Vermont Bar Association
Board of Managers Meeting
September 26, 2013
Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee

Present: Amber L. Barber, James F. Carroll, David C. Carter, Timothy C. Doherty, Thomas S. Durkin, Jennifer Emens-Butler, David R. Fenster,Gary L. Franklin, Austin R. Gray, Michael E. Kennedy, Daniel H. Maguire, Andrew D. Mikell, Daniel P. Richardson, Edward J. Tyler, III, Matthew F. Valerio

Guest: Matt Lubaroff (via phone)

Staff: Mary Ashcroft,Lisa Maxfield, Bob Paolini, Kevin Ryan,Laura Welcome

  1. Call to Order: President Amber Barber called the meeting to order at 3:03 pm
  2. Future Practice of Law Issues – No discussion.
  3. Acceptance of Consent Agenda
  1. Minutes – Motion was made, seconded and unanimously voted to accept the minutes of the July 19, 2013 Board meeting as printed.
  2. Treasurer’s Report –Matt Valerio noted the membership is where it should be and the budget is on track. Bob Paolini informed the Board that the September 9th Basic Skills program was successful and netted $11,000, which is not yet reflected in the budget report. Lisa Maxfield noted that a large check was received 2-3 days into the new fiscal year for the Lawyer Referral Service Program, which will be reflected in the next budget report
  3. Board Committee Reports
  4. Operations – Nothing to report.
  5. Membership – Nothing to report.
  6. Program and Planning – Nothing to report.
  7. Pro Bono Committee – Mary Ashcroft stated the committee met on August 1st, and they are presenting an Ethics and Empathy program at tomorrow’s Annual Meeting. Mary stated that Angele Court has asked for help rejuvenating VVLP. Amber Barber mentioned the Addison County Women First program.
  8. Mid-Size Case Committee – Gary Franklin circulated a draft rule for the Board to review. Bob noted that Judge Teachout contacted him about this issue and expressed interest in a meeting with Margaret Barry, Marc Mihaly, Mary Ashcroft and Chief Justice Reiber.
  9. President’s Report –Nothing to report.
  10. President Elect’s Report – David Fenster presented Amber with an engraved chair in recognition of her year as President of the VBA Board of Managers.
  11. Executive Director’s Report – Bob Paolini noted that the new Board committees will receive an email with the list serve email addresses. Bob also stated that an ALPS representative will join the meeting by phone to discuss ALPS Attorney Match. Also noted was that the Capocia cases are about to wrap up, so the Client Security Fund will be on the horizon again.
    Bob informed the Board that there a Foreclosure Mediation update training on October 22nd. The VBA will be selecting mediators, and will probably give the parties 3 names to select from. The statute takes effect December 1st. Bob noted that he would like to create a mediator list within the LRS database software program and charge mediators an annual fee to be on the list to cover administrative expenses.
    David Carter suggested the fee be paid by the banks. Tom Durkin agreed, but believes implementation would be difficult and the fee would simply be passed down to clients.
    Bob discussed the issues currently with the courts trying to manage the Foreclosure Mediation process.
  12. Staff Reports – Kevin Ryan noted that the VBA is about to sign a contract with a company who will provide live streaming. Kevin noted that the VBA will try the process out with one-hour lunch time programs. Kevin stated that there is no cost to the VBA for this program.
    Kevin also stated that Wayne Fontanella, Resourceful Recordings, who currently records our live programs, is working with us in developing a video-on-demand platform so all recorded seminars will be available online instead of DVD or Audio CDs currently mailed out by staff.
    Mary Ashcroft noted that the final reports for grants received on low-bono projects are completed. Mary also reported that there were 165 cases placed in the 2012-2013 fiscal year. Amber Barber asked if it is difficult getting attorneys on board to take these cases. Mary noted that it varied from county to county.
    Mary noted that she, Mike Kennedy and Angele Court are presenting Ethics and Empathy at tomorrow’s Annual Meeting.
    Mary also mentioned Vermont Legal Aid received a grant of $100,000 per year for three years for domestic violence work. Mary is also on the Pro Se Litigants committee, and was a speaker at the September 9th Basic Skills program where she was approached by many attendees interested in helping with pro bono or low bono work.
  13. Section Liaison Reports – No discussion of this item.
  14. VBF Report – Dan Richardson stated that the Board met in September and grants were increased. He noted there are 2 tiers for competitive grants. Dan also noted they elected new officers to the VBF Board. Dan also informed the VBA Board that Merchant’s Bank and TD Bank are lowering their IOLTA interest rates. David Carter suggested banks issue business credit cards for attorneys, providing cash back incentives going to IOLTA.
