d. Increase professionalism. How do we get the idea across that the practice of law is a profession and not a business? Advisory opinions on legal ethics problems should be issued. Improve the outreach of the educational programs. Make the public aware of law practice as a profession. The Association should be a clearinghouse to increase the community involvement of lawyers. Take steps to decrease the cost of providing legal services. See to it that clients understand the cost early in the litigation process. Help younger lawyers in dealing with clients, and encourage settlements before costs get out of hand.
TEAM 2. DEAN ROBERT WALSH, REPORTER. a. Law reform. Draft legislation to replace outmoded laws. Promote the bar legislative package aggressively--<:onduct regional meetings to explain the package to legislators and local bar associations. Delegate watchdog responsibility during the legislative session to a small group of responsible bar leaders who can act quickly to fight bad legislation. (Set up weekly conference calls at a designated time to assure that the interests of lawyers are properly protected during the session.) Provide legislators with short and succinct summaries of the Bar's position on bills under consideration. Encourage good lawyers to actively participate in the legislative process.
b. Cost of legal services. Urge judges to rule quickly to reduce duplications, interrogatories and unnecessary discovery. Encourage the use of modern law office techniques, cheaper delivery of legal services, and the informal resolution of disputes. Form arbitration panels staffed by lawyers and perhaps even by senior law students. Work to increase the jurisdiction of small claims and municipal courts.
c. Improve the judicial system. The system will never substantially improve until salaries are high enough to attract the very best lawyers. All judges should have secretarial assistance. Telephone conference calls should replace docket calls and gatherings held merely to select trial dates.
d. Law student support. The proposal for a bar exam preparatory course sponsored by the Association met with a mixed reaction. Liaison should be established, however, between the bar examiners and the faculties of the two law schools. Following each exam, questions and the examiner's model answers should be SUbmitted to faculty representatives who will be given an opportunity to suggest revisions to the model answers as well as additional points that may be expected to be found in student responses to the questions. This liaison will tend to promote fairer grading practices and better bar exam questions; and it may enable the law schools to better anticipate the needs of students.
e. Public Information. Communicate and highlight the positive aspects of the profession.
f. The high cost of litigation. A special study committee should make recommendations and possibly draft legislation to expand the types of cases in which reasonable attorney fees are awarded to the victor.
TEAM 3. CHRISTOPHER BARRIER, REPORTER. a. Education of lawyers in and after law school. Urge more clinical training, improve lawyer client communications, and formalize relationships by engagement and employment letters. The study of professional ethics should be mandatory in law school and as a part of CLE training.
b. Access to lawyers and meeting the need for legal services. Specialists should be certified. Continuing legal education should be mandatory, utilizing regional seminars. Initiate prepaid legal services and other methods to serve middle income clients. Continue public education programs to educate the public about lawyers and what they do. Approach the elimination of unauthorized practice of law positively-attack substandard practices which are harmful to the public.
c. Economic delivery of quality service. Continue to publish "Systems" to help lawyers. A task force should look for more methods to provide tools to enable the small town practitioner to continue to exist as an institution. Look for inexpensive ways to resolve minor disputes.
d. Professional relationships. Continue with an active public relations program. Fight government regulations of the legal profession. Stay alert to the problem. Improve relationships with the press--<:onduct joint meetings-train lawyers to deal with reporters. Work with the jUdiciary-streamline procedures-urge the elimination of expensively printed appellate briefs. Look for new methods of getting cases tried more efficiently. Grease the machinery for assignment of judges between judicial districts. Cause judicial candidates to commit themselves to accept the assignment of cases from other districts. There ought to be several items in these suggestions that appeal to each member of the Association. Contact your representative in the House of Delegates and make sure your favorite project is made known. I'd like to hear from you too. Making the next year a memorable one for lawyers is the goal of your officers, but we can't do it alone. Pitch in and help! No advice will be ignored, and fair criticism of our efforts will cause corrections to be brought about promptly.
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July 1980/Arkansas Lawyer/127