Annual Reports
MSBA Civil Litigation Section
Annual Report
2010-11
Section Membership
As of June 16, 2011, the Civil Litigation Section has 1492 members. This accounts for an increase of four members since July 1, 2010.
Financial Status
The Civil Litigation Section had an account balance of $39,507.80 as of April 30, 2011.
Continuing Legal Education Programs and Social Events
The Section hosted six CLE programs in fiscal year 2010-11.
Program Date |
Program Title |
CLE Event Code and Credit |
# of Attendees |
1/27/11 |
Are You Ready for Civil E-Filing in State Courts? |
152444;
1.0 Standard |
42 |
2/25/11 |
Watch and Learn: A Unique Approach to Learning about Effective Motion Practice |
153067;
1.0 Standard |
56 |
3/31/11 |
Get Trained for State Court Civil E-Filing |
154264;
1.0 Standard |
346 |
5/05/11 |
Effective Deposition Techniques: What litigators can learn from modern film and television clips
(co-sponsored with New Lawyers) |
154563;
1.0 Standard |
61 |
5/25/11 |
Ponzi Scheme Clawback Lawsuits - What Are They Anyway, and How Could They Affect Me, My Family, and My Clients? |
155426;
1.0 Standard |
57 |
6/6/11 |
To Preserve or Not Preserve: Pointers and Pitfalls in Litigation Preservatio |
156642;
1.0 Standard |
31 |
Legislation and Amicus Briefs
The Civil Litigation Section did not submit any legislative proposals or amicus briefs in the term year 2010-11. It did monitor legislative activity and provided input as necessary and appropriate.
Annual Meeting and Election Results
The Section’s annual meeting and elections were held on May 25, 2011, at the Graves 601 Hotel in Minneapolis, MN. In addition to a brief business meeting and the Section’s elections, the event featured a CLE program on Ponzi Scheme Clawback Lawsuits and a social hour. The Section also awarded its annual Advocate’s Award to Judge Harriett Lansing from the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The annual meeting and program were well attended with 57 attendees.
The following individuals were elected to serve as officers of the Civil Litigation Section in 2011-12:
Chair: Kevin Curry
Vice Chair: Judge Mary Vasaly
Treasurer: Charlie Bird
Secretary: Galen Robinson
The following individuals were elected to the Civil Litigation Section Council (2 yr term):
Past Chair: Peter Carter
Mark Delehanty
Paul Godfrey
Honorable Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks
Honorable Gary Larson
Dan McGrath
D Clay Taylor
Marcy Wallace
Douglas Elsass (replacement for Edward Matthews, term ending June 30, 2012)
The following individuals will serve as the Section’s MSBA Assembly representative and alternate in 2011-12:
Representative: Kevin Curry
Alternate: Judge Mary Vasaly
Other Section Accomplishments
Time’s Up: The Section completed its update of the manual and continued to make it available to its membership, the Courts and legal libraries.
Judicial Survey: The Section launched an online judicial survey that provides members and the public with information about judges who participate in the survey. The Section has created a protocol to help ensure that the information is kept up-to-date in light of quarterly changes in the judiciary.
State Court Opinions Database: This project has been delayed pending resolution of a potential ethical issue.
Submitted By:
Peter Carter, Section Chair
MSBA CIVIL LITIGATION SECTION
2009 – 2010 Annual Report
The mission of the Civil Litigation Section is to promote and refine the advocacy system as a just, efficient and accessible means of resolving civil conflict; to foster public confidence in the civil judicial system; to improve civil trial practice by promoting fairness, efficiency and accessibility in the justice system; to serve as an educational resource for lawyers who practice civil trial law in Minnesota; and to promote collegiality among members of the civil trial bar and the bench.
The Section currently has 1,517 members. That figure represents an increase of 49 members since the last annual report. Regarding Section annual dues, the decision was made to decrease the Section dues for 2010-2011, from $20 to $15.
The activities and accomplishments of the Section for 2009-2010 were as follows:
Time’s Up Publication
In 2009 the Section completed its update of the Time’s Up Statute of Limitations Manual. For the first time ever, the manual was distributed in a CD Rom format to all Section members, state court judges and law libraries. The Time’s Up Manual is still available in written form for a nominal charge.
District Court Opinions
The Section has collected over 200 civil district court opinions, which are now available through the MSBA FastCase search engine. The Section has been working with the Labor and Employment and Family Sections, as well as the Minnesota District Court Judges Association, to ramp up the number of district court orders available through the FastCase platform.
Judicial Directory
For the past three years, the Section has been working to compile a manual of preferred practices for state district court judges. Over the past year, questionnaires were distributed to all state court judges. Many of the questionnaires have been returned, and the Section anticipates that the Judicial Directory will be available online on the Civil Litigation Section website by July, 2010.
CLE Programs
The Section continues its tradition of offering top notch, timely and cost effective CLE programs, including:
- The Next U.S. Supreme Court Confirmations and the Future of the Court, Professor Jeffrey Rosen - co-sponsored with Appellate Law Section
- Twombley and Iqbal– the Death of Notice Pleading
- Managing and Litigating a Food Crisis – co-sponsored with Food and Drug Law Section
- Review of Rules of Civil Procedure – Essential for New Lawyers, Jeffrey P. Anderson
Annual Meeting
The Section’s annual meeting took place at the Town and Country Club on April 15. The Section’s Advocate’s Award was given to Marianne Short, Managing Partner at Dorsey & Whitney, and former Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge. The topic for the evening’s presentation was the United States Senate Recount Trial. Presenters were David Lillehaug, Fredrikson & Byron, Joe Friedberg, the Honorable Denise Reilly, the Honorable Elizabeth Hayden, and Hamline Law Professor, David Schultz.
