Acting on a recommendation from the Criminal Law Section, the MSBA filed comments with the Supreme Court in opposition to making the cameras in the courtroom pilot project permanent. The reasoning behind the MSBA position includes these factors: The small sample size of the pilot does not warrant a conclusion that it would be beneficial […]
Legal malpractice: MSBA amicus brief
Does reaffirming prior negligent advice restart the statute of limitations clock? The Minnesota Supreme Court recently addressed this question in Frederick v. Wallerich, a case involving a negligently drafted antenuptial agreement. The attorney who drafted the antenuptial agreement continued to advise and represent her client in other matters, including drafting the client’s will. The client […]
MSBA at BLE: Rule 7A
MSBA members Eric Cooperstein and Fred Finch represented the MSBA at a public hearing held by the Board of Law Examiners (BLE) on January 16. The Supreme Court had directed the BLE to review its interpretation of the Rule 7A requirement that a lawyer seeking admission without examination under the rule must establish that for […]
MSBA files General Rules of Practice comments
The MSBA has filed comments with the court supporting proposed amendments to Rule 10 of the General Rules of Practice. The proposed amendments incorporate many of the changes sought by the Joint Tribal/State Court Forum to strengthen recognition of tribal court orders. The MSBA based its position on the following: The value of enhancing comity, […]
MSBA adds third lobbying priority for 2018
The MSBA has named as a third lobbying priority for the 2018 Minnesota Legislative Session: updating and amending existing organizational laws for Minnesota business and nonprofit entities. The proposal was brought forward by the Business Law Section. In November, the MSBA Legislative Committee had recommended a delay in identifying a third priority in part because […]
mndocs: your SaaS-y document assembly tool
In early 2015 the MSBA moved its flagship document automation tool, mndocs, to a new platform at HotDocs Market. This new system provided a number of benefits to members, including platform-independent and geographically unrestricted access to gold standard templates and client data. mndocs on HotDocs Market is a secure cloud-based system. You can learn more about mndocs and […]
RPC Committee proposes petitioning changes to MRPC
The MSBA Rules of Professional Conduct Committee is proposing that the MSBA petition the court for amendments to MRPC 1.6 and MRPC 5.5. These changes are expected to come before the MSBA Assembly in April, after the Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board has had a chance to review the proposed amendments to MRPC 1.6 at its January […]
Lobbying priorities for 2018
The MSBA’s lobbying priorities for the 2018 Minnesota Legislative session will be to address the constitutional infirmity in the sentencing of juveniles for heinous crimes and to revise the statute of limitations for injury to property occurring prior to the date of substantial completion of an improvement to real property. A third priority will depend […]
MSBA policy action updates
Lawyer registration: The MSBA filed comments with the Court regarding proposed changes to the Lawyer Registration Rules. The MSBA requested that the rule be amended to permit the Court to publish disaggregated data on race and gender. Currently the Court publishes race data and gender data, but not data that combines both of these variables. […]
MSBA Assembly will weigh petitioning changes to MPRC
The MSBA Rules of Professional Conduct Committee is proposing that the MSBA petition the court for amendments to MRPC 1.6 and MRPC 5.5. The MSBA Assembly will consider these proposals at its December 8 meeting. Rule 1.6 addresses confidentiality of information, while Rule 5.5 pertains to the unauthorized practice of law. The amendments to Rule 5.5 […]