June
26, 1997
Page
8
PERSPECTIVES (Column)
State Bar Board Needs Governor Who's Not in
Traditional Mold
By ROGER M. GRACE
Ballots will be mailed on July 11 to lawyers in this area, who will have a choice between two candidates for a seat on the State Bar Board of Governors. A vote for one of the aspirants would be a vote for diversity; a vote for the other would be a vote for sameness.
In deciding how to vote, consider the historic make-up of the board. Now, at one time the State Bar was run by a board comprised entirely of lawyers. Can you imagine that? A professional association run by members of the profession?
Well, such tomfoolery ended in 1976 when the board got its first crop of lay members. The advantages of having six people participating in the governance of a profession of which they were not a part and with which they had nothing in common were, of course, stupendous.
Since 1979, one attorney member of the board has been elected by the California Young Lawyers Assn. That organization is comprised of lawyers who are 36 years of age and younger.
As it stands, there are six members of the board who are foreigners to the practice of law and one who's barely wet behind the ears. Yet, there are 15 members of the board who are attorneys, chosen by lawyers in their districts.
This means that you still have the preponderance of the votes in the hands of a homogeneous band, with similar backgrounds and interests: lawyers. Such a concentration of power is dangerous.
The power of attorneys must be trimmed, especially when it comes to running an association of attorneys. Therefore, further legislation is warranted to spread the power, and to increase the diversity of the membership of the Board of Governors. What I propose is legislation to eliminate eight of the 15 attorney members now elected by districts, and to replace them with persons who would be chosen by varying classes they would represent.
Who has a rightful entitlement to representation on the board that regulates lawyers if not the disgruntled client who has had to institute litigation against a former lawyer in order to gain satisfaction? One member of the board should be selected by present and former plaintiffs in legal malpractice actions. Can't you envision their campaign literature? "Smith has sued more shysters than his two opponents combined!"
Another group that's vitally interested in maintaining a high level of competence on the part of members of the legal profession is comprised of state prisoners who, in at least one habeas corpus petition, have alleged ineffective assistance of counsel. Surely a representative of this class should be included on the board. The spectacle of one member attending board meetings in chains might be a slight distraction at first, but everybody would get used to it.
A big part of what the State Bar does is to handle admissions. A group with keen interest in the admissions process is composed of those who have flunked the bar exam. If the State Bar denies them a license, it should at least give them a representative.
Naturally, we should not overlook the need for representation of a class that has developed a passionate interest in the tort system and lawyers' fees: doctors. They, certainly, should have the right to name one of their number to the board. While no member of the august medical profession should be denied an opportunity to seek the office, I would imagine that a tradition would soon develop that the person elected would be one who has been sued multiple times for medical malpractice.
For years, the board's vision has been limited by virtue of its membership being dominated by California lawyers. It's time to broaden the board's scope. Let us eschew provincialism and gain the insights of those residing outside our borders, and outside the legal profession. Think of the potential contributions of a Detroit machinist, a New York cabby, or a Florida money-launderer. And why limit candidacy to those in the U.S., or even to those who are English-speaking? Here's the plan: the State Bar posts the resumes of candidates on its website, and anyone outside of California (and not a lawyer) can vote by e-mail. The three highest vote-getters would become at-large members.
And, as an eighth member, there should be someone who has had experience with, and has thoughts on, the disciplinary process; a disbarred lawyer—someone like Irving Kanarek, Jerome B. Rosenthal, or Liang-Houh Shieh.
The wisdom of this proposed legislation is obvious, and I'm sure it will pass eventually. It is, however, too late to introduce a bill this year. So, efforts must be made in other ways to bring to the Board of Governors persons other than the conventional sorts.
That brings me to the upcoming election for District Seven's representative on the Board of Governors.
Ron Silverton is the obvious choice. Silverton is a former disbarred lawyer—that is, he has his license back. He is running on a platform of scuttling the State Bar disciplinary system. And he's also an ex-felon. He's obviously a guy who could bring a new dimension to the Board of Governors' discussions.
You can read all about his exploits in In re Ronald R. Silverton (on Disbarment) (1975) 14 Cal.3d 517. The opinion tells of Ron's convictions for conspiracy to obtain money by false pretenses and to present a fraudulent insurance claim, and for soliciting another to commit or join in the commission of grand theft.
Ron is the person we need to end the tedium of one successful lawyer with a spotless disciplinary record after another being placed on the Board of Governors.
