit discrimination against women because of pregnancy. The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), 42 U.S.C. sec. 2000e, subd. k, proscribes pregnancy-related discrimination by...

Commentary: Proofread your documents with Deal Proof.(Column)
July 3, 2006... Byline: Barry D. Bayer I mostly liked Deal Proof when I first reviewed it, just before the turn of the century. Here was a genuinely new program that picked up where spell checkers and grammar checkers left off, making certain that defined...

Commentary: From the Editor's Desk.(attorney-fee award)(Editorial)
July 3, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen I have already devoted a couple of columns to Republican Party of Minnesota, et al. v. White, et al., but I could not let the big recent news of an attorney-fee award in the case go uncommented on. The landmark...

Minnesota Legal Briefs: July 3, 2006.(7th Judicial District Court appoints Mark F. Hansen, Jay D. Carlson)(Washington County District Court adopts new policy)
July 3, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter New judges appointed in 7th Judicial District Gov. Tim Pawlenty has announced the appointment of Mark F. Hansen and Jay D. Carlson to two trial court bench vacancies in the 7th Judicial District....

Minnesota Court of Appeals rules negligence claim vs. law firm may proceed.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Minnesota Court of Appeals has allowed a man to amend his complaint against a law firm to assert claims of professional negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. Plaintiff Emad Abed retained...

MN Bar Buzz: July 3, 2006.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Saavedra: An up-and-coming political force? Usually voting on board appointments is a fairly routine matter at the Minnesota State Bar Association Assembly. The Elections/Appointments Committee...

MN Supreme Court rules statute of repose bars indemnity claim against subcontractor.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter A general contractor's claims against a subcontractor and suppliers arising out of an improvement to real property are barred if not brought within the 10-year statute of repose set forth by Minn....

Should lawyers get CLE credit for performing pro bono work?
July 10, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones A proposal to amend continuing legal education (CLE) rules to allow for a limited number of CLE credits to be awarded for providing pro bono services is now under discussion by members of the CLE and pro bono...

Black Women Lawyer's Network now an MN State Bar Assn. affiliate.
July 10, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Founded just four years ago, the Minnesota Black Women Lawyer's Network recently was granted affiliate status with the Minnesota State Bar Association. The network is the sixth minority bar group to be so...

Tips offered from MSBA for effective practice management.(Minnesota State Bar Association)
July 10, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore The Minnesota State Bar Association's Practice Management & Marketing Section is looking at ways attorneys can improve the functioning of their law firms. The section last month held a continuing legal education...

Ramsey County Bar Assn. announces new leaders.(Ramsey County Bar Association appoints Elizabeth J. Keyes, Richard Kyle, Juan Hoyos, Daniel Le)(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The Ramsey County Bar Association has announced that Elizabeth J. Keyes will serve as its president for 2006-07. Keyes is vice president and senior trust officer for United States Trust Company, N.A., in...

MN Lawyers in the News: July 10, 2006.(Case overview)
July 10, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Confusion reigns supreme For anyone who thought that Minnesota Supreme Court decisions get confusing because we have three justices named Anderson on the court, Bar Buzz humbly presents the following...

Minneapolis lawyers to make presentation in Switzerland.
July 10, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The U.S. government's compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights will be the topic of a presentation given by Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson, P.A. at a United Nations Human...

MN Supreme Court seeks social worker for Juvenile Protection Rules Committee.
July 10, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The Supreme Court seeks one social worker to fill a vacancy on the Advisory Committee on the Rules of Juvenile Protection Procedure. The term of service will end Dec. 31, 2007, with an opportunity to be...

Commentary: World Cup recalls state soccer litigation feats.
July 10, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick The FIFA World Cup of Soccer, one of the globe's most widely followed sporting events, attracted increased attention this year in the United States and Minnesota as well. The event, which included teams from 32...

MN Legal Briefs: July 17, 2006.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff William H. Manning, a partner at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P., was inducted into the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Minnesota Chapter, at the 33rd Annual Dinner and Awards Banquet on...

Minnesota judges receive feedback about their judicial performance through bar polls.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones When 5th Judicial District Chief Judge George Harrelson looked over the summary of responses to questions about his judicial performance, he had to nod his head in agreement. "I'm perceived as pro-law...

