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Articles

Would You Pass a Trust Account Audit?

By Peggy Gruenke, Originally Published in Attorney at Work
Every lawyer knows mismanaging a trust account (IOLTA) can have terrible consequences. However, most lawyers receive little or no training in how to manage a trust account before opening one of their own. Law schools don’t address this in enough detail — at least based on the blank looks received when I mention trust accounting to new grads. And only the enlightened bar associations conduct a hands-on, mud-up-to-your-elbows trust accounting class for all new lawyers. (I think they need to turn it up a notch and get a little muddier.) Full Article

Handling Settlement Funds: A Best-Practices Checklist

By Peggy Gruenke, Originally Published in Attorney at Work
“So that’s how you do that!” My article on handling retainers, ”Would You Pass a Trust Account Audit?,” generated a lot of inquiries and ah-hah moments. So, I’m following up with more tips on handling trust accounting transactions, focusing on settlements. Certain types of funds require special handling, and settlement funds fall into this category. Settlement funds are always deposited directly into your law firm’s trust account and are paid to parties of the settlement from the trust account. A settlement check is never directly deposited into your firm’s operating account. Depositing into the trust account serves as notice to the world that this money is not for you to use for regular business operations. Full Article

NSBA News

2014 GAP Class - Going Ahead Prepared

This year's GAP Class will be be held August 11-13 at the Creighton University School of Law. Sponsored by the Nebraska State Bar Association, the GAP Class will provide new attorneys in practice two years or less and second and third year law students with the tools they need to go into practice. The GAP Class will be a three-day course featuring morning and afternoon sessions covering different areas of law. Some of the areas that will be covered include law practice management, family law, ethics, Client Counseling, Criminal Law, Juvenile Law, Real criminal law and juvenile law. There will be additional sessions about the Nebraska State Bar Association, and a “Meet the Judges” panel. Get complete information and Register Today.

UNL Future Directions in Psychology, Public Policy, the Law - 2014 Conference

The Law/Psychology program at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln holds an annual Program of Excellence (POE) conference to investigate the impact of the law upon various aspects of society. This year's Law/Psychology "think tank" will take place in the UNL East Campus Union from June 11th – June 13th. There is no cost to attend the conference and no registration is required. This year’s POE will feature legal and social science scholars speaking on the topics of immigration, LGBT issues in the law, discrimination, and child welfare. This conference, Future Directions in Psychology, Public Policy, and the Law, was organized by Rich Wiener and Brian Wilcox. Download the registration form for complete information.

2013-2014 NSBA Leadership Academy Class Life Book Project Request for Assistance

We each have a collection of memories from our childhood. We take comfort in them. We learn from them. And we try to teach our children what we learned. But what if we had no context for our memories? What if we had no record of the people or important events from when we were young? No pictures. No names. No one who shared the memory. And no one who could tell us the basic facts that make up our history. Unfortunately, this situation is common for foster children in Nebraska. Foster children often are placed in multiple homes and schools as they grow up. They may lose touch with friends and foster family members as they grow up and have no record that these relationships even existed.

The Nebraska Court Appointed Special Advocates ("CASA") Association serves these children by providing foster children with "Life Books." A Life Book is a scrapbook-like binder that records a child’s life history -- how the child entered foster care, the child's experiences with different families, and the child's feelings (both good and bad) along the way. The Life Book may include photographs, school certificates, awards, high-scoring exams, ticket stubs, the child's artwork, journal entries, and other items. A CASA volunteer, the foster child's voice, advocate, and friend, assists in gathering the materials and developing the Life Book with the child. CASA needs our help! Nearly 1,000 children currently in foster care are assigned a CASA. These dedicated volunteers need materials and funding to create Life Books for each child. Meeting this need is the goal of the 2013-2014 Nebraska State Bar Association Leadership Academy. Full Request

McMahon-Boies to Administer Attorney Services and Education for the Nebraska Judicial Branch

