Board of Governor Meeting October 20, Action Agenda Item #1 Minutes

Transcription

1 Board of Governor Meeting October 20, 2017 Action Agenda Item #1 Minutes

2 Board of Governors Meeting LeMeridien Chicago Oak Brook, Illinois July 21, 2017 MINUTES Board Members Present: Hartigan, McCluskey, Sosin, Orsey, Cornelius, Beisinger, Davis, Doherty, Duignan, Durkin, Fruehling, Gaertner, George Stewart, Gill, Johnson, Kasserman, Krolikowska, LaRose, Menaker, O Brien, Rochford, Wawrzynek, Weiler, White, Williams, and Wright. Board Members Absent: None (one Board seat vacant) Others Present: Browder, President of the Illinois Bar Foundation, Crawford, Chair of the Delivery of Legal Services Committee, and Anderson, Executive Director Illinois Bar Foundation, Vetri, Member. Staff Present: Craghead, Executive Director, Covington, Director of Legislative Affairs, Northrup, General Counsel, and Weaver, Assistant to the Executive Director. President Hartigan called the meeting to order and presided throughout. * SPECIAL SETTING New Board Member Introductions A. Board Member Fruehling introduced and welcomed new Board Member Beisinger. B. Board Member Krolikowska introduced and welcomed new Board Member Johnson. C. Board Member Hartigan introduced and welcomed new Board Member Kasserman. D. Board Member Duignan introduced and welcomed new Board Member LaRose. E. Board Member George Stewart introduced and welcomed new Board Member White. 1. Minutes A. Board Meeting Motion duly made, seconded and carried to approve the Minutes of the May 19, 2017 meeting as revised. B. Executive Session Motion duly made, and seconded to go into Executive Session for the sole purpose of approving the Executive Session Minutes of the May 19, 2017 Executive Session.

3 [N.B. Executive Session minutes approved, and motion made, seconded, and approved to return to regular session.] 3. President s Report President Hartigan welcomed the Board members. President Hartigan referenced his recent President s page for a description of anticipated activities in He congratulated Executive Director Craghead on his upcoming installation as President of the National Association of Bar Executives. He also directed the Board s attention to the ISBA s newly designed Practice HQ as a source of practical law practice information for members, as well as the initiation of the new Privacy and Information Security Law section. 8. Administrative Matters Each member of the Board was requested to read, sign and return a copy of the ISBA Conflict of Interest Policy provided with the agenda materials. 10. Professional Ethics Opinions President Hartigan called upon General Counsel Northrup to discuss an ethics opinion that had been recommended for approval by the Board. General Counsel Northrup provided background information and the recommendation of the Professional Conduct Committee with respect to proposed ethics opinion 17-05, which addressed the ethical duties of in-house corporate counsel. Motion made, seconded and carried to approve opinion Elections A. Secretary For the one year term as Association Secretary, the name of Elizabeth Rochford was placed in nomination. Motion made, seconded and carried to close nominations, and Elizabeth Rochford was declared elected. B. Treasurer For the one year term as Association Treasurer, the names of Bridget Duignan and Kenneth Wright were placed in nomination. Motion made, seconded and carried to close nominations. After secret ballot, Bridget Duignan was declared elected. C. Scope & Correlation Committee For the seven open seats on the Board s Scope and Correlation Committee, the names of Chuck Davis, Nora Doherty, Bridget Duignan, Al Durkin, Kent Gaertner, Ava George Stewart, Anna Krolikowska, Pamela Menaker, Sonni Williams, and Kenneth Wright were placed in nomination. Motion made, seconded, and carried to close nominations. After secret ballot, Nora Doherty, Bridget Duignan, Ava George Stewart, Kent Gaertner, Anna Krolikowska, Pamela Menaker, and Sonni Williams were declared elected.

4 D. Board of Governors, Area VIII To fill the vacancy resulting from the election of Dennis Orsey as ISBA Third Vice-President, nominations of eligible members had been sought through a formal notice to the membership. Members who nominated themselves were: Brad Bagley, Mathew Benson, Daniel Bronke, Perry Browder, Roza Gossage, George Marifian, J. David Sanders, Jennifer Shaw, Tom Speedie, Shira Truitt, Kristi Vetri, and Lois Wood. As presiding officer, President Hartigan outlined the election process which would involve three rounds of voting. After the first secret ballot, the five candidates receiving the most votes from the twelve candidates were: Perry Browder, Jennifer Shaw, Shira Truitt, Kristi Vetri, and Lois Wood. The Board was then instructed to vote for two of these five candidates. After the second secret ballot, the two candidates receiving the most votes from the five candidates were: Perry Browder and Shira Truitt. The Board was then instructed to vote for one of these two candidates. After the third secret ballot, Perry Browder was declared elected. E. Assembly To fill a vacancy in the 18 th Circuit for a two-year term, nominations of eligible members had been sought through a formal notice to the membership. Only one member nominated himself, Richard Veenstra. Pursuant to paragraph 3.8(a) of the Association s Policy and Procedures on Association Elections, Richard Veenstra was declared elected. To fill two vacancies in Cook County, a one year term and a two-year term, nominations of eligible members had been sought through a formal notice to the membership. Members who nominated themselves were: Yekaterina Chudnovsky, Khara Coleman, Burton Gross, Robert Karton, Jill O Brien, and Evan Schanerberger. As presiding officer, President Hartigan outlined the election process. He indicated that the candidate receiving the most votes would be elected to the twoyear term and the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes would be elected to the one-year term. After secret ballot, Jill O Brien was declared elected to the two-year term, and Evan Schanerberger was declared elected to the one-year term. F. Illinois Bar Foundation 1. IBF Report. President Hartigan called upon Perry Browder, IBF President, to address the Board. President Browder described the work of the IBF and its recent successes. He noted the Foundation s efforts to engage in a three year strategic plan, increase its efforts to reach out to underserviced areas of the state, and expand its grant making activities. He encouraged the Board members to continue to support and build the Foundation, and also to share thoughts and ideas with the IBF. David Anderson, IBF Executive Director, also addressed the Board. He expressed thanks to the IBF staff for a number of successful events. He also updated the Board on the IBF s Justice Corps project, including its expansion into 10 courthouses around the state as well as the continuing support of the project from the Access to Justice Commission.

