Will Weather Derail Board of Governors Meeting Slated for Nashville, Tennessee?

Given current weather conditions, you probably have to believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy AND the Easter Bunny to think that the State Bar of Georgia’s Midyear Meeting, including Saturday’s Board of Governors meeting, will take place as scheduled later this week in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Midyear Meeting is supposed to start Thursday, January 13. The Board of Governors meeting is scheduled for the morning of Saturday, January 15.

Given the current forecast, I don’t foresee how I can possibly drive to Nashville on Friday. My street is a sheet of four-inch ice and there is only more cold weather ahead. But maybe by voicing these negative thoughts, I will create a miracle to prove me wrong.

Meanwhile, I’ve emailed the State Bar’s president, executive director, and communications person to ask if there is a contingency plan. I thought perhaps a teleconference from the various State Bar HQs in Atlanta, Tifton and Savannah. I’m told my inquiry is premature. Though if there is a change of plans, they will let me know.

Don’t ask me why this meeting is being held in Nashville. The decision predates my being on the board. I know there was some talk about the board checking out various locations as potential sites for the annual meeting, which requires a large number of rooms, etc. that few places in Georgia can accommodate. (The State Bar even has a stock response on their web site as to why the annual meeting is held out of state, though the key element of “beach location” seems totally missing with Nashville. http://gabar.org/public/pdf/meetings/Why%20State%20Bar%20Annual%20Meetings%20are%20not%20held%20in%20Georgia_summary.pdf)

I have received numerous complaints from people who might have attended the Midyear Meeting in Atlanta, but are rejecting attending a meeting in Nashville. I have asked them to write bar leaders about these concerns. Who knows if any will follow through?

As for the upcoming BOG meeting, I’m cutting and pasting the full agenda with hyperlinks below. But here are some of the highlights:

The Board will consider adopting a policy to have its advisory committee on legislation review proposed constitutional amendments and decide whether the State Bar should take a stance on such measures. This proposal seems to follow up on the debate at the Fall BOG meeting regarding the misleading ballot language drafted for the ratification of Amendment One.

The Board will consider a proposal regarding law student members, which would allow them to join for no cost and receive bar publications electronically.

The Board will consider creating a new Professional Liability Section, which would focus on non-medical fields, including architects, attorneys, CPAs, land surveyors and professional engineers.

All State Bar members, and not just BOG members, would be allowed to vote on bylaw amendments addressing associates and student associates as well as executive committee duties.

Nominations of State Bar officers and American Bar Association delegates are scheduled.

In addition, the Board will receive a report from its legislative committee on upcoming proposals before the General Assembly, which include:

Repeal of the Rule Against Perpetuities and adoption of a uniform Estate Tax Apportionment Act;

Amendments to the Georgia Code regarding utility liens;

Funding requests by the Judicial Qualifications Commission;

Adoption of a statewide jury source list that would eliminate forced balancing of the jury list;

Clerk’s Office fees for the preparation of transcripts to the state appellate courts; and,

Information regarding previous committee meetings and the composition of the General Assembly.

Finally, there will be a number of information reports given orally and provided in writing.

Here is the full BOG agenda:

Agenda

STATE BAR OF GEORGIA

234th BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING

Saturday, January 15, 2011

9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center

Nashville, Tennessee

1) ADMINISTRATION

a) Call to Order: Lester Tate, President

b) Recognition of Past Presidents & Special Guests: Lester Tate

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

d) Minutes of the 233rd Meeting of the Board of Governors, October 16, 2010 (action): Robin Clark

e) Future Meetings Schedule: Lester Tate

2) BOARD ACTION

a) Standing Board Policy 100, Re: Constitutional Amendments: Bob McCormack

b) State Bar Rule 1-206.1, Re: Law Student Members: Bob McCormack; Michael Geoffroy

c) Proposed Professional Liability Section: Bob McCormack; Douglas Chandler

d) BASICS: Nancy Whaley, Seth Kirshenbaum

3) MEMBERS' MEETING: All active State Bar of Georgia members are invited to attend and vote on the following action items.

a) Bylaw Article 1, Section 6, Associates and Student Associates (action): Bob McCormack; Michael Geoffroy

b) Bylaw Article IV, Section 2, Executive Committee Duties (action): Bob McCormack

