Board of Governors. March 8, Agenda Item 1 Minutes

Transcription

1 Board of Governors March 8, 2013 Agenda Item 1 Minutes

2 MINUTES MEETING OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS ISBA Chicago Office 20 South Clark Street; Suite 900 Chicago, Illinois January 18, 2013 Members Present: Also Present: Members Not Present: Thies, Holderman, Felice, Davi, Arquilla De Boni, Bracewell, Cornelius, Davis (conference call), Enright, Hartigan, Hurley, Karno, Kenol, Komie (conference call), Locallo, McCluskey, Nisivaco, Nyuli, O Brien, Pacey, Sommario, Williams, Wojcik, and Wysocki Colleen McLaughlin, Chair, Assembly Agenda and Program Committee, Robert Craghead, Executive Director, Charles Northrup, General Counsel, Bailey Cunningham, Assistant Counsel, Douglas Barringer, Director of Administrative Services James Covington, Director of Legislative Affairs, Christopher Bonjean, Director of Member Communications and Janet Sosin, Director of Bar Services. Scott President Thies called the meeting to order and presided throughout. Action Agenda 1. Minutes Motion duly made and seconded to approve the minutes of the October 19, 2012 meeting as submitted. Motion carried. 2. President s Report President Thies reported on the continuing progress of the Special Committees on Fair and Impartial Courts and Impact of Law School Debt on the Delivery of Legal Services. He indicated that the Board would hear directly from both committees at the March, 2013 meeting of the Board. President Thies mentioned his plans to provide testimony to the American Bar Association Task Force on Future of Legal Education during the upcoming ABA Midyear Meeting in Dallas. President Thies also reported on the activities of the Lawyers Feeding Illinois statewide program. Sixty teams had already signed up to participate. Although the LFI campaign formally starts on February 18, 2013, sufficient funds have already been donated to provide 135,000 meals, toward the ultimate goal of 1,000,000 meals. President Thies has actively pursued media opportunities to support the effort. Plans have been made for a Springfield media event, and President Thies thanked Board member Jennifer Hammer for her help. The Board viewed a promotional video on the project. President Thies also reviewed important upcoming ISBA events and activities.

3 Executive Session Motion duly made and seconded to go into executive session. Upon return to regular session, President Thies indicated that a subject relating to judicial campaigns had been discussed. 5. Budget and Audit Director of Administrative Services Barringer presented the Operating Statements for the period ending November 30, He explained notable variances. The Operating Statements indicated that the Association was better than budget by $29,000. The Board also received the Audit that was reviewed and approved at the December, 2012 meeting of the ISBA Assembly. 6. Standing Committee on Scope and Correlation Chair Richard Felice reported that the Scope and Correlation Committee had met on January 11, As a result of the meeting, the Scope Committee presented three recommendation for Board action: A. Pro Se Rights and Rules of Conduct in Federal Court The Scope Committee had recommended approval of the recommendations regarding Pro Se Practice in Federal Courts. Motion duly made and seconded to grant such approval. Motion carried. B. Model Environmental Policy for Illinois Law Firms The Scope Committee had recommended that the Model Policy be approved and posted on the ISBA website. Motion duly made and seconded to grant such approval and post the policy on the ISBA website. Motion carried. C. Affiliated Bar Associations The Scope Committee had recommended that the affiliated bar status be granted to the Bureau County, Chinese American and Washington County Bar Associations. Motion duly made and seconded to grant such approval. Motion carried. Chair Felice also provided a status report on other matters reviewed by the Scope Committee which did not require Board action at that point. 10. Professional Ethics Opinions General Counsel Northrup presented three Professional Conduct Advisory Opinions for the Board s consideration. A. Opinion (Fees and Expenses, Court Obligations) Motion duly made and seconded to approve the opinion as submitted. Motion carried.

4 B. Opinion (Arbitration and Mediation, Conflict of Interest and Multiple Representation) Motion duly made and seconded to approve the opinion subject to reformatting the opinion. Motion carried. C. Opinion (Arbitration and Mediation; and Unauthorized Practice of Law) Motion duly made and seconded to approve the opinion with the deletion of Footnote #2. Motion carried. 12. Executive Director s Report Executive Director Craghead provided a report that compared member professional concerns and popular member service programs in 1975 to those of the present. He also reported on the usage of the new member benefit program, Free Online CLE, during its first two weeks of existence. There were 450 orders totaling 660 hours of credit. 13. Assembly Colleen McLaughlin, Chair of the ISBA Assembly Agenda and Program Committee, provided a report on the responsibilities and procedures of the Committee. 78. Legislation Director of Legislative Affairs Covington presented Legislation Proposal 98-4 (Police Officer Safety and Preserve Evidence) as proposed by the Traffic Laws Section Council. The Board discussed the merits of the legislation. Some concerns were raised, including attendant costs that the legislation would impose on municipalities, whether the legislation is consistent with state police practices and whether the legislation affords unreasonable flexibility for the actions of police officers. Motion duly made and seconded to refer the legislative proposal back to the Traffic Laws Section Council and Local Government Law Section Council with the request that the legislation be revised to address the issues raised by the Board. Motion carried American Bar Association Past President Locallo, who also serves on the Executive Council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, reported on the purpose and activities of NCBP. He indicated that the organization was a valuable resource for bar leaders. President Thies provided a preview of the upcoming ABA Midyear Meeting Illinois Bar Foundation The President of the Illinois Bar Foundation had requested that the Board approve recommendations for appointments to the IBF Board. Motion duly made, seconded and carried to approve the appointments to the IBF Board: A. First District Jeff Patton and Sharon Eiseman, both of Chicago B. Second District Susan Brazas, Rockford

5 C. Fourth District Donald Tracy, Springfield Information Agenda 2. Calendar The Board received a copy of the Board meeting schedule Illinois Bar Foundation The Board received information regarding the IBF Lawyers Rock Legends, an event scheduled for February 28, Respectfully submitted, John L. Nisivaco, Secretary John E. Thies, President