BOARD OF BAR COMMISSIONERS January 27, 2017 MEETING MINUTES State Bar Center, Albuquerque, NM. MEMBERS PRESENT: Joshua A. Allison Jared G.

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1 BOARD OF BAR COMMISSIONERS January 27, 2017 MEETING MINUTES State Bar Center, Albuquerque, NM MEMBERS PRESENT: Joshua A. Allison Jared G. Kallunki Erin M. Atkins Barbara Lucero Aja N. Brooks David P. Lutz John P. Burton Carla C. Martinez Ernestina R. Cruz Clara Moran Gerald G. Dixon Wesley O. Pool Judge Kevin L. Fitzwater (ret.) Joseph F. Sawyer Tomas J. Garcia Benjamin I. Sherman Mick I. R. Gutierrez Carolyn A. Wolf Scotty A. Holloman MEMBERS ABSENT: J. Brent Moore OTHERS PRESENT: Kris Becker David Powell Ian Bezpalko Stormy Ralstin Joe Conte Richard Spinello Christine Morganti 1. Approval of December 14, 2016 Meeting Minutes Commissioner Pool made a motion to approve the December 14, 2016 meeting minutes as submitted; the motion was seconded and it passed. 2. Finance Committee Report The Finance Committee met prior to the Board meeting, and Secretary-Treasurer Dixon reported on the Committee s discussion and recommendations regarding the following: A. Approved the December 14, 2016 meeting minutes as submitted; B. Recommended that approval of the intercompany payment from the Bar Foundation to the State Bar be tabled and a special meeting be held prior to the April meeting for further discussion; Commissioner Dixon made a motion to approve the recommendation and the motion passed; C. Discussed increasing the refund amount on dues overpayments from $10 to $15 and recommended not increasing the amount; Commissioner Dixon made a motion to approve the recommendation and the motion passed; D. Reported that during the closing for the refinance with the Bank of the West, it was discovered that the Bank inadvertently listed the Bar Foundation as an obligor on the note and not just listed on the mortgage; the Bank thought that it was an obligor on the previous note and to remove the Bar Foundation would have delayed the closing considerably. They requested a formal resolution to amend the note removing the Bar Foundation and the committee recommended approval. Commissioner Dixon made a motion to approve a resolution removing the Bar Foundation as an obligor on the note and adding the Bar Foundation as a pro forma obligor and the motion passed. E. Discussed a sponsorship in the amount of $7,500 for the Arturo L. Jaramillo Summer Law Clerkship Program and recommended not approving because it wasn t budgeted; Commissioner Dixon made a motion to approve the recommendation and the motion passed; 1

2 F. Reported that 1,934 active and 791 inactive members have not paid their licensing fees at this time and the deadline is February 1; and G. Executive Director Joe Conte reported that the majority of the funds from the Bank of America settlement are being held in the State Bar s bank account, and he is continuing to work with the Court to develop a proposal to determine how the money will be used. 3. Financials Commissioner Dixon made a motion to accept the 2016 year-end financials and the motion passed. In follow up from the December meeting, a Statement of Financial Position and Statement of Activities for the last five years for comparison purposes was prepared for the Board s information. 4. Executive Committee Report President Moore reported that the committee met on December 22 to discuss correspondence from Chief Justice Daniels regarding judges membership in the State Bar. The committee met again on January 18 to review the meeting agendas and discussed the Bar s proposed response to the Court outlining the benefits that judges receive from membership in the State Bar. Following discussion, Commissioner Wolf made a motion to send a response to the Court discouraging judicial exemption from Bar membership; the motion was seconded and it passed. 5. Judiciary Assistance Update President Holloman provided an update on Chief Justice Daniels request for assistance with funding for the judiciary and coordination of meetings with the chief district judges and local legislators. Per the Board s request, Executive Director Joe Conte prepared a campaign proposal outlining various ways to get the message out regarding the judiciary, and he and President Holloman will meet with Justice Nakamura to discuss further. 6. Bylaws and Policies Committee Report and Recommendations Chair Carolyn Wolf reported on the January 24 th meeting and requested the Board s approval of the following: A. The Taxation Section requested amendments to the following sections of its bylaws: Section 2.1 Enrollment, Section 6.2 Composition, Section 7.3 Eligibility for Office, and 7.4 Nominations and Voting. The committee requested an amendment to Section 6.2 which the section approved and also clarified Section 7.3. Commissioner Wolf made a motion to approve the amended bylaws and the motion passed. B. The Senior Lawyers Division requested an amendment to its bylaws in Section 4.2 Composition to increase the size of its board from 18 to 25. The committee requested additional amendments specifying that the board would consist of no less than 18 and no more than 25, and the exact number of members would be determined by the SLD Board; the Division approved the amendments. Commissioner Wolf made a motion to approve the amended bylaws and the motion passed. C. Delinquent Accounts Policy at the December meeting, the Board discussed the amount to be considered for write off and referred it to the Bylaws and Policies Committee for a recommendation as to whether it should be increased. The committee reviewed the current policy and determined that the amount did not need to be increased, so no action was necessary. 2

