The
Board of Governors of the Maryland State Bar Association met at the
location, date and time indicated above. 34 members of the Board
of Governors were present. Paul Carlin and selected members
of his staff were in attendance, as well as Timothy Meredith, Chair
of the Committee on Laws and K. Donald Proctor, Chair of the Practice
of Law Committee.
Prior
to the meeting, Buz Winchester, MSBA Director of Legislative Relations,
gave a brief history of the Maryland State House which is among other
things, the oldest State House in the continental United States in
continuous use. He noted that at one time, the State House
served as the capital of the United States of America. From
a brief history of the Senate and House Hearing rooms, Mr. Winchester
moved to a brief discussion of lobbying and how lobbying takes place
in the Senate chambers.
President
James Nolan called the meeting to order at approximately 5:15 p.m.
The
Minutes of the Board of Governors meeting of November 19, 2002 were
approved.
1.James
Nolan gave the President’s Report.
a. President
Nolan reviewed a letter that was co-signed by himself and President-Elect,
Harry S. Johnson, to all lawyer/members of the Maryland Legislature
offering the assistance of the MSBA and discussing, in general
terms, some of the priorities of the MSBA during the upcoming legislative
session.
He
further discussed a letter directed to Thomas V. Miller, Jr., President
of the Senate, and Michael E. Busch, Speaker of the House, congratulating
them on their (re-election and their election) as President and
Speaker, respectively.
b. He
reviewed a Memorandum from Paul V. Carlin, Executive Director of
the MSBA, to all Local and Specialty Bar Associations; discussing
nominations for various ABA awards, including the Thurgood Marshall
Award, the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award
and the Louis M. Brown Award. The Memorandum noted that if
the a Local and/or Specialty Bar Association would like to nominate
a person for one of the awards and would like the MSBA to sign
on as a co-nominator, the Association should forward its submission
to Mr. Carlin in order for the BOG to consider the recommendation. He
further noted that the Local and/or Specialty Bar Associations
were also free to make whatever nominations they may choose to
make, without MSBA involvement.
c. He
noted an article in the November 20, 2002 edition of The Daily
Record, written by Earl Kelly, Daily Record Legal Affairs
Writer, which noted that the issue of comparative negligence might
well be discussed during this legislative session.
d. He
noted an article in the November 27, 2002 edition of the Washington
Times, written by Tim Lemke, indicating that the State of
Mississippi enacted court reform legislation restricting the location
where suits must be tried, restricting punitive damages, revising
the joint and several liability rule and finally, exempting retailers
from liability if the retailers sell a defective product that they
were not aware was defective.
e. He
noted an excellent letter to the Editor of the ABA Journal in
its December 2002, edition, from Patrick C. McKeever, MSBA Governor,
regarding arbitration of disputes.
f. He
discussed a request from Allan Head, Chair of the ABA Standing
Committee on Bar Activities and Services, requesting the MSBA to
participate as amici curiae in a suit brought by
the ABA against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia on September 25, 2002. The
suit seeks to obtain a Judgment declaring the FTC’s interpretation
of the privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act invalid. He
noted that the MSBA had previously voted to monitor this legislation. It
was moved and seconded that the Executive Committee be given the
authority to decide to sign onto the Amicus Brief in Support of
the ABA suit if there was no cost to the MSBA and the Brief was
well done. This Motion passed.
g. He
discussed a letter from Paul V. Carlin, Executive Director, to
Representative Benjamin L. Cardin, discussing the MSBA’s
support of HR 5457, which clearly exempts lawyers from Title V,
Subtitle A of the GLB Act.
h. The
Governors discussed a Memorandum from M. Peter Moser, Chair of
the ABA Task Force on Implementation of Section 307 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002, and the Securities and Exchange Commission Rules implementing
Section 307.
i. President
Nolan reported that he had appointed a Special Committee on Entertainment &
Sports Law, with 30 members. He further noted that he had appointed
David Merkin, Esquire, as the BOG Liaison to this Special Committee.
j. He
also reported that a Special Committee on Consumer Bankruptcy Law
was in the process of being appointed.
k. He
discussed future efforts to eliminate contested circuit court judicial
elections.
It was noted that the Conference of Circuit Court Judges, as well as
the Court of Appeals Public Trust and Confidence Implementation Committee
oppose contested circuit court judicial elections and favor retention
elections of the type currently mandated for the appellate courts. It
was clear that the question is one of determining what to replace contested
elections with, if the MSBA determined to continue its position of
opposing contested judicial elections.
