NEBRASKA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF DELEGATES. Minutes

Transcription

1 NEBRASKA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF DELEGATES Minutes January 30, :00 a.m. Embassy Suites, Lincoln The House of Delegates of the Nebraska State Bar Association met on Thursday January 30, The meeting was called to order by Chair of the House, Tim Engler. Members present, in addition to Chair Engler were: First District: Michael Dunn and James Nelson; Second District: Julie Bear, Angi Burmeister, and PaTricia Freeman; Third District: John Freudenberg, Jim Gordon, Ed Hoffman, Millissa Johnson- Wiles, Susan Kirchmann, Brian Kruse, Jeffrey Lapin, Amie Martinez, William Mickle II, Joe Nigro, Bruce Prenda, and Judge Tom Stine. District Four: Chris Abboud, Van Argyrakis, Judge Robert Burkhard, Robert Canella, Joel Carney, Jack Cheloha, Sean Connolly, Scott Daniel, Paul Elofson, G. Michael Fenner, Jason Grams, Kenneth Hartman, Alyson Mendoza, John Natvig, Judge Michael Pirtle, Justin Quinn, Robert Rossiter, Susan Spahn, Joy Suder, John Svoboda, and Warren Whitted. From the Fifth District, Judge C.Jo Petersen. From the Sixth District, John Erich. From the Seventh District, Ron Temple. From the Eighth District, Frosty Peetz. From the Ninth District, Jim Truell. From the 10 th District, Robert Parker. From the Eleventh District, Steven Herman and Robert Reynolds. From the Twelfth District, Paul Snyder. Members present from the Executive Council included: President Amie C. Martinez; President Elect Bob Rossiter; President Elect-Designate Tom Maul; House of Delegates Chair Tim Engler; House of Delegates Chair Elect, Robert Parker; House of Delegates Chair Elect-Designate, Melany O Brien; Past President G. Michael Fenner and Past Chair of the House Joel Carney as well as Supreme Court District Representatives: Second District: J. Scott Paul; Fifth District: Mike Dunn; and Sixth District Mike McCarthy. Also present were a number of Committee and Section Chairs, Legislative Counsel Bill Mueller and Katie Zullkoski and Chair of the Legislation Committee, Jon Braaten. NSBA staff present included Executive Director, Liz Neeley, Associate Director, Sam Clinch and Director of Finance and Administration, Mark Vasina. 1

2 Minutes A motion was made and seconded to approve the October 9, 2014 minutes. The motion carried. Chair of the House of Delegates Report Chair of the House, Tim Engler reported on the activity of the Judicial Resources Commission (JRC). The JRC voted to fill the vacancy created by the death of Judge Offner in the 10 th Judicial District with the principal office located in Hastings. The JRC has been notified that Lancaster County District Court Judge Paul Merrit will be retiring effective March 31, Engler reported that the NSBA election process will begin this spring. Elections will be held for the President Elect Designate, candidates for this position must be from Douglas/Sarpy Counties. Elections will also be held for the third and fourth districts for the NSBA Executive Council and for the odd districts of the House of Delegates. Engler reminded the body that the NSBA does have an attendance policy. Engler reported that there were several members who had missed three consecutive meetings and that he would be following up with them personally. The NSBA attendance policy indicates that four consecutive absences results in the seat being vacated. Engler did report that John Lennich has resigned as a member of the House of Delegates. Mr. Lennich decided not to pay dues to the NSBA and did not feel that he should continue serving on the House as a non-dues payer. President Report NSBA President Amie Martinez reported that in terms of dues collection, the NSBA has collected 90% of what it needs in order to reach its 2015 budget. Martinez reported on the Executive Council s efforts to meet with law firms across the state and personally thanked the Attorney General s Office for their support. Martinez encouraged 100% participation by House of Delegates members to be dues paying members. Recognizing that the agenda for the House of Delegates meeting largely focused on legislation Martinez took a moment to thank the Legislation Committee for their service to the NSBA. Executive Director Report The Executive Director s Report was included in the meeting materials. Neeley reported that the NSC declined to take action on the NSBA s petition to the Court 2