4) ELECTIONS

a) Nominations of State Bar Officers: Lester Tate

(nominations = 5 minutes, seconds = 2 minutes)

1 year terms 2011-2012

(1) Office of Treasurer

(2) Office of Secretary

(3) Office of President-elect

b) Nominations of ABA Delegates Lester Tate

2 year terms September 2011-2013

(1) Post 2 to succeed Paula Frederick

(2) Post 4 to succeed Donna Barwick

5) LEGISLATION: Tom Cauthorn, Chair, ACL; Charles Clay, Vice Chair, ACL

a) Fiduciary Law Section: Jim Robinson

(1) Repeal of the Rule Against Perpetuities

(2) Adoption of the Uniform Estate Tax Apportionment Act

b) Real Property Law Section: Patrise Perkins Hooker, Chair

(1) Amendments to O.C.G.A. Sections 44-14-320 and 36-60-17 regarding utility liens

c) Judicial Qualifications Commission: Jeff Davis, Director JQC

(1) FY11 and FY12 Funding Requests

d) Administrative Office of the Courts: Michael Cuccaro, Special Assistant

(1) Statewide Jury Source List; Eliminate Forced Balancing of Jury List

e) HB 1055, Clerks' Fee for the Preparation of Records and Transcripts to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals ($10 per page to $1.50 per page): Lester Tate; Bryan Cavan (Resolution)

(1) Legislative Approach

(2) Committee to Examine Current Approach

(3) Possible Resolution of the Board of Governors Regarding Current Approach

f) Information: Tom Boller; Rusty Sewell

(1) Minutes, ACL Meeting 1, September 8, 2010

(2) Minutes, ACL Meeting 2, December 8, 2010

(3) Senate and House Composition

6) INFORMATION REPORTS

a) Treasurer's Report: Buck Ruffin, Treasurer

(1) Treasurer's Report

(2) 2011-2012 Budget Timetable

b) Young Lawyers Division: Michael Geoffroy

c) Executive Committee Minutes: Bryan Cavan, Immediate Past President 19

(1) September 30, 2010

d) UPL Advisory Opinion 2010-2 Representation of Garnishees: Lester Tate

e) Military Legal Assistance Program Awards: Buck Ruffin

f) ABA Report: Linda Klein; Allan Tanenbaum

g) Lawyers Foundation of Georgia: Laurel Landon

7) WRITTEN REPORTS

a) Law Related Education

b) Law Practice Management

c) Office of General Counsel

d) Consumer Assistance Program

e) BPC Financial Health Insurance

f) Cornerstones of Freedom

g) FDIC

h) Fastcase

i) Red Flags Bill

j) GDOT's Transit Hub (Gulch)

k) AJC Building

l) Transition into Law Practice

m) July 2010 Bar Exam

8) 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

Amendment One Debate Enlivens Fall BOG Meeting

The Board of Governors fell a few votes shy of the two-thirds margin required to carry a motion to oppose Amendment One on the grounds that the language on the November ballot is entirely misleading. The vote was 39 in favor of the motion and 26 in opposition.

In other action at the Fall meeting in Panama City Beach on October 16, the BOG approved proposed amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct; made appointments to the Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency and the Judicial Qualifications Commission; backed funding of programs for victims of domestic violence and the Georgia Resource Center and a prohibition on transfer fee covenants; and, chose a new auditor.

Amendment One

At issue in the lengthy debate over Amendment One is the following ballot language:

Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to make Georgia more economically competitive by authorizing legislation to uphold reasonable competitive agreements? () YES () NO

As various editorial writers have noted, this ballot language sounds like mom and apple pie, whereas many view the reality of the amendment as sinister. What this amendment would do is strike free-enterprise language in the state constitution barring contracts that defeat or lessen competition to allow employers to use non-compete provisions in employment contracts that would be invalid under the present state law. Here are some links to various editorials explaining more about the pros and cons of this measure:

http://www.11alive.com/bullpen/story.aspx?storyid=155312&catid=379

http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2010/10/01/amendment-one-making-georgia-less-competitive/

http://savannahnow.com/opinion/2010-10-08/amendment-1-no

The debate erupted toward the end of the report of the Advisory Committee on Legislation (ACL), despite an earlier 6-5 vote of the Executive Committee to not bring the issue before the Board of Governors (BOG). State Bar President Lester Tate, who said he would have broken a tie to bring the matter to the BOG had that been possible, explained that among the committee’s concerns had been if a position was to be taken on the measure, what would it really mean and what would be the logistics of so doing at this late date—an op ed article, an advertisement, etc. Furthermore, when the proposal was winding its way through the legislature, various State Bar subcommittees looked at the measure, but none referred it to the ACL.