3 D. Bar Foundation Bylaws Regarding Elimination of Vice President Position due to the elimination of the vice president position in the State Bar Bylaws, the Bar Foundation Bylaws either needed to be amended or a vice president appointed. The committee reviewed the Bylaws and recommended that a subcommittee conduct a further review of the Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation and bring any proposed amendments to the Board at a later date, so an election for the vice president position needed to be held at this time. Commissioner Wolf made a motion to approve the committee s recommendations and the motion passed. E. The Intellectual Property Law Section requested amendments to its bylaws and the committee sent Section 6.3 Quorum and Section 7.2 Chair back to the section for revisions in December. The section made additional revisions and proposed an amendment to enable the chair to serve more than one year, but no more than two years and clarified the quorum language to be the majority of the elected board members, and the committee recommended approval. Commissioner Wolf made a motion to approve the amendments and the motion passed. 7. Appointment to First Bar Commissioner District A vacancy was created in the First Bar Commissioner District due to Julie Vargas appointment to the Bench, so a notice was published in the Bar Bulletin and the following submitted letters of interest. The term will run through December 31, and an election for the position shall be held with the next regular election of Commissioners. A. Aaron B. Ezekiel B. Loni J. Hodge C. Raynard Struck D. Howard R. Thomas Following a vote by secret ballot, Raynard Struck was appointed to the Board to fill the vacancy in the First Bar Commissioner District through the end of the year. 8. Appointment to Third Bar Commissioner District No nominations were received for a vacancy in the Third Bar Commissioner District, so a notice was published in the Bar Bulletin and the following submitted letters of interest. The term will run through December 31, and an election for the position shall be held with the next regular election of Commissioners. A. John M. Greacen B. Elizabeth J. Travis Following a vote by secret ballot, Elizabeth J. Travis was appointed to the Board to fill the vacancy in the Third Bar Commissioner District through the end of the year. 9. Compensation Survey A committee was created at the December meeting to review and finalize the Compensation Survey drafted by Research & Polling. The committee met with Research & Polling on January 19 and requested amendments. They are finalizing the areas of practice and plan to send the survey out to the membership next month. The Board requested that a question be added to learn whether the individual or their employer pays their bar dues. Commissioner Pool made a motion to send the survey out to the membership next month with the addition of the dues question and the motion passed. 3

4 10. Fastcase Contract The contract with Fastcase expires the end of July and it contains a 180-day cancellation clause, so notice would need to be provided at this time if the Board decided to discontinue this member benefit. A report was presented to the Board at the September meeting which recommended that we continue with Fastcase and monitor online legal research. Commissioner Wolf made a motion not to cancel the contract with Fastcase and let it auto renew for one year; the motion was seconded and it passed. 11. President Report President Holloman reported on the following: A. The 2017 BBC Internal Committee Roster was included in the materials, and the new commissioners will be invited to participate. B. The 2017 Supreme Court Board and Committee Liaison Roster was included in the materials; there were several vacancies for which volunteers were requested and the new commissioners will be invited to participate; the appointments will be finalized and forwarded to the Supreme Court following the meeting. C. The Jackrabbit Bar Conference, which is being hosted by the State Bar of New Mexico this year, is scheduled for the first weekend in June at the Inn at Loretto in Santa Fe, and he invited the Bard to attend. D. The Annual Meeting is scheduled for July at the Inn of the Mountain Gods. He is working on a keynote; Justice Alito is unable to attend and Justice Kagan is considering the invitation. He encouraged the Board to attend and lodging up to three nights will be covered. E. He is considering Alaska or Cuba for the annual CLE trip and more details will be forthcoming. 12. Executive Director Report Executive Director Joe Conte s written report and the State Bar Newsletter with departmental updates were included in the materials for the Board s information. 13. Bar Commissioner District and Division (SLD, YLD & PD) Reports Commissioners and division representatives will be requested to report on meetings and activities in their districts and divisions. Paralegal Division Chair Barbara Lucero reported that the division currently has 125 active members; they are holding a half-day CLE for Law Day on April 29, in addition to a half-day CLE on September 23 and their annual institute will be held on December 1. YLD Chair Tomas Garcia reported that their two open seats have been appointed as well as liaisons to all sections except Indian Law. Three division board members will be attending the ABA Midyear Meeting next month and the division is hosting the ABA Mountain West States Regional Summit with Colorado, Wyoming, Texas and Utah at the Hotel Albuquerque March 30-April 2. SLD Delegate Jack Burton thanked the Board for approving the Division s request to expand their board; they have had more interest in the board and are getting more diversity among members. Don Jones is the chair and Susan Page is the chair-elect. Aja Brooks reported that the ABA, NM Legal Aid, and the ATJ Commission are working with the Bar on sending out a pro bono survey which will be going out soon and she encouraged everyone to complete the survey. 4

5 14. Section and Committee Annual Reports Pursuant to the State Bar Bylaws, all standing committees and sections shall present annual reports to the Board, and the reports are posted on the State Bar s Web site at the below links. If a section or standing committee does not submit an annual report by December 31, it will be placed on the sunset list for the following year. The Employment and Labor Law and Criminal Law Sections did not submit annual reports New Business There being no new business, the meeting was adjourned. 5