If so, take a look at the proposed changes to Rule 114 of the General Rules of Practice posted at mncourts.gov recently. (You can use this custom shortcut: http://bit.ly/2y6DJL0.) The ADR Section of the MSBA is reviewing the proposed amendments to determine whether to weigh in. November 28 is the deadline for written comments and […]

Set aside your lunch hour on November 28 to attend the Appellate Practice Section’s Fall Quarterly Review: U.S. Supreme Court Term Review. In this special CLE at the Minnesota Judicial Center, Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David R. Stras and United States Supreme Court clerk Aaron Van Oort will preview SCOTUS’s 2017 Term, whose docket includes […]

Over a year ago, the MSBA filed a petition with the Court requesting amendments to the MN Rules of Civil Procedure that would a) bring a number of the rules into conformity with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and 2) require the Court to allocate 50 percent of unclaimed cy pres funds in state […]

Minnesota has been named one of just seven states to receive a Justice for All grant from the National Center for State Courts. The grant applicants—the judicial branch, Minnesota Legal Services Coalition, and the MSBA—are coming together across systems and working with partners to move Minnesota toward “100 percent access to effective assistance for essential […]

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has declined one MSBA request and granted another. A Bench & Bar article on unpublished opinions (“A Fresh Look at the Problem of Unpublished Opinions,” December 2016) prompted the MSBA to make three recommendations to the court of appeals: (1) change the term “unpublished” to “non-precedential”; (2) eliminate the rule […]

The MSBA is excited to announce approval of our new 2017-2020 Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan. (The plan can be viewed at http://bit.ly/2y5sPVi.) To assist in the implementation of the plan, we have expanded the Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council. The council will welcome several new members, including Ann Anaya of 3M, Joan Bibelhausen of […]

MSBA members Eric Cooperstein and Fred Finch represented the viewpoint of the MSBA’s Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) Committee at the September meeting of the Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board (LPRB). The LPRB agenda included the RPC Committee’s proposed amendments to Rule 5.5 of the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct. The draft amendments were spurred by the Court’s decision in In re Panel File […]

Rules petition: In early September 2016, the MSBA filed a petition for amendments to the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure that would: a) bring a number of the rules into conformity with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and 2) require the court to allocate 50 percent of unclaimed cy pres funds in state class […]

Take a moment sometime soon to check out the completely redesigned ProJusticeMN website (www.projusticemn.org), a great one-stop source for pro bono attorneys. Changes include enhanced site navigation, easier access to practice library materials, and an improved case placement tool that gives pro bono attorneys the ability to review and select current volunteer opportunities. Created in 1999, ProJusticeMN represents a long-standing collaboration between […]

Every year, section and committees are invited to contribute to development of the MSBA’s legislative agenda. The MSBA Legislative Committee considers proposals from sections and committees for adoption as MSBA legislative positions and makes recommendations to the MSBA Council regarding the association’s lobbying priorities for the upcoming session of the Minnesota Legislature. All sections and […]