Wisbar News
by Joe Forward
April 28, 2016
“Attorneys will be able to get up to six continuing legal education (CLE) credits per reporting period for doing qualified pro bono work, under a petition that was recently adopted by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, subject to minor language changes.
“The petition (15-05), filed by the State Bar of Wisconsin in 2015, also expands pro bono opportunities for Wisconsin-based in-house counsel attorneys who are “registered” with the Board of Bar Examiners (BBE), but do not possess a Wisconsin law license.
“The court also adopted a so-called cy pres petition (15-06), submitted by the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission, which will require a portion of unclaimed class action awards (residual funds) to be diverted to the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation (WisTAF), which supports legal services to low-income and indigent persons.
“The court adopted the petitions at its April 13 administrative conference, where it also revived a seven-year-old petition related to expunction and record retention issues.
“Both petitions 15-05 (pro bono CLE/in-house counsel) and 15-06 (cy pres) are expected to take effect Jan. 1, 2017, after the court adopts final language and issues final orders.”