NEBRASKA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION. HOUSE OF DELEGATES Minutes

Transcription

1 NEBRASKA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF DELEGATES Minutes October 9, :00 a.m. Embassy Suites, La Vista The House of Delegates of the Nebraska State Bar Association met on Thursday October 9, The meeting was called to order by Chair of the House, Joel Carney. Members present, in addition to Chair Carney were: First District: Michael Dunn, Brad Kalkwarf, and James Nelson; Second District: Julie Bear, Angie Burmeister, Craig Martin, Tricia Freeman and Judge Randall Rehmeier; Third District: John Freudenberg, Jim Gordon, Milissa Johnson-Wiles, Brian Kruse, Jane Langan Mach, Jeff Lapin, Joe Nigro, Brad Roth, Susan Sapp, Mike Schirber, J.L. Spray, Judge Thomas Stine, Martin Swanson, and Terry Wittler; District Four: Christopher Abboud, Mariette Achigbu, Jill Robb Ackerman, William Acosta-Trejo, Van Argyrakis, Judge Joseph Bataillon, Bill Birkel, Brian Blackford, Judge Robert Burkhard, Robert Canella, Jack Cheloha, Sean Connolly, Scott Daniel, Gene Eckel, Brandie Fowler, Jason Grams, John Grant, Kenneth Hartman, Mike Jensen, Matt Kuhse, William Mickle II, Mike Mullin, John Natvig, Bob O Connor, Judge Mike Pirtle, Justin Quinn, Stephanie Shearer, Karine Sokpoh, Susan Spahn, Joy Suder, John Svoboda, Nancy Svaboda, Ashley Trankle, James Welsh and Warren Whitted. From the Fifth District, Judge C.J Petersen and Judge Frank Skorupa. Representatives from the Sixth District included: Jack Erich and Robert Hillis. From the Eighth District, Mike Borders and Frosty Peetz. From the Ninth District, John Rademacher, Mitch Stehlik, and Jim Truell. From the Eleventh District, Steven Herman and Jim Korth and from the Twelfth District, Paul Snyder. Members present from the Executive Council included: President G. Michael Fenner; Presidentelect Amie Martinez; President elect Designate Bob Rossiter; House of Delegates Chair Elect Tim Engler; Past President Marsha Fangmeyer and Past Chair of the House Steve Mattoon as well as Supreme Court District Representatives: First District: Glenda Pierce; Second District: J. Scott Paul; Fourth District: Judge John Irwin; Fifth District: Mike Dunn; and Sixth District Mike McCarthy. Chief Justice Heavican was also in attendance. Also present were a number of Committee and Section Chairs, Legislative Counsel Katie Zullkoski and NSBA Staff, including Executive Director, Liz Neeley, Associate Director, Sam Clinch and Director of Finance and Administration, Mark Vasina. FAIR (Fair and Impartial Retention) Bob O Connor took a moment to discuss FAIR (Fair and Impartial Retention) and their work to respond to an active retention campaign against District Court Judge Mary Gillbride. O Connor called upon members of the House to support FAIR s efforts with a donation. 2

2 Approval of Agenda A motion was made and seconded to approve the agenda. The motion Minutes Minutes of the April 5, 2014 meeting of the House of Delegates were approved. Report of the Nominations Committee Judge Pirtle, Chair of the Nominations Committee reported that: Melany O Brien had been nominated to serve as the Chair-Elect-Designate of the House of Delegates. Frosty Peetz has been nominated to serve a second term on the NSBF Board of Directors along with Anita Mayo. Bob Hillis has stepped down as the NSBA s delegate to the American Bar Association. Warren Whitted was nominated to serve as the next ABA delegate. Mark Weber has stepped down from his position on the House of Delegates (4 th District). The nominations Committee nominated Paul Elofson in his place. A motion was made and seconded to approve the nominations. The motion Pirtle also reported that Tom Maul will serve as the next President-Elect Designate of the NSBA and Kim Robak will serve as the next representative of the 1 st District for the NSBA Executive Council. Annual Report of the President NSBA President Mike Fenner thanked members of the House of Delegates and Executive Council for their service during the course of his Presidency. Fenner reported that a settlement had been reached in the NSBA s federal lawsuit and the case was dismissed with prejudice. Fenner also reported on the unfortunate incident whereby six individuals who took the July bar exam were incorrectly notified of their exam results. A motion was made and seconded to offer to pay the retake fees for the individuals who were misinformed of their bar exam results. The motion Fenner reported that there are a number of individuals who are interested in looking at Nebraska s bar exam pass score and/or reciprocity rules in the near future to determine if a recommendation to the Nebraska Supreme Court to improve the process is warranted. Executive Director Report The Executive Director made written materials available to the House of Delegates. Neeley highlighted the hiring of the NSBA s first Section Facilitator, Lorrie Benson and that the NSBA is in the process of acquiring the exclusive rights to the Nebraska Child Support Calculator, so it can offer it as a free benefit to dues paying members in Reports from the Judiciary Chief Justice Heavican provided a thorough report to the House of Delegates, regarding the activity of the Nebraska Judicial Branch. The Chief Justice Report included discussion on: Seven new judges 3

