SBAND PRESIDENT
SBAND PRESIDENT
SUPPORTING NORTH DAKOTA’ S LEGAL COMMUNITY:
WHAT SBAND DOES FOR ITS MEMBERS
DEBRA HOFFARTH SBAND President
I continue to be impressed by how much SBAND quietly and consistently does for its more than 3,000 members, and I want to take a moment to highlight a few of the ways SBAND supports you.
1. Comprehensive Legal Research Tools SBAND offers free access to VLexFastcase ®, allowing you to search North Dakota and federal case law, statutes, administrative codes, North Dakota’ s pattern jury instructions, and more.
2. Continuing Legal Education( CLE) SBAND ensures you have access to high-quality CLE to meet your CLE requirements and stay sharp across all areas of law. The board of governors, at the recommendation of the CLE Commission, reduced the number of required CLE hours to 36 hours every three years. Attorneys still need to earn at least three hours of ethics every reporting period.
3. Professional Networking and
Community Building SBAND fosters community and professional development through committee assignments, practice sections, and the annual meeting to help build legal community, enhance professional growth, encourage collaboration, and increase camaraderie and collegiality.
4. Ethics Guidance and Risk Management SBAND provides ethics advisory opinions to help navigate professional responsibility obligations.
5. Judges and Lawyer Assistance Program
( LAP / JLAP) SBAND confidentially administers the Lawyer Assistance Program to assist North Dakota lawyers who struggle with alcohol or drug abuse, stress, depression, anxiety, or practice management.
6. Member Assistance Program( MAP) SBAND’ s Member Assistance Program offers confidential, professional counseling services to members and their families. You or your family members are eligible to receive up to eight hours of counseling sessions, at no charge.
7. Legislative Work SBAND is committed to promoting the administration of justice and advocating for the profession during the legislative process. Considering the constraints of Keller, SBAND supports the Court’ s budget, Indigent Defense’ s budget, and funding of the University of North Dakota( UND) School of Law. In this past legislative session, SBAND opposed bills attempting to strip the judiciary of qualified immunity, allowing non-lawyers to represent individuals in court, legislation creating alternate pathways to licensure, and legislation to change the appointment of judges. SBAND’ s advocacy also supports access to justice through rural attorney recruitment and retention.
8. Judicial Nominating Committee. SBAND appoints two permanent members to the Judicial Nominating Committee and assists in providing notices of judicial openings, reviewing the background of applicants, holding interviews, and submitting names to the governor for judicial appointment.
9. Law-Related Education and Outreach Each year, SBAND hosts the North Dakota High School Mock Trial Competition, where students gain hands-on experience with the trial process. Through the close relationship with the UND School of Law, SBAND supports the recruitment and mentorship of law students and provides annual scholarships. Past- President Ted Sandberg initiated meetings with North Dakota colleges and universities to encourage students to consider careers in law. This outreach strengthens the attorney pipeline and expands access to justice throughout the state.
10. Publications and Timely
Communication Through The Gavel, www. sband. org, and regular email alerts, SBAND keeps you informed about CLEs, rule changes, and professional opportunities.
11. Looking Ahead: SBAND’ s
Strategic Vision In 2025, SBAND completed a new strategic plan with two strategic goals:
• In partnership with Legal Services of North Dakota, expand efforts to close the access to justice gap through advancing an attorney pipeline program in North Dakota and expanding direct SBAND Access to Justice programs.
• Promote the mental health and well-being of SBAND members by providing accessible support services to those most in need through the LAP, JLAP, and MAP programs; destigmatizing help-seeking; and building a legal culture where lawyers can thrive.
You’ ll see these goals reflected in initiatives throughout the year, and we invite you to get involved. I’ m excited to serve as SBAND President and to continue SBAND’ s important work. Please don’ t hesitate to reach out – I ' d love to hear from you.
4 THE GAVEL