State Bar Annual Meeting Includes Possible Improvement To Lawyer Discipline Process

A few years back I got quite a surprise from the Georgia Supreme Court--an order appointing me as a special master in a lawyer discipline case.

I had some idea what this would entail, but I really didn't know the specific ins and outs of such a task or where to get the information.

My first thought was to contact the Supreme Court, where I had previously worked as its public information officer. The clerks had no information for me and suggested that I contact the State Bar.

That seemed a peculiar proposition, given that the State Bar prosecutes lawyer discipline cases. It seemed inappropriate to make ex parte contact with the prosecutor.

Nonetheless, I did inquire and found that they had a somewhat helpful notebook of information that had been provided at a training session more than a year before--and that there were no upcoming training sessions.

The result was that I was headed off pretty much on my own on a case that led to the Supreme Court's disbarment of a lawyer, who later unsuccessfully sued me and the State Bar in federal court for allegedly violating his civil rights.

There is a proposal on Saturday's Board of Governors agenda that might be a step toward giving future special masters a little more guidance navigating their way through the disciplinary process.

General Counsel Paula Frederick sent an email to BOG members who have served as special masters to explain the recommendation for a Coordinating Special Master. She explained:

"Each of you likely remembers the moment you discovered that the Supreme Court had selected you for service as a special master.  Other than reviewing the Bar Rules, there was little you could do to prepare for the job.  Since this office serves as prosecutor in disciplinary cases, we are not in a position to provide special masters with advice or support.  Most special masters do a good job, but I hope you agree that the process could be improved with more consistent training, monitoring and mentoring for our volunteers.
 
"The Coordinating Special Master would be a part-time contractor position; likely a practitioner who also maintains a law practice in addition to working as the Coordinating Special Master.   The proposal calls for the CSM to be selected by a hiring committee composed of the second, third and fourth past-presidents of the Bar.  The hiring committee would also set the hourly compensation rate for the position.  The CSM will maintain the list of possible special masters (currently maintained by the Court), appoint a special master for each new disciplinary case, and monitor the progress of each case to ensure that matters are handled expeditiously.   The CSM could also act as a special master himself, most likely in emergency suspension cases.  The position will be shared with the Office of Bar Admissions, so that the CSM will serve a similar role in selecting and monitoring hearing officers for Bar Fitness cases (there are fewer than 10 such cases per year).
 
"The budget for the 2011-2012 Bar year includes a provisional $25,000 for this position, should it be approved."

According to Rudolph N. Patterson, chairperson of the General Counsel's Overview Committee, the "proposal is the result of a two-year review of the disciplinary process."

This looks to me like a tiny baby step in the right direction and I look forward to learning more at the meeting.

Below you will find the agendas for the Friday and Saturday meetings. Internet access permitting, I'll keep you posted on developments this weekend.

http://www.gabar.org/news/2011_state_bar_annual_meeting_myrtle_beach_sc_june_2-5/
236th BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING
& 2011 ANNUAL MEMBERS' MEETING
9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon, Friday, June 3, 2011
Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

AGENDA
1) ADMINISTRATION
a) Call to Order -- Lester Tate, President 2010-2011
b) Recognition of Past Presidents and Judges -- Lester Tate
c) Recognition of Special Guests -- Lester Tate
d) Recognition of Retiring Executive Committee Members and Board of Governors Members -- Lester Tate
e) Recognition of Sponsors -- Lester Tate
f) Roll Call (by signature) -- Robin Clark, Secretary, 2010-2011
g) Minutes of the 229th Meeting of the Board of Governors, April 16, 2011 (action) -- Robin Clark
h) Future Meetings Schedule -- Lester Tate
2) AWARDS - The award recipients are listed in a separate brochure.
3) ANNUAL MEMBERS' MEETING - All active State Bar of Georgia members are invited to attend and vote in the Annual Members' Meeting.
(a) Action
(1) Bylaw Article I, Section 4. Members' Failure to Register -- Bob McCormack
(b) Informational Reports
(1) Memorials -- Lester Tate
(2) Investigative Panel -- Joe Dent
(3) Review Panel -- Tony Askew, Wendell Horne
(4) Formal Advisory Opinion Board -- Lester Tate
(c) Special Reports
(1) Supreme Court of Georgia -- The Honorable Carol Hunstein, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Georgia
(2) Court of Appeals of Georgia -- The Honorable John Ellington, Chief Judge, Court of Appeals of Georgia
(3) Georgia Law Department -- Sam Olens, Attorney General
(4) Georgia Senate -- Senator Bill Hamrick, chair, Senate Judiciary Committee
(5) Georgia House of Representatives -- Representative Wendell Willard, chair, House Judiciary Committee; Representative Edward Lindsey, House Majority Whip
(6) President's Address -- Lester Tate (Introduction by Bryan Cavan)
4) ADJOURNMENT - Board Members will meet again at 9:00 a.m. Saturday, June 4, 2011


237th BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING
9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon, Saturday, June 4, 2011
Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

