Legislative Issues on Tap for Fall BOG Meeting

A variety of legislative issues are on the agenda for the Fall 2012 meeting of the State Bar of Georgia's Board of Governors to be held at the Jekyll Island Club on Saturday October 27, 2012. You can see the agenda and a lot of the supporting information on line at the following web address: http://www.gabar.org/committeesprogramssections/boardofgovernors/upload/Fall2012_boardbook.pdf. Among the issues to be considered are: 1. A request for $2.5 million to be appropriated by the state to provide services for victims of domestic violence. 2. A proposal to modify the uniform statutory rule against perpetuities to change the vesting period from 90 years to 360 years. This would make Georgia consistent with surrounding states. 3. An update to the Uniform Commercial Code Article 9. 4. A proposal to prohibit transfer fee covenants. 5. A request for $800,000 in funding for the Georgia Appellate Resource Center, which provides post-conviction legal services in death penalty cases. This is the same amount currently budgeted for Fiscal Year 2012. If you need more information on any of these items, you can find it at the link to the on-line agenda. Also at that link is a report on the State Bar's legislative activities for the 2012 session of the Georgia General Assembly. In addition, there is a history of the State Bar's involvement with "tort reform" legislation since 1972. Another item of interest involves Villaneuva et al. v. First American Title Insurance Co., Supreme Court Case No. S12G0484, in which certiorari was granted to determine whether the Court of Appeals erred in finding that legal malpractice claims can be assignable. Included in the "Informational Reports" section of the BOG agenda is what appears to be a proposed amicus curiae brief on behalf of the State Bar of Georgia. (I say proposed because as of October 24, 2012, the Supreme Court Docket does not reflect the filing of any amicus briefs.) Again, you can find this proposed brief at the website link to the agenda. The brief argues that the Court of Appeals erred in holding that legal malpractice claims are assignable. Katie Wood, Post 1, Stone Mountain Circuit