3 to amend the Rules of Professional Conduct to specifically prohibit an attorney from using a third party s immigration status for the purpose of intimidation coercion or obstructing a person from participating in a civil matter. Neeley also announced that the NSBA has hired a new CLE Director, Sara Hughes. Rural Practice Initiative Update Lyle Koenig discussed the formation of the Rural Practice Initiative Advisory Council chaired by himself and Paul Snyder. The NSBA will be hosting an interview event for law student and attorneys interested in opportunities for rural practice. The event will be held in Kearney Nebraska at 12:00 on February 20 th and will be followed by a reception. Members of the House of Delegates, particularly those who practice in rural Nebraska are encouraged to attend. Koenig also discussed the ABA grant and 2015 bus tour, which will visit the Scottsbluff, Alliance, Chadron area. Bar Admissions Standards Committee Tricia Freeman reported on the Bar Admissions Standards Committee established by President Martinez. The Committee, chaired by Kim Robak, has met once and has three other meetings scheduled. The Committee hopes to define the purpose of the bar exam and determine whether the current process and procedures in place achieve that purpose or whether the NSBA should consider petitioning the Nebraska Supreme Court to make revisions. More specifically, the Committee is exploring Nebraksa s cut scores (compared to neighboring and other UBE states) as well as the reciprocity rules that are currently in place. The Committee hopes to being formulating a report in June of 2015 for the House of Delegates consideration in October. Mendoza inquired whether character and fitness was within the scope of the Bar Admission Standards Committee. Freeman responded that it was not. Annual Meeting Laura Essay chair of the Annual Meeting Committee, discussed the efforts of the Committee s charge to reinvent the NSBA Annual meeting. The Committee is focused on reformatting the social events of the Annual meeting in an effort to provide opportunities to celebrate the profession and foster networking and collegiality among attorneys. The 2015 Annual meeting is scheduled for October 7-9 at Embassy Suites LaVista. Essay reported that the 2015 General Session speaker will be Travis Tygert, the attorney responsible for the investigation of Lance Armstrong. Essay also reported that the Leadership Academy Reception, the President s Reception and the Young Lawyers Late Night Reception will be rolled into one event on October 8 th. The event will recognize 2015 NSBA award 3

4 winners, recognize the efforts of NSBA leadership and provide an evening of entertainment including karaoke and casino games. NSBA Financial Report Mark Vasina presented the NSBA financial report for NSBA Investment Policy Proposed revisions to the NSBA s Investment Objectives, Policies and Restrictions were disseminated to the House of Delegates along with a proposed By-Laws revision that would establish an Investment Subcommittee to research and make recommendations to the NSBA s Budget and Planning Committee, regarding the NSBA s investments. Jeff Lapin recommended that members of the Investment Subcommittee and the Budget and Planning Committee be required to sign a conflict of interest form. A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval of the NSBA Investment Objectives, Policies and Restrictions. The motion carried. A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval of the NSBA By-Law Revisions establishing an Investment Subcommittee. The motion carried. Legislative Committee Legislation Committee Chair, Jon Braaten presented the Legislation Committee s recommended position on 35 bills. Below are the bills where the House of Delegates approved motions to modify the recommended position of either the Legislation Committee or Executive Council: A motion was made and seconded to support LB 195 with additional comment to require all banks to post and list the office for service, not just banks with a charter in Nebraska. The motion carried. A motion was made and seconded to change the position LB 620 from remove from the list to monitor. The motion carried. A motion was made and seconded to change the position on LB 244 from monitor to support. The motion failed. A motion was made and seconded to change the position on LB 605 from monitor to support. The motion failed. A motion was made and seconded to change the position from LB 27 from oppose to monitor. After discussion, the motion was withdrawn as was the second. A motion was made to change the position on LB 648 from monitor to support. There was not a second. 4

5 A motion was made and seconded to change the position on LB 406 from monitor to oppose. The motion carried. A motion was made and seconded to adopt all the other positions recommended by the Legislation Committee. NSBA Bylaws Revisions A proposed By-Laws revision establishing an ABA Delegate as an ex-officio member of the NSBA Executive Council was disseminated. A motion was made and seconded to adopt the proposed revisions. The motion carried. Young Lawyers Section Bylaws Revisions Proposed By-Laws revisions to the Young Lawyers Section By-Laws regarding the composition of the Young Lawyers Section Executive Committee were disseminated. A motion was made and seconded to adopt the proposed revisions. The motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:46 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth Neeley 5