The Board of Governors of the Maryland State Bar Association met at the location, date and time indicated above. There were 34 members of the Board of Governors present, including all of the officers. In addition, Paul Carlin, Executive Director, and key members of his staff, were in attendance, Aileen Eskildsen and Streett Baldwin C.P.A.’s, from Ellen and Tucker, Chartered, Herb Garten, Esquire, Susan Ehrlichman and Robert Rhudy were guests in attendance.

President Pamela J. White called the meeting to order at approximately 2:35 p.m. The Board received a presentation of the Retrospective Report of the Select Committee on Gender Equality by Chair Linda Lamone and Reporter Tricia O’Neill. At the conclusion of the presentation, Chief Judge Robert M. Bell, on the invitation of the President, announced the creation of the Court’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Judicial Process, chaired by Judge Dale Cathell, with two Vice Chairs, Federal Magistrate Judge Charles Day and Deputy Attorney General Carmen Shepard.

The Minutes of the Board of Governors meeting of October 1, 2001, were read and approved.

Cornelius D. Helfrich, Secretary, thanked William R. Levasseur, Acting Secretary in Mr. Helfrich’s absence for the excellent Minutes.

1. Pamela J. White gave the President’s Report.

1. She reported on an assortment of correspondence, news clippings and other information.
   

2. She reviewed a letter from Judge Paul H. Weinstein, Chair of the Conference of Circuit Judges reporting on the progress of the Task Force on Civil Litigation Costs.
   

3. She noted that the Daily Record of October 12, 2001, reported that a statewide Committee had issued a report calling for the creation of a Pre-Trial Release Agency to provide each jurisdiction in Maryland with enough information on each Defendant to help Judges make pre-trial release determinations.
   

4. She reviewed a letter from Andrew Jay Graham, Esquire, reporting on the progress of the ethics 2000 Committee.
   

5. She reported on a Press Release relating to the progress made by the Judiciary Committee on Access to Court records.
   

6. She reported on a letter from herself to Chief Judge Robert M. Bell, inviting him to the Maryland Bar President’s Conference.
   

7. She discussed a letter from Patrick K. Arey, Esquire, Immediate Past Chair of the State and Local Government Law Section of the ABA, discussing a Binder relating to "probate and other procedures for Maryland to assist lawyers providing assistance to victims of terrorist attacks". She also commended several MSBA members for their pro bono service to produce this binder.
   

8. She noted Marva Jo Camp, Esquire’s, letter reporting on the distribution of the CD-ROM "Trouble in Cyberville" and its distribution to the Board of Governors as a "Thank You" for the Board’s assistance in its production.
   

9. She reviewed a fax from James P. Nolan, Esquire, to Brent Burry, Executive Director of MICPEL, indicating the names of the persons who had agreed to serve on either the Publications Committee or the Programs Committee.
   

10. She reported that the Young Victorian Theatre Company would present Gilbert and Sullivan’s "Trial by Jury" on Saturday, October 27, 2001, at 7:00 p.m., featuring a chorus, including a number of Maryland Judges and Lawyers.
    

11. She noted Mont Brownlee, III, Esquire’s report on lawyer civility which appears on the MSBA website.
    

12. She reported on the Southern Conference of Bar Presidents meeting in New Orleans the first week of October 2001, and presented the Board with an Agenda from the meeting, as well as the Agenda for the Mid-Atlantic Bar Conference held in Wilmington, Delaware, on October 12th and 13th, 2001.

13. She reported on the IOLTA proposal to encourage banks to pay a higher rate of interest by establishing a "Go for the Gold Honor Roll Program" wherein banks commit to paying a fixed rate of interest on IOLTA programs.
    
    A chart of interest rates and service charges being charged by the state banks was presented. Past President, Herb Garten, spoke on behalf of the program and the need for additional IOLTA interest funds to help provide legal services for low income Marylanders.
    
    It was moved that the Maryland Legal Services Corporation and the MSBA encourage Maryland financial institutions to increase the funding available for legal services for low income Marylanders by increasing the yield on the IOLTA accounts through the "Go for the Gold Honor Roll Program". The Motion was seconded and passed.
    

14. She reported on a letter sent from Charles E. Kountz, Esquire, Chair of the Maryland Lawyer Assistance Program, to Chief Judge Robert M. Bell.

2. Paul Carlin gave the Executive Director’s Report.

1. He reported that the total MSBA membership count as of the date of October 26, 2001, was 19,445 after accounting for 48 resignations, 3 deceased members, 21 new members and 35 reinstatements.
   
   The Board approved the applications for Honorary Membership in the MSBA by Judge J. Harold Grady and Walter S. Levin, Esquire.
   
   The Board also approved the resignations noted in the Executive Director’s Report.
   

2. He discussed the Legal Assistance to Military Personnel Program within the MSBA Section on Delivery of Legal Services and their efforts to locate attorneys to assist in delivering pro bono legal services to military personnel as a result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He reported that the request for volunteer lawyers was on the MSBA website and that approximately twelve attorneys had responded. He further provided the Board with a copy of the U.S. Department of Labor Guidebook to USERRA, Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act) of 1994.
   

