Preview of Coming Attractions

Here are highlights of what's coming up during the State Bar of Georgia's Board of Governors meeting on Thursday August 12, followed by a copy of the entire agenda.

The board is scheduled to vote on a recommendation to switch the attorney research software it offers to bar members from Casemaker to Fastcase, a move estimated to save approximately $52,000 per year while providing an easier, more intuitive service.

Other items slated for board action Thursday include:

Selection of BPC Finance as the State Bar's recommended broker for various types of insurance;

Adoption of provisional guidelines for attorneys providing legal assistance to veterans and military service members and the creation of an award to recognize attorneys who provide outstanding service in this area on a pro bono or reduced fee basis;

Approval of a policy that would facilitate the bar's ability to comment on pending or proposed legislation on an emergency basis;

A recommendation that the board oppose any sales tax on legal services--a matter that is expected to come up as the Special Council for Tax Reform and Fairness for Georgians reviews the state's income, sales and property tax systems and recommends changes to a special legislative committee of the General Assembly;

Approval of standing committees for the 2010-11 year.

Proposed amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct will be briefly discussed. Note that any final wording changes must be submitted in writing to the State Bar before Tuesday September 21, 2010, so that they can be included in the agenda book. The Board of Governors is scheduled to vote on the proposed amendments at its fall meeting on October 16, 2010.

Having approved at the annual meeting the early payoff of the debt on the State Bar Building, State Bar President Lester Tate is scheduled to preside over a note burning ceremony.

The board's agenda book is 275-pages long, so I'm just attaching below a copy of the meeting agenda to allow you to see what else is scheduled to take place. The bar has conveniently formated some of the items to link to the information in the agenda book.

Let me or other members of the board know if you have any concerns or questions or need additional information.

AGENDA

232nd BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon, Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010

State Bar Building, 104 Marietta St. NW

Atlanta, Georgia

Dress: Business

1) ADMINISTRATION

a) Call to Order: Lester Tate, President

b) Recognition of Past Presidents: Lester Tate

c) Recognition of Special Guests: Lester Tate

d) Roll Call (by signature): Robin Clark, Secretary

e) Minutes of the 230th and 231st Meeting of the Board of Governors, June 18 and 19, 2010 (action): Robin Clark

f) Future Meetings Schedule: Lester Tate; Ken Shigley, President-Elect

g) State Bar Building Note Burning Ceremony: Lester Tate

h) Judicial Section's Legislator Award: Hon. Pamela Boles

2) BOARD ACTION

a) Member Benefits Committee: Hon. Gordon Zeese; Pat O'Connor

(1) BPC Financial as the State Bar's Recommended Broker for:

(a) Disability and Long Term Care (committee recommends yes)

(b) Automobile and Homeowners (committee recommends no)

(c) Business (Office Property & Liability, Workers' Compensation, EPLI) (committee recommends no)

(2) Casemaker v. Fastcase: (committee recommends Fastcase)

Judge Zeese; Pat O'Connor; Philip Rosenthal; Christina Steinbrecker

b) Military Legal Assistance Program: Buck Ruffin, Chair; Norman Zoller

(1) Provisional Guidelines for Attorneys Providing Legal Assistance to Veterans and Military Service Members

(2) Proposed New Award

c) Standing Board Policy 100, Section 1.03 (c): Bob McCormack

d) Special Council for Tax Reform and Fairness for Georgians: Lester Tate

e) Approval of 2010-2011 Standing Committees: Lester Tate

4) INFORMATION REPORTS

a) Legislation: Lester Tate; Tom Boller; Rusty Sewell; Mark Middleton; Charlie Tanksley

b) Treasurer's Report: Buck Ruffin, Treasurer

(1) Treasurer's Report

(2) 2009-2010 Audit

c) Young Lawyers Division: Michael Geoffroy, YLD President

d) Proposed Rules of Professional Conduct: Paula Frederick

e) 2010 Judicial Poll: Lester Tate

f) Proposed Recusal Amendments to the Code of Judicial Conduct, Cannon 3, Disqualification: Lester Tate

g) Executive Committee Minutes: Bryan Cavan

(1) May 13, 2010

(2) July 16, 2010

5) WRITTEN REPORTS

a) Law-Related Education

b) Law Practice Management

c) Office of the General Counsel

d) Consumer Assistance Program

e) High School Mock Trial Program

f) Transition into Law Practice Program

g) Georgia Legal Services Program

h) Lawyer Advertising

(1) New York Bar (Alexander v. Cahill)

