SBAND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
SBAND HAS MUCH TO OFFER
TONY J . WEILER SBAND Executive Director
The State Bar Association of North Dakota ( SBAND ) is made up of all of you , and me . As you know , we are a professional association of close to 3,100 licensed North Dakota lawyers . That number fluctuates a bit from year to year , but over the last eightplus years our membership has remained steady near the 3,000 mark . Each year , the association loses a few members , but gains members as well .
But who else are we ? SBAND was founded in 1899 and became the first unified bar association in the United States in 1921 . A unified bar means any licensed North Dakota lawyer is also a member of SBAND . The association is governed by a 15-member board of governors located in our judicial districts . The dean of the University of North Dakota School of Law and our state American Bar Association delegate are also members of the board . The board also includes a secretary / treasurer , a pastpresident , a president-elect , and a Young Lawyers Section representative . We ’ ve had nine judges serve as the president of the association .
SBAND also has 11 sections : Administrative and Government Lawyers , Business and Corporate , Criminal Defense , Family Law , Indian Law , Elder Law , Legal Economics , Real Property and Probate , Taxation , Women Lawyers , and Young Lawyers . You can join any section , and the cost for each varies . Some sections are more active than others , and each offers a different benefit . We also have a lot of committees staffed by our members , as well as joint committees where members are appointed by SBAND and the North Dakota Supreme Court .
SBAND works to serve our members so you can serve your clients . We provide a variety of CLE ’ s that both help with your practice and , hopefully , your well-being . In 2021 , we offered 26 low-cost or no-cost seminars . You can use FastCase for free legal research ; we provide ethics opinions ; our Lawyer Assistance Program and Member Assistance Program are available to members who need help ; we support you in providing Access to Justice to those in need ; we are your governmental relations liaison ; and we work closely with our courts on many projects and joint committees . We provide many more member benefits in conjunction with our partners like ALPS , LawPay , Clio , and several more . Further , our numerous committees allow you to be involved , meet other lawyers , aid the association in the work we do , and provide an opportunity to get a lot out of your involvement .
We will soon be launching North Dakota Free Legal Answers , a website where those most in need of legal services can ask you questions . There is an article on that in this edition of The Gavel , and I encourage you to read it . I also ENCOURAGE you to sign up and see if you can help someone on a pro bono basis . We think this website will allow many of you to help so many who need it without having to take a full-blown pro bono case .
We are also working on bringing communities to the members of our sections . The community will be restricted to members of the section , who can share information , ask questions of each other , provide answers to those questions , and update members on what is happening within the section . We think this will be a great member benefit to those current and future members of our sections .
Our annual meeting will take place June 15- 17 at the Delta in Fargo . We hope you join us and your colleagues for education , but more importantly , time to reconnect with friends and meet new ones . Your planning committee has a great slate of education and social events planned . This year , we are working with the Indigent Defense Commission on planning joint tracks , and it ’ s going to be a great event .
Finally , the United States Supreme Court denied cert in three cases challenging the constitutionality of the unified bar . Texas , Oklahoma , and Michigan all had won lower court decisions challenging what those bars had done . The Court ’ s denial is another in a long line of cases , including Fleck v . SBAND , in which the Court has denied cert and , in doing so , recognizes the constitutionality of unified bars . We continue to be mindful of our constitutional duty to use your license fees to improve the practice of law and discipline the profession . We are conscious of it every day .
If you ever want to reach out , I hope you know where to find me !
Annual Meeting !
4 THE GAVEL