Innovation a key component in planning MSBA convention
by Mark A. Cohen Editor-in-Chief
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Also in today's coverage: Magnuson to convention attendees: ‘We’ve reached the tipping point’
Moments worthy of mention from the MSBA convention
The following are a few memorable moments from the MSBA convention, courtesy of Convention Committee Co-chair Jason Kohlmeyer:
• Chief Justice Eric Magnuson sitting on a plastic chair outside the Glensheen Mansion straining to get a peek at the standing-room-only “29 Years Ago in Hastings” CLE presentation;
• Dr. Michael Fowlin, presenter of the “You Don’t Know Me…Until You Know Me” CLE, trying — with mixed results at best — to get a room full of lawyers and judges to turn to each other and say, “You are beautiful”;
• The sight of judges from Ramsey and Wright counties relaxing with fragrant cigars in the New Lawyers Hospitality Suite;
• Will Steger giving his convention-closing “Eyewitness to Global Warming” CLE — scheduled to run two hours — in about 50 minutes. “I’ve never heard a guy talk so fast,” laughed Kohlmeyer.
Assembly takes action on diversity, pro bono
The Minnesota State Bar Association’s Assembly made several policy decisions at its meeting at the bar convention last Tuesday. The Assembly:
• Adopted the “MSBA Pro Bono Standard” of asking that 1 percent of a firm’s lawyers’ collective billable hours during the first year in which the firm participates and reports be pro bono, 2 percent during the second year and 3 percent during and after the third year;
• Adopted a Diversity Best Practices Guide that includes summary best practices for diversity in gender, race/ethnicity, religion, disability and sexual orientation;
• Approved a budget of $19,397 for use only on the mnlegaldiversity.org website and allocated $11,770 of this amount during fiscal year 2008-09 to update and maintain the site;
• Adopted a resolution recommending that the Minnesota Supreme Court adopt proposed Minnesota Student Practice Rule 3 (Student Observation of Professional Activities) to allow law students to observe professional activities, including client conversations and the professional services of a qualified neutral providing ADR services;
• Adopted a resolution to create a subsidiary not-for-profit corporation that will operate Minnesota CLE; and
• Amended the MSBA bylaws to create a 50 percent group membership discount for public lawyers.
Bucking conventional wisdom, the Minnesota State Bar Association demonstrated outside-the-box thinking in organizing its annual meeting in Duluth last week.Moments worthy of mention from the MSBA convention
The following are a few memorable moments from the MSBA convention, courtesy of Convention Committee Co-chair Jason Kohlmeyer:
• Chief Justice Eric Magnuson sitting on a plastic chair outside the Glensheen Mansion straining to get a peek at the standing-room-only “29 Years Ago in Hastings” CLE presentation;
• Dr. Michael Fowlin, presenter of the “You Don’t Know Me…Until You Know Me” CLE, trying — with mixed results at best — to get a room full of lawyers and judges to turn to each other and say, “You are beautiful”;
• The sight of judges from Ramsey and Wright counties relaxing with fragrant cigars in the New Lawyers Hospitality Suite;
• Will Steger giving his convention-closing “Eyewitness to Global Warming” CLE — scheduled to run two hours — in about 50 minutes. “I’ve never heard a guy talk so fast,” laughed Kohlmeyer.
Assembly takes action on diversity, pro bono
The Minnesota State Bar Association’s Assembly made several policy decisions at its meeting at the bar convention last Tuesday. The Assembly:
• Adopted the “MSBA Pro Bono Standard” of asking that 1 percent of a firm’s lawyers’ collective billable hours during the first year in which the firm participates and reports be pro bono, 2 percent during the second year and 3 percent during and after the third year;
• Adopted a Diversity Best Practices Guide that includes summary best practices for diversity in gender, race/ethnicity, religion, disability and sexual orientation;
• Approved a budget of $19,397 for use only on the mnlegaldiversity.org website and allocated $11,770 of this amount during fiscal year 2008-09 to update and maintain the site;
• Adopted a resolution recommending that the Minnesota Supreme Court adopt proposed Minnesota Student Practice Rule 3 (Student Observation of Professional Activities) to allow law students to observe professional activities, including client conversations and the professional services of a qualified neutral providing ADR services;
• Adopted a resolution to create a subsidiary not-for-profit corporation that will operate Minnesota CLE; and
• Amended the MSBA bylaws to create a 50 percent group membership discount for public lawyers.
The MSBA’s many innovations included holding the event earlier in the week, inviting a renowned arctic adventurer to discuss global warming, having a judge-led kayaking tour and holding a CLE program on a notorious 30-year-old double murder case at the actual site of the murders.
The result of all this creativity? Success, at least according to an informal poll of attendees by Minnesota Lawyer.
One of the biggest changes at this year’s convention was when it was scheduled. For the first time in recent memory, convention planners jettisoned the traditional Wednesday-through-Friday format, opting instead to go with a Sunday-through-Tuesday format.
