Minutes of the Meeting of
Business
Meeting
President Nancy Paul
called the meeting to order at
Attendance:
Members present were:
Heather Martin (Bucks), Shelly Lawson (Colburn), Arthur Birdsall (PBA), Suellen
Verlihay (Beaver), JoEllen Pastore (Lawrence), Wendy Hoffman (Chester), Ken
Shear (Philadelphia), Mary Beth Leeson (Northampton), Marianne Canning
(Lehigh), Kathy Sabol (Washington), Nevin Mindlin (PBA), Bruce Fleischer
(Centre), Dave Blaner (Allegheny), Roger Meilton (PBI), Elizabeth Kramer (PBA),
Sandra Brydon Smith (Erie), Nancy Paul (Montgomery), Susan Kenny (Monroe), Jean
Bednarski (York), Don Morgan (Dauphin), Ken Shear (Philadelphia), Diane
Krivoniak (Westmoreland).
TREASURER’s
REPORT/Minutes
Minutes from the March
2004 CCBL business meeting as well as the Treasurer’s Report were accepted as
submitted.
Randy
Graf - Director of advertising/mid-atlantic Newspapers group
Mr. Graf led discussion
on unclaimed property
1.
After 5 years, all unclaimed property is gathered and put in vault in
2.
$1 million is the proposed law journal advertising budget for the state
treasury to fulfill its requirement to advertise in local law journals.
Upcoming
Events
President Paul reviewed
dates of events of interest to PABE members:
NEVIN MINDLIN –
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
¨
Website – box
score, background on bills
¨
Legislative
weekly highlight – sent to bar execs, bar presidents, interested members
¨
Legislative
directories available at PBA legislative table
¨
Bar PAC is at
$200,000 but the PAC board wants to bolster this fund.
¨
Senate bill
392 deals with LLC advertising requirements in law journal, very much in play.
Opposed by Phila bar, chamber.
¨
Phila’s
opposition to senate bill 392 can be viewed on their website
PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS
President Paul reported
on Board of Governors meeting.
¨
No dues
increase
¨
Public image
campaign – about to introduce ideas to other bar associations.
¨
PBA changed
fiscal year back to calendar year.
BARRY GROUP ADVERTISING
CONCLUSIONS:
¨
Use term
“attorney” and not “lawyer.”
¨
Communication
with clients still big complaint. Horn Book helps with communication. New
members automatically receive this. Call Art for additional copies.
¨
Get attorneys
in front of audience.
President Paul will check
with PBA leadership to see if copies of the Barry report could be shared with
local bar.
PBA
¨
Elizabeth
Kramer reported that PBA will be doing a membership survey; may do by e-letter.
¨
PBA discount
may be offered to legal services attorneys. David Blaner reported that
discounts have not made a difference in govt. lawyer participation in spite of
discount.
¨
CCBL
programming still taking ideas.
David
Blaner remarked about scheduling conflict with the BLI and CCBL
PBI
¨
New board
members selected and new officers announced.
¨
Discussed the
Nonprofit Institute scheduled at Phila. CLE center on
Circulated
the seminar schedule and asked bar executives to indicate their area of
interest.
Discussed videotaping seminar. No decision made
PBF
Silent auction – bids
close before dinner
OLD BUSINESS
BELDEN MEMORIAL FUND – Memorial Service scheduled for June 9th at
Harrisburg Holiday Inn. Do not know intentions about the PBF fund and will wait
to talk with PBF director Marie Queen before determining amount to contribute
from the PABE account.
PABE RETREAT
Retreat agenda is not yet
finalized.
Still looking for
speakers if anyone has a suggestion.
NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Blaner presented possible rule changes for professional conduct that deal
with the incapacitated attorney and how to best handle client files.
¨
Brought to us
by D-board Chief Paul Killion.
¨
Suggestion
that bar associations help with determining process for handling these files
since the bar is the first place that clients call to try to determine who is
the conservator.
¨
Bar
associations are asked to take back to board for consideration and report back
to Mr. Blaner.
¨
Ask Paul to
attend next PABE meeting to discuss rules and to hear concerns about
conservatorships from the bar exec’s side.
The meeting adjourned at
Submitted by
Diane Krivoniak