Davis, Jeffrey v. Bartow, Byron et al

Filing 176

ORDER that the clerk's office enter Andrew DeClercq and Paul Norman of Boardman & Clark as plaintiff's pro bono counsel of record. Signed by District Judge William M. Conley on 2/19/2014. (jef),(ps)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
JEFFREY M. DAVIS, JR.,
ORDER
Plaintiff,
v.
12-cv-559-wmc
CINDY HARDING, et al.,
Defendants.
Plaintiff Jeffrey M. Davis filed this civil action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983,
concerning the conditions of his confinement at the Columbia Correctional Institution. At
plaintiff’s request, the court has recruited counsel Andrew DeClercq and Paul Norman of the
highly-regarded law firm of Boardman & Clark in Madison, Wisconsin, to represent him pro
bono for the remainder of this civil action.

See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1) (“The court may

request an attorney to represent any person unable to afford counsel.”); Pruitt v. Mote, 503
F.3d 647, 653-54 (7th Cir. 2007) (en banc) (noting that § 1915(e)(1) confers, at most,
discretion “to recruit a lawyer to represent an indigent civil litigant pro bono publico”).
Accordingly, the court will enter their appearance as plaintiff’s pro bono counsel for the record.
The next step is for the court to hold a status conference, which is currently scheduled
for March 3, 2014. In advance of this conference, plaintiff’s counsel may wish to contact
counsel for defendants and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections for purposes of
consulting with plaintiff in the preparation of his case whether by phone and/or in person.
Finally, plaintiff should appreciate that his counsel took on this representation out of
a sense of professional responsibility, which includes representing zealously those clients they
take on.

Now that he is represented by counsel, plaintiff is advised that in return for

representation plaintiff, too, has taken on a responsibility.

For example, all future

communications with the court must be through his attorney of record. Plaintiff must also
work directly and cooperatively with his attorney, as well as those working at her direction,
and must permit them to exercise their professional judgment to determine which matters are
appropriate to bring to the court’s attention and in what form. Plaintiff does not have the
right to require counsel to raise frivolous arguments or to follow every directive he makes.
On the contrary, plaintiff should expect his counsel to tell him what he needs to hear, rather
than what he might prefer to hear, and should understand that the rules of professional
conduct may preclude counsel from taking certain actions or permitting him from doing so.
Accordingly, plaintiff must be prepared to accept the strategic decisions made by his lawyers
even if he disagrees with some of them.
If plaintiff decides at some point that he does not wish to work with his lawyers, he is
free to alert the court and end their representation, but he should be aware that it is highly
unlikely that the court will recruit a second set of attorneys to represent him.

ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that the clerk’s office enter Andrew DeClercq and Paul Norman of
Boardman & Clark as plaintiff’s pro bono counsel of record.
Entered this 19th day of February, 2014.
BY THE COURT:
/s/
__________________________________
WILLIAM M. CONLEY
District Judge

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