MINUTES – September 6, 2001
WEST VIRGINIA BAR FOUNDATION, INC.
IOLTA ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
STATE BAR CENTER – CHARLESTON
The meeting of the West Virginia Bar Foundation’s IOLTA Advisory Committee was called to order by Chairperson Elliot Hicks on September 6, 2001 at the State Bar Center in Charleston.
Members of the Committee in attendance were Adrienne Worthy, Jim Martin and Bob Baker. Participating by telephone conference call was Professor Chuck DiSalvo. State Bar Executive Director Tom Tinder was also present.
The first item on the Agenda was a review of the Minutes of the last Committee Meeting which was held on June 7, 2001. A motion was duly made, seconded and passed that the Minutes be approved as presented.
Chairperson Hicks then asked for a report on the current status of IOLTA litigation in the Federal Court system. It was reported that there has not been any decision as of yet after the arguments that were held in 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case that was held en banc (State of Washington) or the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals case (State of Texas). The decisions could be handed down any day.
The next item on the Agenda related to the activities of the Legal Services for the Poor Symposium. The group continues to work on matters relating to the provision of legal services for low income citizens. It is deciding on what type of future activities in which it should be involved.
Chairperson Hicks then asked for a report on the merger activities between the Appalachian Legal Services Program and the West Virginia Legal Services Plan Program. Progress continues toward the merger of these two groups which is to be accomplished by January 1, 2002. There was a joint staff meeting in August that was very successful and Adrienne Worthy has been selected as the new Executive Director of the merged organization which will be called Legal Aid of West Virginia.
The next item for discussion related to Federal Government funding. It was reported that there has been a proposal to provide the same level of funding for the upcoming fiscal year as for the current fiscal year – $329 million.
The Committee members then reviewed the financial status of the IOLTA Program. First, there was a discussion which was led by Ms. Worthy regarding the interest rates that are paid by financial institutions. There was a review of materials from both the states of Florida and Ohio. It was decided to discuss this matter at the next Committee Meeting.
The Committee members then reviewed financial documents which showed that there was the amount of $517,606 available for distribution as of August 31, 2001. However, in prior actions, the Committee had set aside $200,000 for the Rainy Day Fund, $5,000 for automation and $7,500 for the merger of the two legal services programs. After some comments were made, a motion was duly made that the $2,000 remain in the Rainy Day Fund, the $5,000 for automation and the $7,500 for the merger activities as well as setting aside a quarterly payment of $12,500 of the annual management fee with the remaining amount of $292,000 be distributed to the legal services programs and the special grantees.
The next item on the Agenda related to the annual reports from the grantees. It was reported that all of the annual reports for the last fiscal year had been received.
Under the topic of Other Business, Mr. Tinder reported that the West Virginia Banker’s Association had appointed Mark Prince of BankOne in Charleston as his representative on the IOLTA Advisory Committee. There was also some discussion about reviewing the membership of the Committee to determine if there were some additional appointments which needed to be made. There will be further discussion on this topic at the next Committee Meeting.
Chairperson Hicks then announced that the next meeting of the Committee would be on December 6, 2001 at 11:00 a.m. at the State Bar Center in Charleston.
There being no further business to transact, the meeting was adjourned.