MN Supreme Court requires attorneys to annually report whether they carry malpractice insurance.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore The Minnesota Supreme Court last week amended the rules on lawyer registration to require that attorneys annually report whether they carry malpractice insurance. Information on whether a lawyer does or does not...

Commentary: 'Tis a great place for the common law.(Column)
July 17, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen Here we are again in the middle of a sweltering Minnesota July. I could write about judicial elections (the filing period just ended) or about Ken Lay dying. (Did Lay have it coming? In the words of one of my favorite...

MN Bar Buzz: July 17, 2006.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter And the answers to the bar exam are... Jeremy Blachman author of the Anonymous Lawyer blog and forthcoming novel of the same name (which hits the stores on July 25, the same day the bar exam is...

People & Practices.(lawyers )
July 17, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer And the answers to the bar exam are... Jeremy Blachman author of the Anonymous Lawyer blog and forthcoming novel of the same name (which hits the stores on July 25, the same day the bar exam is administered in...

Make your law firm a hit on the Web.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michael Krieger Linda Holstein isn't a techie, but she knows a good marketing tool when she sees one. When the veteran Minneapolis business litigator launched her own firm earlier this year, Holstein wanted its Web site,...

Schemes that promise to raise law firms' Web site ranking.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Jane Pribek "Your SITE could be the FIRST in GOOGLE!" proclaimed the subject line of a recent spam I received. Great. Never mind that I don't have a Web site. This particular e-mail came from "Cindy M." at Always Visible,...

Bar Buzz.
July 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter And the answers to the bar exam are... Jeremy Blachman author of the Anonymous Lawyer blog and forthcoming novel of the same name (which hits the stores on July 25, the same day the bar exam is...

Make your firm a hit on the Web.
July 18, 2006... Byline: Michael Krieger Linda Holstein isn't a techie, but she knows a good marketing tool when she sees one. When the veteran Minneapolis business litigator launched her own firm earlier this year, Holstein wanted its Web site,...

Climbing the charts.
July 18, 2006... Byline: Jane Pribek Your SITE could be the FIRST in GOOGLE! proclaimed the subject line of a recent spam I received. Great. Never mind that I don't have a Web site. This particular e-mail came from Cindy M. at Always Visible, a...

Eight judicial seats in Minnesota contested.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore Despite speculation by some that changes in the judicial campaign rules would result in a flurry of hotly contested races, 2006 has turned out to be a fairly routine year in terms of the number of judicial challenges....

Disparate views on judicial elections in MN aired at hearing.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Other than support for the concept of elected judges, there is very little consensus on what elections should look like in the post-White era, judging by the comments at the first public hearing of the Citizens...

MN law schools, grads brace for the ultimate test -- the bar exam.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones It's crunch time for graduates of Minnesota's four law schools who will probably be setting multiple alarm clocks and having someone call them bright and early tomorrow morning to make sure they are on time for...

Fear of professional discipline can chill medical experts.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones It comes as no surprise to lawyers that doctors are generally reluctant to testify against their colleagues -- particularly those in the same geographic area or members of a specialty. But in some parts of the...

MN State Bar Assn. program for starting practices gets a thumbs up.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore The first group of participants in a Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) program designed to assist with starting solo and small-firm practices give the program rave reviews. The "Quality Mark" program -- which...

Commentary: Firm's supervisory deficiencies highlight areas for investor concern.
July 24, 2006... Byline: James J. Eccleston Securities regulators require brokerage firms to zealously supervise all remote office locations. National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Regulation strongly delivered that message recently when it...

MN Lawyers in the News: July 24, 2006.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff David A. Davenport, Kaitlin A. Hallett and Erin D. Jones, previously associates of Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A., have become shareholders of the firm. Amy L. DuMond joins the firm as a shareholder. Davenport's...

Public defender workload subject of ABA opinion.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Public defenders have an ethical duty to refuse new cases if they believe their workloads are so excessive they cannot competently represent their clients, according to a new ethics opinion issued by the...

