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| Bar court trimmed by $1 million |
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By NANCY McCARTHY
Staff Writer |
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| Faced with fewer resources and calls for complete State Bar
reform, the State Bar Court reorganized its staff to save nearly $1 million a year. Court
officials said that rather than simply scaling back operations, the reorganization allows
the court to "continue to timely and efficiently process all of its cases" while
permanently reducing the staff from 52 to 37 positions.
"This shows that with some determination and creativity, and a willingness to give
up some time-honored notions that may no longer hold true, we can deliver a fine product
with less money," said former executive director Steven A. Nissen.
He praised presiding Judge James Obrien and chief court counsel Scott Drexel for
overseeing the 30 percent reduction, which will save $920,000 annually. The streamlining
represents the kind of tighter efficiency Nissen sought to achieve with plans to
restructure the entire State Bar.
"Economics was the impetus for us to look at this, but we felt that with using
members' dues money, we had a responsibility to do our work efficiently and timely, but
for the least |
See BAR COURT |
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| Losing their grip on state capitols |
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By RICHARD PEREZ-PENA
New York Times |
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| Michael Cohen was a New York City transit worker. Lena Cymbrowitz, James
P. Hayes and Howard Mills were professional fundraisers. Tom Duane was a stockbroker.
Daniel Hevesi was a financial analyst. And all six are freshman members of the New York
state legislature. Throw a res ipso loquitur at them and you're likely to get blank
stares. Not a lawyer in the bunch. But all six were elected to seats that had been held by
lawyers.
State legislatures have always had their farmers, teachers, engineers and
entrepreneurs, but from the early days of the republic, no group has been as
over-represented as lawyers. But for the past three decades, even as the profession has
grown in numbers, its grip on state capitols has steadily slipped, a trend that continued
in the turnover brought by the November elections.
In states with the big cities that have high concentrations of lawyers, the drop has
been especially pro- |
See LAWYERS LOSING GRIP |
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| Former diplomat Gersick appointed interim bar chief |
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By NANCY McCARTHY
Staff Writer |
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| Jeffrey T. Gersick, the secretary and number two man at the State Bar for
the past seven years, was named acting executive director last month after Steven A.
Nissen resigned to take a job in the governor's office.  The well-liked Gersick was appointed unanimously by
the board of governors to serve to the end of the year or until a permanent executive
director is hired.
"Jeff brings the perfect combination of skills and experience to this job,"
said bar President Raymond C. Marshall. "He has the experience gained by practicing
law, the diplomacy |
See GERSICK |
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| U.S. justice system best in world, poll finds |
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| Although the vast majority of Americans believe the U.S. justice system
is the "best in the world," nearly half believe that same system treats
minorities unfairly, according to a recently released survey conducted by the American Bar
Association. The survey also found uneven knowledge about the workings of the justice
system, strong confidence in judges and limited confidence in lawyers. In addition, the
public believes court costs are too high, court matters take too long to resolve and
convicted criminals have too many opportunities to appeal.
In an effort to determine public perceptions about the U.S. justice system, the ABA
commissioned a poll |
See SURVEY MEASURES |
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