3. He discussed a proposed Affinity Membership Relationship with Allfirst Bank. He noted that the Association has had a long and successful relationship with Allfirst Bank and that the bank had won last year’s request for proposal process.
   
   After discussion, it was moved and seconded that the MSBA enter into an Affinity Membership Relationship with Allfirst Bank. The Motion passed with one abstention.

1. 1. He provided the Board with a 2001 Membership Survey of the Senior Lawyers Section Members. The Survey reflected the demographics of by-gone years. Of the 86 respondents to that question, 84 were male. 59 of the respondents were over 75 years of age, while 35 were under 75 years of age.
   

2. He discussed a Memo to all MSBA Section Chairs advising them of the new Associate Memberships category and requesting them to prepare for and make welcome those members when they joint their Sections. He further advised that the application form is in the process of being designed and will be out shortly and the Associate members who apply and are accepted will pay a one-half year fee.
   

3. He provided the Board with a memo from the ABA Division for Bar Services comparing various aspects of the State Bars in the Southern Conference of Bar Presidents and the Mid-Atlantic Bar Conference. A review of that Memorandum makes it very clear that the MSBA is a very "lean and mean" organization.
   

4. He noted that the Leadership Academy had distributed the CD-ROM called "Trouble in Cyberville" that they had produced for use in local schools to members of the Board of Governors as a thank-you for the assistance that the MSBA provided the Leadership Academy.
   

5. He noted that the Daily Record will honor leaders in Maryland law on Friday, November 16, 2001, and that current Board members, Past President, Louise Michaux Gonzales and present President, Pamela J. White, are among the persons whose leadership will be recognized.
   

6. He reported that Janet Stidman Eveleth of the Maryland Bar Journal won a second Luminary Award.
   

7. He proudly noted that Pat Yevics, the Law Office Management Director, completed the Baltimore Marathon in 4 hours, 24 minutes and 2 seconds. She was the fastest woman in her age group.

3. Report of the Secretary.

1. It was reported that the Minutes of the Executive Committee Meeting on October 16, 2001, are substantially contained within the Agenda of this meeting.

4. Harry Johnson gave the Treasurer’s Report.

1. He reviewed the June 30, 2001, and 2000 MSBA Financial Statements and audit report prepared by Ellin & Tucker, CPA.
   
   Harry Johnson then relinquished the floor to Mr. Streett Baldwin and Aileen Eskildsen, CPA’s who discussed the contents of the Report of the Association as of June 30, 2001. In summary, the Association had a very good financial year and has received a clean report from the Auditors. Approval of the Auditors Report was moved, seconded and passed by the BOG.
   
   Mr. Johnson noted that the Budget Committee and the Executive Committee are watching the Association investments very carefully in light of the current financial situation.
   

2. He reported the following for the MSBA as of September 30, 2001: total dues income of $2,269,844.00. He also noted total expenses of $702,558.00, leaving unexpended funds of $1,567,286.00. He also reported that dues income represented approximately 94% of the MSBA budget to date.
   

3. He discussed Budget Amendment Request Number 3 for the fiscal year 2001/2002, wherein the Section of Delivery of Legal Services had requested $4,700.00 as an addition to its budget and the Committee on Public Awareness had requested an addition to its budget of $1,188.00. After discussion by the Board, it was moved, seconded and approved, in separate motions, that those sums be added to the budget of the respective Section and Committee.

5. Jim Nolan gave the President Elect’s Report.

1. He reported that there have been extensive efforts on behalf of the various Sections of the MSBA, notably the Young Lawyers Section, and on the part of Maryland lawyers in conjunction with the ABA to provide an appropriate response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He reported that the idea of creating a scholarship for training Maryland lawyers to provide disaster relief was no longer necessary in light of the multiple and varied responses of many entities of the MSBA, namely the YLS Disaster Relief Committee to provide such assistance.

6. Reports of the Standing Committees.

1. President Pamela White led a discussion of the consideration of the Retrospective Report on Gender Equality. She called on various members of the BOG to discuss their sub-committees’ views on each of the individual chapters of the Report. After presentation and discussion of the Reports by the Sub-Committees and the BOG in general, it was moved and seconded that the MSBA and the BOG accept the Report of the Select Committee on Gender Equality. The motion passed.
   

2. The BOG discussed the Legislative goals for the legislative year 2002, as presented by Buzz Winchester, the MSBA Director of Legislative Relations. After due consideration, acceptance of the legislative goals for the year 2002, was moved, seconded and approved.

7. Announcements.

1. It was reported that the Young Lawyers Section will hold a "Novemberfest," on Saturday, November 3, 2001, at the Joy America Café, from 7:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. The festivities include an assortment of food stations such as Seafood Decadence and Mexican Fare and Chocolate Lovers Station. There will be a silent auction. Tickets are $45.00 each or two for $80.00 and dress is casually elegant.
   

2. The Third Annual Solo and Small Firm Conference will be held at the BWI Marriott in Linthicum, Maryland, on Saturday, November 10, 2001, from 8:30 a.m., to 4:30 p.m., and will cover a wide spectrum of topics from time and stress management to family practice case law, legislation and court rules update. There will be a number of vendors present ranging from the ordinary and mundane to the high-tech spectacular.

There being no further business to come before the Board of Governors, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 6:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,