LOUISIANA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION BOARD OF GOVERNORS * M I N U T E S * President Kim M. Boyle called to order the meeting of the Board of Governors of the Louisiana State Bar Association at 9 a.m., Saturday, in New Orleans, Louisiana. After President Boyle asked everyone to observe a moment of silence in memory of former Board of Governors member Donald R. Miller, business was conducted in accordance with the agenda below. Agenda Item 1. Roll Call Present were: President, Kim M. Boyle President-Elect, Michael A. Patterson Secretary, Carrick B. Inabnett Treasurer, Jack K. Whitehead, Jr. Immediate Past President, Elizabeth Erny Foote Chair, Young Lawyers Section, Melanie Mabile Mulcahy First Board District Representative, John H. Musser IV Second Board District Representative, Richard K. Leefe Third Board District Representative, Lawrence P. Simon, Jr. Fourth Board District Representative, John F. Robichaux Fifth Board District Representative, James E. Boren Sixth Board District Representative, Charles D. Elliott Seventh Board District Representative, Charles L. Kincade At-Large Member, Karelia R. Stewart From the Faculty of Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU, John M. Church From the Faculty of Tulane University Law School, Tania C. Tetlow From the Louisiana State Law Institute, J. David Ziober House of Delegates Committee on Liaison Chair, Jeffrey A. Riggs House of Delegates Committee on Liaison Member, Douglas L. Bryan House of Delegates Committee on Liaison Member, C. Kevin Hayes Also present were: President-Elect Nominee, James J. Davidson III Leadership LSBA Class Member, Candace M. Breaux
Page 2 Leadership LSBA Class Member, Katherine G. Eckert Leadership LSBA Class Member, Ashley N. Foret Leadership LSBA Class Member, Lauren B. McKnight Leadership LSBA Class Member, Alejandro R. Perkins Leadership LSBA Class Member, Morgan W. Williams Leadership LSBA Class Member, Zebulon M. Winstead Leadership LSBA Class Member, Bart R. Yakupzack Chair-Elect, Young Lawyers Section, Alainna R. Mire Executive Director, Loretta Larsen, CAE Associate Executive Director for Professional Programs, Cheri Cotogno Grodsky Access to Justice Director, Monte T. Mollere Communications Director, Kelly Wells Ponder Director of Information Technology, Tony LaVerde Director of Member Outreach and Diversity, Kelly McNeil Legier Ethics Counsel, Richard P. Lemmler, Jr. Executive Assistant, Danielle E. Boveland Absent were: First Board District Representative, Beth E. Abramson Eighth Board District Representative, Ronald J. Miciotto At-Large Member, Dana M. Douglas At-Large Member, Cloyd Benjamin, Jr. Agenda Item 2. Introduction of Leadership LSBA 2009/2010 Class Self-introductions were made by the 2009-2010 Leadership LSBA Class. Agenda Item 3. Consent Calendar The following items were included on the Consent Calendar and moved for approval without discussion and/or debate and unanimously approved: a. Approval of Minutes - The minutes of the 2008/2009 Board of Governors meeting from June 11, 2009 and the 2009/2010 Board of Governors meeting from June 12, 2009, both held in Destin, Florida. b. Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization - Annual report to the Board of Governors. c. House of Delegates Appointments - Appointment of Erika F. Anderson from the 36 th Judicial District to fill a vacancy for the 2009/2011 term.
Page 3 Agenda Item 4. Old Business Ms. Larsen reported that lawyer attendance at the 2009 Summer School was down by 77 lawyers, however 288 lawyers and 218 judges attended overall. Ms. Boyle suggested that the decreased attendance was a byproduct of the economy. Agenda Item 5. Nominating Committee Ms. Boyle reported that the Nominating Committee nominated James J. Davidson III of Lafayette as President-Elect 2010/2011, and Mark A. Cunningham of New Orleans as Treasurer 2010-2012. She indicated that the notice of the action of the Nominating Committee would be sent to all members in September, along with qualifying forms for all other open positions. Agenda Item 6. Legislation Committee Mr. Patterson briefly reviewed the final status of those bills on which the LSBA took a position during the 2009 Regular Session. He also reviewed the 2009/2010 Action Plan and alerted Board members to the importance of ensuring the reinstitution of LSC funding during the 2010 Session. He urged Board members to advise the LSBA of their contacts in the Legislature and directed Ms. Larsen to resend the contact form to all Board members. Agenda Item 7. Committees 2009/2010 Ms. Boyle recapped the Committee Leader meeting and noted that each committee had turned in an action plan for the upcoming year. She then asked each Board member, as official committee liaisons, to follow up with the chairs of their respective committees and attend at least two meetings. Each Board member will be asked to make a brief report on their committee(s) at the November Board meeting. Agenda Item 8. Consideration of Any Item(s) Removed from Consent Calendar No items were removed from the Consent Calendar. Agenda Item 9. Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization Mr. Church moved to approve recommendation of the following individuals for the designated positions on the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization: appointment of Kendrick J. Guidry to replace David S. Sigler, and reappointment of Peter A. Landry and William C. Kalmack III to each serve an additional term. Upon second, the motion passed unanimously.
