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Job Postings, New Court Programs, and other Announcements
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Please share with other members of the Racine County bar. Thank you! 
A Big Thank You to all those Bar Association Members who have
Offered to help collect School Supplies for needy young families with children Entering the school system for the very first time! Cafferty Law Office, S.C. Devine & Hahn S.C. Demark, Kolbe, Brodek S.C. Hostak, Henzl & Bichler S.C. Legal Action of Wisc. Racine Mark Richards Law Office Moertl, Wilkins & Campbell, S.C. Murphy, Johnson & Trampe S.C. Rebecca Mason Law LLC The Racine Public Defender’s Office A Special Thanks to The Racine Public Defender’s Office who provided the most school supplies during last year’s effort! I’m told Legal Action of Wisconsin in Racine is going to give them some hot competition this year! Much Thanks to all of the Firms that have agreed to help this year! For those that may want to contribute but do not want a collection box, you can still help by sending a donation to the Racine County Bar Association care of Kelly Mould, 555 Main Street, Ste 260, Racine, Wisconsin 53403. Several of our members will be taking a shopping trip with the donation dollars to purchase school supplies! Volunteers Needed! On May 13th from 9 am – 2 pm Wills For Veterans will be holding a clinic to provide basic estate planning documents to veterans and their spouses. The event will be held at the Workforce Development building on Taylor Avenue. For those that have helped with Wills for Heroes in the past, this event will be administered in a similar manner. Attorney volunteers are needed to help individuals with their estate planning documents. This is done by entering the veteran’s information in to a document generating software program. No estate planning experience is necessary for this. (It is basically just data entry.) However, we also are hoping to have an estate planning expert who would be willing to be there for assistance. If you have any questions about the program, please feel free to contact Jim Brzezinski at 414-600-8064 or [email protected]. If you are interested in helping please use the following link to register. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wills-for-veterans-racine-county-veterans-service-office-tickets-33680471196 Thank you!
As you may have seen, the law day school activity is set for April 28th and we need to replenish our supplies (we have about 50 pencils left) of gavel pencils for the kids and we are looking for pencil sponsors which will include your name/firm name. Normally the cost runs about $150 for 250 pencils and I would like to order 2000 pencils which means we need about 8 sponsors of 250 pencils each. Will you be a sponsor? Please contact Elaine Ekes to make the arrangements and she will take care of ordering them. She can be contacted at [email protected] or 262-456-1216. Thanks!
 This Article was Published in the Racine Journal Times by Jon Brines:
MOUNT PLEASANT — Madison Attorney Dean Strang, made famous by the Netflix documentary “Making a Murderer,” on Wednesday implored local lawyers to work to address the social ramifications in the poverty in their community. Strang spoke as a guest of the Racine County Bar Association Wednesday at the group’s winter dinner held at the Roma Lodge, 7130 Spring St. During the event, Strang announced that the defense team for Brendan Dassey is ready for oral arguments at the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled for Tuesday. In August, a federal judge overturned Dassey’s conviction for his role in the 2005 killing of photographer Teresa Halbach in Manitowoc County, ruling investigators coerced him into confessing. Wisconsin’s Department of Justice appealed that decision to the 7th Circuit. “We’re ready to go,” Strang said of Dassey’s defense team. “Making a Murderer,” which was a hit with viewers nationwide, depicted the pitfalls of the justice system through Steven Avery and his nephew Dassey’s 2007 trial for the murder of Halbach, a photographer for an auto marketing publication. Strang talked about the regrets he had after defending Avery, which propelled him into the national spotlight. “We had a change of venue but did not pursue it,” Strang said. “We had a right to a mistrial at the end when we lost one of the 12 deliberating jurors.” Strang said at that point under Wisconsin law, the defense team could have requested a mistrial or substituted an alternate juror and they went with the latter decision. “These are the kinds of decisions you drive yourself crazy with the rest of your life,” Strang said. He continues to struggle with his own part in the case because he believed there was enough reasonable doubt in the case to acquit Avery. “I recognized then that there was some evidence supporting Avery murdered Teresa Halbach, but I’ve never been comfortable with the integrity of all of that evidence. And I’ve never been comfortable that in the end — that if I had been put in the position of a juror — I could have honestly returned a verdict of guilt,” Strang said. The cycle of povertyBut it was a message of addressing social challenges in society that was a key component of Strang’s talk Wednesday night. Strang challenged the Racine attorneys to be more active in their community and “work harder and care more” because of the “poverty of hope” that holds people back