The Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) organized a series of in-person Ethics School seminars for legal practitioners seeking continuing legal education. These seminars were held in late 2023 at Madison College, Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Chippewa Valley Technical College in Eau Claire, and Northcentral Technical College in Wausau. The seminars were well-received by attendees, with 97% of them rating it positively.
OLR identified the need for high-quality, low-cost ethics continuing legal education programming for solo and small firm practitioners. To this end, they partnered with paralegal education programs at four technical colleges to provide free attendance for program students and obtain no-cost meeting space. Julie Spoke, OLR Deputy Director, and her team's guiding principles included creating practical training, promoting lawyer well-being, limiting costs, and offering the seminar to non-lawyer staff.
The program was designed to be practical, with a panel of OLR staff addressing the Rules of Professional Conduct throughout the lifespan of a legal representation. More than 100 people attended Ethics School, including lawyers, paralegals, students, and non-lawyer staff. Attendees collectively rated the OLR staff panel discussion as 4.7 out of 5, describing the seminar as "creative and innovative," "definitely rewarding," and "well done, informative and [engaging]."
Ethics School allowed lawyers to engage with OLR staff in person, and practitioners from across the state observed firsthand the subject matter expertise held by OLR investigators and litigation counsel. Conversely, these programs allowed OLR staff to interact with practicing attorneys, hear their concerns, and answer questions.
OLR plans to present Ethics School again in 2024, incorporating survey feedback and focusing on different locations.
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