The Court’s Minnesota Public Access (MPA) Steering Committee, chaired by Judge Peter Cahill, is regularly reporting to the Judicial Council on its progress. Currently in Phase 1, user acceptance testing, training, and communication will be completed in December so the Court can begin piloting the program in January 2021. The second pilot phase is slated to begin in July 2021, with statewide implementation completed by April of 2022. The Court was frustrated (as were MSBA members) by delays over a year ago resulting from its contract with Tyler. Tyler was not able to meet its contract obligations and the Court pivoted to developing software in-house as a result.
On September 15, the Court held a public hearing regarding the MSBA’s petition seeking mandatory reporting of pro bono hours and financial contributions to legal services. MSBA President Dyan Ebert and member Tim Droske represented the MSBA
at the hearing. You can watch the proceeding online at
bit.ly/3hOVikt
Also on September 15: The Court held a hearing on proposed changes to Rule 5 establishing a procedure and fee for pro hac vice. The MSBA filed comments in support of the petition, which was filed by the Legal Services Advisory Committee (LSAC). You can watch the proceeding online at https://bit.ly/33TVWIw