SBAND PRESIDENT
A FOCUS ON THE FUTURE:
LOOKING FORWARD
TO THE YEAR AHEAD
AUBREY FIEBELKORN-ZUGER
SBAND President
June, for me, always seems like a whirlwind
of activity. The kids get out of school,
summer camps begin, and we start our
lake weekends. In the midst of all of this,
SBAND holds its annual meeting. I leave
each SBAND annual meeting the same
– exhausted from the busy days of CLE
presentations, board meetings, and a litany of
events – but also refreshed and reinvigorated.
The annual meeting provides an opportunity
to connect with attorneys and judges from
around the state and to have meaningful
discussions about issues that we all face.
Included in this year’s annual meeting was
a program to honor Professor Patti Alleva
for her exceptional contributions to the
University of North Dakota School of Law,
as well as to the practice of law in North
Dakota. Her innovative teaching style has
inspired thousands of students and provided
them a solid foundation upon which to
build their careers. SBAND is especially
appreciative of Professor Alleva’s service to
the bar and to the North Dakota judicial
system over the past 32 years, including her
extensive work drafting and recommending
changes to the Rules of Civil Procedure,
her substantial assistance developing a case
management plan for the federal courts,
and her work on numerous SBAND
committees. Professor Alleva reminds us all
of the importance of relationships, and the
large group of attorneys at the reception in
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THE GAVEL
her honor was a testament to her profound
impact on the lives of many.
The annual meeting also brings about new
leadership to SBAND, and I am excited
to serve as this year’s President. I thank
outgoing President Zack Pelham for his
dedication, perseverance, and commitment
to improving SBAND. Through his
leadership, and with the assistance of
the Legislature and Governor Burgum,
the University of North Dakota School
of Law was able to secure much-needed
funding to hire professors and support
quality educational programming for North
Dakota’s law students.
As with recent years, one of the biggest
issues we will face this year is the challenge
to SBAND’s integrated bar membership.
Our case is still pending, and we await a
decision from the Eighth Circuit Court
of Appeals. While this legal challenge has
been time consuming and concerning, it has
also provided SBAND an opportunity to
think critically about how we are structured
and the manner in which we operate the
association.
To that end, a Futures Taskforce has been
established to facilitate discussions about,
among other things, SBAND’s funding
sources, programming, and partnership with
the judicial system. This will provide us an
opportunity to thoroughly examine our
structure and consider whether there may
be better ways to provide services to our
members and to fulfill our stated mission:
“To serve the lawyers and the people of
North Dakota, to improve professional
competence, promote the administration of
justice, uphold the honor of the profession of
law, and encourage cordial relations among
members of the State Bar.” I am optimistic
about SBAND’s future and believe this
taskforce will provide SBAND important
information about how we can best fulfill
our mission.
I look forward to working with incoming
President-Elect Carrie Francis, Executive
Director Tony Weiler, and the exceptional
SBAND staff. I am most excited, though,
to hear from SBAND members about
what we are doing well and ways we can
improve SBAND to make sure it remains
a viable, relevant association for many years
to come. I will soon be traveling to the local
bar association meetings to meet with and
receive feedback from you. If you have any
input you want to share in the interim, please
do not hesitate to email or call.
In closing, I want to extend a heartfelt thank
you for affording me the privilege to serve
in this role. I look forward to a great (and
busy!) year.