Building on last year's success in California, HALT is working on small claims court reform in several states. Here is a summary of recent developments and pending legislation throughout the country.

Illinois
The state Supreme Court’s increased small claims jurisdiction from $5,000 to $10,000 on January 1st. HALT Senior Counsel Tom Gordon testified before the Court in January of last year, urging a larger limit increase than the originally proposed $7,500. Illinois is the sixth state to adopt a dollar limit at or above $10,000.

Missouri
House Bill 1345 has been introduced, which would raise the small claims court dollar limit from $3,000 to $5,000. Currently, Massachusetts' small claims court has the seventh lowest dollar limit in the country.

Nebraska
Legislative Bill 1014 would raise the current small claims dollar limit of $2,700 to $4,000. Currently, Nebraska has the sixth lowest jurisdiction for small claims court in the US. Senior Counsel Tom Gordon submitted testimony to the Legislature Judiciary Committee encouraging them to approve this overdue change, and recommending that the Committee consider an even larger increase to bring its dollar limit more in line with the national average, which is approximately $5,300.

New Hampshire
In an outrageous move, Representative Robert H. Rowe introduced House Bill 1234 to cut in half the current small claims dollar limit from $5,000 to a mere $2,500, which would be the fourth lowest limit in the country. No state has ever lowered its dollar limit, and if the bill were approved it would do serious harm to legal consumers by denying the remedy of small claims court to all but the most trivial of cases.

Virginia
House Bill 1201 to raise the small claims limit from $2,000 to $5,000, sponsored by Del. Brian Moran, has passed the Subcommittee on Civil Law and will now be considered by the Committee on Courts. Senior Counsel Tom Gordon testified before both the Committee and Subcommittee in support of the bill. Currently, Virginia has the 2nd lowest jurisdiction for small claims in the nation.

Vermont
Senator Phillip Scott introduced Senate Bill 264, to increase the dollar limit from $3,500 to $5,000, which would bump the state up from the bottum third of limits closer to the national average dollar limit of $5,300.

Wisconsin
Assembly Bill 680, which would double the small claims dollar limit to $10,000, was introduced by Representative Joan Ballweg. HALT has been collaborating with Representative Ballweg by providing research and statistics that illustrate the benefits such an increase would have for the residents of Wisconsin.

Some states are already off to a great start this year, making lawyers more accountable. Here are a few recent developments.

Pennsylvania
On December 30th, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania adopted Rule 1.4 (c) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct. The new Rule requires attorneys who do not carry at least $100,000 worth of malpractice insurance to disclose this fact in writing to new clients. The rule takes effect July 1, 2006. Pennsylvania considered the rule change in response to the ABA's model rules, which include a requirement for malpractice insurance disclosure. HALT pushed the ABA to include that provision in the model rules and continues to urge states to adopt this important requirement.

South Carolina
At its convention this week, the South Carolina Bar will consider a resolution to post disciplinary actions against attorneys on the bar’s Web site. The resolution recommends that the bar’s Web site provide direct links to disciplinary orders posted on the South Carolina Judicial Department’s Web site. Several states, including Arizona, California, and neighboring North Carolina already provide this information on their disciplinary Web sites. HALT strongly supports the proposal, which would provide important information to legal consumers.

It's tax season again. HALT's new edition of the Citizens Legal Manual Do-It-Yourself Law reviews several tax preparation programs. Here is a partial summary of one of the best, TurboTax.

TurboTax contains virtually every tax form and worksheet you’ll need for preparing your federal and state tax returns. It provides a well-organized process for completing and filing your returns with both the IRS and your state tax authority, as well as instant access to official IRS publications and helpful video clips from tax experts. Finally, it includes a rebate for the price of your federal e-filing. HALT has named TurboTax Deluxe a Do-It-Yourself Best Buy.

Accuracy: A
This tax software provides thorough, accurate and up-to-date information and also automatically checks for updates based on recent changes to the tax code.
Comprehensiveness: A
A very thorough product, TurboTax features every form and worksheet you are likely to need, as well as a comprehensive library of IRS tax publications, its own answers to frequently-asked questions, and video presentations from tax experts.
Easy to Use: A
TurboTax takes only a few minutes to install. The program’s interface is intuitive. Throughout the process, it displays frequently asked questions so you can click for more information. You can also access IRS publications or other items in the tax library at any time. TurboTax reviews your return for errors, deductions you may have missed, and entries that might trigger an audit. It will also compare your return with national averages and suggest ways to reduce your taxes in the future. TurboTax also guides you through the filing process.

For a complete review of TurboTax, see HALT's newly revised manual Do-It-Yourself Law. You can purchase this book on our web site here.