Paolini No Title

• Jurisdiction: Vermont,United States
• Citation: Vol. 2001 No. 12
• Publication year: 2001

Vermont Bar Journal 2001.

December 2001. Paolini No Title

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Robert F. Paolini, Esq.

Vermont is a different place than it was when you opened your copy of the last Journal. It was just ten days after the attack on America that VBA President Matt Valerio addressed us at the Annual Meeting with words that reminded us of our obligations as lawyers. As painful as those days were, his words began, for me, a process of healing and getting back to work.

The VBA did get back to work. In fact, much has happened, and much is planned to happen during the next few months. This is the time of year that we prepare for the return of the General Assembly. With the declining economy, new programs will not be implemented and some old ones may see restricted or no funding. After all the effort that went into the creation of three serious crimes units in the Office of the Defender General, none has yet been opened. The Judiciary, as well as all state agencies, is being asked to propose a level funded budget, another budget showing a 5% decrease from present funding, and a third reflecting a 10% decrease. However the 2003 fiscal year budget debate resolves, it will mean cutbacks in many essential services. I am sure many of you remember the moratorium on civil jury trials during the last recession. Although that idea is not yet on the table, we should be prepared to see some drastic steps taken to keep the State's budget in balance.

Some of our committees are moving forward in the preparation of legislation to propose, the review of pending bills, and in assisting House and Senate Committees in understanding the impact of passing particular bills. The VBA continues to play a quiet but active role in the state legislative process. VBA members are often the first people to whom legislators turn for advice. In responding to them you fulfill the mission of the VBA in "promoting reform in the law" and facilitating "the administration of justice," and you should be proud of doing so.

The Board of Managers is studying the issue of unauthorized practice of law to better appreciate its impact on Vermonters. Are our citizens' interests being served, or deserved, by the work of those who are not licensed to practice law? Is unlicensed practice really a problem in Vermont? Is access to justice so important that the risk of harm from unlicensed practice is out-weighed by the benefit of increased access, even if flawed, to our...