The
Governors agreed to survey Local and Specialty Bar Associations
to determine their position on the issue of contested circuit court
judicial elections.
The
matter was held over for further discussion at the upcoming Executive
Committee meeting and then to be revisited at the next Board of
Governors meeting.
2.Paul
V. Carlin gave the Executive Director’s Report.
a. He
reported that the total MSBA membership count as of December 17,
2002, was 19,856 members, including 17 resignations, 0 dropped
members, 0 deceased members, 8 new members and 17 reinstatements.
b. He
noted that the MSBA’s new Marketing Director, Janice Jones
Branch, was settling in nicely in her position. The staff
has been preparing solicitations for potential new members of the
Association and new Section members from within the pool of available
members of the Association.
c. He
noted that the ABA had increased its dues. He further noted
that the MSBA has an incredible record of lack of dues increases. Dues
were increased by the MSBA in 1980 and again in 1990. Stating
that differently, Mr. Carlin noted that there has been only one
dues increase by the MSBA in the last 22 years.
d. He
requested an extension of the dues payment deadline to February
28, 2003. It was moved and seconded to extend the dues payment
deadline to February 28, 2003.
That Motion passed.
e. He
noted that Wanda Claiborne had organized the meeting of the most
recent Professionalism Course where approximately 1000 new admittees
attended.
She also organized a charity drive collecting 31 big boxes of clothes,
toys and food and $210.00 to be donated to Ronald McDonald House. He
noted that Janet Stidman Eveleth, Director of Communications, had been
a member of the MSBA staff for 15 years as of June 8, 2002, and that
Buzz Winchester, Director of Legislative Relations, had been with the
MSBA for 15 years as of December 1, 2002. He further noted that
the computers, which had previously been authorized for purchase by
the BOG, have arrived and are being installed by Lawrence Hicks.
3. J.
Michael Conroy gave the Treasurer’s Report.
a. He
reported the following for the MSBA as of November 30, 2002: total
dues income of $2,258,865.49; that the total income was $2,542,445.30; that
the total expenses were $1,241,597.59, leaving a surplus
of $1,300,847.71 after 5 months of this fiscal year.
4. Harry
S. Johnson gave the President-Elect’s Report.
a. He
noted that the Mid-Winter Meeting for 2002-2003 was sold out. He
further noted that the Mid-Winter Meeting for 2003-2004 would be
held in Punta Canta, Dominican Republic from February 21, 2004
to February 28, 2004.
He
noted that he attended the Swearing In of Judge Althea Handy in
Baltimore City and that it was a very nice and moving ceremony. He
further reported that during his Presidential year, he would ask
members of the BOG to attend various Judicial Swearing-Ins around
the State and to speak on behalf and carry the good wishes of the
MSBA to the new Judges. Finally, he noted that the September
2003 BOG meeting would be held at Bulle Rock in Harford County.
5. Reports
of the Standing Committees.
a. Timothy
Meredith, Chair of the Committee on Laws, and Buzz Winchester,
Director of Legislative Relations, gave the Report setting out
the final 2003 State Legislative Program. It was moved and
seconded to approve this Report.
The Motion passed.
6. Reports
of Special Committees.
a. K.
Donald Proctor, Chair of the Practice of Law Committee, presented
the report of the Committee dated December 11, 2002. After
discussion by the BOG, it was moved and seconded to approve the
Report of the Practice of Law Committee and to forward the report
to the ABA’s Task Force on the Model Definition of the Practice
of Law. That Motion passed.
7. Report
of Sections.
a. Michael
Stover, Esquire, gave the report of the Young Lawyer’s Section,
noting that on January 13, 2003, there would be a public forum
held at Westminster Hall to discuss contested circuit court judicial
elections.
8. Special
Order of Business - Election of Officers Executive Session).
The
BOG, acting as a nominating committee, went into executive session
and nominated the following candidates for MSBA office during 2003-2004;
For the office of President-Elect, Cornelius Helfrich, from Bel Air,
Maryland; for the office of Secretary, J. Michael Conroy, Jr. from
Gaithersburg, Maryland; and for the office of Treasurer, Edward J.
Gilliss, from Towson, Maryland.
9. New
Business.
a. It
was moved and seconded that J. Michael Conroy, Esquire, be appointed
Assistant Secretary of the MSBA. That Motion passed.
10. Announcements.
a. President
Nolan noted that Judge Alexander Wright was joining the law firm
of Miles and Stockbridge in Towson, Maryland.