(2) Louisiana Bar (Public Citizen v. Attorney Disciplinary Board)

(3) Florida Bar

6) CLOSING

a) Old Business: Lester Tate

b) New Business: Lester Tate

c) Questions/Answers; Comments/Suggestions: Board of Governors; Officers; Executive Committee; Executive Director; General Counsel

d) Adjournment: Lester Tate

Board of Governors Adopts Budget; Includes BASICS Funding For One Year

The Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia adopted a budget for 2010-2011 after a contentious debate over whether to include a $140,000 appropriation for the BASICS program. Other highlights of the Saturday June 19 meeting included a decision to retire the debt on the State Bar's headquarters building in downtown Atlanta, the election of executive committee members, and the setting of a schedule for consideration of amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct.

BASICS Triggers Budget Debate

BASICS--which stands for Bar Association Support to Improve Correctional Services--is a30-hour course of instruction for soon-to-be released prison inmates that provides instruction, guidance and employability counseling to help them transition back into society and thus reduce recidivism.

According to the State Bar's website: "BASICS Mission is to aid and steer inmates in the direction of self-rehabilitation. During the classes, we assist with developing career, educational and/or work plans, preparing resumes, setting goals, and teaching interviewing techniques. Upon release, we assist with job research, applying for colleges or vocational schools, completing or changing personal action plans, as well as developing financial plans. This decreases the likelihood that these individuals will return to jail."

Seth Kirschenbaum, the chair of the State Bar's BASICS Committee, explained that the 35-year-old program has been funded in the past by the Georgia Bar Foundation. However, he said those funds are not available this year due to the economic crisis. If the State Bar did not provide funding this year, Kirschenbaum said it would be the death knell of the BASICS program.

Kirschenbaum's remarks came in response to concerns raised by R. Chris Phelps, the chair of the State Bar's Finance Committee. Phelps said that while he is not opposed to the BASICS program, he was concerned that it was not within the scope of Keller v. State Bar of California, 496 U.S. 1 (1990). The fact that there is sufficient money in the bar's coffers to fund the program is not a sufficient reason to do so, Phelps added.

Paula Frederick, the State Bar's general counsel, explained that in Keller, the Supreme Court held that members of a mandatory bar cannot be forced to pay through their membership dues for any bar activities they deem to be political or ideological. Under Keller, the use of a bar's compulsory dues to fund political and ideological activities violates the First Amendment if the activities are not related to regulating the profession or improving the quality of legal services.

Charles "Buck" Ruffin, the treasurer of the State Bar, said the Bar's executive committee discussed giving BASICS funding for one-year to give it time to become more entrepreneurial in its fund raising so that it can be self sufficient.

J. Alvin Leaphart opined that the state Department of Corrections should pay for the program and also expressed Keller concerns.

Ultimately, after a bit of parliamentary quibbling, the Board voted to adopt a budget that includes funding for BASICS for one year, but no more. This action occurred first by voice vote, but after a request for a show of hands, the final tally was 92 in favor of funding and 22 opposed.

Probably of greater interest to most State Bar members is this piece of news about the budget: It does NOT contain a dues increase.

Other Action

In other action, the Board voted to retire the debt on the State Bar headquarters building. The original amount of the loan was for $7.2 million at an interest rate of 5.2 percent. The payoff amount was $4,495,000, which included a penalty of about $300,000 for early termination. Given that the weighted average return on current investments is only about 1.2 percent, early retirement of a 5 percent loan was determined to be financially prudent.

Two members of the Executive Committee, Phyllis Holmen and Harvey Weitz, were re-elected to their positions. Patrise Perkins-Hooker was elected to the Executive Committee post previously held by Charles Ruffin.

The Board set the following schedule for consideration of proposed amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct:

1) Suggested wording changes must be made in writing and received by the State Bar on or before Tuesday July 20, 2010, for inclusion in the Board's agenda book.

2) Brief discussion of the proposed amendments and any wording changes will occur during the Board's Summer Meeting on Thursday August 12, 2010.

3) Final suggested wording changes must be in writing and must be received by the State Bar on or before Tuesday September 21, 2010, for inclusion in the Board's agenda book.

4) Action will be taken on Saturday, October 16, 2010, at which time no other wording changes will be in order.

The text of the proposed amendments and an executive summary can be found on the State Bar's website.

http://www.gabar.org/news/proposed_amendments_to_the_georgia_rules_of_professional_conduct/