In an interview with Lidona Beer in 2001, Peggy Lyles was asked to
name some of her own haiku that she liked the best. She included
the following quartet (which dagosan wishes he had written):
autumn
and my son’s voice deepening
the wind chimes
wild persimmons
a woman at the roadside
wiggles her last tooth
purple twilight spilling frogs
boarding call
the ripe banana flavor
of the small one’s cheek
To Hear the Rain (Brooks Books, 2002)
potluck
A year after the ABA passed its Model Rule requiring that “Each
lawyer admitted to the active practice of law shall certify to the
highest court of the jurisdiction…whether the lawyer is currently
covered by professional liability insurance, ” HALT offers a guide
to the status of malpractice disclosure rules in every state. Only
Alaska, New Hampshire, Ohio and South Dakota require that un-
insured lawyers directly disclose their insurance status to their
clients. Some states, such as Illinois, have the information readily
accessible on bar counsel’s website. Many states have done nothing.
Only Oregon requires that lawyers carry malpractice insurance.
HALT has also issued a Consumer Advisory for California, reminding folk that
Governor Arnold must decide in the next few weeks whether to sign important
legislation:
California is one signature away from enacting an important small
claims reform bill. The state legislature has passed two identical bills,
Assembly Bill 1459 and Senate Bill 422, which would increase the
amount for which individuals could sue in small claims court from
$5,000 to $7,500, the state’s first increase in 15 years. The legislation
would also mandate improved training for small claims judges and
would increase the availability of court-provided translators and
advisors in small claims courts.
As HALT says, “These bills are a real opportunity for California to expand the
availability of the one court that actually works well for ordinary people.” To
contact Gov. Schwarenegger, you can use the form at http://www.govmail.ca.gov/,
“Tiny check” Thanks to Evan Schaeffer for pointing to our Harvest Moon 2005
posting.
Do law school applicants need special consumer protection disclosure
rules about costs and bar passage rates? John Steele says yes, in a Comment, I’m
skeptical.
Despite all of the above, until August 2005, the Wisconsin Bar would 