Spring 2018 Gavel Final Spring 2018 Gavel | Page 29

NOTES SBAND Committees – Volunteers needed for 2018-2019 The effectiveness of our SBAND committees is determined by the volunteers who serve. Zachary Pelham, president-elect, will be making committee appointments over the next several months. He is interested in getting new people involved. The following committees have openings for membership: Advisory Council to the Office of Administrative Hearings Consumer Protection Committee Continuing Legal Education Committee Joint Law School/SBAND Committee Editorial (The Gavel) Board Ethics Committee Law Related Education Committee Inquiry Committee Southeast Inquiry Committee West Inquiry Committee Northeast Lawyer Referral & Information Services Committee Member Services Committee Volunteer Lawyer Program Committee If you wish to be considered for appointment to one of these committees, please contact SBAND at [email protected]. If you have any questions, please contact SBAND Executive Director Tony Weiler. North Dakota Lawyers Helping through Client Protection Fund North Dakota’s legal profession recently awarded nearly $85,000 from its Client Protection Fund to former clients of Jesse Matson, TaLisa Nemec, and Ervin Lee, all now disbarred from the practice of law in North Dakota. The Client Protection Fund was established in 1996 to promote public confidence in the administration of justice and the integrity of the legal profession by reimbursing losses caused by the dishonest conduct of lawyers licensed or authorized to practice law in the courts of North Dakota. Every North Dakota lawyer accepts the obligation to the public to participate in the collective effort of the bar to reimburse persons who have lost money or property as a result of the dishonest conduct of another lawyer. The Client Protection Fund receives a portion of license fees paid by North Dakota attorneys. No taxpayer money is used for this program. The Client Protection Fund is administered by SBAND’s board of governors. SBAND President Darcie Einarson chairs the program fund. “On behalf of the over 3,000 lawyers, the theft of client money by an attorney is not only a crime but a profound violation in the trust the public places in lawyers. The Client Protection Fund is in existence to restore that trust and to assist in reimbursement of financial harm caused by the few dishonest in our profession. Our profession participates in a collective effort to reimburse persons who have lost money or property as a result of the dishonest conduct of one in our profession,” she stated in announcing these awards. Additional information on the Client Protection Fund can be found on the SBAND website under Client Protection Fund. Minch named Fellow of American College of Bankru ptcy Attorney Roger J. Minch of Serkland Law Firm was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy on March 16 in Washington, D.C. Minch is the first practicing bankruptcy attorney in North Dakota or South Dakota to be inducted into the college. Minch has been an attorney at Serkland Law Firm since 1978 and practices in the areas of Alternative Dispute Resolution, Banking Law, Business and Commercial Law, Complex Commercial Litigation and Class Actions, Creditor-Side Bankruptcy and Creditor’s Rights. The American College of Bankruptcy is an honorary association of bankruptcy and insolvency professionals and plays an important role in sustaining professional excellence in the field. Nominees are extended an invitation to join based on a sustained record of achievement. Criteria for selection as a fellow of the college include: the highest standard of professionalism, ethics, character, integrity, professional expertise, and leadership contributing to the enhancement of bankruptcy and insolvency law and practice; sustained evidence of scholarship, teaching, lecturing, or writing on bankruptcy or insolvency; and commitment to elevate knowledge and understanding of the profession and public respect for the practice. SPRING 2018 29