Campbell, Mark v. Foster, Brian et al

Filing 27

ORDER that the clerk's office enter Iana Vladimirova of the law firm of Husch Blackwell as plaintiff's pro bono counsel of record and to set this case for a status conference in March 2017, as the court's schedule allows. Signed by District Judge James D. Peterson on 2/15/2017. (jef),(ps)

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

MARK A. CAMPBELL,
ORDER
Plaintiff,
v.
16-cv-261-jdp
KEVIN KALLAS, et al.,
Defendants.

Plaintiff Mark A. Campbell, who goes by Nicole Rose Campbell, alleges that she has
severe unremitting anatomic gender dysphoria. She filed this civil action pursuant to 42
U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that defendants have violated her constitutional rights under the
Eighth Amendment by denying her medical treatment.

At plaintiff’s request, the court

recruited counsel Iana Vladimirova of the law firm of Husch Blackwell in Madison,
Wisconsin, to represent her 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 her appearance as plaintiff’s pro
bono counsel for the record.
The next step is for the court to hold a status conference to set the calendar in this
case.

Plaintiff’s counsel should contact the Wisconsin Department of Corrections for

purposes of consulting with plaintiff in the preparation of her 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
March 2017, as the court’s schedule allows.

Finally, plaintiff should appreciate that her counsel took on this representation out of
a sense of professional responsibility, which includes representing zealously the clients they
take on. Now that she is represented by counsel, plaintiff, too, has responsibilities. All
future communications with the court must be through her attorney of record. Plaintiff must
also work directly and cooperatively with her attorney, as well as those working at her
direction, and must permit counsel to exercise her 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 require that counsel follow
every directive she makes. Plaintiff should expect her counsel to tell plaintiff what she needs
to hear, rather than what she might prefer to hear. Plaintiff must understand that the rules
of professional conduct may preclude counsel from taking certain actions or permitting
plaintiff from doing so.
If plaintiff decides at some point that she does not wish to work with her lawyer, she
is free to alert the court and end the representation. Plaintiff should be aware that it is highly
unlikely that the court will recruit a second set of attorneys to represent her.
ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that the clerk’s office enter Iana Vladimirova of the law firm of
Husch Blackwell as plaintiff’s pro bono counsel of record and to set this case for a status
conference in March 2017, as the court’s schedule allows.
Entered this 15th day of February, 2017.
BY THE COURT:
/s/
JAMES D. PETERSON
District Judge

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