Page 4 Agenda Item 10. Committee on Bar Admissions Mr. Elliot moved that Bernadette G. D Souza be recommended to the Louisiana Supreme Court for appointment to the Character and Fitness Subcommittee. Upon second, the motion passed unanimously. Agenda Item 11. 2011 Annual Meeting Site Selection Mr. Patterson asked the Board for permission to expand the 2011 Annual Meeting bid process to include several Las Vegas hotels. He noted that attendance increased at the 2005 Annual Meeting held in Las Vegas. Ms. Foote suggested notifying the Supreme Court that the Bar is considering Las Vegas as the site of the 2011 Annual Meeting. Mr. Riggs motioned to authorize Mr. Patterson to explore alternative locations along with Sandestin for the 2011 Annual Meeting, and a brief discussion followed. The question was called and the motion passed unanimously. Agenda Item 12. Tracie J. Jackson MCLE Appeal Ms. Larsen reported that the Executive Committee recommends denying Ms. Jackson s appeal, noting that she failed to comply with MCLE rules. Upon motion and second, the Executive Committee s recommendation was approved with no opposition. Agenda Item 13. Military Law Committee Request Ms. Boyle reported that this matter would be referred to the Bar Governance Committee, as it required amendments to the Association s governing documents. Agenda Item 14. Louisiana Civil Justice Center Ms. Foote recapped the proposed amendments to the Louisiana Civil Justice Center s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, and then moved to approve the amendments and the appointments to the Center s 2009/2010 Board of Directors. Upon second, the motion passed unanimously. Agenda Item 15. Member Benefit Programs a. Affinity Circles - The Executive Committee has deferred discussion on Affinity Circles until its next meeting, at which time it will review additional information on corresponding staffing needs.
Page 5 b. Boxwood Online Career Centers - The Executive Committee has deferred discussion on the Career Centers until Boxwood provides responses to a number of questions it has posed. Agenda Item 16. Report of the President a. Leadership LSBA 2009/2010 Orientation President Boyle reintroduced the Leadership LSBA Class to the Board and stated that the Class had successfully completed their Orientation on August 21, 2009. b. Law School Professionalism Programs President Boyle reported that the law students and law schools were very receptive to the program, and noted that Ms. Foote had accepted the E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award at the 2009 ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago. c. Committee Appointments and Board of Governors Liaisons to Committees President Boyle reminded each Board member to follow up with the chairs of the committees to which they serve as Board Liaison. d. November 2009 Meeting President Boyle announced that the next Board of Governors meeting will take place on November 7, 2009 in Baton Rouge, with a dinner at the home of Mike Patterson and Christine Lipsey on November 6. e. Appointment of Audit Committee President Boyle announce that Ms. Foote has agreed to serve as chair of the Audit Committee and that Mr. Musser and Ms. Douglas would also serve on the Committee. f. Other Matters There were no other matters to discuss. Agenda Item 17. Report of the President-Elect Mr. Patterson noted that the new LSBA tagline, Serving the Public, Serving the Profession, will be institutionalized and integrated into all LSBA marketing materials. Agenda Item 18. Report of the Secretary Mr. Inabnett reported that the first live meeting of the Bar Journal Editorial Board will take place in September and invited the Leadership LSBA Class to let him know if they were interested in serving. Agenda Item 19. Report of the Treasurer Mr. Whitehead reported that the Bar s investment performance continues to improve.
Page 6 Agenda Item 20. Report of the Immediate Past President Ms. Foote reported that she had attended the Professionalism Consortium in Chicago earlier in the month. She noted that the ABA is exploring the possibility of requiring programs similar to the LSBA s Admissions Education Initiative for law school accreditation. Ms. Foote also noted that the Access to Justice Committee has restructured and will be working on implementation of its strategic plan. Agenda Item 21. Report of the Young Lawyers Chair Ms. Mulcahy reported on a number of ongoing YLS programs and initiatives, including Wills for Heroes, the Professional Development Seminar, and the High School Mock Trial competition. She noted that this year s high school essay contest has been moved to October; the contest will require students to identify one Louisiana law that should be changed and explain why the change is needed. Ms. Mulcahy also reported that Jamie D. Seymour has been chosen as the new chair of the Barristers for Boards program and that individuals have been placed on several non-profit organization boards. Agenda Item 22. Report of the Executive Director Ms. Larsen reported that the Bar is doing well administratively. The Bar is under budget in all departments and employee evaluations are being completed. Ms. Larsen also announced that two new staff members had been hired: Jonathan Rhodes as the Access to Justice Training Coordinator and Whitney Hymel as the Program Coordinator for Meetings and Events. Agenda Item 23. Report of the Associate Executive Director Ms. Grodsky submitted a written report. She also noted that there are two vacancies to be filled in the professional Programs Department: Professional Programs Counsel for Law Office Management and Practice Assistance/Ethics Secretary. Agenda Item 24. Other Matters Ms. Larsen reported that there is a push to make members email addresses public information. Implementation of this change would require notation on the Attorney Registration Statement that email addresses are public information. The Bar will work with the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board and the Louisiana Supreme Court to explore such a change beginning with the 2010/2011 statements.
Page 7 EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board went into Executive Session at 10:55 a.m. Agenda Item 25. Litigation Update and Public Records Requests The Executive Session concluded at 11:15 a.m. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 11:15 a.m. Respectfully submitted: Carrick B. Inabnett Secretary APPROVED BY BOARD OF GOVERNORS NOVEMBER 7, 2009 BATON ROUGE, LA