State Bar Trustees will review draft Governance report calling for significant changes to improve public protection Thursday, July 21, 2016 Categories: News Releases Contact: Laura Ernde 415-538-2283 barcomm@calbar.ca.gov SAN FRANCISCO, July 21, 2016 – At its July 22 meeting the State Bar of California’s Board of Trustees will review a draft report of the Governance in the Public Interest Task Force. The task force identified governance questions in three areas: the selection and composition of the State Bar Board of Trustees, the organization and function of the agency itself and the significance of a recent anti-trust decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. The staff-authored report begins with a strong acknowledgment on the need for reform: “It is universally acknowledged that significant changes are needed at the State Bar of California.” “Fixing the State Bar’s governance begins with taking a hard look at the systemic problems and their root causes. From there, comprehensive and system-wide reforms that are long overdue can be developed,” said Executive Director Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker. The report highlights eight fundamental problems that impact the agency’s ability to ensure public protection including (but not limited to) the following: Problems with the discipline system, both perceived and actual Inadequate definition of public protection and the State Bar’s mission Mission creep and poor organizational coherence Conflicting hybrid governance structure Proliferation of committees and over-reliance on volunteers On the topic of de-unification, the report acknowledges the proposals and ongoing questions of whether to de-couple the regulatory and trade association functions of the State Bar. The draft report presents several potential governance solutions, which task force members will be asked to consider, including (but not limited to) the following: Establish a slate of officers for the board to provide greater stability and consistency Extend the term of the board president to more than one year Increase the number of non-attorney trustees Eliminate board elections Appoint a discipline enforcement monitor In addition, the task force at a previous meeting indicated its agreement that the bar’s vice president should automatically ascend to the presidency following the completion of that term of office. The Governance in the Public Interest Task Force will review board input and is expected to finalize the report after its scheduled July 22-23 meeting. The task force expects to present its final report, without the need of formal board approval, to the Supreme Court, the governor and the Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committees later this month. A minority report expressing different conclusions on some issues may also be released. The Governance in the Public Interest Task Force is comprised of a subset of trustees, selected according to a statutorily prescribed formula: Miriam Krinsky, Jason Lee, Dennis Mangers, Joanna Mendoza, Danette Meyers, Gwen Moore and Chair David Pasternak. Previous Article Next Article