May 21, 2004

Minutes of the Meeting of the Access to Justice Commission

May 21, 2004

The Access to Justice Commission meeting was held at the Colorado Bar Association (CBA) meeting room on May 21, 2004.  Vice Chair  JoAnn Vogt called the meeting to order at 12:10.

Members present at the CBA offices included Jon Asher, Darla Benford, Barney Iuppa, Meredith McBurney, Sue Parenteau, Dan Taubman, JoAnn Vogt and John Zakhem.  Lynne Sholler was present by phone.  Also present were Greg Martin and Jo Ann Salazar from the CBA, and Molly French from Colorado Legal Services (CLS).

1.       The minutes of the March 19, 2003 meeting were approved as amended. 

2.       Vice Chair’s report

            The Vice-Chair listed several items of business from Chair Dave Butler, who was unable to attend.

The Commission was asked to review the date of the next meeting scheduled for July 16^th.  Due to the fact that several members are unable to attend the 7/16 meeting, the Commission voted to move the meeting to Friday July 23^rd.

          Butler asked the Commission to consider a proposal for mandatory reporting of pro bono hours.  A lengthy discussion followed.  Jon Asher  suggested we begin by reviewing the initial recommendation for mandatory pro bono discussed in 1998/1999, addressing the concerns that were raised at that time and consider revising the proposal.

DU law school is set to select its 1^st recipient  for the loan repayment program.

The CBA Board of Governors gave approval to the proposed CLE rule change to allow for CLE credit for  pro bono work (Rule 260.8) with the provision that the materials delete the suggestion that Colorado lawyers are not currently be doing enough pro bono work.  There has been no word regarding CLE Board approval, following a presentation by Steve Choquette and Joe Dischinger.         

          The Commission heard a report from Molly French, the Web Coordinator at CLS. Ms. French discussed two sides of the website.  One section is focused on client information while the other is an advocate’s page and will be available for use by pro bono attorneys.  The latter part of the website should be ready to launch by Labor Day.  French asked the Commission to consider forming a subcommittee of the ATJ to support the use of technology and to promote the website to the public as well as the legal community.  French is currently working on securing funding through Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to hire staff to focus on issues such as availability of technology, awareness of resources and barriers to using technology.  Rick Mishkin was suggested as a possible liaison.

          A discussion was held regarding a need for ATJ letterhead.  JoAnn Salazar agreed to draft a few suggestions to present at the next Commission meeting.

3.       Committees

A.           Resource Committee

Meredith McBurney reminded the Commission that the Resources Committee had two main priorities this year.  The first was to focus on LSC funding for Colorado Legal Services.  The latter was to concentrate on local funds, particularly state funds for CLS.  McBurney reported that Colorado is now 1 of 8 states without State funding for legal services, following the elimination of  $450,000 in state funds for CLS.  A funding reduction is also expected from the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG).  Jon Asher indicated that approximately $100,000 has been raised from other sources including new law firm and lawyers contributions with matching funds from the Rose Foundation and Daniels Fund.  Additionally, a Cy Pres award  of approximately $10,00 presents an opportunity to talk to Federal District judges about Cy Pres awards for CLS.

Several ideas for increased funding were discussed including:

·     an add-on to civil filing fees as approximately 20 states have done

·     an add-on to attorney registration fees

·     pro hac vice fees.

Dan Taubman suggested the Commission and CLS work to educate the private Bar about the funding crisis at CLS.  Taubman stressed that there was no mention of the closing of one CLS office at the CBA Board of Governors meeting and indicates that most private attorneys are not aware of the current situation.  It was suggested that this information be discussed at the Presidential visits to local Bar Associations as well as via other venues including an annual report in the Colorado Lawyer, local bar newsletters, the COBAR weekly e-updates and a major newspaper article, if possible. 

B.           Court Committee

Pam Gagel could not attend but sent information regarding funding for a state brochure for pro se litigants and state funding for interpreters.  Gagel is still checking into a possible waiver of Lexis costs for mandatory e-filing costs for attorneys who take pro bono cases.

C.           Pro Bono Committee

Lynne Sholler reported activity on the Durango local ATJ Committee. This local ATJ is looking into activities surrounding domestic violence issues, immigrant groups and minority overrepresentation in the court system.  They have discussed videos, workshops, informational handouts on topics such as courthouse protocol, basic legal terms and “civil law 101” among many other projects.