Full Report - the Missouri Bar

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18 area in the spring of 2010. The program concluded with an expert giving tips on how lawyers can prepare for disasters. • Other expert speakers provided valuable information on legal technology, practice management and ethics. • The MoBarCLE Garage Sale offered educational materials at bargain prices. • The Ethics Rock presentation at the Saturday plenary session featured an entertaining way to learn about ethics. An acoustic guitarist played song parodies featuring ethical dilemmas that were discussed by an ethics expert with audience participation. • A golf outing on the beautiful Payne Stewart Golf Course and a cruise on Lake Taneycomo rounded out some of the social and recreational events. • A variety of receptions were offered for socializing and talking shop. • Thousands of dollars in prizes were given away during the event, including a vacation trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Spring and Fall Committee Meetings Jefferson City is the host for the two regularly-planned meetings of the more than 60 committees and sections of The Missouri Bar. These committees are largely responsible for the enormous number of programs and services the state bar regularly provides to its members and to the public. Shortly after the start of each new bar year – which officially begins at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting – many committees gather in mid-November for the Fall Committee Meetings. This gathering gives committees the chance to get organized and map out plans for the bar year ahead. In mid-May, committees again gather for the Spring Committee Meetings. Once again, committee members from all corners of the state converge on Jefferson City for a mid-year assessment of progress on committee projects. At both gatherings, many of The Missouri Bar’s substantive law committees also organize and present educational programs for their members and others in attendance. As with all Missouri Bar gatherings, the Spring and Fall Committee Meetings give members the chance to take advantage of practical, timely educational opportunities, contribute to the betterment of the profession and the laws of our state, and enjoy the camaraderie of colleagues – a winning formula that enhances both professional and personal enrichment. Committees and Sections The Missouri Bar is justifiably proud of the vast array of materials, programs and services it makes available to both its members and the general public. However, it is clear that, absent the hard work of state bar committees and sections, both the quantity and quality of these efforts would be significantly diminished. In fact, absent the thousands of men and women who make up the various Missouri Bar committees and sections, it would be impossible to sustain the ongoing activities and services members have come to expect from their state bar. The selfless donation of their time and talents underpin these endeavors and allow for new, timely initiatives to be launched on a regular basis. All members of The Missouri Bar are encouraged to participate in committee activities. In advance of the start of each bar year (which commences at the conclusion of each Annual Meeting), all members receive a committee registration form. Simply by completing and returning this form, lawyers may indicate their interest in serving on one or more open enrollment committees dealing with substantive areas of the law. Missouri Bar members may also join any open enrollment committee at any time via The Missouri Bar’s website at www.mobar.org. In addition to open enrollment committees, several other committees feature memberships appointed by the president of The Missouri Bar. Special committees are also authorized from time to time by the Board of Governors to address specific issues of concern. Regardless of how they are constituted, it is clear that Missouri Bar committees and sections are largely responsible for the majority of the bar’s activities. These include: the drafting of legislation for introduction before the Missouri General Assembly; the development of continuing legal education programming and publications; efforts to increase public understanding of the justice system; helping educators teach their students about the justice system; coordinating a variety of programs designed to help lawyers improve the efficiency of their practices; and countless more. Most Missouri Bar committees and sections meet twice each year – once at the Fall Committee Meetings and again at the Spring Committee Meetings. Held in Jefferson City, these meetings are accompanied by educational programming offered by several committees. Many of the state bar’s substantive law committees and sections also organize and present educational programming during The Missouri Bar Annual Meeting each fall. The creation of listservs has greatly facilitated the work of committees and sections and improved communica-
