The State Of Our Association
By Bion Gregory

The Sacramento County Bar Association is the seventh largest voluntary bar association in California. The membership of the association has increased this year with the addition of a new class of membership. Students are now eligible to become a student member and a number of law students from McGeorge School of Law have taken advantage of the opportunity. In addition, more than 40 law firms are sponsoring firms of the association. These firms have five or more lawyers and 100 percent membership in the association. We appreciate their continued support.

The SCBA continues to offer more than 15 substantive law sections at affordable rates. Members meet for discussion panels and guest speaker presentations on applicable areas of law; Minimum California Legal Education (MCLE) credits are available for many of these programs. There are also more than 25 committees that serve the membership. The responsibility of these committees includes making recommendations to the Governor about the qualifications of every judicial applicant in our county, as well as analyzing proposals for changes in the law that are then discussed at the annual Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations.

This year the association is conducting a membership survey for the purpose of reviewing its current activities and ascertaining whether the membership desires new activities. The survey will be mailed with the renewal forms for next year. I encourage all members to fill out the survey and return it. It has been a number of years since a comprehensive survey was conducted of the membership, and it is important to the leadership of the bar to determine how it may better serve the members. A survey of lawyers who are not members of the SCBA will be conducted in the future to assist in determining how to increase the membership of the bar.

A new web site has been launched this year. Under the direction of Stuart Home, the web site has been completely redesigned. The new site will allow the SCBA to expand the services that it provides to its member by way of the Internet. It will facilitate electronic transactions related to the payment of dues and the registration for MCLE classes and other events. A portion of the web site will be accessible only by members of the SCBA. Although the site will be under development for a while, you should check it out at http://www.sacbar.org.

Our Fee Arbitration and Attorney/Client Relations Committees serve the public and our legal profession by providing a forum for fast and equitable resolution of disputes between clients and their attorneys. The Fee Arbitration Committee is headed by Jan Karowsky and composed of a panel of lawyer-arbitrators who donate their time to keep fee disputes from resulting in costly litigation. The committee has handled more than 50 disputes this year. The Attorney/Client Relations Committee is headed by James de la Vergne and handles non-fee complaints from clients regarding their attorneys. The committee attempts to reconcile differences in order to promote good public relations for the bar and prevent more serious problems from developing. The SCBA operates the Attorney Referral Service (ARS) to provide a public service and assist participating attorneys in building a client base. ARS has made more than 1,300 referrals this year. The amount of revenue the association receives from the service has steadily declined. This follows a trend throughout the nation with respect to these types of referral services. Lawyer advertising is responsible in large part for the decline in the referrals. The leadership of the bar is taking a critical look at the service to determine whether its continued operation is viable.

Our Indigent Defense Panel (IDP) assists the courts by supplying private, criminal defense attorneys to defend indigent clients who cannot be defended by the Public Defender. The county pays for these services. Dennis O’Reilly and Kevin Adamson have provided leadership and direction to the committee this year.

None of the activities of the association would be possible without its dedicated staff. Carol Prosser has provided valuable service as our Executive Director. Daisy Guzman is responsible for the ARS, while Cheyenne Azevedo administers the IDP. Vince Miles handles the fee arbitration program.

There was a time when lawyers joined the local bar merely because it was the right thing to do. Times change and new attitudes develop toward the practice of law, however, the larger values of professionalism remain constant. Whether you are a new admittee or a long-time practitioner, joining the SCBA is still the right thing to do.

While unprecedented amount of information is available to lawyers these days - particularly through the Internet - there is no substitute for personally getting to know your legal community and meeting colleagues face-to-face. In addition, participating in committees and sections of the SCBA has helped many lawyers acquire leadership qualities, including consensus-building, motivational skills, and governance. These are skills that lawyers might not have otherwise acquired and that help them excel in all facets of their practice.

As I near the end of my term as President, I thank our dedicated staff and all the lawyer-volunteers for their countless hours of service to the association. It has been a privilege to serve as your President this past year, and I look forward to continuing my involvement with the association.