Appellate Practice Section
Annual Report Archives
Back to Section Website
2000-01| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2008-09

MSBA APPELLATE PRACTICE SECTION
2008-2009 Annual Report
By Sherri D. Hawley, Chair of the MSBA Appellate Practice Section

Membership: The Section had 164 members this year.

Continuing Legal Education:
The section hosted or co-sponsored the following CLEs:
            Quarterly Lunches – September 29, 2008, January 26, 2009, April 27, 2009
            Court of Appeals Reunion, October 10, 2008
            25th Anniversary of the Court of Appeals, November 6, 2008
            Annual Year in Review, February 23, 2009
            The Third Annual Appellate Practice Institute, March 6, 2009
            Annual Dinner, with Justice Barry Anderson as speaker, May 12, 2009
            Pro Bono Unemployment Compensation Appeals training, June 19, 2009

Pro Bono Program:
The Section's pro bono program facilitates the introduction of volunteer appellate lawyers to individuals who have initiated appeals from the denial of unemployment compensation benefits. Due to the rise in unemployment compensation claims, the Section will be hosted another training to recruit new volunteers.

Website and practicelaw.org:
Louise Behrendt and Karen Cole worked with the MSBA staff regarding ongoing improvements to Practicelaw.org.

Council Meetings:
The Section council met once a month from September through May on the first Thursday of each month at 12:00 p.m. at the MSBA's offices in Minneapolis. Council attendance was quite good and participation by members of the Council was excellent.

Annual Meeting:
The Section held its annual meeting on May 12, 2009, at McCormick & Schmick’s in Minneapolis. Following the dinner meeting, the Section heard from the Honorable Barry Anderson of the Minnesota Supreme Court who was the featured speaker for the evening.

Election Results:
The members attending the annual meeting voted unanimously for the following officers and council members:

Officers for fiscal 2009-2010 are:
Chair: Steve Buterin, Coleman, Hull & van Vliet
Vice Chair: Chuck Webber, Faegre & Benson
Secretary/Treasurer: Robin Wolpert, Greene, Espel

The 2009-2010 Council will be comprised of the following:
John M. Baker, Greene Espel PLLP, Minneapolis
Louise A. Behrendt, Stitch Angell Kreidler & Dodge PA, Minneapolis
Louise Dovre Bjorkman, Larson King LLP, Saint Paul
Diane Bratvold, Briggs & Morgan
Karen R. Cole, Saint Paul
Peter D. Gray, Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson PA, Minneapolis
William M. Hart, Meagher & Geer PLLP, Minneapolis
Kay N. Hunt, Lommen Abdo Cole King & Stageberg PA, Minneapolis
Charles K. Maier, Gray Plant Mooty Mooty & Bennett PA, Minneapolis
Andrea E. Reisbord, Cousineau McGuire & Anderson Chrtd, Minneapolis
Karl E. Robinson, Winthrop & Weinstine PA, Minneapolis
Jonathan P. Schmidt, Briggs and Morgan PA, Minneapolis
James S. Simonson, Gray Plant Mooty Mooty & Bennett PA, Minneapolis
Paula D. Vraa, Larson King LLP, Saint Paul
Kenneth R. White, Law Office of Kenneth R. White, Mankato
Honorable Bruce D. Willis, Minnesota Court of Appeals, Saint Paul
Robin Wolpert, Greene Espel PLLP, Minneapolis

The Section's MSBA representative for 2009-2010 will be Vice Chair, Chuck Webber.

Fiscal Status:
The Section finished the year with a surplus of $3,820.73 as of May 31, 2009.

MSBA APPELLATE PRACTICE SECTION
2005-2006 Annual Report

By Thomas H. Boyd, Chair of the MSBA Appellate Practice Section

The Appellate Practice Section of the MSBA had an active year:

Membership:
The Section currently has 162 members, which is an increase from 150 members when the fiscal year began. The Section is planning to find ways to continue to expand its membership and, in particular, stimulate greater involvement and participation by attorneys in greater Minnesota.

Continuing Legal Education:
The Section presented two excellent CLE programs this year.

The first program, which took place on January 26, 2006, was entitled "Minnesota Court Appeals Key Cases in 2005," and was presented by the Honorable Willhelmina Wright and the Honorable Christopher Dietzen of the Minnesota Court of Appeals. This program provided an excellent overview of the significant appellate decisions over the past year. The program was very well attended and extremely informative.

The second program, held on February 24, 2006, was entitled "Topics for the Experienced Appellate Practitioner." The program was moderated by Katherine McBride of Meagher & Geer, and included panel members William Hart of Meagher & Geer, Kay Nord Hunt of Lommen Nelson, the Honorable Edward Stringer formerly of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and Sharon Van Dyck of Schwebel Goetz & Sieben. The program delved into interesting issues relating to the application of the collateral order doctrine and the role of amicus curiae in appellate proceedings.

The Section is also exploring the possibility of developing an annual all day CLE program on appellate procedure and practice. Louise Dovre Bjorkman of Larson King and Bruce Jones of Faegre & Benson have taken the lead in developing the plans for such a program.

Pro Bono Program:
The Section's pro bono program facilitates the introduction of volunteer appellate lawyers to individuals who have initiated appeals from the denial of unemployment compensation benefits. Earlier this year, the Section conducted a survey to obtain member input regarding the operation of this program and develop ideas as to the future direction of the program. The Section membership seems to be very supportive of continuing the pro bono program, and the committee responsible for the program will be developing recommendations on ways to continue the program and possibly expand these types of services into other types of appeals.

