Taking
a short break from our substantive law blawgs on foreclosure, bankruptcy,
mediation and collection, today is all about praise for the Vermont Bar
Association. As many of our readers may
know, I have been serving first as the Chair of the Bankruptcy Law Section of
the VBA and now on the VBA Board of Managers since 2006. Since bankruptcy lawyers spend most of their
time mired in the federal system, one might ask why would a Vermont bankruptcy
lawyer either belong to, or donate time to, the Vermont Bar Association?
The easiest and most
simplistic answer could be gleaned from why I served to begin with. Serving on the board does fulfill a lawyer’s
duty to promote the profession and donate time to benefit its members and, in
turn, their clients. For me, belonging
to a small group of no more than 40 or so federal bankruptcy practitioners, it
gave me a chance to learn more about what the rest of the State Court
practitioners were doing. I assumed it
would be a great way to make connections with other lawyers in the state. This, of course, is all true, however, I have
found over the years that it is so much more than that.
With the transformation of
the practice of law in recent decades to more impersonal communication methods,
competition from online service providers, such as Legal Zoom, increased specialization, social media concerns and
complex technological confidentiality issues, to name a few, the Board of
Managers allows a group of concerned legal minds to gather monthly as a
think-tank to address these broader issues.
Every effort is made to engage in meaningful discussions about the
future of the practice of law and how the VBA can assist Vermont lawyers. Being Vermont practitioners, we also grapple
with Vermont’s aging demographics, the cost of law school in relation to the
limited financial benefit of practice in Vermont and the needs of small and
solo practitioners, many of whom are in rural areas, for support on a larger
scale for education, technology and networking.
While of course continuing legal education is an essential service that
the VBA provides, the Board of Bar Managers constantly strives to find ways to
be of greater service to its members.
What many Vermont lawyers
may be less aware of is the VBA’s consistent presence in the Vermont
legislature. Recently, I took a day to
shadow VBA’s executive director, Bob Paolini, at the statehouse. As president-elect of the VBA, I thought it
important to see Bob in action before the summer adjournment.
During the legislative session, Bob is certainly
active at the state house, either testifying, putting people in touch with each
other to find common ground, finding lawyers to testify or merely being the
proverbial fly on the wall. If there is
proposed legislation that has even a whiff of a potential effect on the
practice of law, Bob is quick to alert concerned members, whichever ‘side’ they
may be on. Some issues are major, like
the recent proposal to tax legal services or proposed cuts to the funding of
the judiciary. Some may seem minor, like
choosing individuals to serve on study or rules committees, assessing
incremental fee hikes or reviewing form changes. No matter the issue, if it affects a member’s
practice of law, Bob is there to make sure the VBA member’s voice is
heard. Having a seat at the table is a
crucial and often silent benefit that the VBA provides to its members. And as everyone knows, if you aren’t given a
seat at the table, you just might be on the menu.
