4-9-10: 
 

"The Second Annual Skyline Affair:  A Benefit for SALA" is approaching!
 

Register today:  Skyline 2010 Registration form

RSVP Deadline is Tuesday, April 27, 2010 

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4-8-10:

Check out the 2010-2011 PCBA Board of Directors' Candidate Statements

here.  Members' Voting Ballots are due Friday, May 7, 2010.

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3-31-10: 

       I write to ask for your vote.  As you know, I currently serve as Second Vice-President of the Board of Governors, the only Board officer from Southern Arizona.  In this capacity I chair the Finance and Appointments Committees.  I am running for re-election to a third and final term on the State Bar Board of Governors.  My platform is simple:

1.  Ensure that the voice of Southern Arizona continues to be clearly heard by the State Bar's Board and staff at the highest level;

2.  Ensure that Pima and Santa Cruz Counties have appropriate and meaningful representation on all Bar committees; and

3.  Ensure fiscal responsibility and accountability.

        I have a long record of service to the Bar, including leadership assignments in a variety of areas important to all of us including:  rules, ethics, professionalism, diversity, and young lawyers.  Of particular importance to Southern Arizona lawyers was the creation of a new facility in downtown Tucson on Church Street.  This big step extended State Bar services in a very concrete way to Southern Arizona lawyers.  I was privileged to chair the Task Force that delivered the new Southern Arizona Regional Office - on time and on budget.

        My participation in support of the Bar has not been limited to our State Bar.  I have served as an active liaison between the State Bar Board of Governors and the Pima County Bar Association (PCBA) Board of Directors and staff, as well as the Arizona Women Lawyers Association's Southern Arizona Chapter (AWLA) and the Arizona Minority Bar Association (AMBA).

        Those who know me, and those who have served with me on the Bar's Finance Committee, will tell you that I know how to read a financial statement.  I will continue to demand the highest level of efficiency and effectiveness when it comes to spending your dues.  Admittedly, our dues are high, but we have been able to avoid dues increases since 2005.  Given the opportunity to serve another term as an officer of the Board, I would be in a position to effectively hold that line.

        I know firsthand that our members face several significant issues today:  financial difficulties, evolving technology, interstate practice, and the need to improve respect for lawyers and our legal system.  The common sense and collegiality that characterize lawyers south of the Gila, should and must influence the future policies and programs decided in the Boardroom in Phoenix.  With your support, I believe I can bring that influence to bear most effectively.

        The State Bar ballots will be mailed to you on April 21st.  Please take time to vote.  I hope you will support my candidacy for re-election to the Board of Governors.  Thank you.
 

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Michael J. Crawford 

         When elected to the Board of Governors in 2007, my priority was improving the Bar’s disciplinary system to instill confidence in everyone that lawyers are capable of policing themselves.  The Bar and the Arizona Supreme Court are doing just that – revamping the system to be fair not only to lawyers but also to the public at large.  I want to help finish the task.
        Now facing the Bar is a legislative effort to rescind merit selection.  If this occurs, it would be a huge step backwards in our state’s model system of selecting the most qualified independent judiciary possible.   Rescinding merit selection will allow politics to play a role in judicial decisions as we see occurring in other states where judges on all levels are elected. If reelected, I will do everything possible to keep merit selection intact.
        I will also work to keep the Bar’s operating costs and membership dues down and will continue to make sure that Southern Arizona attorneys are heard at the State Bar and that their concerns are properly dealt with.
        It has been an honor representing the attorneys in District 5 and I hope you will allow me to continue doing so.

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Dee-Dee Samet

        Changes in the legal profession are facing us, such as admission on motion, trust account audits, a new discipline system, issues of independence of the judiciary, new rules, diversity as well as  legislation that is on the horizon. There is a need for input on these and other issues from attorneys, sections, the Pima County Bar and specialty bars.  I am available to listen to your concerns and forward them to the Bar. It is important that the Board of Governors properly considers the issues and takes action where needed. The decisions of the Board affect all our lives. The Bar needs to find ways to not only protect the public but to make our lives as lawyers more rewarding. With my experience I will be a strong voice on behalf of the attorneys from Southern Arizona.  I will continue to work toward helping us to enjoy what we do, while making our lives less stressful and gaining the respect of the public.  It is important that the public understands the hours that attorneys spend volunteering and the efforts of attorneys for the community.  I hope to continue to represent this district.

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Jeffrey Willis      

        I am interested in running for the Board of Governors to make a difference.  That difference is not limited to just Pima and Santa Cruz Counties, but to the entire state.  The most significant issue facing our members is to maintain a strong and independent Bar.  Our ability to self-police needs to be protected under all circumstances.  This has become immediately apparent with the Andrew Thomas fiasco in Maricopa County.  I believe with my 35 years of practice and experience in numerous jurisdictions, I may aid in making our Bar stronger.

        The preservation of a strong and responsible Bar has become even more critical since the Supreme Court expanded reciprocity with certain other jurisdictions.  The need for efficient and fair disciplinary processes – as well as a fiscally sound Bar – has never been more important.  I will work to ensure both of these needs are satisfied.

        To be specific, I would heighten Board oversight of the disciplinary process, require strict compliance with the rules for reciprocal and pro hac vice admission, and evaluate all potential Board decisions through a prism of fiscal restraint.   My goal would be to maintain member dues at their current level through my term and carefully scrutinize the cost/benefit of all new and current Bar Programs.

        On Southern Arizona matters, I will work to ensure our region receives the attention it deserves from the Bar as a whole.  I will not be advocating secession, as some of my colleagues have done (hopefully tongue in cheek).  Rather, I will use my extensive contacts and experience in the other cities to advocate Southern Arizona’s position on contested issues in a reasoned and respectful manner.  In my experience, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

        Finally, if elected I will devote my full energies and attention to the matters before the Board.