His opponent is Deputy Attorney General Clara L. Slifkin. What a boring board member she would be. Hers is the same old perspective of a lawyer who has had leadership roles in the State Bar and in voluntary bar associations. She's in the tiresome tradition of those endorsed for the Board of Governors by a spate of bar associations and prominent attorneys. This humdrum candidate has never been disbarred, and hasn't even been disciplined—resulting in such narrow vision that she wants to maintain the current system, and even make it work more efficiently. And, not one conviction is listed on her resume, not even for a measly misdemeanor.
Oh, she's affable, able, energetic and all that. But, she's just another ethical, highly regarded lawyer, running at a time when what we need on the Board of Governors is somebody distinctive.
That's Ron.
WORDS OF WOODS: My last column, reporting the proceedings at the latest annual meeting of the Half-Norwegian (on the Mother's Side) American Bar Assn., drew letter of protest from the group's new president, Court of Appeal Justice Fred Woods, who was drafted in absentia. (No, the following is not a parody—Woods did write it.) He said:
I have been "fuming" ever since I read your editorial in the May 21, 1997 Metropolitan News-Enterprise under the byline "Perspectives." In case you have forgotten (I wish I could), the article is entitled "Justice Fred Woods Follows in Steps of Colleague Earl Johnson, Jr."
This letter is a "sugar-coated version" of two prior versions which were relegated to my wastepaper basket. I thought we were friends. How could you possibly allow events to occur which thrust me into the presidency of the Half-Norwegian (on the Mother's Side) American Bar Association for the forthcoming year? I wrote a note to you indicating that I had a legitimate conflict and could not attend the luncheon; however, you proceeded to allow my humiliation in absentia.
Sounds pretty miffed, huh? The jurist continued:
Of course, I will do my duty and serve as the president of the Half-Norwegian Bar Association and do the very best I can. But this is humiliation almost beyond endurance for a native Texan. Therefore, I must make some observations and attach some conditions to my service.
For starters, Norway would probably fit inside of one of our "smaller" Texas counties. (Most Texas counties are square and beautifully shaped in contrast to Norway, which is shaped like a rusted-out pendulum.)
Secondly, as far as I know I don't have an ounce of Norwegian blood in my veins. I speculate that I'm a good mixture of bread and butter English laced with a smattering of Norman French. I don't speculate on the place of my birth, however, since I was definitely born in Texas, the largest state in the Union. (I may have been conceived in Oklahoma since my parents were both "Okies," but I can assure you I was born in the Lone Star State. May God eternally bless my mother for getting across the Texas/Oklahoma border just in time.) Now, don't give me that tripe about Alaska being the largest state in the Union. As Sam Rayburn was fond of saying, it would only take one Texas-size cocktail party, using Alaska ice to chill the glasses, to reduce Alaska to the size of Rhode Island.
Thirdly, if I am ever photographed wearing the Viking helmet I would like to have the Lone Star State of Texas flag waving in the background. A Norwegian flag is "okay" but it certainly should be given a secondary position to the Texas flag. I note with interest that the Norwegian flag doesn't even have "any" stars in it.
And lastly, I would like to replace that cacophonous "thing" we sing called the Norwegian national anthem with the beautiful strains of "The Yellow Rose of Texas."
Incidentally, where do George Schiavelli, Larry Crispo and Jo-Ann Grace "get off" with doing the circuit bragging about roots in the country of Italy. My viewpoint is that no one should be proud of being from a country that is shaped like a worn-out Texas cowboy boot. (Sam Houston and Jim Bowie had it "all over" that so-called genius, Michelangelo.)
This letter, of course, is not for publication in your newspaper (unless you would like to do otherwise).
Your humiliated former friend,
FRED WOODS
In case anyone has been reading this and taking it seriously—pssst! My electioneering for Silverton and Woods' grumblings were tongue-in-cheek. I only mention that because a judge sued me once over a writing he didn't recognize as a joke.
Seriously folks, Clara Slifkin will make a fine addition to the Board of Governors. And Fred Woods will make an outstanding president of the Half-Norwegian (on the Mother's Side) American Bar Assn.—if he isn't chased back to Texas by all the Norwegians, Italians, Alaskans and "Okies" he offended by his letter. (Honest, Ms. Henley, he was kidding.)
STILL KICKING: On June 11, this column entered its 25th year.
Copyright, 2000, Metropolitan News Company. All rights reserved.