Vol. 31, No. 6 THE SCRIPTUM DECEMBER 17, 2008 www.linncobar.org NO MEETING IN DECEMBER The Linn County Bar Association will not hold a meeting in December. BANKRUPTCY FORM AND PROCEDURAL CHANGES On December 19, 2008, the requirements of the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008 will become effective. For more information, go to www.ianb.uscourts.gov and read the letter from the Bankruptcy Clerk under the News section. 2009 BENCH-BAR CONFERENCE on TUESDAY, JANUARY 6 Please join the LCBA at its 2009 Bench-Bar Conference to start the new year with some CLE credit and a social with your friends and colleagues in the bar and on the bench. The Conference will be held at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art on Tuesday, January 6, 2009, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. A CLE will be presented from 4-5 p.m. with topics including the new case processing standards, district drug court and the new juvenile drug court, post-flood accommodations and plans, and more. At 5 p.m. retired Court of Appeals Judge Van Zimmer will be honored. A reception, catered by Winifred s, will follow, with music provided by Carlis Faurot and Mike Maas. The event is free of charge
to LCBA members. For more information, contact President-Elect Connie Alt at 365-9461. JANUARY BAR MEETING on THURSDAY, JANUARY 15 The next regular meeting of the Linn County Bar Association will be held Thursday, January 15, 2009, beginning at noon at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art on Third Avenue S.E. across from Greene Square Park. The meeting room is located on the third floor. Parking is available behind the building on the Second Avenue side. The speaker will be Pete Welch of Crawford, Sullivan, Read & Roemerman, PC. He will be speaking on Family Military Law and will include information on the new Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, dividing military pensions and deferred benefits and other aspects of representing a military client or spouse. The cost of lunch is $7. Lunch is $7 and will be provided by Kristeena s. JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE APPOINTING COMMISSION APPLICANTS SOUGHT The Clerk of District Court in Linn County is now accepting written nomination petitions for two (2) County Magistrate Appointing Commissioners whose terms will run from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2014. The current attorney Commissioners are James Sines and John Ehrhart. Only qualified attorneys within Linn County can be nominated and serve in these positions. Following nominations, an election will be held. Ballots will be sent to all Linn County attorneys who have been certified as eligible to vote by the Supreme Court. Written nomination petitions may be delivered to the Clerk of District Court in Linn County or may be mailed to the following address: Sharon K. Modracek Clerk of District Court Linn County Courthouse P.O. Box 1468 Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-1468 The deadline for submitting written nomination petitions either in person or for receipt of petitions delivered by mail is 4:30 p.m., December 29, 2008. CLE APPROVAL FOR 2008 LCBA BAR MEETINGS & CONFERENCES If you attended the 2008 Bench/Bar Conference, all monthly bar meetings, the Flood Recovery Seminar & Annual Meeting, and the Summer Outing CLE, then
you racked up 12.75 hours in approved state CLE credits and 2.0 hours of approved federal CLE credits! A list of the meetings and CLE approval is at the end of this Scriptum issue. Note: This figure does not include the several hours of CLE credits approved for the LCBA Family Law Committee s meetings. VOLUNTEER LAWYER PROJECT CASES Iowa Legal Aid with the cooperation of the Iowa State Bar Association will by sending Volunteer Lawyer Project cases out for placement by email to lawyers in Linn County. They believe they will be able to place many, although not all, Volunteer Lawyers Project cases though this mechanism. Some phone calls and faxing will still be needed. This approach is intended to make the process more efficient for volunteer lawyers and the Iowa Legal Aid office, with the end result intended to provide better service to the clients. We understand these emails will be sent out approximately every four to six weeks. Attorneys who are not interested may simply delete the email. We have been asked by James Kringlen at Iowa Legal Aid to inform our members of this new system. Iowa Legal aid will be sending out an additional explanatory e-mail to all of the ISBA's Linn County members shortly. CHANGES & AMENDMENTS TO COURT RULES Amendments have been made by the Iowa Supreme Court to the following Court Rules: Chapters 22 and 51 (senior judge program) and Chapter 6 of the Appellate Rules (amendments replace present Chapter 6), both effective 1-1-09. For more information, go to www.iowacourts.gov. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE The Iowa Supreme Court is seeking comment on the proposed amendments to Iowa Rules of Criminal Procedure 2.4(6) and 2.5(3), regarding certain information about a witness that must be provided in the minutes of evidence. Written comments are due by January 2, 2009. For more information, go to www.iowacourts.gov. NORTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEETING NOTICE The Historical Society for the Northern District of Iowa will hold its next meeting on January 30, 2009 at 3:30 pm. Location will be the U.S. District Court at 4200 C Street NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404. Anyone wishing to teleconference in to the meeting should e-mail Len Strand at Lstrand@simmonsperrine.com no later than Jan 23, 2009.