5 2. ISBA Presidential Appointments. President Hartigan announced his reappointment of ISBA Board members Bridget Duignan and Sonni Williams to the IBF Board for one year terms. 3. ISBA Board Reappointments. President Hartigan asked the Board to confirm the reappointment of six district IBF Board members for two-year terms including: David Berek, Ava George Stewart, Michael Warner, Keith Emmons, Greg Shevlin, and Rory Weiler. Motion made, seconded and carried to confirm the referenced reappointments. 59. Standing Committee on Amicus President Hartigan called upon General Counsel Northrup to present a recommendation from the Amicus Committee to join with the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in filing an amicus brief with the Illinois Supreme Court in In re Marriage of Goesel, 2017 IL App (3d) General Counsel Northrup described the relevant issue involving whether, under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, a court can compel a lawyer for one spouse to turn over or disgorge attorney fees already paid and earned by the lawyer to the opposing spouse s lawyer. There is a split of authority on the issue in the Illinois Appellate Court. The Amicus Committee and the Family Law Section Council recommend joining with the AAML and urging the Court to hold that such disgorgement is not authorized under the Marriage and Dissolution Act. Board member Weiler spoke in favor of the recommendation. Motion made, seconded and carried to join with the AAML in filing an amicus brief. Board members Gill, O Brien, Rochford, and Wright did not participate in the discussion or voting. 65. Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services President Hartigan called upon Sandra Crawford, Chair of the Delivery of Legal Services Committee and Board member Wawrzynek to address the Board concerning e-filing rules applicable to self-represented litigants. Chair Crawford and Board member Wawrzynek referenced the January 1, 2018 effective date for mandatory e-filing in Illinois circuit courts and described a growing concern about the lack of any accommodation for self-represented litigants who may not have access to electronic means to file court documents or may not fully recognize the significance of disclosing certain information during the filing process. The Delivery of Legal Services Committee, joined by the Committee on Legal Technology, requested that the Association convey these concerns to the Illinois Supreme Court and request that it provide relief from the e-filing requirements for self-represented litigants. The Board engaged in a broad discussion of the issue. Topics included the readiness of circuit courts to accommodate e-filing by the January 1, 2018 deadline, exceptions for self-represented litigants in many other state s e-filing rules, preserving the ability of self-

6 represented litigants to file electronically if they have the means to do so, and whether a specific plan from other stakeholders exists to present to the Court. Motion made, seconded and carried for the Association to request that the Illinois Supreme Court provide an exception for self-represented litigants with regard to mandatory e-filing requirements until such time as the potential impacts and effects of such e-filing on self-represented litigants can be considered and plans developed, if necessary, for addressing such issues. 78. Legislation President Hartigan called upon Director of Legislative Affairs Covington to address the Board. A. ABA Resolution 102B Director Covington provided background on the Animal Law Section Council s recommendation that the ISBA support ABA Resolution 102B that urges states and units of local government to adopt, implement, or both the trap neuter vaccinate return program for community cats. After discussion, motion made, seconded and carried to support the ABA Resolution. B. Senate Bill 326 Director Covington presented the question of whether the Association should take a position on S.B. 326, specifically whether the Association should recommend that the Governor amendatorily veto it. The Bill expands the definition of lienholders entitled to protection under the Mechanics Lien Act to registered interior designers. Director Covington discussed the pros and cons of the Bill, and the proposed veto. He noted that the Association s Construction Law and Real Estate Section Councils unanimously opposed the Bill. After discussion, motion made, seconded and carried to take no position Special Committee on Gun Violence Director Covington provided a synopsis of the purpose of the Association s Special Committee on Gun Violence, and the efforts of stakeholders to bring attention to this issue. Director Covington noted that the ISBA s role to date was to support the efforts of the Chicago Bar Association and the American Bar Association, which were particularly focused on Chicago, but to bring attention to the idea that this is a statewide issue as well Other Matters A. Proposed Lead Generation Rule President Hartigan called upon General Counsel Northrup to provide a brief update of the status of the Board s previously approved lead generation rule. General Counsel Northrup noted the status of this issue, including recent meetings with the Court s Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission and the Association s Standing Committee on the ARDC.

7 B. Distinguished Counselors Motion made, seconded and carried to approve the Class of 2017 Distinguished Counsellors (list attached to the agenda). There being no other further business, motion made, seconded, and carried to adjourn the meeting. Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth Rochford, Secretary