and contributes to crime rates. “They need to start thinking of poverty differently. It’s not just about how many nickels you have in your pocket,” Sprang said. He told the group how people have little ownership in the community if they’re impoverished in education, their spiritual life and even knowing their own family’s history and genealogy. “You see yourself as being a part of something important. And it’s a part of you. It affects the identity you create for yourself,” Strang said. “One of the problems our clients have is they often have no meaningful sense of identity. They don’t value their own lives or anyone else’s.” Mentor and crusaderRobert Keller, president of the Racine County Bar Association, said he’s grateful Strang is willing to channel his talents and celebrity to strive for change in the criminal justice system. “Many of our attorneys in Racine know Dean, have worked with him or have been students of his in his various law school courses. We are grateful,” Keller said. One of those attorneys, Andrew Wier of the Mount Pleasant office of Habush, Habush and Rottier S.C., had Strang as an instructor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. “He is somebody who lives how he works. He cares and is extremely intelligent and he has walked the walk,” Wier said. See Link for article: http://journaltimes.com/news/local/making-a-murderer-lawyer-inspires-local-attorneys/article_070febc0-34b8-5e17-a690-2f4c3590c5d5.html This letter was sent to the RCBA from the Clerk of Courts, Samuel Christensen:
To the Members of the Racine County Bar Association: As you may be aware, Racine County is currently a mandatory electronic filing (efiling) county for Civil, Small Claims, Paternity, and Family cases. We became a mandatory efiling county on December 1st, 2016. This means that filings in these case types MUST be submitted electronically by attorneys. On January 18th, 2017, voluntary efiling for criminal cases (Felony, Misdemeanor, Criminal Traffic, and Forfeitures cases) became available. This means that these case types are available to attorneys via the efiling system but is not required. I wanted to make you aware that beginning on March 1st, 2017, efiling for criminal cases will become mandatory. If you are not already familiar with the Wisconsin Courts’ Website for electronic filing (www.wicourts.gov/efile), I would highly recommend visiting it for more information. It is an excellent resource for information on how to use the efiling system. If you have any questions in this regard please feel free to contact Samuel Christensen: Clerk of Circuit Court Racine County Courthouse 730 Wisconsin Ave Racine WI 53403 262-636-3333 [email protected] 12 CLE Credit Opportunities in 2017!
Sponsored by Johnson Bank JOIN US FOR LUNCH AND EARN CLE/CPE CREDITS The Johnson Bank wealth team invites you to join us for brunch at the following continuing education teleconference. CLE/CPE credits are granted by Cannon Financial Institute. There is no charge and lunch is provided. For more information or to RSVP, contact Peggy Treichel at 262.619.2922 or [email protected]. January Elephant in the Room: Disposition of Qualified Plans and IRA’s Tuesday, January 24th | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Civil War Museum | 5400 1st Avenue, Kenosha February Post-Mortem Tax Election Heaven Tuesday, February 21st | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Johnson Bank, 5th Floor Boardroom | 555 Main Street, Racine March Designing & Administering Trust Distribution Mechanisms Tuesday, March 21st | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Civil War Museum | 5400 1st Avenue, Kenosha April Designing & Administering Estate Plans to Minimize Income Tax Tuesday, April 25th | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Johnson Bank Learning Center | 555 Main Street, Racine May The Junction of Excellent Estate Planning & Terrible Trust Administration Tuesday, May 23rd | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Civil War Museum | 5400 1st Avenue, Kenosha June Malpractice in Estate Planning: Some Guidance on How to Avoid It Tuesday, June 27th | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Johnson Bank Learning Center | 555 Main Street, Racine July Estate Planning for & Administration of Digital Assets Tuesday, July 25th | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Civil War Museum | 5400 1st Avenue, Kenosha August Estate Planning for the 99% Tuesday, August 22nd | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Johnson Bank Learning Center | 555 Main Street, Racine September Family Business Succession Planning: Now More Challenging Than Ever Tuesday, September 19th | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Civil War Museum | 5400 1st Avenue, Kenosha October Don’t Overlook the Powers of Powers Tuesday, October 17th | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Johnson Bank Learning Center | 555 Main Street, Racine November Protecting Beneficiaries from Themselves & Others Tuesday, November 7th | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Civil War Museum | 5400 1st Avenue, Kenosha December Trying Too Hard to Do Too Much: Ethics Traps for the Good Samaritan Tuesday, December 5th | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Johnson Bank Learning Center | 555 Main Street, Racine |
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February 2020
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