March 17, 2003

The Access to Justice Committee meeting was held at the Colorado Bar Association (CBA) meeting room on Monday March 17, 2003. Lunch was provided by the CBA. Chair David Butler called the meeting to order at 12:10

Members present in person were Jon Asher, Darla Benford, Dave Butler, Pam Gagel, Greg Hobbs, Barney Iuppa, Rick Mishkin, Sue Parenteau, Connie Talmage, JoAnn Vogt, and John Zakhem. Present by telephone were Angela Arkin, Aaron Clay, Yolanda Fennick, and Lynne Scholler. Also present was Jo Ann Salazar. Jim Hoy from First Trust Corporation attended as a guest of the Commission.

1. The attending members introduced themselves and the Chair welcomed John S. Zakhem, Esq., the appointee of Senator John Andrews.

2. The first order of business was to elect Sue Parenteau as Secretary.

3. Chair’s report

1. The Chair reported on the written requests he had made to the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President of the Senate, which had resulted in John Zakhem’s appointment.

2. Judge Vogt will attend a meeting of Chairs of Access to Justice Commissions and analogous organizations in other states across the country, in Portland on April 11. This meeting is sponsored by SPAN, a joint enterprise of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) and the American Bar Association. Information about initiatives in other states can be obtained at www.NLADA.org/Civil.

4. The Commission next approved the minutes of its first meeting dated January 10, 2003. It then approved revised Bylaws reflecting comments on the first draft that were made at that first meeting.

5. The next order of business was discussion of the work completed thus far on Committees.

   1. Pro Bono

      Aaron Clay reported that he had added Barbara Hughes, Barton Mendenhall, and Judge Michael Colomitz and John Collard to his Committee. Current members from the Commission are Clay, Bill Alexander, Parenteau and Lynn Scholler. Clay reported he extended invitations to join the committee to 5 individuals. Butler suggested Sally Maresh, Executive Director of Metro Volunteers; and JoAnn Vogt suggested that he ask Judge Daniel Taubman.

      Clay has been working with the 7^th JD to develop a local ATJ Committee. The committee will consist of 8-9 members. Clay developed a model charter, which could be used by other local districts as they form.

   2. Courthouse Committee

   Pam Gagel added Cynthia Savage and Jennifer Cohen and Janice Davidson and hopes to add Nancy L. Cohen, the Deputy Regulation Counsel for the Colorado Supreme Court. The Commission members of the Courthouse Committee are Angela Arkin, Pam Gagel, Greg Hobbs and Barney Luppa. A discussion was held regarding unauthorized practice of law and business firms that hold themselves out as helping with court forms and then rip people off. Gagel reported that many self-help mechanisms are being reduced due to funding cuts.

   Jon Asher reported that DU had instituted a graduation requirement of 50 pro bono hours. Dan Vigil has been appointed to the DU Education Committee.

   3. Communications/Resources Committee

      Jon Asher reported on behalf of Meredith McBurney. They are the only members who are also Commission members, but they have recruited Jim Rooney, Executive Director of COLTAF and the Legal Aid Foundation, and Anne Castle, Chair of the Legal Aid Foundation.

      Asher also reported concerning a possible application to the Legal Services Corporation for a pilot project that might lead to a combination of a touch screen and e-filing of court documents. This potentially ties in with conversations between the Colorado Bar Association and Lexis/Nexis concerning an e-filing program. Justice Hobbs urged caution and pointed out that when e-filing is allowed, subsequent pleadings also go by e-mail. This might result in someone without a computer using a touch screen but not have the ability to receive responsive pleadings or court rulings.

   4. Communications/Technology

      Rick Mishkin suggested that it should not exist, at least at this time, as a separate operating committee. He suggested that Jo Ann Salazar work with the Colorado Bar and Colorado Legal Services to make hookups between the Commission’s website and theirs, but that longer term, technology was really more of an adjunct to the Courthouse and Education Committees. Talmage and Mishkin agreed to work on the Education committee for this purpose. Talmage suggested that Dave Butler be the content editor of the Commission’s website. The Commission agreed to delay the formation of this committee at this time.

   5. Education Committee

   Judge Vogt then reported that the committee members include Darla Benford, Yolanda Fennick, David Juarez, Connie Talmage and Rick Mishkin. The non-Commission members include Dan Vigil, Ilene Bloom, and Manuel Ramos. Vogt will seek to recruit Lucy Marsh, as a link to the DU Law School.

6. The chair reported that the Commission has two or three people willing to serve who are not yet assigned. John Zakhem is not on a Committee as yet. Kathleen Gebhardt, a solo practitioner in Boulder, is interested in serving wherever we might want her. Jim Hoy expressed general interest, but did not designate a potential Committee. Butler will contact these individuals for a committee preference.

7. The next meeting will be held on May 23rd at noon. The CBA will provide lunch. The Committee also selected Friday August 1st at noon as the following meeting date.

8. Having conducted the business at hand and anticipating the "storm of the year", the chair adjourned the meeting at 1:35.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Parenteau
Secretary

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