2012�13 Annual Report
| Publication year | 2013 |
| Pages | 19 |
| Citation | Vol. 42 No. 9 Pg. 19 |
In and Around the Bar CBA Annual Report
CBA—Your Partner in Law 2012–13 OFFICERS and EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
President
Mark A. Fogg
President-Elect
W. Terry Ruckriegle
Immediate Past President
David L. Masters
Senior Vice President
Kent A. Naughton
Vice Presidents
James M. Anderson
James R. Briscoe
Loren M. Brown
Richard L. Gabriel
C. Todd Kettelkamp
Monica S. McElyea
Executive Director
Charles C. Turner
Deputy Executive Director
Greg Martin
Assistant Executive Director
Dana Collier Smith
Treasurer
Charles F. Garcia
Council Members
James G. Benjamin
Bill C. Berger
Carlos Migoya, Jr.
Mark P. Miller
Daniel C. Muffly
Siddhartha H. Rathod
Susan W. Snyder
Ted C. Tow III
Dinsmore Tuttle
FROM THE 2012-13 PRESIDENT
Back in April 2012, we developed four concrete project goals for our CBA team to accomplish during my term as president from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013. Happily, based on the talent and dedication of the CBA and its staff, we were able to accomplish all four goals.
The first goal was to provide continued support and nurturing to the Colorado Mentoring Pilot Project, a statewide program to provide mentors for new lawyers in participating groups. Both mentors and mentees received fifteen CLE credits. The CBA worked with the Chief Justice Commission on the Legal Profession (Commission) in formulating, revising, and evaluating the program. In early 2013, a committee of the Colorado Supreme Court Colorado Attorney Mentor Program hired John Baker to be the program's executive director. The mission of the Pilot Project was completed and successful .
The second goal was to develop the Colorado Lawyers for Colorado Veterans Program, which consists of clinics devoted to providing pro bono help to veterans and their specific needs, along with developing a list of lawyers willing to assist a veteran by taking on a pro bono case that cannot be resolved in the clinic setting. Again, we worked closely with the Commission. Co-Chairs John Vaught and Ben Currier were essential in the development of this program. Clinics are established in six locations throughout the state, and plans are to develop several more to make sure that the clinics are geographically distributed for veteran access. In May 2013, the Board of Governors approved the establishment of a CBA Military and Veterans Affairs Section, which creates an excellent platform for continuation of the program, provides for a budget devoted to veteran needs, and promotes opportunities for lawyers with this common cause to come together.
The third goal was to create a concrete tool kit for lawyers to use in obtaining and retaining a middle class client base. Studies show that as many as 70% of Americans cannot afford the civil justice system but don't qualify for indigent/to bono programs. A special task force—the Modest Means Task Force— chaired by Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Daniel M. Taubman and attorney John Zakhen; and comprising many lawyers who have successful law practices—created a tool kit called "Successful Business Planning: Representing the Moderate Income Client." The tool kit is a guide to providing legal services for this vastly underserved population. This tool kit contains practical guidelines on topics such as client screening, controlling overhead, and unbundled legal services. The tool kit was completed in late June 2013 and is available on the CBA website to members or in hard copy for a nominal cost.
The fourth goal was to conduct an attorney wellness program in partnership with the Colorado Lawyers Assistance Program (COLAP). The legal profession has high rates of depression, substance abuse, and suicide attempts. From January through June 2013, a series of classes were provided to approximately thirty volunteer lawyers. These lawyers evaluated the program and provided feedback for possible replication of the program. Classes included such topics as "Healthy Mind, Healthy Body"; "Coping With the Digital Firehouse"; and "Resiliency, " along with dealing with billable hours and maintaining a busy practice, and practicing meditation.
Thanks again to the wonderful CBA staff for making my term as president one of the most enjoyable experiences of my career. Among the year's highlights were my visits to the local bar associations and being able to meet with so many of you. It is an honor to be counted among you.
Mark A. Fogg
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The Sandwiched Profession
Much has been said in the press lately about the dicey prospects of the legal profession. Articles talk of mass layoffs, downsizing, saturated markets, declining prospects for new law graduates, and the overwhelming burden of law school debt. Given these dire predictions, it's a wonder anyone at all is practicing law today rather than retreating to a cave in the hills.
So, is this just cyclical—we've seen these boom and busts before with energy, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions—or are fundamental shifts taking place under our feet? Will it become clear to us a few years down the road that this is more than just "old school" ups and downs?
During the CBA's May 2013 Board of Governors meeting, Mark Lassiter gave a speech in which he addressed what is about to engulf (or what presently is engulfmg) the legal profession; the presentation was aptly titled "Tsunami." According to Lassiter, the profession is being sandwiched by competing market forces that are eating into—if not eliminating—segments of our traditional practice areas.
To illustrate his position, Lassiter pointed to the proliferation of online legal service providers such as Legal Zoom and Rocket Lawyer. Such websites can assist people with will and lease drafiing, creating partnership agreements and LLC documentation, and even settling cases through a complex algorithm of negotiation. In a similar vein, large law firms can ship document review offshore for a fraction of the time—and cost—it would take to have young associates wade through boxes of exhibits. There is no doubt that firms are looking to cut costs, not only to be more profitable but also because their clients have begun demanding a leaner bill at the end of their legal matter.
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