Jurjens, Ralph v. County Of La Crosse, Wisconsin et al

Filing 24

ORDER that attorney Emily Feinstein of Quarles & Brady is entered as plaintiff's pro bono counsel of record. A pretrial conference will be set in February 2014, as the court's schedule allows. Signed by District Judge William M. Conley on 12/4/2013. (elc),(ps)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

RALPH H. JURJENS,
ORDER
Plaintiff,
v.

13-cv-455-wmc
COUNTY OF LA CROSSE,
WISCONSIN, et al.,
Defendants.
Plaintiff Ralph H. Jurjens filed this civil action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983,
alleging that he was denied adequate, timely medical care for a broken ankle sustained
while in custody at the La Crosse County Jail. At plaintiffs request, the court recruited
counsel Emily Feinstein of the highly-regarded law firm of Quarles & Brady in Madison,
Wisconsin, to represent him pro bono for the remainder of this civil action. See 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(e)(l) ('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 bane) (noting
that§ l 915(e)(l) confers, at most, discretion "to recruit a lawyer to represent an indigent
civil litigant pro bono publico").

Accordingly, the court will enter her appearance as

plaintiff's pro bono counsel for the record.
The next step is for the court to hold a pretrial scheduling conference. Plaintiff's
counsel should contact the Wisconsin Department of Corrections for purposes of
consulting with plaintiff in the preparation of his case whether by phone and/or in
person. So that counsel will have sufficient time to consult with plaintiff in advance of a
preliminary pretrial conference, the clerk's office will be directed to set that conference in

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February 2014, as the court's schedule allows.

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Finally, plaintiff should appreciate that his counsel to,ok on this representatioJ out

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of a sense of professional responsibility, which includes representing zealously t~ose
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clients they take on. Now that he is represented by counsel, plaintiff is advised th~t in
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return for representation plaintiff, too, has taken on a responsibility. For exampleJ all
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future communications with the court must be through his. attorney of record.

Plai~tiff

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must also work directly and cooperatively with his attorney, as well as those workini at

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her direction, and must permit them to exercise their professipnal judgment to determine
which matters are appropriate to bring to the court's attention and in what

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fo~m.

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Plaintiff does not have the right to require counsel to raise frivolous arguments or Ito
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follow every directive he makes. On the contrary, plaintiff should expect his counsel

!to
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tell him what he needs to hear, rather than what he might iprefer to have heard, aid
understand that the rules of professional conduct may pre¢1ude counsel from taki*g
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certain actions or permitting him from doing so. Accordingly, plaintiff must be preparJd
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to accept the strategic decisions made by his lawyers even if he disagrees with some

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them.

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If plaintiff decides at some point that he does not wish to work with his lawyeri,

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he is free

to alert the court and end their representation, but he, should be aware that it i's
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highly unlikely that the court will recruit a second set of attorneys to represent him.
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ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that the clerk's office enter Emily Feinstein of Quarles & Brady
as plaintiffs pro bono counsel of record and to set this case for a pretrial conference in
February 2014, as the court's schedule allows.
Entered this 4th day of December, 2013.
BY THE COURT:

Is/
WILLIAM M. CONLEY

District Judge

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