THE BAR WILL make a greater effort to report on Association governance, consider greater use of electronic communications and enhance the promotion of member services to members, according to a recent vote by the NHBA Board of Governors.

At its meeting last month, the Board discussed the report and recommendations of the Member Communications Task Force convened last year by then NHBA President Martha Van Oot.

The task force, comprised of Bar staff, representatives of Bar News and Bar Journal committees, Bar members generally not involved in Bar activities, and Laura Kiernan, public information officer for the court system, examined the major vehicles for communicating with members, considering content and format to identify areas for improvement in light of member needs and changing technology.

The key recommendations were:

Provide more coverage of issues discussed by the Board of Governors at its meetings. In the past, news from Board meetings was usually limited to completed actions, which, task force members believed, has resulted in widespread lack of knowledge of the Bar’s priorities and its approaches to challenges facing the profession.

NHBA Executive Director Jeannine McCoy and Communications Director Dan Wise are working on how to accomplish this goal, given the competing demands for space in Bar News and the need to provide sufficient background information on complicated issues.

Develop ongoing reporting mechanisms to ensure regular coverage of the activities of Bar committees and sections.

Provide more coverage of enacted legislation, the comings and goings of Bar members, more practice tips, and advice from the attorney discipline system in Bar News.

Seek response from the Bar Journal Editorial Advisory Board on concerns and issues raised by the Task Force regarding the quarterly Journal. The task force had explored the concept of electronic publishing of the Journal but stopped short of recommending elimination of the print edition without answers to a broad range of questions. The Board said the committee should pursue alternative funding sources to defray production costs if it decides in favor of continuing the print edition.

Obtain strategic marketing expertise to coordinate promotion of Bar services. That recommendation was forwarded to the Finance Committee along with other items that may have a budget impact. The Committee is wrapping up work on the 2004-2005 budget.

Provide a selection of options for electronic communications. Task force members favored options that would allow members to choose what information Bar members receive through email. Also endorsed were initiatives to develop a member directory with photos online and an "electronic mall" that would raise revenue and provide access to support services through the Bar’s Web site. These projects have been progressing at the staff level as the Task Force has been completing its work.

The panel, concluded, "the state of member communications is good.... members generally endorsed the current channels of communication and sought greater effort at electronic communications, especially e-mail."

The task force, chaired by Richard Y. Uchida, of Concord, included Bar members: Richard Anderson, Patrick Closson, Michael DeLucia, Michael P. Hall, Robert R. Howard, Patricia Peard, Sophie Sparrow, and Courtney Worcester.

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