President of the Kentucky Bar Association - Wow!

I have this service ethic that drives me to do things that help others. It seems to be part of me and I cannot shake it. So, once again, it seems that I am Hoo’s in charge of something.

On Thursday, June 20, I took the oath of office as President of the Kentucky Bar Association for 2013-2014. It is a position I sought. I wasn’t sure I would get there, but somehow I did. I sought the position because I think I can make a positive difference in the professional lives of my brothers and sisters at the Kentucky Bar. I have my chance.

I have been told that I am pretty good at things that do not pay. Yes, it is volunteer work for the KY Court of Justice. I am beginning year 9 on the KBA Board of Governors – 6 as a Governor, 1 as Vice President and 1 as President-Elect. I have two to go, as the Immediate Past President has duties, too. As President I will preside at the 7 regular board meetings and executive committee meetings and at any special meeting, will attend all of the KY Law Update sessions around the Commonwealth, and will be the ‘face’ of the profession for a while. I will set the agenda for the year, appoint committee chairs and members, and arrange for the 2014 annual convention to be held in Covington next June. The duties seem endless, but the quality of the KBA staff makes it all manageable. The KBA staff is simply awesome and make allthe volunteers look good.

Many have asked ‘what is the KBA and what does it do?’ Fair questions. Even some attorneys are not sure.  Kentucky’s Constitution makes the Court of Justice the Commonwealth’s 3^rd branch of government, co-equal with the executive and legislative branches, and imposes the duty of running this branch on the Supreme Court (SCOKY). A portion of these duties have been assigned to the Court’s agency, known as the KBA. SCOKY has issued Rules that establish the KBA and regulate the practice of law. Rule 3.025 states:

The mission and purpose of the association is to maintain a proper discipline of the

members of the bar in accordance with these rules and with the principles of the legal profession

as a public calling, to initiate and supervise, with the approval of the court, appropriate means to

insure a continuing high standard of professional competence on the part of the members of the

bar, and to bear a substantial and continuing responsibility for promoting the efficiency and

improvement of the judicial system.

Everything the KBA does falls under this Rule. Subsequent Rules flesh out details of the mission. The first duty the rule mentions is discipline. The KBA is like an umbrella under which the entire system of disciplinary prosecution falls. One arm of the KBA is the Office of Bar Counsel – the prosecutor. Another arm is the Inquiry Commission -  the grand jury. A third arm is the group of hearing officers – the trial judges. The fourth arm is the Board of Governors – the appellate court. The ultimate decision-maker is the Court itself, as only SCOKY has the authority to issue discipline. By the time an attorney’s case gets to the Court for resolution, there have been several layers of filters and due process hearings.     

The Board of Governors consists of 2 elected representatives of the 7 SCOKY districts. (14) The 4 officers (VP, Pres.Elect, President, Immediate Past Pres.) and the 4 lay members appointed by the Court for discipline cases make the total 22, but since the Past President handles only consensual discipline (‘plea bargains’) 21 people hear appeals from hearing officer decisions and default cases.  Since the Board has this judicial function, its members are not made aware of any discipline case before it is formally presented to the Board. This is why Board members cannot answer constituent questions about individual cases. The President, therefore, becomes the presiding judge in appeals and defaults that come before the board.

The professional competence aspect of the mission is carried out by the Continuing Legal Education Commission, another arm of the KBA. The annual convention, the regional seminars, the on-line offerings are all efforts to carry out the mission. The Ethics Committee works on and issues advisory opinions on ethics issues of general importance and its Hotline advises individual attorneys on prospective actions. The KY Lawyers Assistance Program (KYLAP) provides completely confidential help to attorneys facing problems with drugs, alcohol and mental illness. The Board provides free computerized legal research for its members. The Board has administrative responsibilities to approve department heads, and sets the budgets of all aspects of KBA operations. The Executive Director, the Chief Bar Counsel and all other managers serve at the pleasure of the Board.

The efficiency and improvement aspects of the KBA mission are illustrated by the KBA effort to address inadequate court funding. The KY Bar Foundation and the IOLTA (interest on lawyers trust accounts) commission raise money to give to justice-related organizations such as legal aid and law schools. The KBA publishes a magazine, issues newsletters, and conducts elections for judicial nominating committees. The KBA has committees on diversity in the profession, and on domestic violence and children, and legislation. Leadership and SCOKY work together on issues of immediate concern to the Court and justice system.

