Deep in the Heart of Texas, 0613 RIBJ, 61 RI Bar J., No. 6, Pg. 33

AuthorRobert D. Oster, Esq., ABA Delegate and Past Rhode Island Bar Association President

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Vol. 61 No. 6 Pg. 33

Rhode Island Bar Journal

June 2013

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0May/June 2013

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0American Bar Association Delegate Report: ABA Midyear Meeting

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0 Robert D. Oster, Esq., ABA Delegate and Past Rhode Island Bar Association President

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0The February 2013 ABA Midyear meeting in Dallas included a good deal of significant activity. After a welcome by the keynote speaker, former U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Chief Justice Myron T. Steele of the State of Delaware and the Chair of the Conference of Chief Justices was forced to deliver his remarks earlier and impromptu due to breaking news of a murderous rampage by a disturbed individual at the Wilmington, Delaware courthouse over which he had responsibility. He was understandably shaken and emotional. At the same time, the former Los Angeles police officer who killed police and civilians was still at large. Following the Newtown, Connecticut, Aurora, Colorado, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Sikh Temple killings, and many other recent acts of violence, it is no wonder the ABA has an important role in the gun control debate. Three other large issues were debated and decided by the ABA House of Delegates: unbundling of legal services; multijurisdictional practice; and human trafficking.

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0The delegates passed a resolution supporting unbundling or limited scope representation. This procedure is allowed in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and it has the potential to transform the delivery of legal services. In Rhode Island, attorneys are currently prohibited from giving advice and counsel for discrete portions of litigation and then withdrawing. Some see unbundling as a means of increasing access to legal services while lowering client costs. Others argue it is unworkable and not in the clients, ’ lawyers, ’ or justice system’s best interest.

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0Our Bar Association currently has a Task Force, appointed by President Mike McElroy and chaired by President-Elect Bob Weisberger, studying this issue. The Rhode Island Supreme Court has at least two cases that address unbundling in the context of ghostwriting pleadings. We look forward to an opinion in these cases, most likely this term. At issue is taking measures to ensure practitioners who limit the scope of their representation...

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