After Board Member Steve Leibel moved that the BOG weigh in on the issue, there first needed to be a determination whether it was germane under Keller v. State Bar of California, 496 U.S. 1 (1990), in which 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.

Leibel argued that the legislature’s use of misleading ballot language is germane to the practice of law. Leibel asserted that the ballot language not only is unclear, “it is deceiving in a sense.”

Charles "Buck" Ruffin, the treasurer of the State Bar, who had voted at the earlier Executive Committee meeting to bring the matter before the BOG, asserted that the proposed amendment is germane on the merits because it could negate a State Bar rule that prohibits non-compete agreements in the legal profession. Under this measure, he said, lawyers potentially would not be able to bring their clients with them when leaving a law firm. “It’s dangerous to the legal profession,” Ruffin said of its potential effect on the practice of law.

Patrise Perkins-Hooker, an Executive Committee member who had voted against bringing the matter before the BOG, expressed concerns that the issue is being raised too late, since the amendment is already on the ballot and that opposing the measure has the potential to damage the State Bar’s relationship with the General Assembly.

The BOG determined by a voice vote that the matter was germane to the practice of law and then turned to debate Leibel’s motion. Among the concerns discussed were whether the position to be taken on the amendment was to be limited to the misleading nature of the ballot language or whether to go further and address the merits of the constitutional amendment itself because of its potential effect on lawyers in their legal practices.

Leibel declined to accept as a friendly amendment a proposal offered by President-elect Ken Shigley to add a substantive component to the motion to oppose Amendment One. Shigley’s amendment was defeated by the BOG on a separate voice vote.

The vote on Leibel’s motion to oppose Amendment One on the grounds that the ballot language is misleading then went to a voice vote. Tate initially called the voice vote as having carried. But upon a call for a show of hands, the tally was 39 to 26, just three or four votes, depending on how fractions are factored, of the required two-thirds majority.

A follow-up motion by Leibel for the BOG to adopt a policy to have the ACL vet proposed constitutional amendments and to have the BOG take a stand on the propriety of the amendments passed by a voice vote.

Rules of Professional Conduct

Proposed changes to the Rules of Professional Conduct have been headed toward an October 16 vote under a timetable adopted at the June meeting. The schedule called for requests to alter the language of the proposed rules changes to be submitted in writing before September 21 for inclusion in the Board Book. These suggestions, of which there were several, were treated as amendments to the draft revisions and where appropriate (some were withdrawn) were voted on one-by-one before the entire revision was approved by a voice vote.

The present Rules of Professional Conduct were adopted by the Georgia Supreme Court in 2000. Some were based on model rules of the American Bar Association, while others are unique to Georgia. Not long after Georgia updated the rules, the ABA began re-crafting its model rules. The proposed changes pending before the BOG were based in large part on the ABA updates. The proposal calls for 28 of the 61 Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct to be amended, as well as eight procedural rules for disciplinary matters and one Uniform Superior Court Rule. In most cases, according to the State Bar’s general counsel, the amendments are non-substantive clarifications of the existing rule or additions to the comments. The BOG vote sends the proposals to the Georgia Supreme Court, which has the ultimate authority for adoption.

You can link to an executive summary and full text of the proposals from the State Bar’s website:

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

One concern the BOG addressed by adopting an amendment had to do with Rule 3.3, Candor Toward the Tribunal. The initial draft amended 3.3(a)(3) to require that a lawyer take remedial action when s/he knows that the lawyer, a client, or a witness called by the lawyer has offered material evidence that the lawyer later finds out is false. After considering the comments received about the proposed revision, the Committee voted against revising the Rule and the BOG approved that course of action.

