The State Bar Association of North Dakota Fall 2015 Gavel Magazine | Page 36

Koppelman Receives Legislative Award
SBAND presented its 2015
Legislative Service Award
to Rep. Kim Koppelman of
West Fargo at the Annual
Meeting in June. Because
Koppelman was unable
to attend the Annual
Meeting, Jack McDonald,
pictured at right, past
president of SBAND, and
Chief Justice Gerald VandeWalle, pictured at left, gave Koppelman
the award plaque at the State Capitol in September.
Koppelman has served on the House Judiciary Committee for
most of his 21 years in the Legislature, the last two sessions as
chairman. He is vice chairman of the Legislature’s Interim Judiciary
Committee and the Suggested State Legislation Committee of
the Council of State Governments. He also is on the board of the
North Dakota Commission for Legal Counsel for Indigents and
the Political Subdivisions Committee, the interim Government
Finance and Incarceration Issues Committees, and the Statutory
Administrative Rules Committee.
The past national chairman of the Council of State Governments,
Koppelman previously chaired its Public Safety and Justice Task
Force. He has also served on the North Dakota Supreme Court’s
Judicial Planning Committee and the Committee on Alternative
Dispute Resolution.

Student Trial Lawyers
Hear Williams Speak

The State Bar Association of North Dakota, the North Dakota
Association for Justice, and the UND Student Trial Lawyers
Association teamed up September 24 to present their annual
Mentorship Mixer at the Empire Arts Center in downtown
Grand Forks. The networking event brought together new and
experienced attorneys with UND law students participating in the
Mentorship Program led by Mike Williams, an attorney with Maring
Williams Law in Fargo. Joining him were Tony Weiler, SBAND
executive director; Bradley Parrish, assistant dean for student life
at the UND School of Law; Al Austad, executive director of the
North Dakota Association for Justice; and Mikayla Reis, president
of the UND Student Trial Lawyers Association, and 35 students.
Williams spoke on the crucial leadership role attorneys provide for
new law students through their participation in the Mentorship
Program, which offers students the opportunity to develop
relationships with members of the North Dakota legal community.

LAWYER DISCIPLINE
NOTICE OF DISCIPLINE OF
ATTORNEY

Disciplinary Board of the Supreme
Court of the State of North Dakota, v.
Jesse D. Matson, Petitioner
No. 20150219-20150221

The Supreme Court considered the report of
a hearing panel of the Disciplinary Board
recommending that Jesse D. Matson be
suspended from the practice of law in North
Dakota for six months and one day; that
he be required to take a continuing legal
education course on the rules of professional
conduct as a condition of reinstatement; that
he pay the costs and expenses of the
disciplinary proceeding; and that he pay
unpaid costs and expenses assessed in a
previous disciplinary action.
Matson was admitted to practice law
in North Dakota on October 10, 2011.
36

THE GAVEL

This matter involves three consolidated
disciplinary actions in which Matson
represented clients in family law matters. He
failed to timely and effectively communicate
with the clients, timely prepare documents,
or both. Documents that Matson did prepare
showed a lack of knowledge and skill. In
one matter, Matson’s failure to understand
the military compensation system resulted
in an error in child support. Matson falsely
assured the client he would get the judgment
amended with respect to child support.
Neither Matson nor his law firm had an
IOLTA account, and retainers paid by
two clients were deposited into Matson’s
operating account. The fee agreements in the
two matters stated the fee was earned upon
payment, but also stated that the retainer
would be applied toward earned fees and
reimbursement for costs. The agreements
did not state that the fee was earned upon
receipt, was a minimum fee, or was for the
purpose of retaining Matson’s time. The

clients were forced to seek new counsel
or proceed self-represented, experienced
delays, and incurred expenses.
Matson was previously reprimanded by
a hearing panel of the disciplinary board
and failed