Thursday, July 21, 2011, 2:00 - 7:15 PM
Note change of location:

Java Train Cafe
1341 Pascal Street N
Saint Paul, MN 55108
Cafe Phone Number for Directions: 651.646.9179

To keep costs to a minimum, this program will consist entirely of video replays. I will be in attendance to answer questions, and video replays count for full Minnesota CLE credit. Minnesota CLE credit has been approved as shown below. You can earn up to five credits at this program, including your full three-year requirements for ethics and bias. Due to time constraints, I have applied for Minnesota credit only. But all programs have been previously approved for Wisconsin and/or Iowa credit, and credit for those states will be applied for upon request. (A small additional charge may apply for Iowa credit.)

Ethics Refresher 2011 (Part 1). This will be a comprehensive review of the Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. All three states have adopted substantially similar rules governing lawyers, and this course will review the rules as adopted in all three states. Where the rules differ, we will go over the differences. Seeing these differences is useful for the practitioner in that particular state, but also gives insight into the meaning of the rule in other states. And since the same model rules serve as the basis for most states’ rules, this course will provide practical guidance for attorneys in most U.S. jurisdictions. Many lawyers review the Rules in their entirety only once, and that is before they take the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam in law school. But the rules change over the years and decades, and some of the finer points might be forgotten. Therefore, this course will serve as a useful refresher for the practitioner to avoid ethical pitfalls. This is the first half of a longer six-hour program, but any segment may be taken individually. Three hour.

Elimination of Bias: The Rules and on Ongoing Process. We'll start by looking at the rules governing bias within the legal profession, which is a subject covered by both the General Rules of Practice and the Rules of Professional Conduct. We will then see how well we are collectively doing as a profession and legal system in abiding by those rules. We will do so through the eyes of participants at a series of community dialogues at which community members were asked to describe their experiences and discuss ideas for advancing racial equality and fairness in the courts. All participants are welcome to share their insights.

Elimination of Bias: A continuing Discussion. We will continue the discussion of the issues raised by the previous program, "Elimination of Bias: The Rules and an Ongoing Process". In small groups and as a larger group, we will discuss issues such as the importance of diversity of the bench and court staff, and whether this is necessary for actual fairness, perceived fairness, or both. We will discuss the importance of overcoming barriers to access to the courts, such as lack of public transportation. We will discuss the special issues of immigrant and refugee parents whose children interact with the judicial system. We will discuss actual and perceived racial profiling. We will discuss the unintended immigration consequences of state court actions. Finally, we will discuss how the system can better reach out to communities of color, both as a system, and as individual attorneys. The discussion will be led and facilitated by Richard Clem. Prerequisite: Attendance at "The Rules and an Ongoing Process", either the previous hour of this seminar, or another presentation.

• Elimination of Bias Learning Goals: Each elimination of bias program will run sixty continuous minutes, will relate directly to the practice of law, and is designed to meet the first and third learning goals for elimination of bias courses:
  
  1. To educate lawyers about the elimination of bias or prejudice in the legal profession, in the practice of law, and/or in the administration of justice; ...
  
  3. To educate lawyers about the problems identified in the Supreme Court’s Race Bias and Gender Fairness Task Force Reports, as well as in other studies, reports or treatises which describe bias and prejudice in the legal profession, in the practice of law, and/or in the administration of justice.
  We will begin by referencing the Supreme Court's 1993 report on the elimination of bias in the judicial system, and we will also look at how both the Rules of Professional Conduct and the General Rules of Practice require us as lawyers to avoid bias.
  
  Then, we will look at how well we are doing in meeting these requirements, as seen by various communities, including communities of color. In particular, we'll examine the suggestions made by members of the public at community dialogues held over the past three years by the Supreme Court's Racial Fairness Committee.
  
  There will be opportunities for participants to discuss these suggestions, and to offer our own suggestions on how we can fulfill these professional obligations.
  
  

Richard P. Clem has a B.A. in history from the University of Minnesota, and a J.D., cum laude, from Hamline University School of Law. He has been in private practice in the Twin Cities for over 20 years. His reported cases include: Asociacion Nacional de Pescadores a Pequena Escala o Artesanales de Colombia v. Dow Quimica de Colombia, 988 F.2d 559, rehearing denied, 5 F.3d 530 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1041 (1994); LaMott v. Apple Valley Health Care Center, 465 N.W.2d 585 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991); Abo el Ela v. State,468 N.W.2d 580 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991).

Minnesota CLE credit has been approved as shown on the table above.

Note change of location:

Java Train Cafe
1341 Pascal Street N
Saint Paul, MN 55108
Cafe Phone Number for Directions: 651.646.9179

Directions are available at the cafe's website:

http://www.javatraincafe.com/index.html

The cost of this program is $25 per credit, for as many or as few credits as you attend. To register, simply send an e-mail to me at clem.law@usa.net letting me know which program(s) you wish to attend. You may pay by check at the door.

Special offer for furloughed state employees: Any state employee affected by the state government shutdown may attend this program and pay 14 days after returning to work.

You may also register securely online by following the "Buy Now" link below. If you have a PayPal account, you may sign and and use your PayPal account. If you do not have a PayPal account, of if you prefer to simply use a credit card, you may also do so by following this link. From the drop-down menu, please select the number of credit(s) you will be attending. In the comment field (or in a separate e-mail), please let me know which part(s) of the program you plan to attend.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me at clem.law@usa.net or call me at 612-378-7751.

Miscellaneous links:
turkey roaster cooking.