The Bench & Bar magazine is published to provide members of the KBA with information that will increase their knowledge of the law, improve the practice of law, and assist in improving the quality of legal services for the citizenry.
Issue link: https://kentuckybenchandbar.epubxp.com/i/213936
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE PROGRESS By: Thomas L. Rouse One fourth of my term as your president has flown by and we are into KLU season, so the pace is rapid. I am pleased to be able to report "progress" in our efforts. The window of opportunity for a KBA president is very narrow, so most of the initiatives are begun immediately upon taking office. That is the approach that I took. The specific issues I hoped to address this year are under KBA scrutiny. The Task Force on Closed and Abandoned Practices has been formed, approved by the KBA Board of Governors and will be meeting shortly. The excellent article published in the September Bench & Bar on how to close a practice after the death of a sole practitioner set the stage for this effort. The focus of the task force will be on those situations where an attorney dies, or for some other reason closes or abandons the practice suddenly, leaving no one in charge and leaving clients stranded. We hope to come up with a statewide approach to handling these unfortunate situations perhaps in the form of a Supreme Court Rule. Attorneys from every Supreme Court District are involved with the task force. We have obtained programs adopted by other states for reference, and I am sure that the task force will come up with an excellent program. The KBA Board of Governors has received the report from the Task Force on Attorney Advertising and the report has been referred to the board's rules committee for further deliberation. No doubt a new set of advertising rules will be developed and forwarded to the Supreme Court of Kentucky for further consideration. Keep your eyes and ears open about this because an advertising rule change will affect every attorney's practice in a substantial way. While change is being considered, the current rules remain in force and I give many thanks to our Attorney's Advertising Commission for its hard work and dedication. 2 The IT audit commissioned by the board has been completed, the report received, and is under consideration. As times changed and the analog world became more digital, leadership and staff became concerned about our ability to B&B; • 11.13 adapt and progress with the systems in place. This audit was a very worthwhile effort and should be a great help in modernizing the way that staff is able to serve the membership. Future planning will depend on the KBA's tech capabilities. The first meeting of the financial summit group was conducted and was very productive. Similarities and differences between the way funds are managed by the Kentucky Bar Foundation, the IOLTA Trustees, and the financial officers of the KBA were identified. The goal is to ensure that those entrusted with your money are exercising their fiduciary duties in the best possible way to maximize income and lower administrative costs. Finally, KBA President- Elect Bill Johnson is again leading the legislative outreach effort of the KBA in support of appropriate funding for the Court of Justice in the upcoming legislative session. The situation where courts have to be closed because of a lack of funds must never again occur in this Commonwealth and it is our duty as officers of the court to express this concern to the General Assembly in a professional and courteous manner. A kick-off meeting has been scheduled for early November and we are excited for this opportunity to have a direct effect on the Court of Justice. Your bar association is hard at work for you, providing programs and services, addressing concerns and 'maintaining a proper discipline' among the members. The KBA staff is fully engaged in these efforts. More importantly, the hundreds of volunteer attorneys serving on committees, commissions and boards are just as engaged proving that we are all in this together. I am proud to be a Kentucky attorney. Thomas L. Rouse