The President of the Kentucky Bar Association has substantial and ongoing responsibility for all this and more for a year. It is a big job. I believe the President also has the responsibility of using the ‘bully pulpit’ to set the tone, set the agenda and influence the conversation among members of the Kentucky Bar. What follows, delivered at this year’s Convention in Louisville, was my first attempt.

"Mr. Chief Justice, members of the Supreme Court, members of the Kentucky Court of Justice, Judge Heyburn, Judge Russell and members of the Federal judiciary, my brothers and sisters of the Kentucky Bar, friends and family: 
 

I am proud to be a Kentucky Attorney and proud to be an officer of our Court of Justice. Collectively, Kentucky attorneys are the most outstanding group of people I have encountered. You routinely stand up to be counted. You take on difficult or unpopular causes with professionalism. You seek help when needed, and always offer assistance to those who seek it. You are leaders in your communities, in your churches and civic organizations and you teach your children well. Our Commonwealth depends on us to be as good as we can be, and, day after day, Kentucky attorneys rise to the occasion. Kentucky attorneys serve.  I am blessed to be among you.

So, tonight, let us celebrate being Kentucky attorneys! Let’s take a minute to feel good about who we are, what we do, and the service we provide. Let’s acknowledge and give thanks for our many blessings.

It is an honor and privilege to be here with you tonight, and I am humbled by the opportunity to serve as your President for the next year. I know that I have been blessed. In taking the seat at the head of the table, I am standing on the shoulders of so many great people who set examples for me, who offered me guidance and assistance, and who became lasting friends and revered colleagues in the process. Some are here – some are not – but I remember and thank them all. I extend hearty thanks and congratulations to Doug Myers and Maggie Keene, who have replaced the pavement on the road before me and removed the potholes. Kudos to Bruce Davis and Buzz English for solid, professional leadership.  Great men such as Bob Hobson, Bob Turley, Dick Roberts and Jack Ballantine who schooled me as a rookie on the KBA Ethics committee. Great women such as Marcia Ridings, Beverly Storm, Jane Dyche and my classmate at the UK College of Law, Judge Jennifer Coffman – all fearless trailblazers for women in this profession. Joe Savage and the late Bill Moore, teaching litigation skills at UK, and my professors like Bob Lawson and Bill Fortune who showed us all what real lawyers were like. Governors such as Charlie Moore, Mike O’Connell, John Rosenberg, Bo Fugazzi, Margo Grubbs, Will Wilhoit and Jim Harris (who will always tell you “Roll Tide!”) who all provided lessons in professionalism, humility, humor, common sense and friendship. And to our President-Elect, Big Bill Johnson, who I am honored to work with, we all are at your beck and call when needed.

Many of you know that it is likely be an imposter speaking to you now if the University of Virginia was not mentioned. I am a son of Mr. Jefferson’s University, try to be one of its Honor Men, and am a loyal Wahoo. I bleed orange and blue. Not sure how I got there, know I could not get in these days. But, I received another blessing in 1970. Believe it or not, the School of Engineering and Applied Science was an awesome training ground for this attorney, as competence (Rule 1.1), diligence (Rule 1.3) and communication (Rule 1.4) were demanded in my exacting civil engineering discipline. Plus, my late fluid mechanics and engineering economics Professor, Charles Echols, also happened to be an attorney licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and really opened my eyes to many possibilities.

Life is an educational journey and I have been fortunate to have so many great schools and teachers. I thank them all. The greatest teachers in my life have been my parents, my sister, my 2 children and, now, my 3 grandchildren.

I Believe that down deep, in our heart of hearts, Kentucky lawyers want to help people, to assist them in difficult times, and to make our communities a little better. To do this, we train, study, attend CLE sessions, watch and listen. The result is a bar that does its best to provide excellent legal services for fair and reasonable compensation.  The KBA exists to assist all of us in this endeavor and to fulfill its mission as set forth by SCOKY. To maintain a proper discipline among members of the bar in accordance with the Supreme Court Rules and the principles of the legal profession. To initiate and supervise appropriate means to ensure a continuing high standard of professional competence. To bear a substantial and continuing responsibility for promoting the efficiency and improvement of the judicial system.

