This program took place in the past. Click here for information about the 2018 Sioux City program or Click here for my main CLE page.

Friday, October 11, 10:00 AM - 4:50 PM
Conference Room
Sioux City Public Library, Morningside Branch
4005 Morningside Ave
Sioux City, IA 51106
Library Phone Number for Dirctions: (712) 255-2924

Update: Some space is still available, and walk-in registrations are welcome. To ensure that we have enough copies of the course materials, if you're not registered, it's recommended that you download and print copies:

• Ethics (PDF)
• Elimination of Bias: PDF format or Plain text (better for viewing on phone or e-reader.

Advertisement:
Harbor Freight Tools PARKING LOT SALE (online only) Expires: 10/13/13

*-CLE credit has been approved/applied for as follows:
Iowa: 6 credits, including 4 ethics approved (Iowa Activity # 117662).
Nebraska: 6 credits, including 4 ethics credits approved (Nebraska activity #82738).
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana: Credit applied for upon request.
Other States: My programs are routinely approved in most states. Please contact me if you need any assistance with obtaining CLE credit.

This program completely satisfies the ethics requirement for the entire reporting cycle in Iowa and Nebraska. And this program has been scheduled to provide maximum benefit to Nebraska attorneys: Since Nebraska allows only five credits per year of "distance learning" credit, this program will take care of six live credits. Nebraska attorneys can complete their remaining annual credits with distance learning programs, either mine or some other provider's.

We have three interesting live presentations planned:

Iowa-Nebraska Ethics 2013, Presented by Richard Clem. This will be a comprehensive review of the Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys in Iowa and Nebraska. Both states have adopted substantially similar rules governing lawyers, and this course will review the rules as adopted in both 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 state 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. During this four hour session, we'll cover the rules in their entirety, including the new Iowa advertising rules. Live lecture, four hours.

Basics of Criminal Law, Presented by Laury Lau. This will be a brief overview of the basics of Criminal Law, presented by Assistant State Public Defender Laury Lau. While the program will focus on Iowa law, it will also be useful to practitioners in other states. The program will cover both misdemeanor and felony cases, and will cover topics such as preliminary hearings, arraignments, pretrial conferences, pleas, sentencing, motions to suppress, and working with jailed clients.

Elimination of Bias, presented by Richard Clem. Minnesota, along with only a handful of other states, requires its attorneys to take some CLE courses on "Elimination of Bias". These programs are required 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." Some of these programs are quite good, and provide useful information about how better to relate to clients and other persons who are members of various minority communities. As might be expected, however, some of these programs are not quite as good. There's sometimes a tendency for those presenting the program to somewhat patronizing, and to lecture the attorneys present about how they should stop being so biased. And as might be expected, attorneys generally come away from these programs feeling like they've wasted their time and money, and that all they've accomplished is satisfying the bare minimum of the CLE requirement. When I present this program in Minnesota to lawyers who are there only because they are required to be there, I do my best to avoid being patronizing. I do this by recognizing one important reality: I'm just as biased as all of the other attorneys in the room. And I've also realized that I'm probably not going to eliminate anyone else's bias, notwithstanding the name of the course. But by presenting this course many times, I have learned to recognize what my biases are. And in many cases, I learn that I'm a better lawyer if I compensate for those biases. I especially enjoy presenting this program in other states, because I realize that the biases are different in different parts of the country. I'm presenting this program in Iowa for the benefit of Minnesota licensed attorneys living there who need their bias credits. But the need to deal with our biases is a universal professional obligation found in the rules of every state. During this program, we'll talk about the rules of professional conduct and how they relate to bias. We'll start by looking at the rules governing bias within the legal profession, a subject covered by the Rules of Professional Conduct in both Minnesota and Iowa. 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. There will be opportunity for discussion, and participants are welcome to share their insights. 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.

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).

Laury Lau is an Assistant Public Defender in the Sioux City adult office of the Iowa State Public Defender. She graduated from University of South Dakota Law School in 2007. She is licensed in Missouri, South Dakota, and Iowa. She has practiced criminal law in the state of Missouri from 2007 to 2009, and in Iowa since 2009.

The course materials will be distributed at the door. If you would like to print a copy prior to the program (or "go green" and view them on your portable device), they are available at the following links:

• Ethics (PDF)
• Elimination of Bias: PDF format or Plain text (better for viewing on phone or e-reader.

10:00 Registration
10:05 Welcome, opening remarks
10:10 Iowa-Nebraska Ethics Part 1 (Live lecture). Ethics, 2 hours.
12:10 Lunch Break: On your own
12:35 Iowa-Nebraska Ethics Part 2 (Live lecture). Ethics, 1 hour
1:35 Break
1:40 Basics of Criminal Law (Live lecture). One hour
2:40 Break
2:45 Iowa-Nebraska Ethics Part 3 (Live lecture). Ethics, 1 hour
3:45 Break
3:50 Elimination of Bias (Live lecture). 1 hour 4:50 Closing remarks

The program will be in the conference room of the Sioux City Public Library, Morningside Branch, 4005 Morningside Ave., Sioux City, IA 51106. The library phone number (for directions only) is (712) 255-2924. If you need to contact me the day of the program, please call my cell phone at 651-285-5474. We will be taking a short break for lunch. There are restaurants within a few blocks, or you can bring a bag lunch. Coffee will be provided.

In accordance with library policy, this program is open to the public with no admission charge. The tuition covers CLE credit and cost of materials. Accessibility: The library and conference room are accessible to persons with disabilities. If you need any special accomodations, please contact me.

The cost for the entire program is $99. You may also attend any portion of the program for only $25 per credit. You may register by mail by sending payment, along with a note indicating which program you will be attending: Richard P. Clem
PO Box 14957
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Phone (612) 378-7751
For questions the day of the CLE, Cel. (651) 285-5474

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.

Course Materials

Course materials will be provided at the program. They will also available for download prior to the program. Return to my main page
Return to my CLE page