November 8, 2006 -- Meeting Mintues

Colorado Bar Association Military Law Committee
Minutes

Military Law Committee Meeting of November 8, 2006

The meeting began at 12:15 p.m., called to order by Chris Colclasure at the Colorado Bar Association Third Floor Conference Room at 1900 Grant Street, Denver, Colorado. 

Attending: 

Welcome and Introductions

The members present at 12:15 introduced themselves.  The meeting was teleconferenced.  Chris distributed the Meeting Agenda and the Draft Mission Statement that was prepared by John Sharp. 

John Lowrie, Colorado State Chair of Employer Support to the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) stated that he would like to be a part of the MLC.  He is working on ESGR issues.  He plans on being involved with three newly formed paid positions for ESGR by the end of next week which will also include 15-20 volunteers.  ESGR’s mission is to support Guardsmen and Reservists so they can focus on their mission at hand and not have to worry about having a job when they come home.  He is attempting to have a volunteer for each unit of the ESGR to resolve the issues that the reservists may have.  As an employer outreach program, he is seeking 12-15 volunteers.  He mentioned mediation and USERRA training.  He stated that USERRA is very complicated and is in need of lawyers to mediate.

Chris said that his group and the MLC have a lot in common.  Chris told John that he would be happy to speak with him after the meeting and thanked him for his input.  

Minutes online. 

Meeting minutes are available on the CBA website.  Click on “About the CBA”, “Sections/Committees”, “Committees” and then “Military”. 

Assistance given to Marine Corps JAG in Japan.

Thanks Jerre!  Jerre Dixon contacted Capt Pedden, the Marine Corps JAG in Japan, and gave him as much assistance as was possible.

January 10, 2007 meeting in Colorado Springs. 

The date set for the MLC meeting in Colorado Springs will be January 10, 2007.  Military legal offices to be invited.  Chris said that he will send a letter to the bases regarding this meeting.  The location of the meeting is yet to be determined. 

CLE on USERRA: 

Chris suggested scheduling a date for a CLE luncheon in conjunction with the Denver Bar Association’s “Tuesdays at the Bar”.  Chris asked if January 16, 2007 would be a good date to hold the CLE.  He mentioned that it may be a good opportunity to get a speaker for USERRA issues but unfortunately, the Employment Law Committee was going to have the same topic CLE scheduled for some time in November.  Chris asked for suggestions regarding other options, i.e., maybe having a new topic for the CLE or delaying the CLE to another date.  Chris asked if anyone had any thoughts about that. 

John Sharp suggested maybe coming up with a new topic.  Potential topics were suggested.  Chris suggested the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act as a topic.  Other topics suggested were military retirement issues, military divorce, landlord/tenant issues, disclosure issues, negotiation ethics which could possibly draw a crowd, along with inviting a judge who can talk about his or her experiences. 

Chris said that regarding USERRA, the Committee should be open and not take employers’ or military members’ positions.  He does not feel that the Mission Statement should take any sides.  It should recognize that the Committee is open to attorneys from all areas of practice. 

Social:  Veteran’s Day gathering: 

A Veteran’s Day celebration is scheduled for November 11, 2006, in the South parking lot at Union Station, at 4:30 p.m.  Mayor John Hickenlooper is to attend.  There will be live music and a festival-type atmosphere.  On Thursday, November 16, 2006, a group of Veterans will have a get-together, located at the Breckenridge Brewery.  It shall commence at 5:30 p.m.  The cost is $8.00 at the door.  Chris said he would send an e-mail to the members regarding this event.

Legal Assistance Referral List. 

Discuss eligibility for listing.  Chris handed out the Referral List and asked that if anyone who was not on the list and wanted to be, to put their name and area of practice on it.  Chris will e-mail the list to members of the MLC to make sure it is complete.  Chris would like to get this List to bases by the end of next week. 

Chris asked how the List should be handled/distributed.  There was concern regarding attorneys and advertisers who may want their names on the List for marketing purposes.  It was agreed that there should be a limit as to the access to this List.  It was proposed that the List should contain the active Committee members and possibly the names of attorneys that are “known” as a good contact through the CBA.