Another revision made by the BOG would eliminate the 30-day moratorium on contacting potentially adverse persons involved in an accident or disaster by deleting subsection (c) from the proposed change to Rule 4.3, Dealing with Unrepresented Person. The current rule prohibits contact with a potentially adverse party for 30 days after an accident or disaster. The proposed change would have allowed contact during the 30 days under certain circumstances. By eliminating subsection (c), the proposed rule is being brought in line with the ABA version of the rule.

The BOG adopted what was termed a “housekeeping amendment” to Rule 4-106, Conviction of a Crime; Suspension and Disbarment. The revision amends the procedure for cases involving criminal convictions. The housekeeping amendment was to make it clear that under some circumstances a review panel review is not automatic, but instead must be requested.

Another revision would keep in place the current version of Rule 4-204.3, Interim Suspension. The proposed change would have allowed the Investigative Panel to recommend interim suspension of a respondent who does not respond to a Notice of Investigation even where the underlying conduct does not carry a penalty of suspension or disbarment. The BOG voted to leave the current rule as it is.

Finally, the BOG added a comment to Rule 1.0, Terminology to state:

The purpose of this rule is to permit a lawyer to use developing technologies that maintain an objective record of a communication that does not rely upon the memory of the lawyer or any other person. See O.C.G.A. §10-12-2(8).

With the aforementioned changes, the BOG voted to send the proposed rules revisions to the Georgia Supreme Court for its consideration.

Appointments

The BOG appointed Joe Whitley and R. Javoyne Hicks White to the Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency.

The BOG re-appointed Robert Ingram and appointed Lester Tate to the Judicial Qualifications Commission.

Legislation

The BOG voted to continue to support proposals to “modernize” the rules of evidence; to endorse legislation to appropriate $2.5 million for civil legal services in the 2012 fiscal year for low income victims of domestic violence; to endorse funding of $800,000 for the Georgia Appellate Practice and Resource Center, Inc.; and to support a measure that would prohibit so-called “transfer fee covenants.” According to Patrise Perkins-Hooker, these covenants generate fees that run with the title to the property and often are unknown to the purchaser. There are 16 states that have prohibited these covenants, while two have restricted them substantially.

Other Action

The BOG chose Cherry, Bekaert & Holland as its auditor for the next five years. This selection was made after a request for proposals drew 22 responses and three firms were recommended to the State Bar’s treasurer, who met with each of the three finalists before recommending CB&H.

The BOG heard from Past President Linda Klein, who is now the Speaker of the House of Delegates for the American Bar Association. The ABA is scheduled to meet in Atlanta February 9 through 14, 2011, at the Mariott Marquis and the State Bar will be sponsoring a reception on February 13 from 5 p.m. to 6:30.

YLD President Michael Geoffroy told the BOG about outreach to law students to have them become student members of the State Bar, efforts by Just Georgia to revise the Juvenile Code, and that October is pro bono month.

Board Member Gordon Zeese reported that, predictably, Casemaker officials were unhappy that the BOG voted to switch to Fastcase. The Executive Committee considered Casemaker’s concerns and declined to recommend any change from the earlier decision.

Finally, President Lester Tate asked for careful scrutiny of a draft of a report by The Washington Economics Group, Inc. on The Economic Impacts on the Georgia Economy of Delays in Georgia’s State Courts Due to Recent Declines in Funding for the Judicial System. This report is about 40 pages and is in the Board Book (if you want to look at it, let me know and I’ll find a way to get it to you). Members of the Executive Committee will be meeting in the future with the authors and any concerns about the accuracy of their data or findings can be raised with them then.

Interesting Debate Over Misleading Ballot Language On Amendment One

I'll write a full report after the sun goes down. (Hey, I'm at the beach, after all.) There was a really interesting debate among board members on whether to take a stand opposing Amendment One because the ballot language is so misleading and because on the merits it could, if passed, potentially impact the practice of law. The vote on opposing the amendment was 39 to 26, which was not enough to carry the day because a two-thirds vote was required. Seems like 65 is a really low turnout for a board meeting, though it is enough for a quorum. As you can see from the photo, the DeKalb delegation was sparsely represented.

Oct. 16--Preview of coming attractions

Here are highlights of what's coming up during the State Bar of Georgia's Board of Governors meeting on Saturday October 16, followed by a copy of the entire agenda.

Proposed amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct

From my relative-newbie perspective looking at the agenda, it appears that the main issue requiring board action is a bunch of proposed amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct.

