At the April 12 meeting, the trustees voted on everything
from honoring volunteers, to proposed court rule changes, to adopting the
recommendations of a task force formed to help lawyers in times of medical
crisis.
Here is a summary of the action: (Note: This summary does
not constitute official minutes)
Trustee update: NJSBA President John E. Keefe Jr.
recognized four outgoing New Jersey State Bar Association trustees. They are:
Christine Amalfe; Luis Diaz; New Jersey State Bar Foundation President and
former NJSBA President Susan A. Feeney; and John R. Nachlinger
Scott
Malyk, a former chair of the association Immigration Law Section, was approved
to fill the Section/Committee Trustee seat left vacant when William H. Mergner
Jr. became incoming NJSBA secretary.
The
trustees also appointed seven trustees to the New Jersey State Bar Foundation’s
Board of Trustees. The board approved the motion. The trustees are: Kelly Ann
Bird; NJSBF President-Elect Norberto A. Garcia; Mikeisha Anderson Jones; former
NJSBA President Ralph J. Lamparello; Thomas J. Manzo; Brian J. Neary; and
Kenneth Sharperson.
Lawyers Helping Lawyers Task Force: NJSBA President John
E. Keefe Jr. formed the Lawyers Helping Lawyers Task Force a year ago to
examine and find ways to ensure that members of the profession — especially
lawyers in solo and small firms who don’t have partners or associates to rely
on if they get sick — could find assistance and resources to guide them
through a difficult medical crisis. The Task Force was comprised of attorneys
and judges who have suffered health challenges or helped colleagues navigate
those waters.
It spent a year examining the ways the legal community
can provide assistance to attorneys facing acute medical crises that require
them to temporarily step back from the practice of law. The board adopted
several of its recommendations and voted to extend the task force so it could
implement those proposals. The recommendations included: urging the Supreme
Court to ask attorneys to voluntarily provide information about a colleague who
could help in times of crisis; creating a portal with resources on njsba.com;
and inviting county and affinity bar associations to maintain lists of
attorneys by practice area who could help a colleague.
Comments on Court Rules Reports: The board discussed and
took action on a raft of recommendations related to the annual Court Rules
reports. This year’s proposals came from the Committee on Complementary Dispute
Resolution; Criminal Practice Committee; Committee on Rules of Evidence; Family
Practice Committee; Committee on Minority Concerns; and Municipal Court
Practice Committee. The association has submitted a detailed letter outlining
its feedback.
Section bylaws: The board approved a request from the
Dispute Resolution Section to revise its bylaws to further clarify its purpose.
Awards: The board approved recommendations from several
sections and committees to bestow awards on volunteers, including:
Assemblywoman Annette Quijano, who the Diversity Committee,
selected for the Mel Narol Award;
The Amicus Committee recognition of those who have
participated in amicus matters in the past year;
Chief Justice Stuart Rabner as the inaugural recipient of
the Government Sector Servant Leader Award;
Bruce McMoran and Justin Burns as this year’s
Distinguished Legislative Service Award honorees;
Jon Lomurro as the NJSBA’s Award of Excellence in Medical
Malpractice Litigation from the Medical Malpractice Committee; and
Ken Lipstein as the Insurance Defense Committee’s
honoree.
Ad Hoc Committee on Advertising and Contingency Fees:
Last spring, Keefe appointed an ad hoc committee to study attorney advertising
and whether limits should be placed on attorney solicitation of personal injury
clients, as well as permissible contingency fee structures. The board adopted
recommendations of the committee to support pending legislation to reduce the
cooling-off period to 30 days and to support application of RPC 7.3(b)(4) to
all accidents, not just mass disasters. It also adopted proposals to seek an
update the contingency fee structure used in New Jersey.
Resolution Honoring Chief Judge Judge Jose L. Linares:
The board approved a resolution to recognize the accomplishments and
achievements of Chief Judge Jose L. Linares, of the U.S. District Court for the
District of New Jersey. It will be presented at the upcoming NJSBA Annual
Meeting and Convention.
CLE program: The board approved a speaker to present
“Ethical Train Wrecks and Other Avoidable Disasters” through NJICLE in July.