The Nebraska Supreme Court has named Carole McMahon-Boies as Administrator for Judicial Branch Education and the Attorney Services Division of the Nebraska Judicial Branch. As administrator for Attorney Services, McMahon-Boies will provide support to the Counsel for Discipline, Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Commission, Nebraska State Bar Commission, and the Commission on the Unauthorized Practice of Law. Full Press Release

Chief Justice and State Court Administrator Visit Youth-Friendly Courtroom in Fremont

< Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Heavican and State Court Administrator Corey Steel assembled a team of court and juvenile-justice professionals to travel to Fremont to observe Dodge County’s newly remodeled juvenile courtroom in use. “County Judge Ken Vampola initiated a new approach to do things in a better way for youth who have run-ins with the law. His creative use of traditional courtroom space is significant, allowing the judge, being seated across the table from the youth and parent, direct eye-to-eye contact,” remarked Heavican. “Dodge County’s juvenile justice teamwork is impressive: County attorney Oliver Glass and his Juvenile Deputy Sara VanBrandwijk, District 6 Chief Probation Officer Bob Denton and Deputy Steve Ortmeier, and Nebraska Mediation Center’s Jane Martin-Hoffman all are making a positive difference for young people.” Full Press Release

Job Posting: Counsel for Discipline

The Nebraska Supreme Court is seeking a qualified individual to fill the position of Counsel for Discipline. Located in Lincoln, the Counsel for Discipline is employed by the Nebraska Supreme Court to fulfill the duties and responsibilities as set out in Nebraska Court rules regarding discipline procedures for lawyers and as required by the Court. The Counsel for Discipline oversees and directs the operations of the regulation, discipline, and reinstatement functions of the Nebraska lawyer disciplinary system under the supervision of the Nebraska Supreme Court. Full Job Posting

Recent Supreme Court Opinions

Week of Friday, May 23, 2014

S-12-1165 288 Neb. 186 State ex rel. Counsel for Dis. v. Pivovar
S-13-277 288 Neb. 196 Conroy v. Keith Cty. Bd. of Equal
S-13-606 288 Neb. 213 Garza v. Garza
S-13-633 288 Neb. 222 In re Estate of Gsantner

For a complete listing of recent opinions, visit the Nebraska Judicial Branch Website.

Nebraska Lawyers Foundation News

Contribute to the Nebraska Lawyers Foundation. Participate in Give to Lincoln Day, May 29, 2014

Give To Lincoln Day is your chance to make a real impact on Lincoln’s quality of life. We encourage everyone to join us for a record-setting day of giving on May 29th. Together, we have the power to raise thousands of dollars to support Lincoln’s nonprofit organizations, including the Nebraska Lawyers Foundation. Join us for a 24 hour day of giving on Thursday, May 29. More information

2014 Greater Nebraska Golf Scramble

The 2014 Greater Nebraska Golf Scramble will be held on June 20, 2014 at The Prairie Club in Valentine, Nebraska. Registration is $150 per golfer and the fee includes lunch, dinner, green fee, cart, range balls, and door prize drawings! All proceeds to benefit the NSBA Volunteer Lawyers Project. Sleeping rooms are still available. There are enough rooms available for 2 double rooms and a 4 person cabin on Thursday night, June 19 and rooms for 4 double rooms available for Friday night, June 20. Please contact Janeen Arens at 1-888-402-1101. Register your foursome today. Sponsorship Opportunities.

Resources

Did You Know......You Can Update your Contact Information on the NSBA Website.

To update your contact information with the NSBA follow these steps.

Visit http://nebar.com.
Log-in to the site by using the Log-in function in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
Once logged-in, go to the Member Info menu and click on the Update My Profile link.
Complete the Update My Profile form and click Submit button at bottom of page.

PLEASE NOTE: This will update your contact information only with the NSBA. The Attorney Services Division of the Supreme Court is now the official roster keeper for all attorneys licensed in Nebraska and attorneys must notify the ASD of any changes in their contact information, this can be done by logging into the attorney's MCLE account and using the maintain personal information function. Notifying NSBA of contact information changes does not serve to update your contact information that is used for official notifications by the Court.

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