MINUTES
HAWAII STATE BAR ASSOCIATION
BOARD MEETING

Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel
The Parlour
Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday, January 20, 2007, 9:00 a.m.

1. CALL TO ORDER

President Jeffrey Portnoy called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. with a quorum present.  The following persons were present for all or part of the meeting:

Officers Present:

Jeffrey Portnoy

Jeffrey Sia
Robert Godbey
Hugh Jones   

 

Directors Present:

Nathan Aipa
Roxann Bulman
Alfred Castillo 
Steven Chow
Jackie Erickson
Geraldine Hasegawa
Louise Ing
Ronette Kawakami 
Janice Kim
Carol Kitaoka
Trudy Burns Stone 
Jodi Kimura Yi
Nichole Shimamoto

Board Members Absent:

Gregory Frey
Steven Songstad
Suzanne Terada

Others Present:

James Kawachika
Catherine Levinson

HSBA Staff:

Lyn Flanigan
Hisae Ishii-Chang
Iris Ito
Debra White

 

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

By consensus, the minutes of the December 22nd board meeting were approved.

 

 

3. TREASURER’S REPORT – Treasurer Robert Godbey stated that as of December 31, 2006, income and expenses were both less than projected and that the end of year results included an excess of income over expenses.  He noted that there is a policy decision before the Board on how much to set the reserve as a percentage of the operating budget.  With respect to a question on the upcoming expiration of the office space lease, President Portnoy commented that a committee will be formed to address that issue and take into consideration for budget planning purposes.
 

4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

a.   Review of Committee Structures in Constitution & Bylaws and Board Policy Manual (see agenda item 4.a.) – Secretary Hugh Jones presented amendments to the Bylaws and the Policy Manual that his ad hoc committee proposed in response to concerns that some processes in practice were different from what was described in the Bylaws and Policy Manual.  The Board discussed the role of a strategic planning committee and noted that the HSBA’s strategic planning committee was set up more as a budget review committee rather than true strategic planning. 

Action taken:   After further discussion, a motion was made and seconded to recommend adoption of proposed amendments to the Constitution & Bylaws, to inform members of the changes, and to adopt the proposed amendments to the Board Policy Manual.  After further discussion, this item was deferred until the February meeting to allow board members more time to consider them.  

b.   Liaison Committee between HSBA Board and Disciplinary Board  (see agenda item 4.b.) – President Portnoy stated that he would follow up with Disciplinary Board Chair Charles Kleintop regarding this committee. 

c.   Review of Issues Raised by Finance Committee during Budget/Strategic Planning Process – Treasurer Godbey stated that he would review the issues and make recommendations at the February meeting, but was open to receiving comments today. 

      Regarding the 2007 budget, a request for $6,000 had been made to fund additional pages in the Hawaii Bar Journal’s February issue.

Action taken:   After discussion, a motion was made, seconded, and carried by a vote of 14 to 1, with 1 abstention, to allocate $6,000 from reserves to fund additional pages in the Journal.

d.   Executive Director Annual Evaluation, Compensation, and Contract Renewal  (in executive session with Executive Director present)

Action taken:  A motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to adopt the recommendation of the ad hoc committee regarding the Executive Director’s annual evaluation, compensation, and contract renewal.

a.   Legislature 2007 – Executive Director Lyn Flanigan reported that Legislation Committee Chair Gary Slovin will be assisted by Bert Sakuda and Melissa Pavlicek as HSBA advisors on legislation that may be of interest to the HSBA.  The Board will be informed of those pieces of legislation.

b.   Reappointment of Members to the Special Committee on Judicial Performance

Action taken:  A motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to approve the recommendation of the Judicial Administration Committee to reappoint James McWhinnie and Wilma Sur to 3-year terms on the Special Committee on Judicial Performance beginning March 6, 2007.  President Portnoy remarked that these representatives will be asked to report to the Board, verbally or in writing, on the activities of their committee, as other Board-appointed representatives will be asked.

* c.    HSBA Comments to Judiciary’s Commission on Professionalism – As reported by Terence O’Toole at the December board meeting, the Subcommittee plans to submit its report recommending that mandatory disclosure of malpractice insurance be included on the annual attorney registration statement as well as disclosed to clients.  Board members made the following suggestions:  email members about the issue and put a notice in court jackets, collect the comments, and hold a special board meeting to discuss the issue.

6. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 10:45 p.m.

 

Submitted by:

Lyn Flanigan
HSBA Executive Director

Approved by:

Hugh R. Jones
HSBA Secretary