tion among lawyers across the state. Each committee and section has its own listserv, allowing members to exchange information, offer assistance to one another, provide moral support, and refer cases outside their geographic area. Young Lawyers’ Section The Young Lawyers’ Section (YLS) of The Missouri Bar was created in 1967 to stimulate the interest of recently-admitted lawyers in the objectives of The Missouri Bar, and to encourage participation in its substantive and procedural committees. All members of The Missouri Bar who are 36 years old or younger, or who have been admitted for less than five years, are members of the YLS. Section members elect representatives from 14 geographic districts to form the governing YLS Council. Through public service projects and educational activities aimed at both the public and recently admitted lawyers, the YLS builds strong relationships among young and newly-admitted attorneys, and develops future leaders of The Missouri Bar. The YLS also provides a forum for young lawyer associations within local bars to share their public service project successes and ideas. The YLS is the primary public service arm of The Missouri Bar, carrying out public service projects and educational activities throughout the state. Many of these projects have become yearly activities. Public service projects include programs designed to reduce youth violence, educate students about the Constitution, and explain voting and the electoral process. Public information brochures include topics such as young people’s obligations and rights as they enter the adult world, domestic violence, adoption and small claims court procedures. Missouri Bar Committee Involvement Many members of the Young Lawyers’ Section have been active in The Missouri Bar’s substantive law committees over the years. The YLS Council has continued its direct involvement with committees by appointing Council liaisons to nearly every substantive law committee of The Missouri Bar. The committee liaisons attend and participate in The Missouri Bar’s Spring and Fall Committee Meetings in Jefferson City, and look forward to continued participation in these committees in the future. to disabled, elderly, and low-income persons. The YLS continued its sponsorship of awards for young lawyers engaged in pro bono service this year. Disaster Legal Services The YLS Council, in conjunction with the lawyers of The Missouri Bar, the American Bar Association and FEMA, in 2012 continued to provide free legal services to victims of several disasters that occurred in Missouri in 2011, including the St. Louis tornado, major flooding in both southeast and northwest Missouri, and the Joplin tornado. Hundreds of Missouri attorneys volunteered to assist hotline callers with disaster-related legal issues ranging from landlord-tenant issues to questions about insurance and FEMA assistance. Educational Activities We the People. .. The Citizen and the Constitution is a national constitutional studies program for students in grades 4 through 12 that promotes an understanding of the history and philosophy of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as well as an understanding of democracy and its institutions. In the culminating activity for this event, members participate by volunteering to judge in mock congressional hearings where students demonstrate their skills and knowledge of past and present constitutional issues. The Missouri State Finals are held each January, and the winning school represents Missouri in the National Finals held in Washington, D.C. The YLS Council also donates $10,000 annually to help send the winning team to the National Finals. The Law Day Essay Contest, in its l5th year, is co-sponsored by the Missouri National Education Association, the Missouri Press Association, and the YLS. The contest Pro Bono Involvement The YLS Council has continued its involvement with Missouri Bar pro bono activities this year. Council members have attended the meetings of the Delivery of Legal Services Committee, and the Council has dedicated itself to assisting the committee in achieving its goal of improving the delivery of legal services to the public, including matters related Then-Missouri Bar President Lynn Whaley Vogel (left), Young Lawyers’ Section Chair Amy Bender-Levy (third from left) and a representative of the Missouri National Education Association pose with one of the winners in the annual Law Day Essay Contest. 19
Page 1 and 2: Serving Our Members & Communities T
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS President’s Mes
Page 5 and 6: Leadership Patrick B. Starke Presid
Page 7 and 8: The Missouri Bar Center The Missour
Page 9 and 10: Professional Development Continuing
Page 11 and 12: The sales of electronic MoBarCLE de
Page 13 and 14: The Missouri Bar’s Legislative Pr
Page 15 and 16: where there is a significant need f
Page 17: choose from a wide range of very hi
Page 21 and 22: years of practice) to the bar who a
Page 23 and 24: the News Reporters Handbook and was
Page 25 and 26: Member Communications The primary p
Page 27 and 28: provides online access to legal dat
Page 29 and 30: Information Technology Information
Page 31 and 32: assists the Missouri Girls State an
Page 33 and 34: Gender & Justice Committee William
Page 35 and 36: The Missouri Bar 2012 Actual Fiscal

Full Report - the Missouri Bar

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