The CBA Board of Governors meeting was held at the Colorado History Museum on Saturday, May 10. Approximately 100 members were in attendance.
President-elect Charley Garcia announced appointments for the next year, all of which were approved. The appointments are Mary Jo Gross as Treasurer, and Sarah Clark and Olympia Fay to the CBA Executive Council. Garcia noted that the CBA was accepting nominations for the ABA delegate positions. There are two openings, one of which is for a young lawyerand the other is a general appointment.
The Board approvedan amendment presented by Jessica Lowrey to the CBA bylaws creating the Environmental Sustainability Committee. The Committee’s mission is to work on guidelines and standards for law firms to use to become more environmentally sustainable.
Chuck Turner presented to the Board regarding amending the bylaws to sunset the Availability of Legal Services Committee. Turner mentioned the CBA’s resources and focus are on the ATJ Commission and emphasized that the CBA still considers the issue of access to justice as a critical centerpiece of the CBA’s mission.
The Board approved an amendment to Title Standard 2.1.6 as it relates to the marketability of title for a recorded decree quieting title under Rule 105, C.R.C.P. presented by Peter Griffith from the CBA Real Estate Section.
CBA Board of Governors voted to oppose ballot iniatives 79 regarding the election of justices and judges, 94 regarding the duties of the Independent Ethics Commission, and 76 regarding the recall of state and local officers. The Board heard arguments for and against the iniatives by Stacy Carpenter and Chris Forsythe.
CBA President Terry Ruckriegle presented honors to Philip Mervis, Margrit Parker, and Lance Timbreza for the Colorado flood legal relief efforts, and to Justice Gregory Hobbs for his tireless efforts on behalf of pro bono work.
In the Executive Director’s report, Turner included a discussion about the decrease in percentage of active and instate attorneys who are members. Turner also presented on the CBA’s new program SOLACE. The new program, which has yet to become initiated, will involve an email list that members may to join and when the CBA gets a request for non-legal assistance it will be sent on to the list. The program has become quite successful in several other state bar associations.
Turner also mentioned that the Consult a Colleague is now Ask a Colleague. The Ask a Colleague program will apply to the Colorado Supreme Court to become a mentoring program. The program will offer a list of attorneys who are willing to take a brief phone call from other members to provide guidance on specific topics.
And lastly in Turner’s report, he reminded members that STRATUM , which recently launched with the CBA’s remodel, is a shared working space at the CBA offices. The shared workspace includes amenities sucha as wifi, coffee, soda, copies, faxing, phone, and also private meeting space based on availability at no cost to members.