The bar group also added intriguing CLE programs to the typical fare, including a one-man theatrical production on diversity issues. However, it retained some of the convention’s most recognizable features, including the Assembly meeting, the chief justice’s State of the Judiciary address and the bestowing of the President’s and Professionalism Awards.
While annual conventions are no longer the great bar get-togethers that the MSBA and other bar groups would like, the 2008 annual meeting did well on most measures, including the sunny weather, the lovely location on the shores of Lake Superior, the greater-than-last-year attendance and the seemingly flawless execution of the many events and activities.
MSBA Executive Director Tim Groshens said that there was no pushback about switching to the Sunday-through-Tuesday schedule or other format changes. He said the reactions to the convention he had gotten so far had been positive.
St. Cloud attorney Michael Ford, the new MSBA president, told Minnesota Lawyer that Duluth is his favorite spot for the bar convention.
Ford said that there had been some concern about planning the first day of the convention for Father’s Day (i.e. Sunday, June 15), but, in the end, it didn’t really seem to make much difference.
According to Ford, the final attendance tally is likely to be between 250 and 300, which would put this year’s convention on par with prior conventions in Duluth and above last year’s convention in St. Paul. Ultimately, Ford would like MSBA conventions to draw 500 or more attendees.
Next year’s convention is slated for Duluth as well. However, due to facilities availability issues, it may have to revert to the Wednesday through Friday format, according to Ford.
Kayaks and CLEs
Sunday, the first day of the convention, was devoted chiefly to recreational activities. Participants had the opportunity to take a three-hour kayak trip on Lake Superior led by Ramsey County District Court Judge Robert Awsumb. The MSBA Life & Law Committee also held its annual bike ride on Sunday afternoon on a path along Lake Superior. Sunday night featured a barbecue at Grandma’s in Duluth and a boat cruise of Lake Superior.
Monday featured a bevy of Continuing Legal Education offerings, a meeting of the Judicial Council and the gavel-passing ceremony marking the transition of power from outgoing MSBA president Brian Melendez to incoming president Ford.
One of the more interesting CLE presentations was held Monday afternoon — a one-man show entitled, “You Don’t Know Me Until You Know Me.” The presenter was Dr. Michael Fowlin, who in addition to a psychologist and a poet, is an actor. Fowlin took on various personas to illustrate issues of race, discrimination, violence prevention and personal identity. Among the characters he portrayed very realistically were an overweight Hispanic man, a Korean-American adolescent girl and a gay African American football player.
A historic reception
The President’s Reception and New Lawyer’s Section Late Night Social were both held at the historic Glensheen Mansion in Duluth, the site of the murders of heiress Elisabeth Congdon and her nurse, Velma Pietila, in June 1977.
Congdon’s adopted daughter, Marjorie, and Marjorie’s husband, Roger Caldwell, were charged with the deaths in two of the state’s most famous prosecutions. Roger Caldwell was found guilty, but Marjorie, who was represented by legendary criminal defense attorney Ron Meshbesher, was acquitted. Both prosecutions were handled by assistant St. Louis County attorney John DeSanto.
In an interesting twist, Meshbesher, DeSanto and the presiding judge, David Bouschor, all participated in a CLE presentation on the case held in Glensheen’s basement shortly before the start of the president’s reception, which was held in an outdoor tent on the mansion’s lush grounds.
An overflow crowd attended the CLE presentation, held just 11 days shy of the 31st anniversary of the murders. The show included a slideshow with pictures of all the players. The photo of Meshbesher, sporting dark hair and stylish 1970s era glasses, elicited chuckles each time it was put on the screen.
A warm ending
The MSBA Assembly held a breakfast meeting early Tuesday morning. There were also several more CLE offerings on Tuesday.
At 10:30 a.m., Chief Justice Eric Magnuson delivered his state-of-the-judiciary address, choosing the bar convention as the venue in which he would make publicly known for the first time his views on judicial elections.
Magnuson’s speech was followed by William Mitchell College of Law Professor Peter Knapp’s analysis of recent trends in the jurisprudence of the state high court.
The convention concluded with a luncheon presentation by explorer and environmentalist Will Steger, who described some of his arctic adventures and warned of the potential impact from global warming.
Change and innovation
In recent years, the MSBA has become innovative in how it thinks about its annual convention a priority. With the explosion in both live and Web CLE offerings, dry discussions on substantive law are no longer the automatic draw they used to be for lawyers desperate for CLE credits.
The MSBA has experimented in the past with having a retirement track for aging Baby Boomers, more family-friendly events, a focus on professional and personal development CLEs and even with having a golf track.
Attendees seem to appreciate having something other than just “talking head” lectures to go to, Groshens explained, quickly adding with a laugh that “talking heads” will always have a place at bar conventions.
