Budget, technology, legal marketing are on the board’s agenda
Budget, technology, legal marketing are on the board’s agenda
Giving final approval to the Bar’s 2015-16 budget, continuing discussion and actions on technology and legal market issues including possibly increasing the Bar’s CLE requirement, and approving the new Animal Law Section will be on the Bar Board of Governors’ agenda for its May 22 meeting.
The Key West gathering will be the last in the Bar’s 2014-15 year and for outgoing Bar President Greg Coleman.
The board gave initial approval to the 2015-16 budget, which keeps annual membership fees at $265 for active members and $175 for inactive members for the 14th year in a row, at its March meeting. It will consider any objections from Bar members at the May meeting. After final approval, the budget will be submitted to the Supreme Court.
The budget projects Bar revenues at $41.3 million, and Bar expenses at $44.2 million. The 2015-16 budget predicts the Bar will get $26.3 million from annual membership fees, up from $25.7 million for the current budget. It continues to be the largest source of Bar revenues.
The Bar expects to receive $3.5 million from other regulatory fees, $6.6 million for providing members services (primarily CLE course revenues), and $1.5 million from advertising sales from the Bar Journal and News.
Regulation of the practice of law, which includes the Bar grievance system, ethics and advertising operations, the Attorney-Consumer Assistance Program, The Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism, and Membership Records, will continue to be the Bar’s largest expense. It’s projected at $19.8 million next year, up from $18.4 million budgeted for 2014-15.
On technology and marketplace issues, the board is expected to take a final vote on creating a board-level technology committee and making the Special Committee on Technology a permanent standing Bar committee. The board approved those actions in concept at its March meeting, following the recommendation of the Vision 2016 Technology Subcommittee.
The board-level committee will underscore the importance that technology now plays in the profession and the legal system, and it will act as liaison with the Supreme Court’s Florida Courts Technology Commission, which oversees technology matters for the court system.
The board is expected to work on more issues presented by Technology Subcommittee Chair John Stewart at the board’s March meeting, including:
* A technology component in the CLE requirement for Bar members, and increasing the overall CLE requirement from 30 to 36 hours every three years with the extra hours being devoted to technology training. The Program Evaluation Committee will be reviewing a rule amendment to accommodate those changes and could present it to the board for first reading.
* Expansion of the Bar’s Lawyer Referral Service to compete with online, private referral companies. Stewart said that could involve a partnership with a private company.
* Creation of an online document generation system that Bar members can use to compete with online legal document companies.
The board got its first look at the bylaws for the Animal Law Section in March, and is scheduled to give them final approval at the May 22 meeting. The Animal Law Committee has been pushing for the section status.
The board will also make several appointments and nominations at the May meeting, including:
* Nominating three lawyers each for a vacancy on each of the state’s 26 judicial nominating commissions. Gov. Rick Scott will make the final appointments for four-year terms beginning July 1.
* Picking two lawyers for two-year terms to the ABA House of Delegates.
* Naming six lawyers for two-year terms on the Florida Legal Services, Inc., Board of Directors.
* Appointing five lawyers for three-year terms on the Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc., Board of Directors.
* Choosing two lawyers for five-year terms on the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.
