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Bar News - October 7, 2005 Association News--Board Discusses Katrina Aid; Gender Survey At its Sept. 15, 2005, meeting, the NHBA Board of Governors received updates on several matters involving the state courts, potential responses to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina, and heard a presentation regarding the Gender Equality Committee’s recent survey of Bar members, published in the spring issue of the Bar Journal. Steven Scudder, a New Hampshire Bar member and counsel to the ABA’s Pro Bono Committee, provided an update on national, state and local bar responses to the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Scudder said more than 30 ABA entities are involved in one way or another in recruiting volunteers or coordinating assistance. The ABA’s Web site has an entire section devoted to providing information and ways for attorneys to volunteer to help. (Link is http://www.abanet.org/katrina/). “What is so different about Hurricane Katrina is the wholesale displacement of lawyers and law firms and the impact on the judicial system,” Scudder said. “There are a large number of displaced lawyers now located outside the state – some without access to their files or their offices, unable to get in touch with their clients….” Much of the ABA’s effort is pulling together and providing information about efforts already underway, including the existing cooperative relationship between FEMA and the Young Lawyers Division in setting up legal hotlines for disaster victims. Scudder said many legal difficulties will arise for the storm-struck families of the Gulf Coast. “Nobody knows the extent of the legal problems that these people will be having in areas such as housing, insurance, and access to health care,” Scudder said. He said one FEMA/YLD hotline went from a handful of calls to 200 calls in a single day as awareness of the resource became known. The FEMA/YLD effort, which eventually will ramp up to at least 50 locations utilizing attorney volunteers recruited through local Young Lawyers Division chapters, serves individuals with legal problems. Scudder said the ABA’s Business Litigation section was looking into the establishment of a service to assist businesses with storm-related legal issues. Scudder said the court systems in states with many refugees and displaced attorneys may create limited waivers from state licensure rules to allow attorneys not licensed in their jurisdictions to provide assistance for evacuees. Asked what the NH Bar might be able to do, Scudder mentioned that the Minnesota State Bar has “adopted” a legal services program in Louisiana. Not only are the clients in great difficulty, Scudder said most of the staff at these legal services agencies are also coping with the loss and displacement of their homes and offices. “Much help for the legal services community will be desperately needed,” Scudder said. “Be patient – [the problems spawned by Katrina] will be around for a long time. You don’t have to do something right now, because there will be more help needed later on as problems develop,” he added. Lawrence Vogelman, governor-at-large and a volunteer with the American Civil Liberties Union, said there are serious problems with indigent criminal defendants – records for many incarcerated people have been lost in the floods. “There are literally thousands of people with no pieces of paper regarding their cases,” he said. Virginia A. Martin, who oversees the Bar’s Pro Bono Referral Program, said her staff is prepared to coordinate delivery of legal services to Katrina evacuees who may relocate to New Hampshire. Marilyn MacNamara, executive director of the federally funded Legal Advice & Referral Center, said her office may be pressed into service to provide intake services for legal services agencies elsewhere in the country. “We have a capacity to help – we have a toll-free phone line that works in all states.” Family Practice: Expect Delays Several members of the Board of Governors expressed concerns about the difficulties in implementing the new Family Division in Sullivan County and Carroll County (scheduled for Family Division conversion in January 2005), continued paperwork logjams occurring in other superior courts, and the anticipated problems of complying with the new Parental Rights & Responsibilities statute throughout the state. McNamara, an experienced family law practitioner, said she expects it is going to be “a difficult year.” Gender Survey Gender Survey – Gender Equality Committee Chair Catherine Shanelaris reported on the findings of the committee’s survey of Bar members, published last spring in the Bar Journal. Compared to the committee’s initial survey in 1988, conditions for women attorneys have improved, particularly in rectifying disparate treatment of female attorneys by judges and court personnel. However, the 2005 survey did show that mistreatment and gender discrimination is still taking place today, with the principal concern being attorney-to-attorney interactions, in court and out of court. Board members asked questions but no decisions were made. Jennifer Parent, representing Hillsborough North and a board member of the NH Women’s Bar Association, said the survey indicated that some of the discrimination problems involve discrimination against men seeking to fulfill responsibilities to their families, and she suggested that the Gender Equality Committee might consider framing its response to the survey in the context of helping Bar members of both sexes deal with the conflict between family and professional issues with courts or law firms. Discipline, Malpractice News The Board also approved a policy regarding the dissemination or reporting of malpractice cases or disciplinary actions that had been discussed at prior meetings. The policy states that ultimate authority resides with the Executive Director regarding adherence to the Bar publications’ editorial policies. In part, the policy states: “Publication of these issues shall be for the purposes of information/education to members regarding how to avoid the underlying problem and/or any new principles of law or as required by Court Order or Court Rule.” The Board also conducted an executive session to interview Judge Daniel Cappiello, who has been nominated as presiding justice of the Rochester District Court.
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