IOLTA GRANT APPLICATIONS The Iowa Supreme Court Lawyer Trust Account Commission is accepting applications for grants under the Inter on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program for the grant period that begins July 1, 2009. IOLTA program grants are awarded to public purpose projects that provide legal services to the poor in civil cases, law-related education and other programs that improve the administration of justice in Iowa. The Commission must receive completed grant applications by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 6, 2009. For more information, go to www.iowacourts.gov. UPDATED, CORRECT E-MAIL ADDRESSES REQUESTED If you know of someone who is not receiving this publication via e-mail, please have the LCBA Webmaster at webmaster@linncobar.org so the correct e-mail address for that individual may be added to the e-mail list. OPEN POSITIONS Associate Attorney Medium-sized Cedar Rapids law firm seeks an attorney with a desire to practice in family law for an associate position. Send resume, description of legal work experience and salary requirements to Nikki Schaul, White Law Firm, P.L.C., P.O. Box 5878, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406-5878, or email to nschaul@wjpc.com. Your information will be held in strictest confidence. In-House Attorney - Aegon USA, Commercial Mortgage Special Servicing. Aegon USA Realty Advisors, a leading commercial real estate lender, seeks an experienced lawyer for its S&P rated Special Servicing unit in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In this role, the incumbent will interpret loan documents, analyze borrower requests, and hire and supervise outside counsel in workouts, foreclosures and bankruptcies. Experience with a rated servicer is preferred. Realty Advisors is among the top commercial real estate lenders in the United States. We are a proud member of the AEGON Group; an international pension, insurance, and financial services organization. AEGON USA is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with approximately 3400 employees. Visit our website at www.aegonusa.jobs and upload your resume today. Be sure to apply for position #5344. In-House Attorney Transamerica Life Insurance Company, an AEGON company, seeks an Attorney in its Corporate Legal Department. A J.D., state bar admission and a minimum of one year of experience is required. ERISA experience is preferred. This position is in the Cedar Rapids office. To see a full
description of this position and apply, visit the website at www.aegonusa.jobs. Please reference Posting #7850. Associate Wanted for Downtown Law Office. Prime downtown office space available in the Dows Building. Newer office equipment, large office, very reasonable. Case referrals available. All inquiries to 364-1538; ask for Mary. WEBSITE FOR EMPLOYERS TO SEEK EMPLOYEES Kirkwood Community College offers an online Employers Services, available at no charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To learn more about this topic, call 398-5689 or go to jobs@kirkwood.edu. HELP WANTED ADS PUBLISHED FOR FREE As a service to the legal community, Legal Support Professionals of Linn County ( LSPLC ) will publish your help wanted ad in its monthly publication, Behind the Bar. The organization will e-mail the ad to its members, who in turn may know of someone looking for work in the legal community. If you have questions about this service, or if you would like to publish an ad in Behind the Bar, the monthly newsletter of LSPLC, please contact Mickala Anderson, Employment Committee Chair, at 355-4292, fax 355-8371; manderson@aegonusa.com DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING ITEMS TO THE SCRIPTUM If you have an item to submit to this publication, please send the information to Mary Klingler via e-mail to mklingler@lwclawyers.com. The deadline for submitting items is the Monday date that is 10 days before that month s LCBA meeting, which is held on the third Thursday of the month (sometimes the first Monday, sometimes the second Monday). WANT ADS Office Space Available. Office space is available with other sole practitioners in the historic Averill House located in a developing medical area, 1120 2nd Avenue S.E., Cedar Rapids. Includes phone system with voice mail, DSL, two conference rooms, free client parking and available paralegal services. Furnishings and office equipment available. Very reasonable overhead expense. Contact Wm. F. Olinger at 319-364-0113 or wmfolinger@aol.com. Space Available Fully-equipped office space available for two attorneys and staff at Suite 1010, 425 Plaza (APAC) Building. Work is available. Call John Ehrhart, Jon McCright, Gary Shea or Guy Booth at 319 366-7795.