Nine Days in June
The Civil Litigation Section’s contribution to the new MSBA Convention format included presentation of a one hour CLE in four of the nine judicial districts. Councilmember Clay Taylor coordinated an entertaining powerpoint presentation, focusing on Ethical Witness Preparation. The CLE program will be presented by Councilmembers Will Partridge and Ken Udoibok at the Fifth and Sixth Judicial Districts, respectively. Clay Taylor presented the program at the First and Tenth Judicial Districts.
Charitable Contributions
Donations were made to the MSBA Mock Trial Program again this year. $2,000 was donated directly to the program. Another $2,000 was contributed to support the cost of travel to the national competition by the state champions.
Leadership
The executive committee of the Governing Council for 2009-2010 was as follows:
Chair: Daniel McGrath
Chair-Elect: Peter Carter
Treasurer: Kevin Curry
Secretary: Mary Vasaly
The executive committee for 2010-2011 will be composed of:
Chair: Peter Carter
Chair-Elect: Kevin Curry
Treasurer: Mary Vasaly
Secretary: Charlie Bird
The Civil Litigation Section thanks its outgoing members Jan Conlin, Jerome Feriancek, Andy Luger, Brett Olander and Brian Slovut for their excellent service. The Section welcomes new council members Melissa Wendland and Mary Knoblauch.
Respectfully submitted,
Daniel S. McGrath
MSBA CIVIL LITIGATION SECTION
2005-2006 Annual Report
The mission of the Civil Litigation Section is to promote and refine the advocacy system as a just, efficient, and accessible means of resolving civil conflict; to foster public confidence in the civil judicial system; to improve civil trial practice by promoting fairness, efficiency and accessibility in the justice system; to serve as an educational resource for lawyers who practice civil trial law in Minnesota; and to promote collegiality among members of the civil trial bar and the bench.
The section currently has 1,468 members. That figure represents an increase of 104 members since the last annual report. Regarding section annual dues, the decision was made not to increase the amount for 2006-2007.
The activities and accomplishments of the Section for 2005-2006 were as follows:
Time's Up Publication
In 2005, the section published a book of civil statutes of limitation that was provided at no cost to section members and made available for purchase by others. The book has been very well received. This past year, the section provided a CD version of the book to all the state district court judges for their use. In addition, plans have been made to update the contents of the book every two years, beginning in 2007.
MSBA Civil Litigation @ Issue
Periodic issues of the section's email publication covering timely topics were sent to members.
Practicelaw.org Webpage
With the able assistance of Jackie McGlamery, Practice Development Director for the MSBA, the section now has a webpage on practicelaw.org that provides a growing library of district court orders and memoranda that is available to civil law practitioners. We have started the project with a focus on the Fourth Judicial District with the intent of expanding the scope to include all ten judicial districts.
CLE Luncheons
The section continued its tradition of offering excellent, affordable luncheon CLE sessions. This past year's sessions included:
11/15/2005 William Wernz "What you should know about amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct"
1/31/2006 David Herr "Minnesota 2006 Rules Developments"
3/29/2006 Jeffrey P. Anderson "Offers of Judgment and Avoiding the Pitfalls of Rule 68"
4/24/2006 Hon. James Rosenbaum "E-Discovery: Thoughts/Problems?"
Annual Meeting
The section's annual meeting took place at Atlas Grill on April 19. The section's Advocate's Award was given to the Hon. Doris Ohlsen Huspeni, Minnesota Court of Appeals, ret. The topic for the evening's informative presentation was "Balancing National Security and Due Process: The Guantanamo Bay Challenge." Presenters were James Dorsey, Fredrikson & Byron, and Nicole Moen, Judicial Law Clerk for the Hon. John Tunheim, U.S.D.C. Panelists were Chris Karagheuzoff, Dorsey and Whitney (New York office); John Lundquist, Fredrikson & Byron; and Debra Schneider, Fredrikson & Byron.
MSBA Convention
The Civil Litigation Section and the Judicial Election Committee of the MSBA co-sponsored a very timely and well-attended program at the annual convention at Madden's in June 2006. The program was "Judicial Independence vs. Partisan Politics." Moderators were Mary Vasaly, the Maslon Law Firm and member of the Civil Litigation Section Governing Council, and Steve Besser, Doland and Besser. The presenter was the Hon. James Smith, Jr., Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court. Panelists were the Hon. Alan Page, Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court; the Hon. Deborah Hankinson, former justice on the Texas Supreme Court; George Soule, Bowman and Brooke; and Norm Greene, Schoeman, Updike & Kaufman, New York.
Charitable Contributions
The Governing Council adopted a policy to utilize in responding to requests for charitable contributions. This year donations were made to the Katrina Relief Fund, the MSBA Mock Trial Program, and the Children's Law Center.
Leadership
The executive committee of the Governing Council for 2005-2006 was as follows:
Chair: Hon. Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks
Chair-elect: Andy Luger
Secretary: Bruce Candlin
Treasurer: Jan Conlin
The executive committee for 2006-2007 will be composed of:
Chair: Bruce Candlin
Chair-elect: Andy Luger
Secretary: Jan Conlin
Treasurer: Dan McGrath
Outgoing council members include the Hon. Lorie Gildea, Debra Heisick, Ken White, and Eric Hylden. We thank them for their excellent service on the council.
And we welcome new council members Brian Slovut, Edward Matthews, Jerome Feriancek, and William Partridge.
Respectfully submitted,
Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks
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