MN Bar Buzz: July 24, 2006.(John G. Melbye leaves his job as law clerk and filed a challenge against judge Terrance C. Holter.)(Attorney Mark Groettum was recently blindsided by the client whom he was defending.)(8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Gerald W. Heaney was inducted last month into the Duluth Hall of Fame.)
July 24, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Pardon me judge, was your seat taken? In a plot twist worthy of Shakespeare, a former law clerk in the 9th Judicial District is challenging his old boss for his seat. Bemidji attorney John G. Melbye...

Commentary: Four claimants prevail in federal, state disability cases.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Disability claimants face a difficult time in pursuing litigation. They must overcome a number of obstacles in order to prevail under various laws that are aimed at protecting them. But a quartet of claimants...

Where's that file? Tracking technology can tell you.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore Where did you last see that file? A colleague's office? Your secretary's desk? The break room? You absolutely have to find it -- now -- so you can begin working on that temporary injunction my client just requested!...

N.J. attorneys can't say 'Super Lawyer' in ads.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The New Jersey Committee on Attorney Advertising, a body created by the state's Supreme Court, recently issued an opinion forbidding attorneys from advertising that they are "Super Lawyers" or one of the "Best...

GOP endorses former Minnesota Rep. Newman for judicial seat.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Former Minnesota Rep. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, last week became the only judicial challenger seeking election this year to be endorsed by a political party. Newman -- who is challenging Judge Michael Savre for a...

MN Supreme Court denies review in attorney malpractice case.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The Minnesota Supreme Court has denied a petition for review in the matter of Noske v. Friedberg, bringing to a close a legal malpractice action against criminal defense attorney Joseph Friedberg of...

Lawyers won't be assessed for 'White' fees.(Brief article)
July 31, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The attorneys for the plaintiffs in Republican Party of Minnesota, et al. v. White, et al., the case that changed the landscape for judicial campaigns in Minnesota, have signed a satisfaction of judgment for...

Ramsey County deputies' lawsuit adds new twist to sheriff's race.(Sheriff Bob Fletcher)
July 31, 2006... Byline: MN Lawyer Staff A lawsuit filed by two of Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher's deputies can go to trial in September, just weeks before voters go to the polls to decide if he should retain his seat. In the lawsuit, Lt. John Moore,...

Minnesota employees union sues prison industries program.(Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, Minncor Industries)(Brief article)
July 31, 2006... Byline: MN Lawyer Staff One of the state's largest employee unions is suing the state's Minncor prison industries program over the layoffs of five sales representatives after one raised public questions about a farm equipment sale. In two...

MN Bar Buzz: July 31, 2006.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Traffic court goes on the road Traffic Court has started traveling to several Minneapolis neighborhood centers. The new 4th Judicial District initiative is an alternative to the regular Traffic Court held...

Commentary: No debate - elections are interesting to cover.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Mark Cohen When I was not long out of law school, I clerked for a trial court judge in Massachusetts. Weighed down in student loan debt, I took a part-time night job as a correspondent for a local daily newspaper to be able to...

In 9th Judicial District, three candidates vie for one seat.(Terrance C. Holter, John G. Melbye and Tim Tingelstad)
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore With two challengers squaring off against an incumbent who has occupied his seat for more than a quarter of a century, the sole contested judicial race in northwest Minnesota's 9th Judicial District will be one to...

Interview with Jennifer Mattson on her brief foray into the AG's race.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff When 29-year-old St. Paul attorney Jennifer Mattson threw her hat in the ring on July 16 to run for attorney general against the DFL-endorsed candidate, Rep. Matt Entenza, she was the only other DFLer in the...

Wage and hour suits on the rise nationally.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson (This article originally appeared in Lawyers USA, another Dolan Media publication.) In a disturbing development for employers, employees are increasingly filing suit alleging violations of the federal Fair...

Plaintiffs' lawyers assert train case has gone off-track.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones When a train derailed near Minot, N.D., on Jan. 18, 2002, five overturned tanker cars released almost 221,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia into the night air as local residents lay sleeping. The incident spawned...

Finalists announced for 10th District bench seats.(Thomas M. Fitzpatrick, Tammi A. Fredrickson and Catherine McPherson)(Brief article)
July 31, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Finalists were announced last week for three trial court bench vacancies in the 10th Judicial District. The openings are the result of the retirement of Judge Joseph Quinn on June 30, 2006, the upcoming...