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Bar News - April 7, 2006 Board Ponders Goals for the Bar; Updates on Court Initiatives
The Board reviewed a compilation of comments and findings from the Fall Retreat held at Loon Mountain and a similar session conducted at the 2006 Midyear Meeting, and from focus groups conducted by the Professional Satisfaction subcommittee of the Supreme Court Task Force on the Status of the Legal Profession. Some preliminary goals were established, which will be subsequently reviewed by members of the Board. Public Protection Fund claims’ reviews. The Board voted to approve for submission to the Supreme Court an amendment to Supreme Court Rule 55, which governs the operation of the Public Protection Fund. The amendment would provide notice to the New Hampshire Bar Association in the event that a review of a claims’ decision by the PPF Committee is filed with the Supreme Court. The amendment also would allow the NHBA to file an appearance within 30 days of the notice to provide the Association with the opportunity to have input on the claims’ review process. Judicial Conduct Committee reappointment. Wilfred “Jack” Sanders was reappointed to a three-year term as NHBA appointee to the Judicial Conduct Committee. He has been filling out the unexpired term of the late Deborah Cooper. Updates on other initiatives: NHBA Legal Services Director Ginny Martin related the progress of the Citizens Commission on the State Courts, which has been voting on a number of recommendations in preparation for delivering a report on long-range objectives for the state courts, to be submitted to the Chief Justice in May. (see article on page one.) Vice President Eleanor Dahar said work by a small committee is continuing on the proposed structure for a professionally staffed Lawyers’ Assistance Program to assist Bar members, lawyers or judges, who are impaired due to mental or substance abuse problems. President Richard Uchida said more information will be released soon by the court on the creation by the Supreme Court of a permanent Access to Justice commission in NH, modeled on efforts in several other states to provide oversight and monitoring of efforts to supply low and moderate-income individuals with meaningful access to justice The NHBA Ethics Committee’s long-awaited prposed revision of the Rules of Professional Conduct has been submitted to the Supreme Court. Board members discussed the importance of finding ways to inform the membership about the details of the draft, which contains significant rewriting and updating of almost every ethics rule. The latest version is available at www.nhbar.org. Governor-at-Large Lawrence Vogelman reported that the Supreme Court recently informed the NH Board of Bar Examiners of significant upcoming changes to the bar exam, including the lowering of the passing score by 10 points (to make NH’s passing score consistent with other states, and to avoid the unfairness of admitting on motion attorneys from other states who have a lower score than attorneys who take the exam in NH). That change was reported in the March 17 issue of Bar News. President-Elect Richard McNamara reported on the progress he has made in meeting with court and security officials on the potential use of Bar ID cards to allow attorneys to be waived from screening at courthouses. A meeting with all of the county sheriffs, who oversee security in the superior courts, was scheduled for the end of March. Additional meetings with court security officials, regarding procedures at the district, probate and supreme courts, will be scheduled, he said. President Uchida also said he is in the process of scheduling a meeting of the Board of Governors and the administrative judges to discuss general issues. The next meeting of the Board of Governors is set for April 20.
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