Vermont Bar Association Board of Managers Meeting September 9, 2016 VBA Conference Room

Transcription

1 Vermont Bar Association Board of Managers Meeting September 9, 2016 VBA Conference Room Present: Francesca Bove, Tom Durkin, Lauri Fisher, Gary Franklin, Eric Goldwarg, Ben Joseph, Michael Kennedy, Elizabeth Kruska, Dan Maguire, Daniel Richardson, Ted Tyler, Tom Valente, Matt Valerio Guest: Jim Knapp Staff: Teri Corsones, Jennifer Emens-Butler, Lisa Maxfield, Laura Welcome 1. Call to Order: President Mike Kennedy called the meeting to order at 1:17pm 2. Emerging Issues: Tom Valente expressed interest in how the upcoming election will affect the Legislature. Ben Joseph informed the Board that he was successful in the primary and will be on the ballot in November for a seat as a Grand Isle Representative. If he is elected, he invited the Board to feel free to come to him with any questions or concerns in this coming legislative season. Judge Joseph also stated if any Board member has concerns with him serving both in the legislature as well as on the VBA Board of Managers, assuming the October election keeps him on the Board, he would defer to whatever decision the Board makes. He does not feel there would be a conflict if he were to serve in both capacities. Francesca Bove reported that the Young Lawyer s Division is planning a mixer in Burlington in October, but she did not know the location or date yet. She encouraged the Board to attend and encourage other colleagues to attend, whether they are young lawyers or not, as the young lawyers who attend appreciate being able to meet and mingle with experienced attorneys. The YLD is also planning a mixer in Rutland in December. Lisa Maxfield suggested the YLD Board look at the dates of the Justice-Fests already planned for October to make sure there will not be a conflict. Eric Goldwarg added that the YLD is planning a Fun Run for the Spring. (Note: Later in the meeting, Francesca and Eric were notified that the date for the October mixer is October 4 th from 5pm 8pm at Zero Gravity in Burlington.) Tom Durkin announced that Tom Valente was recently appointed to the Character and Fitness Committee. Judge Durkin also stated that the Environmental Court docket is seeing more complex cases, as opposed to neighbor conflicts. Mike Kennedy announced that Francesca Bove has been appointed to the Board of Bar Examiners. 3. Acceptance of Consent Agenda A. Minutes There was a motion to accept the minutes of July 15, Motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

2 B. Treasurer s Report Lisa Maxfield reported that, although expenses are on target (only off by $1) we are $30,000 short of our budget. She noted that Lawyer Referral had much less revenue than normal and provided the Board with yearly comparisons. Lisa stated she and Teri Corsones will meet with Devlin Nicholls to go over the referral processes and will try to identify gaps. A motion was made to accept the new budget as written. Motion was seconded and passed unanimously. C. Report of Executive Committee Nothing to report. D. Board Committee Reports i. Operations Mike Kennedy provided the Board with the tasks and expectations of the Governance Committee and will assign committee members at the next meeting in October. ii. iii. iv. Membership Gary Franklin reported that the Membership Committee met recently and discussed having a directory on the VBA website, as well as members having the ability to update their contact information online. Lisa noted that both the Attorney Directory and Member Updates are already available on the website. Gary also stated the committee discussed whether government lawyers could get a discount on VBA dues, noting that there are some administrative difficulties involved and this may be something to offer only on a group basis. Program & Planning Did not meet. Pro Bono Teri Corsones stated that the committee is currently working on the Pro Bono Conference that is scheduled for October 26 at the State House, which will conclude with a swearing-in ceremony for new lawyers. Teri also noted the ABA Online Legal Assistance Program should be ready soon for attorneys to register. Once we have 30 attorneys signed up we can advertise the program to the general public. She hopes to offer registration opportunities for lawyers at the Annual Meeting. E. President s Report Mike Kennedy reported that the Board of Bar Examiners and the MCLE Board have approved additional VBA digital courses for attorneys waiving in to Vermont and new attorneys. Mike thanked VBA staff for their extensive work on the digital library offerings this summer. Mike suggested keeping Board members on the Board Committees longer than the current 1-year time frame, then rotating everyone to other committees. Mike stated that this will allow committee members to follow through on projects or ideas. Mike asked the Board to let him know which committee they would like to be on before the next Board meeting and he will try to accommodate those requests. Mike noted that Section & Division Chairs need to be appointed and he

