October 1, 2005 Senior Editor Regular News Bar pledges better services for its sections Bar pledges better services for its sections Gary Blankenship Senior Editor The Florida Bar cares about Bar sections and is committed to improving ties and providing better services.Bar President Alan Bookman and President-elect Hank Coxe brought that message to the Board of Governors’ August 27 retreat in St. Pete Beach that included representatives from most of the Bar’s sections.“I want a free flow of information on both sides,” Bookman said as he opened the retreat. “We want to hear from the sections back to us. . . what the Bar is or is not doing for sections.”Discussions ranged from whether board liaisons to the sections are doing their jobs, to improving diversity in section membership, to ensuring continuity among section leadership.The Bar and section leaders spent hours discussing Bar section relations, the new financial arrangements between the Bar and its sections, and exploring ways that Bar and section operations and services can be improved.It included an announcement from Bar Director of Professional Development Yvonne Sherron that the Bar is working on upgrading its CLE technology.Sherron said the Bar is working on a plan to offer CLE courses by DVD, CD, and MP3 technology, instead of just the current video and audio tapes.Bookman said the budget for making those additional offerings will be presented to the Board of Governors at its October meeting.The group had an extensive discussion about Board of Governors members who serve as liaisons to sections. Bookman said the board, with 52 members, tries to appoint more experienced members to be liaisons with the 23 sections. But he and Hank Coxe said it can be difficult sometimes to match a board member with experience in some sections’ legal areas.General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section Chair Linzie Bogan said the section’s protocols include having each year’s chair make contact with the section’s board liaison to encourage participation in section activities.“Communication is the key,” said Julius Zschau, chair of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section. “Our section leadership is not at all shy about contacting our Bar liaison and letting him or her know what we think.”Board member Jesse Diner, who is liaison for the Practice Management and Development Section, said it may be impossible for a busy board member to make all section meetings. But he said he does keep up with section e-mails and attends as many meetings as he can.“When I am there, they make clear to me their state of mind, and vice versa,” he said.In response to a question, Bookman said there is no special training for board members who become section liaisons, but they are advised to attend as many meetings as possible and that they are expected to be a two-way conduit between their sections and the board.The president noted that the new financial arrangements between the sections and the Bar, approved by the board earlier this year after extensive discussions with section leaders, showed the need for good communications.That effort, aimed at reducing the Bar’s losses for supporting section activities, initially caused concerns among section leaders, but most misgivings were worked out in the eventual compromise, he said.Former board member Jerald Beer, who helped devise the financial solution, presented updated figures to the section leaders, showing how the changes would have affected their budgets had it been in place for the 2004-05 budget year.Beer said under the new scheme, the Bar’s costs for supporting the sections would have been reduced from $591,505 to $115,290 for the past fiscal year. Sections on the other hand, would have actually seen their CLE income rise, from $377,684 to $439,970. (Actually, under a phase-in plan, the sections would have gotten $549,962.)Retreat participants spent considerable time discussing ways to attract new members to sections and improving diversity. Young Lawyers Division President Jamie Moses reported that the YLD is compiling a brochure on service opportunities in the Bar and plans to distribute it to law schools this fall. She also said section members in their day-to-day dealings should be on the lookout for potential section members. “An invitation is all somebody wants,” she said.Other members discussed the need to have section and Bar functions at places affordable to young, government, and legal aid attorneys. Mitchell Horowitz, chair of the Tax Section, said the section is copying an ABA approach and offering free lunch CLE programs around the state, paid for by a sponsor who is provided a two-minute pitch.“Many firms are sensitive about associates traveling and running up costs, but they want them to be involved,” he said.Bogan suggested using videoconference facilities to cut costs. Bar Executive Director John F. Harkness, Jr., said that has been done successfully by the Media Law Committee, but some other Bar groups have been reluctant to use videoconferencing, preferring face-to-face meetings. He said the Bar is continuing to study that issue.On other matters, retreat participants heard:• Council of Section Chair Jeff Wasserman and Board of Governors member Mayanne Downs, liaison to the council, pledge close cooperation for the coming year. “The council can be a very, very strong voice with the Board of Governors,” Wasserman said.• Several sections describe how they prepare their leadership, sometimes using mentors or having them occupy several positions, such as secretary, treasurer, and chair-elect, before becoming chair.• That some sections have set term limits to ensure turnover on their executive councils, and also some have mentorship programs to help new council members.President Bookman closed the retreat by reminding the section leaders that section work is vital to the Bar, especially on CLE programs.“I want to thank you for the things that you do for the profession, for the things you have done for years and years for our profession,” he said. “Without the people in this room running the sections, putting on the substantive CLE, the practice of law in Florida would not be what it is.” read more