MINUTES
HAWAII STATE BAR ASSOCIATION
BOARD MEETING
1132 Bishop Street, Suite 906
Honolulu, HI 96813
Thursday, May 24, 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
Directors Present
Roxann Bulman (by phone)
Alfred Castillo (by phone)
Steven Chow
Jackie Erickson
Gregory Frey
Louise Ing (by phone)
Ronette Kawakami (by phone)
Carol Kitaoka (by phone)
Steven Songstad
Jill Hasegawa for
Nichole Shimamoto
Board Members Absent
Nathan Aipa
Geraldine Hasegawa
Janice Kim
Trudy Burns Stone
Suzanne Terada
Jodi Kimura Yi
Others Present
James Kawachika
Ken Kobayashi, Honolulu Advertiser
Catherine Levinson
David Rosen
Curtis Shiramizu (by phone)
KHON-TV
HSBA Staff
Lyn Flanigan
Iris Ito
Debra White
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Action taken: By consensus, the minutes of the board meetings on April 10th, 16th, and 19th were approved.
3. TREASURER’S REPORT – Treasurer Robert Godbey referred the Board to the written report included in the agenda for the months of March and April. He noted that the Finance Committee would present a revised 2007 budget next week.
4. COMMITTEE/REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS
a. Legislation Committee – Executive Director Lyn Flanigan reported that the Judiciary was awarded $25 million to complete the Kapolei complex, but no additional capital improvement funding was approved; the proposed amendment to the JSC procedures died; and that an increase in fees for guardians ad litem was passed without funding.
b. HSBA Subcommittee re: Commission on Professionalism Proposal on Insurance Disclosure (see agenda item 4.b. and Exhibit A) – the Commission will work on the wording of the proposed rule amendment.
c. HSBA Subcommittee re: Consumer Protection Committee’s Proposed Definition of “Practice of Law” – Subcommittee will report back in June.
d. HSBA Social – planning July event.
e. Rule 17 Committee – FYI only.
f. Policy Revision Committee – Secretary Hugh Jones reported that he is half way done working on proposed amendments to the Constitution & Bylaws, then will start working on proposed amendments to the Board Policy Manual.
g. Delivery of Legal Services Committee – will report at June board meeting.
h. Strategic Planning Committee – Committee had conference call with ABA representatives and received helpful information. Looking for local facilitator to assist in the process.
i. Judge Michael Town’s Presentation – postponed to July.
j. Working with Law School – Dean Avi Soifer is assisting President Portnoy in getting a keynote speaker for the bar convention luncheon.
k. Possible Forum with Public – one-day program on lawyer image in Hawaii.
5. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – See written report for HSBA activities.
6. YLD REPORT – YLD Vice President/President-elect Jill Hasegawa reported that during Law Week, Legal Line Clinics at various locations were well-attended and the recent Junior Judges program reached approximately 2,000 Hawaii students.
7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Approval of 2007 Reserves
Action taken: A motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to adopt the recommendation of the Finance Committee to establish the reserves for 2007 at 40% of the operating budget.
8. NEW BUSINESS
a. Adjustment of Dues Payment
Action taken: A motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to adopt the recommendation of the Executive Committee to revert to a semi-annual proration schedule when a member joins the bar or changes status to simplify the programming of various fee schedules.
b. Amendment of Rule 1.9 of the Rules of the Supreme Court (see agenda item 7.b.)
Action taken: A motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to adopt the recommendation of the Executive Committee to approve the proposed amendment to Rule 1.9 that would remove language that creates a conflict between the rule and the Supreme Court’s approval of fees for pro hac vice registration.
c. “Of Counsel” Status (see agenda item 7.d) – FYI only.
d. Strategic Planning Committee Request for Budget (see agenda item 7.d.)
Action taken: A motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to adopt the recommendation of the Executive Committee to allocate $10,000 from reserves for the review and reworking of the strategic plan to include hiring a facilitator who can guide HSBA through this process.
e. Japan Trip in October
Action taken: A motion was made, seconded, and carried without opposition to allocate $7,000 from reserves for the Japan trip in October for costs to include a reception, gifts to the bar association in Japan, and other delegation expenses.
f. Email re: Seeking Plaintiffs for Litigation (see addendum to agenda, 7.f.)
HSBA member David Rosen was present to listen for the discussion regarding his email which has generated controversy among the legal community and the general public.
President Portnoy stated that HSBA does not have any jurisdiction over bar members regarding ethics or discipline, but the issue of the image of attorneys is something HSBA should be concerned about.
Mr. Rosen stated that he was willing to talk privately with board and bar members about his reasons for sending the email, but not comfortable discussing the details at the board meeting due to the ongoing ODC investigation.
Other comments by board members included that this issue should be left up to the appropriate authorities to take action; that the Board has a duty to inform/educate the public about the responsibility of attorneys; that the Board should look at the issue of actions that impact the reputation of attorneys, including solicitation.
After further discussion, the members agreed to prepare a statement for review by the Board. Mr. Jones suggested language as a draft statement. Board members generally agreed that the suggested language was a good starting point in that it not address any specific case.
Action taken: A motion was made and seconded for the Board to draft a statement, circulate it among board members later today, and issue it to the media tomorrow. The motion failed.
Mr. Godbey disclosed his representation of Kamehameha Schools on an unrelated matter and recused himself from the vote. Director Louise Ing and a few other board members also disclosed their relationship to KSBE.
Mr. Jones agreed to work on the draft statement further, send it for review/revision to President Portnoy, who would then send it to board members for comment before the Board decides whether it should be issued.
8. PRESIDENT’S REPORT
a. Hawaii “Idle” Lawyers – June 25th audition, 4-8 pm, rRed Elephant.
b. John McKay – to speak at luncheon event on September 24th.
c. Pending: event with Supreme Court Justice Stevens – in conjunction with his visit in July for the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.
d. Visit by Supreme Court Justice Breyer – Jurists-in-Residence program in February 2008.
9. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 1:04 p.m.
Submitted by:
Lyn Flanigan
HSBA Executive Director
Approved by:
Hugh R. Jones
HSBA Secretary