I’ve mentioned this before in the blog and have forwarded information about the various deadlines for submitting language changes. Back in June, the board voted to 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.

So, I’ve tried to keep y’all updated as each of these deadlines approached. At this point, I think it will just be an up or down vote on the proposed changes. (Though, I could be wrong on that.)

While I have not heard from any of you regarding these proposed changes, there are some folks who have weighed in to the State Bar and their comments are accessible through the link in the agenda that was loaded on-line Thursday October 14 and that I have reproduced below. (I note some of these links just get me hieroglyphics. I don’t know if the problem is with the links, the documents loaded by the bar, or the software on my MacBook. But, the link of the comments did work for me.)

What I’m not clear on from the agenda book is whether any of these comments have been addressed in the proposed amendments that we are to be voting on.

This section of the Board Book takes up about 350 pages (of the 549 page book). It would be nice if there was something saying, yes, we took so and so’s comments to heart and changed thus and such. Or is it just that these proposed changes are as previously proposed? This is something I definitely need to track down by Saturday. I will keep you posted.

Legislation

A big chunk of the agenda seems to revolve around various legislative issues, which makes sense in the Fall with the Georgia General Assembly set to convene in January.

These include:

Continued support of proposals to “modernize” the rules of evidence.

A proposal by the Women and Minorities in the Profession Commission for endorsement of legislation to appropriate $2.5 million for civil legal services in the 2012 fiscal year for low income victims of domestic violence.

A proposal by the board of the Georgia Appellate Practice and Resource Center, Inc. for endorsement of continuation funding of $800,000, which would return it to the normative baseline funding level for the years FY 2002-2008. This organization, which provides post-conviction representation to persons sentenced to the death penalty, has suffered budget cuts of 27.5 percent in FY 2009 from $800,000 to 580,000 and further cut later that year to $528,963. For FY 2010, the budget was set at $580,000, but was cut to $551.000. The state-provided budget was supplemented by the Georgia Bar Foundation and the State Bar, but the outlook for FY 2012 looks bleak. Thus, the Resource Center seeks endorsement of its $800,000 budget request.

A proposal by the Real Property Law Section for support of a measure that would prohibit so-called “transfer fee covenants.” These covenants are explained as follows:

Transfer fee covenants provide that, upon each sale of a parcel of property subject to the covenants (e.g., each lot in a subdivisions), a transfer fee (typically equal to 1% of the sales price) must be paid to a private third party (typically the property’s developer or its trustee), who otherwise has no connection to the property or the transactions. The developer or other seller establishes the covenant by either recording a covenant in the local public record or including the covenant in the deed for the property or any portion of it. Typically, these covenants are in effect for 99 years and are applied to residential properties, although they are also of concern in regard to commercial properties. The proposed bill . . . exempts from its proposed prohibition legitimate fees and assessments payable to those associations, requiring, for example, that any fees and assessments be utilized to pay the operating costs of the association and the affected property.

Other Issues

As you can see below, there are other items on the agenda, but these, at least to my newbie eyes, seem more informational, than actionable.

I will let you know if I’m off in that assessment.

Agenda

STATE BAR OF GEORGIA

233rd BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING

Saturday, October 16, 2010

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort

Panama City, Florida

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 232nd Meeting of the Board of Governors, August 12, 2010 (action): Robin Clark

f) Future Meetings Schedule: Lester Tate

2) BOARD ACTION

a) Amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct: Paula Frederick

(1) Special Rule/Procedure

(2) Comments and Suggested Wording Change

(3) Executive Summary

(4) Disciplinary Rules and Procedures Committee's Proposed Amendments

b) Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency: Lester Tate

(1) Appointment to replace Lester Tate 2011-2013

(2) Appointment to replace Derek White 2011-2013

c) Judicial Qualifications Commission Nominations: Ken Shigley

3) LEGISLATION: Tom Cauthorn, Chair, ACL; Charles Clay, Vice Chair, ACL

a) Rules of Evidence: Tom Byrne, Chair, Evidence Study Committee

b) Funding Request for Victims of Domestic Violence: Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, Chair, Committee on Diversity and Inclusion in the Profession

c) Funding Request for Georgia Resource Center: Brian Kammer, Executive Director, Georgia Resource Center; Rob Remar, Chair, Board of Directors, Georgia Resource Center