  15. ATJ Coalition Report – Bob noted the draft announcement for a new poverty law fellow for August 2014 is done. Bob stated that the starting salary will be a little higher and that three service providers had a meeting after the ATJ meeting. It was determined that the new fellow would most likely work out of the law school and will work on veterans’ affairs. Bob noted that Sam Hoar and Scott McGee will address the Business meeting tomorrow regarding fundraising. Bob also noted that the next ATJ meeting will discuss fringe benefits and how funding will be handled.
    Bob noted that Legal Aid and LawLine are trying to streamline their intake and would like to have lawyers staffing the lines to triage incoming calls.
  1. Action
  1. Enrollments– A motion wasmade to accept the following persons as members of the Vermont Bar Association: Attorney Members:Rachel J. Allen, Naomi S. Almeleh, Denise A. Bailey, Edward A. Baker, Marie L. Byford, Lisa M. Campion, Jennifer L. Dudanowicz,Jaime I. Gillis, Launa L. Hooper, S. Scott Smith, Heather M. Wright.Associate Members:Ned Andrews, Esq, Karen G. Barber, Esq., Steven L. Barth, Esq., Michelle Barth, Esq., Gregory J. Bombardier, Annemarie Brana-Todd, Esq., Patrick N. Bryant, Esq, David A. Carlson, Esq., Emily E. Chamberlain, Christine N. Cimini, Esq., Joshua RI Cohen, Esq, Daniel P. Dagostino, Esq, Linda L. Doll, Esq, HethbaFatnassi, Donald Frechette, Esq., Lisa Marie Gala, Warren R. Gleicher, Esq, Lisa D. Goddard-Gikas, Esq, Alfred Gordon O'Connell, Esq, Elizabeth J. Handwerger, Melissa Horwitz, Esq, Mark Latham, William Lippert, Kristin M. Mattes, Helena R. McGarry, Esq., Jeremiah R. Newhall, Esq., Scott T. Ober, Esq., Timothy J. O'Connor, Esq, Christine M. Pierpont, Esq, Anthony J. Pietrafesa, Esq., Margaret B. Pritchard, Esq, Sara M. Puls, James D. Renner, Esq., Kelly E. Rice, Esq, Joshua WB Richards, Esq., Douglas A. Ruley, Esq., Brandon Creighton Sample, Terry B. Silva, Adeline Simenon, Esq, Lewis F. Steele, Esq., Robert C. Sudmyer, Esq, Mark A. Sylvester, Esq., Colin C. Tait, Esq., Jo Ann Thibault, Jeremy T. Weiss, Jessica L. West, Esq, Scott D. Woodward, Wilfred K. Wright, Jr., Esq., Robert E. Young, Esq.The motion passed unanimously.
  2. Appoint VBF Board member – There are two seats on the VBF Board that the VBA Board needs to fill. One is a one-year seat, and the other is a two-year seat. Amber Barber stated she is willing to fill the one-year seat. Dan Richardson suggested Mark Sciarrotta for the two-year seat. A motion was made to appoint Amber and Mark to the VBF Board. Motion was unanimously approved.
  3. Appoint NEBA Board member – Amber Barber nominated Dan Maguire to the NEBA Board. A motion was made to appoint Dan Maguire to the NEBA Board. Motion was unanimously approved.
  1. Discussion
  2. Low Bono Projects, VBA Membership, ALPS – Bob informed the Board that ALPS will no longer cover attorneys who are recruited for low bono or pro bono cases, or the Board of Managers. Bob stated that he and Lisa Maxfield are searching for a new carrier.
  3. ALPSAttorneyMatch.com – Matt Lubaroff joined the Board meeting by phone, and stated that this program is now called ALPSAttorneymatch.com. A PowerPoint presentation was used to explain the program, which assists attorneys in finding mentors. After the presentation the Board discussed the program and some areas of concern, which will be discussed with ALPS at a future time.
  4. Change December Board Meeting date? – Bob informed the Board that a local restaurant, Kismet, is willing to host a private party on December 16th for the December meeting with the Nominating Committee. The Board agreed to change the date of the meeting to December 16th. Amber requested the Board members reach out to people who may be interested in serving on the Board. Bob noted that the seats up for reelection in March are: Jennifer Emens-Butler; Gary Franklin; and Andy Mikell.
  5. Incubator Discussion – Bob spoke about a rural attorney recruitment program in South Dakota. The program is an incubator/internship program that puts lawyers in underserved rural locations. These lawyers receive a stipend equal to 90% of the University of South Dakota Law School tuition and fees. Dan also discussed the possible Vermont Virtual Lawyer Incubator Project. He noted that since there is still a clerkship requirement for new attorneys in Vermont, there are two ways to handle the issue. One is to require applicants to finish their clerkship requirement and then join the incubator program. The second option is to meld the clerkship with the incubator program by accepting the applicants to the incubator program, but not allow them to participate until the clerkship has been completed. Dan also noted the possibility of paying these attorneys a stipend. Mary asked where the money for the stipend would come from, as we would not want to approach the VBF, VVLP or LawLine due to the financial burden already on them.
    There was much discussion at this point.
  6. 70/40 Members – No discussion of this item.
  7. Lawyers Assistance Program – No discussion of this item
  8. Unfinished Business
  9. H.357, Writs of Execution – This item was tabled to a future meeting.
  10. New Business – None.

The Board of Managers went into Executive Session from 5:56pm – 6:28pm.

There being no further Old or New Business, it was moved, seconded, and passed that the meeting adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 6:28p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Laura Welcome
Vermont Bar Association