AGENDA
1) ADMINISTRATION
a) Call to Order -- Lester Tate, President 2010-2011, Presiding -- Kenneth L. Shigley, President 2011-2012 
b) Pledge of Allegiance -- Myles Eastwood
c) Invocation -- Karlise Grier
d) Recognition of Former Presidents, Judges and Special Guests -- Kenneth L. Shigley
e) Welcome to New Officers and Board Members -- Kenneth L. Shigley
f) Roll Call (by signature) -- Patrise Perkins-Hooker, Secretary, 2011-2012
2) CONSENT AGENDA (Unanimous consent items. Any item may be moved from Consent Agenda to Action Items agenda upon request of any member of the Board of Governors)
a) State Disciplinary Boards
(1) Announcement of Nonlawyer Appointments (information) -- Dr. Elizabeth King
(2) Approval of Lawyer Members (action)
(a) Investigative Panel -- Hubert J. Bell Jr., Delia Crouch

(b) Review Panel
J. Robert Persons, Northern District
Jeffrey Monroe, Middle District
Sharri Edenfield, Southern District
Walter Hood, MD (lay member, nominated by Supreme Court)

(c) Formal Advisory Opinion Board
b) Approval of 2011-12 Standing, Special and Program Committees (action)
c) Executive Director Election (2011-2012)
Cliff Brashier

d) Georgia Legal Services Appointments (action) (2-year terms: 6/11 - 6/13)
Reappointments
(a) Damon Elmore, Atlanta
(b) Elena Kaplan, Atlanta

New Members
(a) Replacement for Mark Dehler
(b) Replacement for Leigh Wilco

e) 2011-2012 State Bar Election Schedule (action)
f) Future Meeting Schedule (information)
g) Authorization for President to Secure Blanket Position Bonds for Officers and Staff (action)
h) Designation of Depositories for General Operations of State Bar of Georgia (action)
i) Employment of Independent Auditing Firm to Audit Financial Records of State Bar for FY 2010 (action)
j) Executive Committee Minutes (information)
(1) March 11, 2011
(2) April 21, 2011
3) PRESIDENT'S REMARKS 2011-12 Program -- Kenneth L. Shigley
4) TREASURER'S REPORT -- Buck Ruffin, Treasurer
5) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTION (Keep nominations to 5 minutes. Please keep seconds to 2 minutes.)
a) One-Year Term 2011-2012
1) unexpired term of Patrise Perkins-Hooker
b) Two-Year Term 2011-2013 (group election)
1) expired term of David Lipscomb
2) expired term of Bob Kaufman
3) expired term of Nancy Whaley
6) INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
a) Proposed Juvenile Code (to be legislative action item on 8/18/11) -- Sharon Hill
b) Proposed Uniform Rule of Electronic Filing (to be action item on 8/18/11) -- Hon. Diane Bessen

c) Proposed Amendments to Fee Arbitration Rules (to be action item on 8/18/11) -- David Lipscomb

d) YLD -- Stephanie Kirijan, YLD President 2011-12
e) Legislation -- Lester Tate, Tom Boller, Rusty Sewell, Charlie Tanksley
f) ABA -- Allan Tanenbaum, Linda Klein
g) Georgia Bar Foundation and Lawyers Foundation of Georgia -- Hon. Patsy Porter, Laurel Payne Landon
7) ACTION
a) 2011-2012 State Bar Budget -- Buck Ruffin, Chris Phelps
b) Disciplinary Rules -- Bob McCormack
(1) Rule 4-109 (Refusal or Failure to Appear for Reprimand; Suspension)
(2) Rule 4-402 (Formal Advisory Opinion Board)
(3) Rule 5.5 (UPL, Multijurisdictional Practice of Law) as revised
(4) Rule 4-209 (and related changes to other rules necessary to create a Coordinating Special Master) -- Rudolph Patterson

8) WRITTEN REPORTS
a) Consumer Assistance Program Report
b) Fee Arbitration Report
c) Law Practice Management Report
d) Law-Related Education Report (Bar Leader article)
e) Unauthorized Practice of Law Report
f) Transition Into Law Practice Management Report
g) Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism Report
h) Election Results
i) Medical Insurance (BPC Financial)
j) Georgia Legal Services Program (Budget)
k) Georgia Bar Association and State Bar of Georgia Presidents
l) LexisNexis EZ Law
m) Military Legal Assistance Program Report
n) Section Annual Reports
Appellate Practice Law Section
Business Law Section
Corporate Counsel Section
Creditors' Rights Section
Employee Benefits Section
Family Law Section
Fiduciary Law Section
Franchise and Distribution Law Section
General Practice and Trial Section
Judicial Section
Labor & Employment Law Section
Nonprofit Law Section
Real Property Law Section
Technology Law Section
Tort and Insurance Practice Section
Workers' Compensation Section
9) CLOSING

a) Old Business -- Kenneth L. Shigley
b) New Business -- Kenneth L. Shigley
c) Remarks, Questions/Answers, Comments & Suggestions
d) Adjournment
e) Pictures (very important)
Immediately following the meeting, all new Board of Governors members are requested to meet with Sarah Coole in the front of the room for pictures. Current members who wish to have their pictures updated are also invited to stop by. Also, the 2011-2012 Officers and Executive Committee will have their annual group photograph.