The State Bar Association of North Dakota Spring 2014 Gavel Magazine | Page 2

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
SBAND. Thank you to all of the dedicated and
hardworking staff and volunteers for making
this association great! For those who might be
wondering what your BOG does, I thought
I would give you a short synopsis – a year in
review – of your BOG.

NANCY J. MORRIS
President, SBAND
“We Are Not Alone” is the name of a song
from the resurgently popular movie The
Breakfast Club (Karla DeVito), and also a
common theme among bar associations
in the Western States Bar Conference. I
had the recent privilege of meeting with
other similarly situated bar presidents
at the Western States Bar Conference’s
Annual Meeting. The conference provided
a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas,
and learn about the challenges faced by bar
associations big and small. I learned that we
are truly not alone - there are hardworking,
dedicated lawyers brainstorming ideas
and offering resources to try to meet the
challenges of bar associations across the
country. The roll call of the states was
particularly enlightening. Many states
offered ideas about addressing the urgent and
growing need for Access to Justice. Others
outlined their efforts to address the problem
of dwindling legal representation in rural
areas. I believe we have made great strides in
both of these areas, but concerns persist. We
are not alone!
It is hard to believe my year as President
is nearing its end. It has been a busy, fun
and educational experience. Thank you for
the opportunity to serve! Your Board of
Governors (BOG) and numerous committee
and section members have been hard at
work this past year to further the mission of
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THE GAVEL

My first meeting as President immediately
followed the annual meeting last year. The
meeting was a success by all accounts, but
left us wondering how we could increase
attendance and participation by the members
of our growing legal community. In September
the BOG approved engaging Greg Tehven
as an “experience curator,” and the Annual
Meeting Committee (and several fully engaged
subcommittees, including Experience, Audience,
Content and Sponsorship) was off and running.
I don’t want to let too many secrets out of the
bag just yet, but I assure you the move to various
fun and interesting venues in Downtown Fargo
will make your trip well worthwhile (did anyone
catch ESPN Game Day?). Registration is now
open online. I hope to see you in Downtown
Fargo June 11-13!
In September of last year, there were two topics
of note (in addition to the day to day operations
Tony was just starting to get a feel for) – office
location and the Judicial Candidate Surveys.
Have you been to the CB Little House? It is a
beautiful facility, but our landlord, wants it back.
We started looking for space last year, but prices
are astronomically high in Bismarck, and there
are slim pickings. However, new space has been
secured in the Association of Counties building,
and Tony has negotiated an extension of the
existing lease, albeit at a higher rent, until fit up
is completed this fall. I am confident this move
will serve our association well.
The topic of Judicial Surveys was also discussed
in September. The BOG discussed whether the
surveys are helpful to the decision makers, and
ultimately decided to continue the survey as
a service to our members and the public. The
BOG recognizes the survey results are simply
a tool in the tool box for the decision makers.
I encourage you to participate in the surveys in
the future. Your voice is heard!
In February one of the important issues
and decisions included appointing two
representatives to the Board to fill the two
new judicial district vacancies - the Northwest
District and the North Central District.

Incidentally, these new districts came about as
a result of an SBAND Task Force to study the
impacts of the oil boom on the judicial system.
Three additional judges were also authorized –
two in the new districts, and one in Fargo. Also
on the February agenda was the Joint Attorney
Standards Committee recommendation
regarding Rules 1.5 and 1.15, addressing
nonrefundable fees and deposits into the
attorney operating account. The BOG also
discussed the very important issue of the Law
School reaccreditation process. The funding for
the new law school building will go a long way
in this process!
Other BOG topics over the year included LAP
coverage to students, hiring of a new Executive
Director and office staffing, the law school
building project, SBAND’s Legislative Policy,
SBAND’s role as a lobbyist for the profession,
mediation at the appellate court, Access to
Justice, and Mentoring our new bar members.
And throughout the year, the BOG supported
the Annual Meeting Committee’s goal of
energizing and connecting our legal community
in new and different ways. There is an ongoing
discussion among the members of the Western
States Bar Conference whether annual meetings
are as important as they once were, and whether
the event should continue. Some associations
in the Western States Bar have done away
with it completely. Others have changed their
meeting to a destination CLE in order to vie for
the almighty CLE budget, and South Dakota
offers the event for free. The BOG recognized
the importance of the collegiality fostered by
lawyers coming together in an atmosphere
of fun and learning. The BOG has supported
the group of (mostly) young lawyers across
the state who have been working very hard to
combine the best of both worlds right here in
North Dakota by capitalizing on the vitality
of Downtown Fargo, while bringing you great
CLE in interesting and unusual ways, all at an
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