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

- Last Updated 08/07/06-