3 has been in touch with most current chairs. Mike stated several current chairs have expressed a concern that their section is inactive and they would like help and suggestions to revive them. Teri noted that the new Higher Logic platform may help with this dilemma. Mike also reported that there have been decisions in other states where the Lawyer Referral Service Coordinator has been subpoenaed, and suggested we look at this issue sooner rather than later. Dan Richardson offered to research other states bar association LRS guidelines and will make a suggestion for a possible legislative bill. Mike reminded the Board that there will be a new Judicial Nominating Board and we will need to submit nominees to fill one seat. The nominations will come from the floor at the Annual Meeting Business Meeting on October 14 th. Mike stated that the first Uniform Bar Exam was given in July with a 66% pass rate, the same as in previous years before the UBE. Mike stated there is currently some discussion about having joint administration with New Hampshire, to allow the UBE to be administered at the same location. Mike stated he was recently contacted by Board Member Gavin Boyles who questioned whether the VBA should be sponsoring the Defender General s Annual Training. Matt Valerio stated his office gives VBA members a reduced rate to attend. Lisa Maxfield noted that the VBA sponsors a number of other organizations, including recent sponsorships of the Legal Services Corporation and the Uniform Laws Commission. F. President-Elect s Report See President s Report. G. Executive Director s Report Teri Corsones reported that the Attorney General s Debate went very well. The local public access channel recorded it, so we will have a link to it on our website when it s available. On behalf of the VBA, Teri presented retiring Probate Judge Fowler with a Vermont marble clock in appreciation for her years of service on the bench. Teri would like to start recognizing retiring judges in a similar way going forward. Board members agreed. Planning for the Constitution Day Panel Presentation on September 21 is going well, and a number of lawyers and judges have asked for the recording to use as a template for similar presentations to schools and service clubs around the state. So far, lawyers and judges have requested 700 copies of the Pocket Constitution for distribution in conjunction with presentations. All of the counties have selected dates for Legislator Days, beginning in mid-november through early December. Lawyers with expertise in the criminal, civil, family, probate and juvenile dockets in each county will be identified as resource persons for legislators during the Legislator Days. A spreadsheet check-list will be developed to track the Legislator Day details. Chief Justice Reiber approached Teri with a suggestion to do something in

4 recognition of Martin Luther King Day. Teri suggested teaming the new Diversity Section (described below) with the Young Lawyers Division to coordinate a poster and/or essay contest with local students, with the winner being invited to the State House. Eric Goldwarg and Francesca Bove expressed support for the idea. H. Staff Reports Jennifer Emens-Butler reported that the current registration numbers for Pet Law Day on September 30 th are low and encouraged the Board to promote the program as much as possible. Jennifer noted that she has secured a national speaker for the Solo & Small Firm Conference in May. With Constitution Day coming up, Jennifer stated we are trying to encourage attorneys to go to local schools or community clubs to talk about the US Constitution, and she and Mark Sciarrotta will be going to two schools to talk to 8 th graders. Jennifer informed the Board that the next Journal is almost ready and will include the winner of the cover contest and a caption contest for a cartoon drawn by a local artist-attorney. Lisa reported that Higher Logic is working with Intus Technologies on the login and as soon as that s ready, we will launch the Beta test group. Teri Corsones shared Mary Ashcroft s report: Mary completed and submitted all of the year end VBF grant reports for the county bar legal assistance programs. Each of the programs has been funded for the next grant year. The Legal Access Coordinator position was also funded for the next grant year. There have been 1,191 cases for the different programs in total to date. I. VBF Report Dan Richardson stated there is an uptick in revenue, although revenue is still low. Dan reported that Have Justice Will Travel has been changed from a competitive grantee to a non-competitive grantee. Overall, Dan reported this has been a stable year for the VBF, but a number of VBF Board members are leaving next year and Dan suggested the Board encourage their colleagues to run, or run for a seat themselves if they are interested. J. ATJ Coalition Report Teri reported that the Coalition has applied for a grant to inventory and evaluate legal service providers around the state. She also stated the ABA has a Pro Bono Survey which state bars are being encouraged to circulate. Because the survey is quite lengthy, state bars are also being encouraged to provide some incentive to get people to complete it. 4. Commission on Future of Legal Services Nothing to report. 5. Action A. Enrollments - A motion was made to accept the following persons as members of the Vermont Bar Association: Attorney Members: Matthew A. Bloomer, Esq., Clara Conklin, Esq., Charles Jordan Handy, Esq., Jeffrey J. Hardiman, Esq., Rebecca Heintz, Esq., Sophia Kruszewski, Esq., Edward C.