It was mentioned that the List should be reviewed by Chuck for his opinion as to criteria for being on the List and also his review of any other CBA members who may be interested in being on the List. 

Sean Kendall asked whether the List should contain the names of attorneys offering pro bono work and suggested the areas of practice identified on the list were not relevant to military members.  Sean also suggested listing attorneys active in veteran’s affairs.  Dan Garfield stated that if he took any military cases it would be pro bono.

Chris suggested that attorneys could list “general military law” as their area of practice if they preferred.   

Mission Statement. 

Chris read the Draft Mission Statement that John Sharp drafted.  Chris asked members for their opinion as to how it sounded. 

John Sharp said that he had talked to different people, to other committees, and drafted a broad statement.  He divided the Statement into sections, the first being the broad statement of the MLC, the second being Definitions, and the third stating specific goals of the MLC.  He said that the Committee may want to make some changes.

The members discussed various changes to the mission statement, including broadening it to include providing support to all government attorneys with military practices, such as Veterans Affairs attorneys.  Dan Garfield asked if the Statement was too broad where it stated that military law shall include the law of armed conflict, military justice, and other fields.  John Sharp stated that he was waiting for that issue to come up.  He said that the Committee is a resource for the CBA and that the members of the Committee are not experts in all these fields.  The Committee needs to be responsive to that.  John Sharp said that in theory the issues that are stated in the Statement are issues the MLC can be involved with. 

Chris said that the Statement should not take sides and should be unbiased, serving corporations and service members alike. 

The members discussed whether the Committee would be interested in issues concerning service members with over-extended debts and the loss of security clearances.
 
John Sharp will edit the mission statement.

Senate Bill 2694, Veteran’s Representation. 

The members discussed whether the Committee should take sides on this topic.  Sean Kendall outlined the issue.  Current law forbids attorneys from accepting a fee to represent veterans who seek benefits from the VA except on appeal.  The bill would allow attorneys to represent veterans for a fee at any stage of a claim for benefits.  There are 350,000 to 500,000 pending cases for the Veterans’ Administration.  Sean feels that to have an attorney advocate on Veterans’ behalf is a good idea.  Chris stated that a Veteran should be able to have attorney representation and in his opinion the initiative is a good idea. 

Sean stated that various organizations, including Veteran service organizations, are opposed to the bill.  The ABA and several state bar associations support it. 

If the Committee decides to take a position on this topic, it must get approval from the Colorado Bar Association.  The Committee members are divided on this question and have not reached a consensus.   Chris noted that it is important to discuss political topics in a way that does not divide the Committee. 

Jerre Dixon asked the status of the legislation.  This bill is no longer being considered but the issue is expected to resurface.  The members asked for information about which other groups have voiced support or opposition.  Sean and John Sharp agreed to research the issue and report back to the Committee.

New Business

Newsletter. 

Mark Cohen was not in attendance at today’s meeting but has volunteered to do the MLC Newsletter.  It was agreed that Mark would be the perfect candidate for doing the Newsletter because he is an author and could do a great job.  Chris suggested that if anyone had any ideas to go ahead and e-mail Mark Cohen, which can be done through Chris or Ingrid. 

Contact with Aurora Chamber of Commerce to identify potential initiatives. 

Chris reported that he had contacted the Aurora Chamber of Commerce’s Defense Council in hopes of gathering new ideas for the Committee to discuss.  The Defense Council is currently opposing a proposal to develop land directly underneath the Buckley AFB takeoff and landing route.  The Defense Council is also planning a joint meeting with the National Defense Industry Association on February 22, 2007.  The members agreed these activities were beyond the scope of the Committee.

A member of the Defense Council suggested the Committee could send a speaker to military job fairs and career transition seminars to educate veterans and employers about USERRA.   The Committee felt these seminars would be too frequent to do so.

Open Floor

Chris suggested the MLC could host a round table discussion on military issues.  Dan McCune suggested developing a library of resources from CLE presentations hosted by the Committee. 

The next MLC meeting will be held on December 13th at 12:00 p.m. at 1900 Grant Street, Denver, CO. 

End of Minutes

Old Business