MINUTES
HAWAII STATE BAR ASSOCIATION
BOARD MEETING

1132 Bishop Street, Suite 906
Honolulu, HI  96813
Thursday, July 26, 2007, 11:30 a.m.

1.  CALL TO ORDER

President Jeffrey Portnoy called the meeting to order at 11:35 a.m.  No quorum was present at the time, but was established before the Board took any action.  The following persons were present for all or part of the meeting:

Officers Present
Jeffrey Portnoy
Jeffrey Sia
Robert Godbey
Hugh Jones (by phone)

Directors Present
Nathan Aipa  (by phone)
Alfred Castillo  (by phone) 
Gregory Frey
Geraldine Hasegawa
Janice Kim
Carol Kitaoka
Steven Songstad
Trudy Burns Stone
Jodi Kimura Yi
Nichole Shimamoto

Board Members Absent
Roxann Bulman
Steven Chow
Jackie Erickson
Louise Ing
Ronette Kawakami    
Suzanne Terada

Others Present
Hon. Michael Town
Richard Chun

HSBA Staff
Lyn Flanigan
Iris Ito
Debra White

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – approval of June minutes deferred until the August meeting.

3. TREASURER’S REPORT – Treasurer Robert Godbey reported that the HSBA is on budget and referred the Board to the written financials included in the agenda.  He also noted that the 2008 budget is being worked on. 

4. COMMITTEE/REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS

a.   Rule 17 Committee – President Portnoy reported that the Committee had its first meeting and will prepare a report to the Board by October.

b.   Strategic Planning Committee - Director Steven Songstad reported that an interim strategic planning meeting is planned for this September 15, 2007 at Oahu Country Club. 

c.   Japan Delegation - October 1st program on American jury system.

d.   Hawaii Idle Lawyers Dinner – Solicitations have been sent to law firms.  President Portnoy expects Board members to assist in table sales.

e.   Bar Convention - arrangements made with Neal Katyal (Georgetown law school professor and lead attorney in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld) to be keynote speaker.

f.    Kona Courthouse Committee – meetings scheduled with Senate President Colleen Hanabusa and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Brian Taniguchi.

g.   Judge Michael Town’s Presentation – Judge Town spoke about the results of a study done on vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue stress in judges, and how attorneys may also suffer from the same conditions.  He encouraged the HSBA to inform/educate bar members of vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue.
 

5. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – Executive Director Lyn Flanigan reported that she and President Portnoy attended a conference in Missoula sponsored by the Attorney Liability Protection Society and discussed topics such as the access to justice, rule of law, and comprehensive client protection program.  See written report for other HSBA activities. 

6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

a.   ABA Program and Assistance Review of LRIS / Proposed Amendment to HRPC Rule 5.4(a)  (see agenda item 6.a. and Exhibit D)

Action taken:  A motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to inform the Supreme Court of the HSBA’s support for the proposed amendment to Rule 5.4(a) of the Hawaii Rules of Professional Conduct that would allow a percentage fee membership plan for HSBA’s lawyer referral service.

b.   Proposed Amendments to HSBA Constitution & Bylaws  (see agenda item 6.a. and Exhibit D) - President Portnoy and Secretary Hugh Jones gave a brief overview of the proposed amendments to be voted on by the membership at the annual meeting. 

1)   Article II - amend stated purpose of the Association to bring in line with language in Supreme Court Rule 17.

Action taken:  A motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to recommend to the membership approval of the above-stated proposed amendments to the HSBA Constitution & Bylaws.

2)   Article III - add to list of administrative suspensions those who have filed an incomplete or inaccurate attorney registration statement to make consistent with language in Supreme Court Rule 17.

Action taken:  A motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to recommend to the membership approval of the above-stated proposed amendments. 

3)   Article V - provide for a 3-year presidential track; make the immediate past president an ex-officio member of the Board; provide for removal of director who fails to attend 3 consecutive meetings without good cause.

Action taken:  A motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to recommend to the membership approval of the above-stated proposed amendments.

4)   Article VII - provide for succession of Vice President to President-elect; authorize internet or electronic voting in elections.

Action taken:  A motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to recommend to the membership approval of the above-stated proposed amendments.

5)   Article IX – amend to allow, not require, HSBA to express opinion on qualifications of candidates for judicial office, the Attorney General, and the U.S. Attorney.

Action taken:  A motion was made to recommend to the membership approval of the above-stated proposed amendments.  The motion failed for lack of a second. 

6)   provide for succession of Vice President to President-elect; authorize internet or electronic voting in elections

Action taken:  A motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to recommend to the membership approval of the above-stated proposed amendments.

Action taken:  A motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to allow the Executive Director to make confirming amendments to the Constitution & Bylaws. 

7.  NEW BUSINESS

a.   Proposed Amendments to Rule 2 of RSCH regarding the Disciplinary Board – Due to time constraints, this item was deferred to the August board meeting.

b.   Casemaker Proposal  (see agenda item 7.b. and Exhibit G) – Ms. Flanigan explained that the Casemaker proposal would be a tremendous benefit to solos and small firms who comprise over 50% of the private practice bar.  She noted that this would result in an increase in member dues by about $10-$15 per member.  HSBA Member Benefits Committee member and solo practitioner Richard Chun expressed support for this proposal. 

      A concern was voiced that this would not benefit large firms since they already subscribe to some legal research engine and would not likely drop it to use Casemaker.  A board member commented that perhaps large firms could negotiate a better deal with those research engines in light of HSBA’s agreement with Casemaker. 

In response to a question, Ms. Flanigan said that she would check with other bars on whether there is a limit to the number of users on Casemaker at the same time.

Action taken:  After further discussion, a motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to approve a proposal from Casemaker to offer a legal research engine to HSBA members via the HSBA website, noting that there will be an increase in member dues.

8. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 1:02 p.m.