5 Lawrence, Esq., Yaronit Nordin, Esq., Sabina Peer, Esq., Amber L. Thibeault, Esq., Travis Weaver, Esq., David Weigel, Esq.; Associate Members: Geoffrey R. Bok, Esq., Laura D. Devine, Esq., Jeannette Eicks, Esq., Jacqueline Geddes, Paul J. Groce, Esq., Rachel K. Jones, Johanna Kesterson, Esq., Gail Lawrence, Esq., Phillipa Lilienthal, Esq., Charles Matoesian, Esq., Rebecca L. Mersand, Renee L. Naud, Esq., Hope Pordy, Esq., Holly Poulin, Ronald T. Romeo, Esq., Rex Stratton, Esq., Luke A. Webster. The motion passed unanimously. B. Appoint New NEBA Board Member Mike Kennedy reminded the Board that VBA NEBA Board members are currently Beth Novotny, Matt Valerio, Dan Maguire and Tom Durkin. Tom is the incoming president of NEBA. Mike stated that Dan Maguire wishes to step down from his place on the NEBA Board beginning in October, due to his workload and other commitments. Mike suggested that Bob Paolini be appointed to Dan s seat. A Motion was made to appoint Bob Paolini to fill Dan Maguire s position on the NEBA Board. Tom Valente voiced his concern with handing this position to someone without putting it out to the general membership first. Matt Valerio explained that the NEBA Board is about bar leadership and administration, and not about general membership. As such, Bob Paolini s experience as VBA Executive Director and former NEBA Board member would give our association an advantage in having him in such a position. Matt also noted that Bob has a rapport with the current NEBA Board and is highly respected. Further discussion ensued. The original motion was seconded and passed with three abstentions. C. Discuss Immediate Past President s Seat Mike reminded the Board that effective October 13, 2016, due to Jennifer Emens-Butler stepping down from the Board of Managers to take a staff position at the VBA, there will be no Past-President sitting on the Board of Managers. A motion was made to allow Dan Richardson, current Past-President, to continue as the Past-President for the 2016/2017 fiscal year. Motion was seconded and passed unanimously. D. Title Standards Committee Report on Revised Standards Jim Knapp reported on the Revised Standards and discussed the various updates set forth by the Title Standards Committee. A motion was made to accept the Revised Title Standards as written. Motion passed unanimously. E. New Section Request Teri Corsones stated she was asked by Judge Nancy Waples about starting a VBA Diversity Section. One suggestion for an initial CLE focus for the section would be to provide resource about implicit biases. A motion was made to create a Diversity Section and to ask Judge Waples to chair the section. Motion was seconded and passed unanimously. 6. Executive Session No Executive Session. 7. New Business No new business.

6 8. Old Business Nothing to report. There being no further Old or New Business, it was moved, seconded, and passed that the meeting adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 3:26pm. Respectfully submitted, Laura Welcome Vermont Bar Association