d) Real Property Section Prohibition of Transfer Fee Covenants: Patrise Perkins-Hooker, Chair, Real Property Law Section

e) Overview (information): Tom Boller; Rusty Sewell

4) INFORMATION REPORTS

a) Bar Center: Lester Tate

(1) New Auditorium and Conference Room

(2) Marietta Street and Centennial Park Drive Improvements

(3) Spring Street Viaduct Replacement

(4) South Georgia Office's 2nd Conference Room

b) Treasurer's Report: Buck Ruffin, Treasurer

(1) Treasurer's Report

(2) 2011-2012 Budget Timetable

(3) 2009-2010 Auditor: Patrise Perkins Hooker, Chair, Audit Committee

c) Young Lawyers Division: Michael Geoffroy, YLD President

d) Executive Committee Minutes: Bryan Cavan, Immediate Past President

(1) September 10, 2010

ABA Amicus Brief-Red Flags Rule

FDIC Amendment to HR 4173

e) Fastcase Update: Patrick O'Connor, Co-Chair, Member Benefits Committee; Honorable Gordon Zeese, Co-Chair, Member Benefits Committee

f) Washington Economics Group's Economic Impact Report: Lester Tate

5) WRITTEN REPORTS

a) Law Related Education

b) Law Practice Management

c) Office of General Counsel

d) Consumer Assistance Program

e) BASICS

f) Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism

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

Note Sept. 21 Deadline for Suggested Wording Changes to Proposed Amendments to Conduct Rules

Proposed Amendments to the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct Dear Member of the Board of Governors: As you know, the Board has approved a special procedure for consideration of the proposed amendments to the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. Pursuant to that procedure, final suggested wording changes must bein writing and received by the State Bar on or before Tuesday, Sept. 21, for inclusion in the Board's agenda book. You may view the proposed amendments on the Bar's website by clicking here. Please send changes to: Paula Frederick State Bar of Georgia 104 Marietta St. NW, Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30303 Fax 404-527-8744 paulaf@gabar.org The Board will act on the proposed draft at the Fall meeting, Oct. 16. Please note the Sept. 21 deadline and submit your suggested wording changes immediately. No wording changes will be accepted from the floor at the meeting on Oct. 16. Thanks for your continued service, Lester Tate President, State Bar

Congratulations Javoyne!

Former District Attorney Gwen Keyes Fleming announced in a farewell email sent to DeKalb County employees Thursday:

Pursuant to statute, I hereby designate my Chief Assistant Javoyne Hicks White as the Acting District Attorney. Ms. Hicks White is a veteran prosecutor who has served in the Griffin and Atlanta Judicial Circuits before assuming the role of my Chief Assistant five years ago. She also has served as a DeKalb County Associate Magistrate Judge and Georgia Assistant Attorney General. She has unparalleled administrative and legal knowledge, superior trial skills and an unwavering commitment to the community. I have no doubt that she will serve admirably in this new leadership role until a permanent replacement is chosen by the citizens of this county during a special election this November.

Congratulations Gwen!

DeKalb DA resigns to take EPA job

By Megan Matteucci

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

6:34 p.m. Wednesday, September 1, 2010

President Barack Obama appointed DeKalb County District Attorney Gwen Keyes Fleming to be the next regional Environmental Protection Agency administrator.

Fleming announced her resignation Wednesday.

Fleming is leaving DeKalb immediately to become the new southeast regional administrator for the federal Environmental Protection Agency, EPA officials told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

As administrator, Fleming will oversee eight states, including Georgia, and six tribal nations, said EPA spokesman Carl Terry.

Fleming was not immediately available for comment.

“She will promote state and local environmental protections and make sure the agency addresses environmental issues of the day,” Terry said.

Fleming took office in January 2005 and became the county’s first African-American female district attorney. Prior to serving as district attorney, Fleming served as DeKalb's solicitor-general.

Fleming's departure comes just months before the corruption trial for former schools' superintendent Crawford Lewis and former chief operating officer Patricia Reid.

As district attorney, Fleming manages 13,000 cases a year and oversees 165 employees. She is a New Jersey native and earned her law degree from Emory University School of Law.

Find this article at:

http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/dekalb-da-resigns-to-604731.html