Office Share Space Available Newly redesigned and finished office space available for office share arrangement on the 12th floor of Plaza 425 (the former APAC Building). Convenient parking available in immediately-adjacent parkade connected by skywalk. Contact Pete Leehey at pleehey@leeheylaw.com for details. Office Space Available Available overflow work, very reasonable overhead. Please contact Linda Hansen Robbins at 366-8016 or by e-mail at www.lindar!lindahansenrobbins.com LCBA MEMBER CONTACT INFO ON LCBA WEBSITE - UPDATE YOURS TODAY! Did you know contact information for all LCBA members is available to the public via the LCBA website? However, some of the contact information listed on the website is out of date! Please take a minute to view the information listed for your name at www.linncobar.org/directory/attorneys/index.html and let the LCBA webmaster know if any changes need to be made. You can contact the webmaster from the LCBA website by clicking on the "Contact" link at the top of the LCBA home page. NOTIFICATIONS OF CHANGES OF ADDRESS If you have a new address, please notify the Linn County Bar Association at P. O. Box 74127, Cedar Rapids, IA 52407-4127, or via e-mail at webmaster@linncobar.org. USURY RATE In accordance with the provisions of Section 535.2(3)(a), 2007 Iowa Code, the Superintendent of Banking has determined that the maximum lawful rate of interest provided for in said section shall be 5.75% for the month of December. Please note the exemption in subsection 2 of said Chapter 535.2. The usury rate is available on the Internet at www.idob.state.ia.us. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- CLE APPROVAL FOR 2008 LCBA BAR MEETINGS & CONFERENCES JANUARY 8, 2008 BENCH/BAR CONFERENCE Judge Jon Scoles on the new federal local rules Judge Baumgartner on the importance of judicial independence Total state CLE Hours: 1.0, Activity No. 48147, Federal CLE 1.0 hours approved
FEBRUARY 21, 2008 BAR MEETING Susan Pence discusses recent updates to Iowa probate and trust law. Total state CLE Hours:.5, Activity No. 48482 MARCH 19, 2008 BAR MEETING Judge Faye Hoover-Grinde discusses drug treatment court Total state CLE Hours:.5, Activity No. 50344 APRIL 17, 2008 BAR MEETING Mark Hudson Ethics presentation: Top 5 Tips for Avoiding a Call from the Iowa Disciplinary Board Total state CLE Hours:.5, Total Ethics Hours:.5, Activity No. 50666 JUNE 26, 2008 FLOOD RECOVERY SEMINAR & ANNUAL MEETING Total state CLE Hours: 5.5, Activity No. 51744 Federal CLE.5 hours approved JULY 12, 2008 -- SUMMER OUTING CLE Total state CLE Hours: 3.25, Total Ethics Hours: 1.0, Activity No. 55812 SEPTEMBER 18, 2008 BAR MEETING Iowa State Sen. Rob Hogg presents a Legislative Update Total state CLE Hours:.5, Activity No. 55151 OCTOBER 18, 2008 BAR MEETING Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus discusses Equal Justice for All Total state CLE Hours:.5, Activity No. 55819 NOVEMBER 20, 2008 BAR MEETING Michelle McMurray program on Fair Housing laws Total state CLE Hours:.5, Activity No. 55011 Federal CLE.5 hours approved