Wisconsin CLE requirements

President Joe Biden has signaled his administration’s intention to actively encourage the reopening of physical workspaces and curbing COVID-19 outbreaks by requiring mandatory vaccination of federal employees and employees of federal contractors and direction the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to enact emergency temporary standard (ETS) regulations to require employers with 100 or more employees to require vaccination or submit to weekly testing. President Biden’s announcement will require both employers and employees to confront new realities and to address both physical and operational changes required by the lingering effects of Covid-19 on the workplace. President Biden’s announcement most likely will encourage employers not affected by OSHA’s ETS to also adopt vaccine mandates. This program will offer a guideline for assisting employers to navigate what presumably the new ETS or other vaccine mandates will have on the workplace.

New client and wondering how to handle the fee arrangement? Retainer? Contingency arrangement? What’s a lawyer to do to ensure reasonable, collectable fees? Driving business is a necessary part of the practice of law and the legal ethics rules of the road are an essential part of the roadmap. This course, presented by Jan Jacobowitz, will explore the fundamental categories of fees, reasonableness standards, methods of fee collection, trust account issues, and more.

Cyber security issues across numerous industries have been hard to miss in recent years and law firms are no exception. In this introductory discussion, we’ll talk about the basics of cyber security as it pertains to law firms. Along the way, we’ll discuss the wide array of threats to law firm and client data, electronic scams, tricks and the consequences that can come with them, as well as the steps to take in order to prepare for the next inevitable attack.

Negotiation is the bread and butter of lawyering. In this introductory presentation, we give you the bottom line on negotiation skills. First, we explore the various theories of negotiation, including adversarial and problem-solving models, negotiation styles, and ethical considerations. Second, we review the preparation process and phases of negotiation. Finally, we introduce the hot topic of negotiating remotely with videoconferencing technology.

Solo and small firm attorneys often face the familiar challenge of handling work demands during peak times. How can a small firm continue to offer excellent client service when there are only so many hours in the day? Small firms often look outside to contract attorneys, co-counsel, or refer work out in order to ensure client needs are met. This program will discuss the ethical considerations involved when working with contract attorneys, co-counsel relationships, and referral relationships.

Mr. Blitz will focus on civil cases brought by a plaintiff's attorney to trial. This course is intended as an introduction to trying a civil case to verdict and a refresher course for seasoned attorneys. The course will begin with jury selection and proceed through opening statements, direct and cross exam of the plaintiff, defendant and defendant’s experts and continue through summation. We will discuss issues on how best to prepare for trial as well as maximizing jury selection, effective openings, techniques for cross examination and evidence presentation, and other related topics. Mr. Blitz will also discuss those items that trial attorneys face during a trial that require fast and strategic thinking. Mr. Blitz will provide tips and strategies for trial preparation for cases involving devastating injury and wrongful death claims, including how to implement technology and demonstrative evidence to show the devastation the injury caused at trial.

The sports industry is a unique, highly popular and fast-changing business. The legal issues involving professional, college and recreational sports are more varied and complex than many realize. The goal of this series is to acquaint lawyers who are unfamiliar but interested in learning more about the legal aspects of this industry. This presentation will focus on Sports Governance, the Internal and External Laws of Sport and contractual issues, with a short discussion about Covid at its conclusion. Other portions will focus on collegiate sports and professional sports labor and antitrust issues.

This six-credit course is designed to help Illinois newly-admitted attorneys meet their first year MCLE requirement and impart fundamental skills paramount to the practice of law. Taught by expert faculty, the six sessions range from professionalism to time management. They are: Session 1: Strive to Thrive: Not Only Succeeding but Flourishing as a Junior Lawyer Session 2: Leveling the Playing Field Session 3: Conflict Conundrums — An Introduction to Legal Ethics & Conflicts of Interest Session 4: Professionalism: It’s More than Being Ethical Session 5: An Introduction to Legal Malpractice Claims and Related Ethical Issues Session 6: Doing More in Less Time For Lawyers. Please note that this six hour program contains two checkpoints total. There are not checkpoints within each individual course.

When a State officer violates someone’s constitutional rights, 42 USC § 1983 allows suit for money damages. But no such law allows claims against federal officials. Instead, since Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), the Supreme Court has implied a private cause of action for damages against federal officers for some types of Constitutional violations. In Ziglar v. Abbasi, 137 S. Ct. 1843 (2017), the Supreme Court substantially narrowed this doctrine, limiting the rights of people in prison or federal detention centers to sue for money damages when they have been beaten, placed in dangerous conditions of confinement, discriminated against or otherwise mistreated. This course will survey the current state of prison Bivens claims.

In this program, Gary Reing, former Chair of the Lawyers Assistance Committee of the NYS Bar Association and NYC Bar Association, talks about his own addiction struggles and path to recovery, including his reinstatement to the practice of law. Additionally, he will address issues of substance use and addiction within the legal profession and discuss ways to identify attorneys in trouble and explore resources where attorneys can get help.

