Bar Blast – January 6, 2015

Important changes to the West Virginia pro hac vice admission procedures became effective on January 1, 2015.  These changes include a new $350 annual fee to be paid by out-of-state lawyers admitted pro hac vice on or before January 1, 2015, for one year or more.  The annual fee applies as long as the out-of-state lawyer has one or more cases pending in West Virginia.  The out-of-state lawyer is responsible for paying the fee.  Click here to review the September 29, 2014, Order

By implementation Order entered December 12, 2014, the Supreme Court authorized the State Bar to contact local counsel for out-of-state lawyers admitted during the past five years to determine whether the annual fee applies and to collect the fee. The fee must be paid by the out-of-state lawyer on or before March 31, 2015, and by March 31 of each subsequent year until the case or matter is resolved.  The pro hac vice admission will be terminated if the March 31, 2015, deadline is not met.

Click here to review the December 12, 2014, Order.

The West Virginia State Bar is excited to announce a new opportunity for attorneys to provide pro bono assistance to the public anytime, from anywhere.  West Virginia Online Legal Help(www.wvonlinelegalhelp.org) is a new website where low-income West Virginians can post questions about their civil legal needs.  The questions are answered by volunteer attorneys, who provide basic information and legal advice for free.

We need West Virginia attorneys to sign up to volunteer.  The benefits of volunteering include:

• No expectation of long-term representation.
• Professional liability insurance provided.
• Attorney’s name is anonymous to user.

Please go to www.wvonlinelegalhelp.org and click on “Lawyers Sign Up” to register to volunteer.  We hope to open the website to questions from the public in September 2014.

Click here for more information.

As members of the legal profession, you know better than most what lawyers need to be successful.  The West Virginia State Bar and Educating Tomorrows Lawyers at the University of Denver are collaborating on a research study to identify the foundations entry-level lawyers need that will have far-reaching implications for the preparation of future lawyers.  The future of the profession is integrally tied to our law schools, and your perspective is critical to these issues.  All bar members are invited to take a short survey to contribute to the endeavor.  The anonymous survey will take approximately 20 minutes, and can be answered in multiple sessions from the same device.  This is an exciting opportunity to impact the future of legal education. Thank you for participating! Click here to link to the survey.

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals is excited to announce a new opportunity to access Judicial records digitally. We are piloting a web based system that will allow viewing of records digitally from a website that is accessible 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Eventually this system will have records from all 55 counties. If you would like to participate in the testing phase of this service for a limited amount of counties being accessible, please email your desire to CCSEFile@courtswv.gov and we will randomly select users.

The Administrative Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia has set the interest rate for judgments and decrees entered during the 2015 calendar year.  Click here for the order.

WV Working Together Conference

Host: IRS & West Virginia State Tax Department

Location: University of Charleston – Geary Student Union

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WVCLE Litigation 2015

Host: West Virginia Continuing Legal Education (WVCLE)

Location: Cannan Valley Resort – Davis, WV

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WVCLE Shale Play Update

Host: West Virginia Continuing Legal Education (WVCLE)

Location: Charleston Civic Center

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