Agenda

The National Forum on Client Protection - a national educational, informational and networking event for professionals working the area of client protection.

All Times are Central Standard Time

Thursday, June 3

4:O0 PM 

Remo Social Hour/Networking Event
Joint social event with attendees of the National Conference on Professional Responsibility

Friday, June 4

10:00  - 10:10 AM

Welcome and Introduction

Alecia Chandler- ABA Standing Committee on Public Protection in the Provision of Legal Services; Professional Standards Assistant Division Director, State Bar of Michigan

10:15  - 11:15 AM

Plenary #1
CP Fund Crystal Ball: Recognizing Cataclysms and Creeping Deterioration; Achieving Triumphs and Steady Success (Future of CP Funds)

What current threats and opportunities for Client Protection Funds are on the horizon?  Using the mortgage refinance - loan modification crisis, and issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic as the backdrop and the tests those have posed, what might the future hold that Funds ought to be prepared to handle?

Moderator:
William Weigel, General Counsel, Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation

Panelists:
William N. King, Professional Programs Counsel, Louisiana State Bar Association
Michael J. Knight, Sr., Executive Director and Counsel, Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection of the State of New York;
Claire Reynolds, Public Affairs Counsel, State Bar of Texas, Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel

11:30 AM - 12:45 PM

Examining the Exam: The Role of The Admissions Process in Public Protection. A Look at Current Practices and Possible Alternatives
(Joint Session with the National Conference on Professional Responsibility)

When COVID-19 pummeled the U.S. in March 2020, it quickly became apparent that many things were “up for grabs.” By April, states were evaluating whether and how to offer bar exams and the ABA urged states that canceled their bar exams due to COVID-19 to consider interim admission alternatives for law grads. Approximately half of the states developed interim admission protocols.

Like other “givens” in life, the 2020 Pandemic has raised questions about the role of a bar exam. Join our panel as it discusses how the Uniform Bar Exam was developed, is evolving, and where it is headed; whether and how bar exams and other admission processes protect the public; and the role law schools and their pedagogy play in the way we educate, train, and test lawyers in order to protect the public.    

Moderator and Panelist:
Hon. Laurance B. VanMeter, Justice, Kentucky Supreme Court

Panelists:
Judith Gunderson, President, National Conference of Bar Examiners
Dean Katharine Traylor Schaffzin, University of Memphis Law School
Professor Leslie Levin, University of Connecticut Law School

12:45  - 1:30 PM - BREAK

1:30  - 2:30 PM - BREAKOUTS

Breakout #1
Recruitment, Retention, and Succession Planning for Client Protection Funds

Recruitment, Retention, and Succession Planning for Client Protection Funds: As with other areas, there is in increase in retirements of Fund leadership and staff.  How can Funds best plan for the future and develop best practices for recruitment and retention? 

Panelists:
Janet Green Marbley, Administrator, Client Security Fund, Supreme Court of Ohio
Linda Bauer, Massachusetts Client Security Board
Frank X. Neuner, Jr., Founder and Managing Partner, Neuner Pate

Breakout #2
Innovations in Claims Investigation Part 2

2019’s presentation focused on search engines, the web, dark web, and social media.  This year take a deeper dive into the technology that is impacting everything in the legal services marketplace and regulatory construct. This includes changes in the processing of disciplinary complaints and the impact on how Client Protection Funds operate, receive, process, and resolve claims

Panelists:
Alecia Chandler, ABA Standing Committee on Public Protection in the Provision of Legal Services; Professional Standards Assistant Division Director, State Bar of Michigan
Gabriel Huertas, New York Lawyers’ Fund  

2:30 -2:45 PM - BREAK

2:45 - 3:45 PM

Plenary #3
The Proliferation of Alternative Legal Service Providers and the Implications for Client Protection Funds: A New Frontier for the Practice of Law?

This session will look at the different jurisdictions that are studying and implementing rules to authorize paraprofessionals to perform certain kinds of legal services. This program will explore the role of these paraprofessionals who perform legal services and examine the benefits, challenges, and implications of these rule changes. This program will also address whether alternative legal service providers should have to contribute to Client Protection Funds or whether other regulatory interventions should be considered to ensure that the public is adequately protected. 

Moderator:
Stephen R. Crossland, Chair, Limited License Legal Technician Board, Washington State Bar Association | Washington 

Panelists:
Anne L. Taylor, Chief Disciplinary Counsel, Disciplinary Board of the New Mexico Supreme Court | New Mexico 
Scotti Hill, Associate General Counsel, Licensed Paralegal Practitioner Administrator, Utah State Bar | Utah
Randall Difuntorum, Program Director, Office of Professional Competence, State Bar of California | California

4:00  - 5:O0 PM 

Remo Social Hour/Networking Event 

MCLE Information

The ABA will seek 4.25 ethics credit hours in 60-minute-hour states, and 5.1 ethics CLE credit hours in 50-minute states. Credit hours are estimated and are subject to each state’s approval and credit rounding rules. For more information about CLE accreditation in your state, visit http://ambar.org/CPREvents or contact Annie Kuhlman at [email protected].

*Florida Bar regulators have stated that attorneys will not receive Florida credit for any ABA program, even if they self-apply.