I think your bar association is in good shape. The BOG, at least during my 8 years, has been a hard-working bunch of talented volunteers and has faced and addressed several crises. I told Steve Smith upon replacing me on the Board that we rarely meet on Saturdays – wrong! We spend money miserly, are doing more with less, embrace and implement technology as quickly as possible. We are trying to provide quality services within our means. Everyone knows that certain costs are out of our control – retirement, health care, utility charges – but all discretionary costs are under constant scrutiny. Our by-laws and internal policies have been reviewed, revised and brought into today’s world. Any appearances of impropriety – imaginary or real – between OBC and BOG have been addressed and resolved. We have sought and obtained significant changes to the Rules of the Supreme Court which have modernized our discipline system and addressed the rapid changes we face. The Board’s Rules Committee has been real busy in the past few years. We volunteer for duty and work hard.

The KBA staff – your KBA staff, is beyond compare. Period. (applause)

Here is more reason to celebrate tonight - 78/17000=  0.5% with active discipline charges. 1% serving disciplinary suspensions. Only 4 discipline trials conducted in last 12 months. We do the right things and follow the rules.

There are many challenges that await your KBA. Budgetary pressures come from all sides. A few lawyers do not take their licenses seriously enough to defend themselves - Curious - 22 default cases brought to BOG for consideration in the last 12 months. 21 attorneys have been disbarred in the last 2 years – so there are still a few folks who make real bad decisions. The suicide problem rears its ugly head in every corner of our Commonwealth and must be addressed.

We are much more than wage earners, than legal technicians, than paper pushers. We are the stewards of our profession, our justice system, and in many ways, stewards of the quality of life in our communities. We are our home town’s sentinels, our brother and sister’s keepers and have a duty to help, even if just to observe and report. We can save lives and prevent bad decisions if we just do the right thing. So – if you see something, say something.

In his remarks upon assuming this very office, my good friend Buzz English coined a few phrases that struck a chord with me. With his permission, I will again stand on his shoulders:

Somewhere, tonight, a Kentucky lawyer will take a call from someone with a Family or personal crisis, and take some of the burden as her own. We are compassionate.

Somewhere, tonight, a Kentucky attorney will be making a decision to seek public office – as city council member, county commissioner, Mayor, Judge-Executive, member of the General assembly, Judge of the Court of Justice, or another position of service and public trust. We are committed.

Somewhere, tonight, a Kentucky attorney will take an ‘after-hours’ phone call from a jail from a person who was just arrested and needs help. Another Kentucky attorney, serving as a Commonwealth’s Attorney, will take a late night call from a police officer seeking guidance in a tragic circumstance. We are duty-bound.

Somewhere, tonight, a Kentucky lawyer, serving as a judge, will be called upon to review a warrant request and will insure that the Constitutional requirements are satisfied. We are professional.

Somewhere, tonight, a Kentucky attorney will consider whether or not to lend her talents in service to a community organization such as a church, a Lions Club, a site-based council, a soup kitchen. Our communities matter to us.

Somewhere, tonight, a Kentucky lawyer, serving as an adjunct professor at Chase, Brandeis or UK, is deep in preparations for the class that will be taught next semester to try to help the next generation become Kentucky attorneys and, like me, to learn so much from the exceedingly bright students. We care about the future of our profession.

Somewhere, tonight, a Kentucky attorney will be deep in preparations for a trial, a hearing, an arbitration, a mediation, in a sincere and professional effort to obtain the best possible result for the client, ignoring more pleasurable activities. We are diligent and thorough.

Somewhere, tonight, an abused, dependent or neglected child in our Commonwealth will turn to our Court of Justice and Kentucky lawyers for protection and relief. We serve.

Somewhere, tonight, an attorney is burning the midnight oil crafting an agreement that will assist 2 young, unmarried people co-parent their child. It is a legal aid case where this volunteer lawyer is providing pro bono service. We are competent.

The list goes on forever, and the ‘Party never ends.’ The Kentucky lawyer will answer the call, do the right thing, and make our Commonwealth a little better day by day, case by case.

 Service is our ethic, professionalism is our calling, and honor is our duty.

One last thing – U of L has had a unprecedented athletic year – Sugar Bowl champs, National Champs, National runners-up, and now the College World Series. We have experienced  2 years of U of L Brandeis alums at the helm of this organization– its time to share the wealth, don’t you think? GO BIG BLUE!

Thank you for your support and your kind consideration.