OCBA UPDATE: How do we collaborate? Let me count the ways...

By Judith K. Cunningham Last month the OCBA hosted the biennial Circuit-Probate Court Bench/Bar Conference at Orchard Lake Country Club. In the alternate years when we're not meeting with the Circuit and Probate courts, we host the District Court Bench/Bar Conference, so our board and staff are planning, managing and executing this important event every year, albeit with a bit different focus, depending on which courts we're working with. This year's conference theme, developed by co-chairs Judge Rudy Nichols on behalf of the Circuit Court and Keefe Brooks representing the OCBA board, focused on collaboration, the give-and-take between bench and bar with the thought toward making life and practice easier and improved for everyone. Judge Nichols asked me to make some brief remarks at the conference to share my thoughts on collaboration. I think it's so critical to our mission I decided to take it a step further and dedicate this column to the concept. So with apologies to the Bard, just how do we collaborate? Let me count the ways.1 To begin, let's start with the OCBA mission statement, which appears in every issue of LACHES but it's worth repeating here: "The mission of the Oakland County Bar Association is to serve the professional needs of our members, improve the justice system, and ensure the delivery of quality legal services to the public." (Emphasis added) "Improving the justice system" is one of the key components of our three-pronged mission, and we can't and don't improve the system without the support, cooperation, input, contributions and leadership of our courts. I would also contend that "ensuring the quality of legal services to the public" as well as "serving the professional needs of our members" similarly involve collaborative efforts between bench and bar. Clearly our very mission, the stated purpose of our bar, contemplates and necessitates a symbiotic relationship between and among us. Just how do we manage this collaboration with our courts? My role in the Oakland County courts and government, coupled with my active involvement with the OCBA, has afforded me a bird's-eye view and something of a historical perspective on bench and bar collaboration. For example, I recall in 1991 the extraordinary efforts, resources, time and resolve of the judges and court staff and the OCBA - largely through its Circuit Court Committee - to design, plan and sponsor the first Settlement Week, the purpose of which was to infuse alternative dispute resolution and speed up the disposition of older civil cases on the court's docket. In thinking about that first Settlement Week, I retrieved a column I wrote for LACHES in 1991, when I served as Court Administrator/Judicial Assistant for the Circuit Court: "...preliminary figures indicate Settlement Week was a smashing success. We resolved 50-60 percent of the cases set. Overall I anticipate that about 58 percent of the 900-plus cases targeted for Settlement Week were settled because of it... "In the meantime, I can state unequivocally that this project epitomized the superb working relationship between the Circuit Court and the Oakland County Bar Association. We simply could not have accomplished this success without the combined efforts of bench and bar." That was then. Although the Settlement Week article was written almost 22 years ago, it nevertheless illustrates the extraordinary synergy the OCBA and all of our county courts have established, nurtured and maintained. Obviously that wasn't the first project or program we collaborated on and it won't be the last. Let's take a look at what we've done for each other lately. Here are a few OCBA/court projects on which we've more recently collaborated: (1) Criminal Assignment Committee. (2) Juvenile Appointment Committee. (3) Ombudsman Program. (4) Meet the Judges. (5) Judicial Questionnaire. (6) Discovery Facilitators. (7) Civility Principles. (8) Support for increased fees for attorneys representing indigents and juveniles. (9) Inns of Court. (10) Business Court. (11) Trial Court Performance Standards. (12) Legal Aid programs. (13) Case Evaluation (both for Circuit Court and district courts). (14) Quarterly meetings with Circuit and Probate Court chief judges and court administrators. For information on these as well as other collaborative programs and projects check out the OCBA website for committee descriptions and other news. Many of our committees directly interact with the courts and impact substantive practice areas. Or just look at any issue of LACHES and you'll find seminars and CLE programs intended to make life easier and improve practice for both judges and lawyers, not to mention social events and networking opportunities for all of us to get together. Getting back to last month's Bench/Bar Conference, each practice area group - civil, criminal, probate and family - was asked to come up with two or three practical, achievable ideas designed to improve the legal process for the bench, bar and parties. For example, the civil group discussed the timing for scheduling case evaluation: Should there be an option to schedule mediation early-on in the life of a case, i.e., before case evaluation? If so, should the mediation be voluntary? Interestingly enough, the ombudsman report, recently prepared and submitted by our first ombudsman, Joel Serlin, played a significant role at the conference, at least in the civil work group. Judicial demeanor and treatment of attorneys by court staff figured prominently in the discussion as did concerns about the range and variety of procedures across chambers. These were items summarized in Joel's report and I was pleased that his work so gracefully encapsulated some of the very issues that served as discussion points for the conference. I view the collaboration concept as a journey upon which bench and bar embark together. We aren't always going to agree on everything but we are going to keep the best interests of serving the public, serving our clients, and improving the justice system as essential parts of our shared core values. Finally, a heartfelt "thank you" to Judge Rudy Nichols, Keefe Brooks, Judge Linda Hallmark and all who served as team captains* for the Bench/Bar workgroups. Their combined and concerted efforts produced a lively and robust conference from which many ideas were generated. Also, my thanks to the OCBA staff and especially to Lisa Stadig Elliot and Jan Anson who performed in their usual exemplary fashion. Well done all. Until next month . . . ---------------- Footnote 1 The OCBA's collaborative efforts are far-reaching and include partnering with community organizations, nonprofits, legal aid providers, etc.; however, the focus of this column is our collaborations efforts with the courts. ---------------- *The 2013 Circuit-Probate Court Bench/Bar captains were: Civil: Judge Michael Warren, Deborah L. Gordon and Michael R. Turco. Criminal: Judge Phyllis C. McMillen, Markeisha D. Washington and Michael J. McCarthy. Probate: Judge Kathleen A. Ryan, Rebecca A. Schnelz and Robert B. Labe. Family: Judge Mary Ellen Brennan, Laura E. Eisenberg and Mark A. Bank; and also Judge Lisa Gorcyca, who graciously served as judicial moderator for the second Family workgroup. ---------------- Oakland County Corporation Counsel Judith K. Cunningham is the 80th president of the Oakland County Bar Association. Published: Thu, Apr 25, 2013