This program is a comprehensive lecture by noted DUI expert and defense attorney, Robert S. “Bobby” Reiff, the author of "Drunk Driving and Related Vehicular Offenses (Lexis Law Publishing Company) and LexisNexis' "Florida DUI Practice Guide" series. In this program, Mr. Reiff provides both new and experienced DUI attorneys tips about DUI defense and how to win a DUI case. He will provide an overview of DUI case defense in both the administrative (driver's license) and criminal court forums, as well as tools for using common sense concepts to make the case for your clients.

The Rules of Professional Conduct contain special rules regarding the duties, obligations, and restrictions applicable to attorneys engaged in litigation, which also includes administrative proceedings. The course will provide an overview of the fundamental ethical rules, and their relationship to substantive rules and law, that litigators encounter. The course will include discussion of the rules that ever litigator needs to fully know and understand in order that they can properly represent their clients in dispute proceedings. Since a violation of the rules can result in significant harm to the client’s case, attorneys should stay fully informed about the pertinent rules. Although the course is basically an ethics course, ideas on how to better represent a client in litigation and comply with the rules will be discussed.

This course is designed to give the participant an insight into how the sports world has changed because of COVID-19. We will discuss the renewed focus on some legal terms involved in contracts and ways the practice of sports law and the sports business will change moving forward.

This module provides an overview of the skills needed to conduct thorough, effective, and actionable workplace investigations. Participants will learn how to sift through a variety of material using best practices and clearly present results that businesses rely on when making important decisions. The basic questions an investigator might have will be addressed: what constitutes a complaint, when to investigate, who should investigate, and how to investigate. It also addresses issues of confidentiality, provides tools to better determine witness credibility, and underscores the necessity of unpacking one’s own biases prior to undertaking an investigation. This CLE will benefit in-house and general counsel, third-party attorneys who regularly conduct investigations, HR personnel, and anyone else involved in determining who did what at work.

Justin Blitz discusses everything an attorney needs to know to detail trial tactics and strategies, presenting the thought process of the plaintiff attorney throughout the evolution of the trial and best practices for conducting trials during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Blitz will begin the course by discussing strategies for jury selection, how to tell your client’s story and what to expect at trial during the pandemic. This program will also cover ways to effectively communicate your message to younger jurors, and provide some tips on how to give successful opening statements, and direct and cross examinations along with tips on summation. Mr. Blitz offers practical advice that he has learned through his years of practice and advice on trying a case during the COVID-19 pandemic from his recent successful 4 week trial that he recently concluded.

In 2006, social activist and author Tarana Burke introduced the world to the hashtag and phrase “metoo,” which provided a platform for thousands of employees to speak more candidly about sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior in the workplace. Many forms of sexual misconduct that were once tolerated by employees and employers, is no longer acceptable. Sexual harassment involving anyone from C-suite executives to hourly wage earners can expose an organization to great financial and reputational harm. In this program, counsel tasked with investigating sexual harassment allegations will learn how to implement preventative training and conduct comprehensive investigations. The program will review key steps needed to conduct a balanced investigation and help lawyers and investigators avoid the appearance of bias when dealing with an inherently sensitive subject. This course will also provide an overview of the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act,” the federal legislature passed by the U.S. Senate in February 2022.

Beginning in Ancient Rome and journeying to modern bankruptcy law in the United States, this presentation offers an overview of the history and current substantive law of so-called straight consumer bankruptcy in the United States under chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. In this course, we’ll walk through a typical chapter 7 case with Debbie Debtor, recently unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll learn about the filing of the petition, the creation of the bankruptcy estate and automatic stay, the § 341 meeting of creditors, discharge, postdischarge issues, and more!

This one hour presentation will provide a fast-paced refresher on the foundational Rules of Professional Conduct governing our daily lives as practicing attorneys. We will also explore the most common ethics violations attorneys make – often inadvertently – to provide guidance on avoiding these most common mistakes.

Large law firms are constantly fending off a variety of ever-evolving electronic threats. Some are sophisticated, some not so much. They include electronic attacks, misplaced and stolen devices, everyday mistakes and an endless assortment of tricks and scams. Any of these can lead to serious consequences. In this program, we’ll discuss those threats and the consequences that can come with them, as well as measures to reduce the risk to organizational assets and prepare for the inevitable next attack.

Effective legal writing is a necessary skill in the practice of law and lawyers do tend to write well. However, regardless of how effective a lawyer’s writing skills are, there is always something useful to be gained from a review of effective writing guidelines and advice. This presentation describes the basics of legal writing. All other types of legal writing are built on these basics. Several specific types of legal writing are then addressed with guidelines and ideas to help your writing remain effective.