NEBRASKA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION House of Delegates October 27, 2016 Embassy Suites 9:00 a.m. La Vista, Nebraska MINUTES The House of Delegates of the Nebraska State Bar Association met on Thursday October 26, 2016. The meeting was called to order by Chair Robert Parker. Members present in addition to Chair Parker were: Chris Abboud, Jill Ackerman, Will Acosta-Trejo, Hon. Joseph Bataillon, Julie Bear, William Birkel, Brian Blackford, Michael Borders, Jonathan Braaten, Tracey Buettner, Robert Burkhard, Angela Burmeister Robert Canella, Joel Carney, Jack Cheloha, Sean Connolly, Jarrod Crouse, Scott Daniel, James Davis, Michael Dunn, Matthew Dunning, Gene Eckel, John Ehrich, Paul Elofson, Tim Engler, PaTricia Freemna, John Freudenberg, Dana Fries, Stephen Gealy, James Gordon, Jason Grams, John Grant, Ken Hartman, Stephen Herman, Robert Hillis, Edward Hoffman, Michael Jensen, Brittney Krause, Brian Kuhse, Jane Langan Mach, Jeff Lapin, Dennis Lee, Tina Marroquin, Criag Martin, Amie Martinez, Timothy Matas, Steve Mattoon, Mike McCarthy, Mark McGuire, William Mickle, Jon Natvig, James Nelson, Sarah Newell, Joe Nigro, Melany O’Brien, Robert O’Connor, Robert Parker, J. Scott Paul, Hon. Petersen, Hon. Pirtle, Justin Quinn, Hon. Rossiter, Stephanie Shearer, Luke Simpson, Susan Spahn, Nancy Svoboda, John Svoboda, Ron Temple, James Truell, John Voelker, James Welsh, Ken Wentz, Terry Wittler, and Joe Wright. Minutes of the January 29, 2016 meeting were approved. Report from the Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican reported on: • The appointment of Justice Funke and Justice Kelch to the Nebraska Supreme Court • The expansion of e-filing to the Appellate Courts. The Chief indicated that e-filing would likely be made mandatory in the next 12-18 months • The Court’s priorities for the upcoming legislative session. Report from Creighton University School of Law and the University of Nebraska College of Law Dean Paul McGreal of Creighton and Interim Dean Richard Moberly provided the House of Delegates with an update on the state of the law schools. In order to make that information available to the larger bar membership, the Deans were invited to publish their remarks in the January/February issue of The Nebraska Lawyer. Written Reports The House of Delegates was provided written reports from the District, County and Juvenile Court Judges, the American Bar Association, the NSBA Sections and NSBA Committees. Nominations Julie Bear, Chair of the Nominations Committee made the following recommendations: • That Mike McCarthy of North Platte be nominated as the Chair-Elect Designate of the House of Delegates. • That Warren Whitted be re-appointed as an ABA Delegate. • That Virginia Albers of Omaha, Stephen Gealy of Lincoln, Melany O’Brien of Omaha and Cathleen Allen of Grand Island, be appointed to the Nebraska State Bar Foundation Board. A motion was made and seconded to adopt the Nominations Committee recommendations. The motion carried. Budget Budget and Planning Chair, Joe Bataillon shared the results of the NSBA’s 2015 audit. He then presented the current 2016 NSBA Financial Statement. Judge Bataillon presented the proposed 2017 NSBA Budget. A motion was made and seconded to approve the budget. The motion carried. Petition for MCLE Rule Change Continuing legal education is critical for newly admitted attorneys, yet, under the current rules, newly admitted attorneys in Nebraska are not able to claim credit for CLE taken prior to January 1 of the year following admission (Neb. Ct. R. § 3-401.1.5(E)). The NSBA proposes that the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education for Lawyers Rule § 3-401.5 be amended. The House of Delegates was asked to review a proposed revision to the MCLE Rules. The revision would not require newly admitted attorneys to meet MCLE requirements during their first year of practice, but would allow them to earn credit for courses attended in the first year of admission. A motion was made and seconded to approve the Petition. The motion carried. Revision to Election Bylaws Through its membership management system, the NSBA has access to a module that allows for electronic voting. This is available at no additional cost. (NSBA staff has not recommended electronic voting in the past because the software has been cost prohibitive). The NSBA Elections Committee piloted the software and is recommending a revision to the NSBA bylaws that would allow for electronic voting. The NSBA Executive Council is recommending that instead of using language that the NSBA “may” conduct elections electronically, that the wording be changed to “shall”. A motion was made and seconded to adopt the amended proposal. The motion carried. NSBA Sections The House of Delegates was presented with a petition and draft by-laws to establish a Federal Practice Section. A motion was made and seconded to establish a Federal Law Section. The motion carried. The House of Delegates was presented with by-law revisions from the Indian Law Section which would allow for electronic voting and change the terms of at- large members of the Section’s Executive Committee. A motion was made and seconded to adopt the Indian Law Section Bylaw Revisions. The motion carried. Nebraska Free Legal Answers VLP Director, Carol Cleaver provided a brief demonstration of Nebraska Free Legal Answers Online. The Volunteer Lawyers Project’s new online pro bono platform. Charitable Registration Request to Nebraska State Bar Foundation Each November, the Nebraska State Bar Association sends a voluntary dues statement to all attorneys licensed (with either an active or inactive law license) in Nebraska. Historically, the NSBA’s dues statement has provided attorneys with the option of making a charitable donation to both the Nebraska State Bar Foundation and the Nebraska Lawyers Foundation. Under the law, including the option of making a charitable donation makes the NSBA dues statement a solicitation, and requires the Nebraska Lawyers Foundation to file a charitable solicitation registration in most states that we have members. The registration process is costly and quite cumbersome. We recently asked our Director of Administration, Nancy Harms, to attend a seminar on charitable registration to determine whether it was a practice that we needed to continue. She concluded that we do in fact need to continue registering in most states, not only for the dues statement, but because The Nebraska Lawyer magazine (which is also sent to every state) includes a solicitation in its In Memoriam section, where attorneys are notified of the option of making a donation to either the Nebraska State Bar Foundation or the Nebraska Lawyers Foundation in memory of an attorney who has passed. Some states also require filing because our website has a donate button. Her research also concluded that if the NSBA includes language soliciting donations for the Nebraska State Bar Foundation, that the NSBF must also register as a charitable institution in required states. The NSBA could potentially be liable for soliciting for an unregistered foundation. The NSBA sent a letter to the Nebraska State Bar Foundation requesting that they file a charitable solicitation form in each state that the NSBA has members. Other/New Business There was no other business The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth Neeley .