Website and practicelaw.org:
Sherri Hawley took the lead in coordinating a review of the current website and the updating of the appellate materials on practicelaw.org.

Council Meetings:
The Section council met once a month from September through June on the first Thursday of each month at 12:00 p.m. at the MSBA's offices in Minneapolis. Council attendance was quite good and participation by members of the Council was excellent.

Special Events:
The Section continued its tradition of hosting welcoming events for newly appointed members of Minnesota appellate courts.
On December 7, 2005, the Section sponsored such a reception in Bloomington to honor the retirements of the Honorable Robert H. Schumacher and the Honorable James C. Harten of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, as well as welcoming the Honorable Renee L. Worke to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

On May 10, 2006, the Section held a welcoming reception in St. Paul for the Honorable Lori Skjerven Gildea, as the newest member of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and the Honorable Kevin G. Ross, as the newest member of the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Annual Meeting:
The Section held its annual meeting on May 10, 2006, at the Commodore Hotel in St. Paul. Following the dinner meeting, the Section heard from the Honorable Paul H. Anderson of the Minnesota Supreme Court who was the featured speaker for the evening.

Election Results:
The members attending the annual meeting voted unanimously for the following officers and council members:

Officers for fiscal 2006-2007 are:
Chair: Kate McBride, Meagher & Geer
Vice Chair: Diane Bratvold, Rider Bennett
Secretary/Treasurer: Sherri Hawley, Walling Berg & Debele

Council members elected terms beginning fiscal 2006-2007 are:
Karl Robinson, Winthrop & Weinstine
Peter Gray, Rider Bennett
Judge Kevin Ross, Minnesota Court of Appeals
Judge Bruce Willis, Minnesota Court of Appeals
Chuck Webber, Faegre & Benson
Louis Behrendt, Stitch Angell Kreidler & Dodge
Charles Maier, Gray Plant Mooty
Angela Crandall, Faegre & Benson
Ken White, Law Office of Kenneth R. White
Kevin Lindsey, Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson

The Section's MSBA representative for 2006-2007 will be Steve Buterin of Coleman Hull & VanVliet, and the alternate will be Larry Hammerling of the Public Defenders Office.

Bylaw Amendments:
The Section considered, approved, and adopted at the May 10, 2006 annual meeting the bylaw changes that had been proposed by the MSBA.

Fiscal Status:
The Section finished the year with a modest surplus.

By Lawrence Hammerling, Chair of the MSBA Appellate Practice Section

The Appellate Practice Section of the MSBA had an active year:

Membership:
Section membership has grown this year from 128 when fiscal 2005 began to our present membership of 150.

Pro Bono Project:
The Pro Bono Project of the Appellate Section is chaired by Tom Boyd of Winthrop & Weinstine. The Project accepts referrals from the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and from a number of legal service organizations providing representation to poor people, and provides volunteer lawyers to handle appeals for them. The Project has continued to provide representation to new clients during the year past. It has been praised by Chief Judge Toussaint, and several other Judges of the Court of Appeals, for the quality of representation provided and the ability of Project lawyers to develop issues. The work of the Project was chronicled by Mr. Boyd in the Fall 2004 issue of The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process, a publication of the William H. Bowen School of Law of the University of Arkansas, in an article entitled Minnesota's Pro Bono Appellate Program: A Simple Approach that Achieves Important Objectives.

Continuing Legal Education:
The Section presented two CLE events this year.

The first was held on February 7, 2005 and featured Chief Judge Edward Toussaint and Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright providing an update on the year in the Court of Appeals. This program has become an Appellate Section tradition and is always well attended. One hour of general credit was provided for this program.

The second was held on May 17, 2005, in conjunction with the Appellate Section annual meeting, and featured a presentation by Peter B. Knapp, Professor of Law and Co-director of Clinics at William Mitchell College of Law, entitled: Minnesota Supreme Court - Trends and Predictions. CLE credit has been applied for Professor Knapp's presentation.

Council Meetings:
The Section council met once a month from September through May. Meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month, at noon, in the offices of the MSBA in Minneapolis.

Annual Meeting:
The Appellate Section held its first annual meeting on May 17, 2005 at Solera, a restaurant in Minneapolis. Membership enjoyed a social hour, voted on proposed changes to Section bylaws and upon officers and council members, and then had dinner and listened to the presentation by Professor Knapp.

Special Events:
The Section continued its tradition of hosting a welcoming event for newly appointed members of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. On January 13, 2005, a Judicial Center reception was held for Justice G. Barry Anderson and Judge Christopher J. Dietzen. Many members of both courts attended.

Election Results:
The members attending the annual meeting voted unanimously for the following officers and council members:

Officers for fiscal 05-06 are:
Chair: Tom Boyd
Vice Chair: Kate McBride
Sec/Treasurer: Diane Bratvold

Council members elected to three year terms beginning fiscal 05-06 are:
Paul Banker
Ken Bayliss
Louise Bjorkman
Wayne Moskowitz
Andrea Reisbord
Erica Strohl
Paula Vraa

Our MSBA representative for 05-06 is Steve Buterin and our alternate is Larry Hammerling.

Bylaw Amendments:
The Section held a special meeting on April 7, 2005 to consider amending our bylaws to permit the annual meeting to be held independently of the MSBA annual meeting. The Section members present approved the change unanimously.

The Section considered more extensive bylaw changes at our annual meeting on May 17, 2005. The changes conformed our bylaws to the MSBA bylaws in several respects and also authorized notice of meetings and special meetings by email or comparable means and voting by email or comparable means.

The bylaws as reconstituted are posted on the Section webpage.

Fisca