Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Page 1
LACBA President Tells of Drop in Membership, Plans for Revitalizing the Organization
By a MetNews Staff Writer
|
|
|
Los Angeles County Bar Association President Brian S. Kabateck tells of LACBA’s diminished membership, but outlines plans for boosting it and calls upon each section to bring in new members. |
Rebuilding the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s rapidly dwindling membership is a key LACBA goal, President Brian S. Kabateck told trustees, section and committee chairs, members of the Council of Sections—which spearheaded efforts to put reformers in control of the organization—and others who attended an upbeat ad hoc meeting.
At that meeting Monday night in the largest conference room at the LACBA headquarters, with well over 100 persons present, Kabateck put forth the cold, hard facts as to the association’s deterioration over the past decade, but described initiatives aimed at bringing about a rebound.
While saying that he doesn’t want to dwell on the past, he assured the audience:
“Things are better.”
President-Elect Ronald Brot spoke of the commitment to “reinvigorate our association” and Executive Director Stan Bissey said that since he came aboard in January, staff morale has buoyed and “the bar is on the upswing.”
Shrinking Membership
Kabateck addressed the matter of the evaporating membership. There were 18,500 members in 2010, the bar chief recited, pointing to a chart showing roughly 9,250 members now.
(A spokesperson said yesterday the precise figure is 10,175.)
Membership figures shown in his PowerPoint presentation contradicted higher ones proclaimed three years ago.
Michael E. Meyer gained the office of president-elect in 2016, in LACBA’s first contested election in 25 years, defeating heir-apparent Senior Vice President Michael Lindsey. Other old guard candidates for officer and trustee positions were toppled by challengers who called for changes.
Reformers charged that the association was plagued by secrecy, financial irresponsibility, and bullying of the sections, arguing that it needed a quick overhaul.
Kabateck, aligned with the reformers, became president-elect last year and took office as president July 1, succeeding Meyer.
Each person attending the meeting announced his or her name and affiliation. Meyer’s self-introduction was met with loud applause.
No Names Mentioned
Without expressly alluding to controversies over the presidencies of Paul Kiesel in 2015-16 and Margaret Stevens in 2016-17, or policies traceable to Sally Suchil—hired in 2009 as executive director and who resigned, under pressure, in 2016 as chief executive officer—Kabateck blamed, in part, the “precipitous decline” in membership on lawyers “hearing bad things about the bar.”
He told section leaders that his “humble and modest ask” was that they report to their respective executive committees his request that an effort be exerted to recruit non-LACBA members to join the association and their section. Kabateck set the goal as an upsurge of 15 percent in each section’s membership.
Litigation attorney Donna Kirkner, secretary of the Senior Lawyers Section, was the first to shout out agreement to take the request back to her executive committee. Representatives of 23 other sections or committees likewise, in turn, pledged compliance—as did one member of the Board of Trustees.
Boosting Value
Kabateck told of various efforts to make membership in LACBA more valuable. He told of plans for travels—such as the trip to Cuba that was sold out—for webinars, installment payment of dues, payment via mobile apps, social media pages for each section.
The president mentioned resuscitation of “Bridging the Gap” programs for new admittees, discounts for members from retailers—such as 15 percent off at Brooks Brothers—and the right of a member to bring any non-member to an event for free.
Counsel for Justice, LACBA’s charitable arm, has concrete plans, Kabateck said, to become self-sustaining by the end of the year.
He also told of efforts to boost diversity, with Phil Lam serving in the newly created post of vice president for Diversity/Affiliate Outreach.
LACBA has a “great relationship with the judiciary,” Kabateck said, noting that Los Angeles Superior Court Presiding Judge Daniel Buckley is serving as a LACBA assistant vice president.
Financial Officer Reports
Association Chief Financial & Administrative Officer Bruce Berra—who was precluded under Kiesel’s administration from sharing financial figures with sections or inquiring members—used terms such as “awful” and “terrible” in describing declines over the past 10 years, saying that at one point, LACBA was $10 million in the red. He said the deficit is now about $6 million.
Had there not been a “huge” fall in membership, he said, “we would not have had a $10 million loss.”
But, he noted, there are reserves in the bank, though they have fallen from $7 million to $4 million.
|
|
|
A chart displayed at the meeting shows decline in LACBA membership. |
Relinquishing Unneeded Space
Kabateck pinpointed a large drain on financial resources in the form of rent. The association presently leases the 26th and 27th floors of the office building at the northeast corner of Bixel and Seventh Streets and, the president noted, it doesn’t need that much space.
“We can give up an entire floor,” he said.
Kabateck told of efforts underway to sublease the 26th floor, for which LACBA pays $50,000 a month. It might not be possible, he observed, to sublease it for that amount but whatever was garnered from a subtenant would help bring the association into the black.
He said LACBA is opening conference rooms on the 27th floor for renting to groups staging private events.
The lease, entered into some years ago, does not expire until 2026.
Previous Sore Point
A common complaint among members prior to Meyer assuming the reins was that consent of the staff—dubbed “LACBA Central”—was needed before events could be staged and when approval came, if at all, it was too late for planning and publicity. Kabateck said there is now “autonomy” for sections in planning their programs.
Formerly, LACBA set the price for the programs, sometimes at a level that resulted in decreased attendance. Kabateck said that now, the only proviso is that by the end of the year, the section will have at least broken even.
He assured section leaders:
“We want to be your partners. We’re not your bosses.”
During a question-and-answer period, an attendee asked if it were permissible for a section to hold a joint meeting with a non-LACBA group—which, formerly, was not allowed.
“Do as you choose,” Kabateck responded.
Copyright 2018, Metropolitan News Company