Richard Clem Continuing Legal Education
CLE Video Replays: Wednesday, July 6, 2011

This program is open to all, but is being scheduled especially for any furloughed state employees who might want to make the best of a bad situation and get some CLE credits out of the way during the furlough. If the state shutdown continues, additional programs might be scheduled. Furloughed state employees may defer payment until 14 days after returning to work (or longer, if necessary). If you prefer to pay at the door, you can take an additional 10% discount, for a cost of $12.50 per credit. In addition, there is no cancellation penalty. So if the furlough is mercifully short and you're back to work by Wednesday, you're under no obligation to attend.

If you know any state employees who could benefit from this program, please let them know, since I have no way of contacting them directly.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011, 11:00 AM - 7:40 PM
Community Meeting Room
Lower Level, Como Lakeside Pavilion
1360 North Lexington Parkway
St. Paul, Minnesota 55103

To keep costs to an absolute 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/applied for as shown below. You can earn up to eight credits at this program, including your full three-year requirements for ethics and bias. Due to time constraints, I am only applying for Minnesota credit. 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 (Parts 4, 5, and 6 of 6). 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 part of a longer six-hour program, but any segment may be taken individually. One hour.

Elimination of Bias: The Rules and on Ongoing Process. Saturday, 1:55 PM, repeated Monday, 3:05 PM. 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.
  
  

Nuts and Bolts of Minnesota Appellate Practice. For the attorney unexpectedly faced with a case before the Minnesota Court of Appeals, it can be a daunting challenge. While the Minnesota Rules of Appellate Procedure are not onerous, they do impose requirements that might be very different from what the trial attorney is used to. In some cases, seemingly innocent violations of these rules can be disastrous. We’ll walk through the rules and give practical guidance on how to file a notice of appeal, how to order a transcript, how to write and assemble a brief, and even what color the brief’s cover needs to be, and how it should be bound. This course will put you at ease if you are ever required to file an appeal, or if the opposing party files an appeal in a case in which you prevailed. The course materials include detailed forms and checklists, and references to the rules. Two hours, five minutes.

Minnesota Supreme Court: March-April 2011 Decisions. This program will review the decisions of the Minnesota Supreme Court handed down during March and April, 2011. Topics include: Zoning ordinance modifying Rochester airport "safety zone" constitutes a taking since diminution in value of adjoining property was substantial. A mutual mistake of material fact does not warrant recision of the contract when the mistake is to mere value--even though the contract accidentally included two parcels of land worth twice the value of the contract. When consent is at issue, the court may receive expert testimony as to the typical behavior of sexual assault victims. We'll also look at when property is "acquired" by a tax-exempt entity so as to exempt the property from taxation. Finally, we'll take a look at the court's reluctant order of March 9 continuing the "temporary" $100 increase on Minnesota Attorney Registration fees. One hour.

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 applied for as shown on the table above.

Como Lakeside Pavilion is located in Como Park, on the west side of Lake Como, on Lexington Parkway. From Interstate 94, take Lexington north 2.3 miles. From Minnesota Highway 36, take Lexington south 1.9 miles. Free parking is available in the two large lots near the Pavilion. There is additional free parking nearby in the lot on East Como Boulevard, and elsewhere in the park. Enter the building through the main caf� entrance on the parking lot level and take the elevator to the lower level. Outside food and beverages are not permitted, but coffee and a wide variety of food and beverages are available from Black Bear Crossings upstairs.

The cost of this program is $15 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. The program is open to all. Furloughed state employees may take an additional discount and pay $12.50 per credit at the door, or pay $15 per credit after returning to work. Payment is due 14 days after returning to work, but if you need additional time, just let me know and we'll work something out.

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.

General attendees please use this link for the normal $15 price:

Please select number of credits:

1 Credit $15.00 2 Credits $30.00 3 Credits $45.00 4 Credits $60.00 5 Credits $75.00 6 Credits $90.00 7 Credits $105.00 8 Credits $120.00

Please specify program(s):

Furloughed state employees who wish to pay online please use this link for the $12.50 price:

Please select number of credits:

1 Credit, state employee $12.50 2 Credits, state employee $25.00 3 Credits, state employee $37.50 4 Credits, state employee $50.00 5 Credits, state employee $62.50 6 Credits, state employee $75.00 7 Credits, state employee $87.50 8 Credits, state employee $100.00

Please specify program(s):

If you have any questions, please e-mail me at clem.law@usa.net or call me at 612-378-7751. If you need to contact me the day of the program, my cel phone number is 651-285-5474.