mand. Any idea that our Association can remain aloof from the coming legislative struggle ovef "no fault" is pure fantasy. Whether we desire it or not, our involvement in this controversy is inevitable. A year ago our outgoing president Paul Young appointed a special committee with excellent personnel under the chairmanship of Bruce Bullion to make a continuing study and analysis of the various "no fault" plans. The members have worked assiduously. I am continuing this fine committee and requesting that its labors be redoubled as we approach the 1973 session of the General Assembly. I urge each of you to educate yourselves on the intricacies of "no fault" and to be prepared to speak and answer questions in your district. The general public is hungry for information from informed sources to replace the propaganda barrage now being leveled by a portion of the insurance industry. Client Security Fund My predecessors Jack Deacon and Paul Young, working closely with the Supreme Court and its committee on Professional Conduct, have given the impetus to a new disciplinary structure in effect since the beginning of this year. This structure is already receiving acclaim in national Bar and judicial circles. One further measure needs to be taken. We need to immediately establish a Client Security Fund to protect those who have suffered financial loss by reason of the dishonesty of a lawyer. These funds are now operating successfully in several states. Payments are made from the fund as a matter of grace and not of right, and only after discipline has been imposed on the offending lawyer. The rogues and crooks in our profession constitute an infinitesimal part of its makeup, but their defalcations are given wide pUblicity in the media. Public opinion surveys, some under bar auspices, have shown that
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the lawyer's image is distorted and to some extend mudsplattered. Much of the responsibility for such unfair image surely rests with a small number of our wayward brothers. Since we have had a major part in putting licenses in the hands of these people, when and if they use that license to prey on the pUblic, we should not only playa major role in removing the license from their hands, but also making their victims whole. In my opinion, the greatest public relations blow that could be struck for our profession in Arkansas would be the immediate establishment of a client security fund. Until some permanent means of funding can be set up, I urge that such a fund be started with voluntary contributions. The time to start is now right here in this body. I am here committing my firm to $100 as a starter. I am asking our secretary to pass around a sheet of paper, for additional commitments. I would hope that we can leave here today with at least $1,000 pledged from this House of Delegates. I have already asked our Client Security Fund Committee to draft the rules and regulations governing the administration of this fund and payment from it. Within the month a letter will be addressed to our membership asking for voluntary contributions. An average donation of $10 per member would give us $15,000 with which to begin this fund, while we explore methods of permanent financing. I cannot discuss the matter of public relations without commending the fine work of our Public Relations Committee during the past two years under the chairmanship of John Gill. On a very limited bUdget this committee has accomplished wonders with excellent TV spots and programs, a public speaking campaign, and well-drafted news releases covering Association activities. Hopefully with the projected increase in membership, more funds will be available for the important work of this committee.
Continued on page 122
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We are particularly pleased to honor our distinguished member . ..
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Past-President Washington County Bar Association
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Past-President Arkansas Bar Association
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Fellow American Bar Foundation
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Fellow American College of Trial Lawyers
Courtney C. Crouch
THE WASHINGTON COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION JULY, 1972
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