3 the creation of the Office of Public Guardian the Judicial Branch s new responsibilities regarding juvenile justice and personnel changes within the Judicial Branch; The state s activity and exploration of handling prison overcrowding The Through the Eyes of the Child Initiative The efforts of the Pro Sec Committee The re-establishment of the NSC s Practice and Procedure Committee, to be chaired by the Hon. Riko Bishop That e-filing will eventually become mandatory. Reports from the Court of Appeals, the District Judges Association, the County Court Judges Association and the Juvenile Court Judges Association were made available to the House of Delegates. Reports from the Law School Deans The deans of each law school made written materials available to the House of Delegates. Action on 2013 Audit and Management Response Mark Vasina presented the 2013 Audit to the House of Delegates. A motion was made and seconded to accept the audit. The motion Proposed Revisions to NSBA By-Laws Three proposed revisions to the NSBA By-Laws were reviewed by the House of Delegates. The first revision outlines the deadline for voluntary dues and a grace period before benefits are suspended. It also revises the Legislative Check Off procedure to allow members to deduct that portion from their dues. A motion was made and seconded to approve the revision. The motion The second proposal was related to the Dues Grievance Committee. The Dues Grievance Committee is all about grievances regarding First Amendment freedom of speech rights. Given the new structure of the NSBA, there can no longer be a grievance regarding the infringement of First Amendment rights. It's possible there might be other grievances that a member would have, and would want to air with the NSBA, while not revoking his or her membership. Option A would simply strike the Dues Grievance Committee from the NSBA By-Laws. Option B, retains the Dues Grievance Committee as a mechanism to handle member complaints (unrelated to infringement of First Amendment Rights). After considerable discussion, a motion was made and seconded to amend Option B to indicate that the grievance procedure was available to NSBA members who pay dues to the Association. The motion A motion was made and seconded to approve the amended proposal. The motion 4

4 The third proposal was related to elections. The President Elect Designate and the Chair Elect Designate of the NSBA are selected on a rotational basis. The Omaha area is not defined in the bylaws. The question has been raised, as to whether someone from Sarpy County would be considered as being from Omaha or from Greater Nebraska. The proposed revisions combine Sarpy with Douglas Counties for purposes of elections. A motion was made and seconded to approve the proposal. The motion Proposed Revisions to NSC Rules Three proposed revisions to the NSC Rules were reviewed by the House of Delegates. The first is a clarification to the Purpose and Authority of the NSBA (3-802). It is recommended that the reference that the NSBA is charged with assisting with the collection and distribution of the Nebraska Supreme Courts mandatory membership assessment be deleted. Now that the mandatory membership assessment will be separate from bar dues, this no longer applies. A motion was made and seconded to approve the proposal. The motion The second proposal is in regards to the HOD districts (3-805). In 2011, it was the recommendation of the NSBA Governance Task Force that the House of Delegates districts be reduced from 21 to 12, to conform with the 12 judicial districts. This recommendation was adopted by the House of Delegates but the request to amend the Nebraska Supreme Court Rules was never made. The proposed revision would bring the NSC Rules in line with the 12 districts proposed by the NSBA bylaws. A motion was made and seconded to approve the revision. The motion The final proposal is in regards to the Composition of the Executive Council (3-806). Following the 2011 Governance Report we changed the composition of the Executive Council but never requested that the Court make changes to the Rules. What this means is that the positions of past chair of the House and chair-elect designate of the House are not official positions on the Executive Council. A motion was made and seconded to approve the proposal. The motion NSBA Strategic Plan Over the past several months, the NSBA Executive Council has been working to develop the mission, values, goals and objectives of the NSBA in a strategic plan over the next few years. The plan was presented to the House of Delegates. A motion was made and seconded to approve the plan. The motion Revised 2014 Budget A revised budget for 2014 was presented as approved by the Budget and Planning Committee. No revisions were made. A motion was made and seconded to approve the proposed budget. The motion 5

5 A motion was made and seconded to pay the re-examination fees of the three applicants who were mistakenly informed that they had passed the bar exam when they had not. The motion Proposed 2015 Budget The proposed budget for 2015 was presented as approved by the Budget and Planning Committee. No revisions were made. A motion was made and seconded to approve the proposed budget. The motion Resolution to adopt Voluntary Dues for 2015 In April of 2014, the NSBA By-Laws were amended to allow the House of Delegates to set the rate for voluntary dues to the Association. A resolution establishing the rate for 2015 Voluntary Dues to the Association was presented for the House of Delegates consideration. A motion was made and seconded to approve the resolution. The motion By-Laws of the Law Practice Management Section A motion was made and seconded to recommend the proposed revisions to the By-Laws of the Law Practice Management Section to the House of Delegates. The motion Proposed Revision to the Rules of the Client Assistance Fund A motion was made and seconded to recommend the proposed revisions to the Rules of the Client Assistance Fund that would allow for electronic voting to the House of Delegates. The motion Review of 2014 Legislative Session and Review of Possible 2015 Legislation Legislative Counsel, Katie Zullkoski, provided a recap of the 2014 Legislative Session, current legislative study resolutions and proposed legislation for Report from ABA Delegates The NSBA s delegates to the ABA made written materials available to the House of Delegates regarding action taken at the ABA Annual Meeting. Committee and Section Reports The NSBA s Committee and Sections made written materials available to the House of Delegates. A motion was made and seconded to accept the reports. The motion Seeing no other business, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn. The motion The meeting was adjourned at 11:40 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Liz Neeley 6