Meeting Minutes - LANC Board of Directors
October 11, 2002
Site/Location: Four Points Sheraton, Charlotte, NC
Call to Order and Welcome
Pender McElroy called the meeting to order at 9:45 a.m. and welcomed all in
attendance. He asked each person present to introduce themselves by stating his
or her name and affiliation with Legal Aid of North Carolina.
Members Present:
|
Reid "Cal" Adams |
Richard E. Fay |
Pearl Nealey |
|
Leo L. Allison |
Mary Flowers |
Frank Queen |
|
Glenn A. Barfield |
Allen Johnson |
Rhonda Shepherd |
|
Susan Cole |
Scott Lewis |
Laura Shofner |
|
Leto Copeley |
Jim Maxwell |
Charles "CR" Ward |
|
Burton Craige |
Pender McElroy |
|
Members Absent With Prior Notification:
|
David D. Daggett |
Hada V. Haulsee |
|
Sarah Davis |
Bonnie Tatum |
|
Willie Dawson |
John H. Vernon, III |
|
Allyson Duncan |
Willis Williams |
|
L. Lynnette Fuller-Andrews |
|
Administrative Office Staff:
George R. Hausen, Jr., President
Chris Marks, Assistant Director of Administration and Finance
Dock Kornegay, Manager, Public Relations & Development
Paula Spence, Office Manager
Celia Pistolis, Assistant Director
Ted Fillette, Assistant Director
Tonya Pruitt-Lyons, Administrative Assistant
Other Staff Members:
Lisa Flowers, Kilpatrick Stockton Fellow, Charlotte Office
Larry Nestler, Senior Managing Attorney, Sylva Office
Affiliated Attendees:
Michael Alexander, Insurance Consultant
Evelyn Pursley, Executive Director, IOLTA Program
Ray Owens, Past President of the IOLTA Board of Directors
Ken Schorr, Executive Director, Legal Services of the Southern Piedmont
Approval of Minutes
Mr. McElroy asked board members to review a revised handout of the
minutes of the July 26, 2002 meeting. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was
UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to approve the revised version of the minutes as presented.
Chairman’s Report
Mr. McElroy reported that the LANC board committees have been designated
and committee members notified of their committee assignments. Mr. McElroy
recognized Lisa Flowers, an associate with Kilpatrick Stockton in Charlotte,
whom the firm had selected to serve a six month fellowship in the Charlotte
office of Legal Aid of North Carolina. She will focus on housing law during the
fellowship. Mr. McElroy stated that he has written to the managing partner of
Kilpatrick Stockton in Atlanta expressing thanks on behalf of the LANC board for
that very fine gesture. He further stated that Kilpatrick Stockton’s action
should serve as a beacon for other law firms to consider making such a
significant contribution to the work of Legal Aid.
Mr. McElroy reported on negotiations with the Legal Services Corporation
regarding property and equity swaps. He reported receiving a letter from LSC
approving our proposal; however, additional work related to the property
conveyance and asset transfers was still needed in order to finalize the matter.
Mr. McElroy thanked Frank Queen and Gina Reyman for their contributions in
preparing the necessary documents for the transfers and conveyances.
Mr. McElroy reported that Pisgah Legal Services received a letter from John N.
Erlenborn, President of LSC, directing Pisgah Legal Services to vacate its
building and to transfer the title to the property to Legal Aid of North
Carolina, LSC’s current grantees. Erlenborn’s letter states that Pisgah’s office
building and real property were purchased in January 1981 with LSC funds and now
that it is no longer a LSC grantee, Pisgah has no legal claim to that property.
Mr. McElroy further reported that efforts will be made by LANC to negotiate with
LSC so that Pisgah keeps its property. Mr. McElroy asked Frank Queen to prepare
a proposal to LSC in an attempt to resolve this matter, and Mr. Queen agreed to
do so.
Mr. McElroy stated that the LANC bylaws provide that the IOLTA Board of
Trustees appoint one of its members to serve on the LANC board. IOLTA prefers to
designate a representative who is not a sitting member of their Board of
Trustees, Ray Owens, to serve on the LANC board as an ex-officio member. Mr.
McElroy stated that the current Bylaws do not allow such appointment, but
recommends that the bylaws be changed to allow such an appointment. Any
amendment to the bylaws must be presented to the board prior to a scheduled
meeting in order for the board to consider the amendment. An amendment to the
bylaws to allow IOLTA to designate a past member of its Board to serve as an ex
officio member of the LANC board will be circulated to the LANC board members to
consider at the December 13, 2002 board meeting.
President’s Report
George Hausen thanked Chairman McElroy for his outstanding work on the
Transition Board and for his extraordinary efforts in bringing Legal Aid of
North Carolina, Inc. into existence. In recognition of that extraordinary work,
the LANC board presented McElroy with an original caricature.
Mr. Hausen reported on the progress of setting up Legal Aid of North Carolina.
He reported that Legal Aid of North Carolina is now operating under a new
regional structure. He further reported that the regional managers are gathering
base budget information to be submitted to the Administrative Office. A
finalized budget will be presented to the board for approval at its December
meeting.
Mr. Hausen also added that strategic planning is needed in order to provide a
full range of services to our clients. Such planning will allow Legal Aid of
North Carolina to collaborate, to refer cases and to work with the other service
providers across North Carolina.
Clients Council Report
Allen Johnson, Chair of the Clients Council, reported that the Clients
Council had met and recommended that LANC establish a standing committee to be
known as the Client Affairs Committee. Also, the Clients Council was
recommending that its Chair, Allen Johnson, also be named as the Chair of this
committee.
Mr. Johnson further reported that the Clients Council is ready to move forward
with a survey of clients as part of a needs assessment. Mr. Hausen explained
that the entire legal services community was in the midst of a client needs
assessment. Two phases of the needs assessment included a demographic study of
the poverty population in the state and a survey to various service providers
across the state. A consultant has been hired to review the collected data.
Also, Mr. Johnson reported that the Clients Council has formed a committee
(chaired by Wayland Whitley) to prepare articles and bylaws in anticipation of
becoming an independent non-profit organization. Finally, the Clients Council
has prepared and submitted a budget to Chris Marks, Assistant Director of
Finance and are awaiting a response. Mr. Hausen explained that the current
budget for the Clients Council is funded by LANC with 1% of its budget. These
funds cannot be used to support unrestricted activities, such as grassroots
organizing and lobbying. As a non profit organization, THE Clients Council could
receive other funding that would not restrict its activities in the same manner
as its current funding.
Committee Reports
Prior to the individual committee reports being presented, Mr. McElroy
requested that the board consider the following revisions to its standing
committees:
- Combine the functions of the Nominating Committee and the Board
Development Committee into a single committee known as the Nominating and
Board Development Committee;
- Combine the functions of the Unrestricted Programs Committee and the
Strategic Planning in a single committee known as the Strategic Planning
Committee; and
- Establish a Client Affairs Committee, composed of all client members of
the board as well as other clients designated by the committee and whose
chair will be selected by those committee members who are also LANC board
members.
Following discussion upon motion duly made and seconded, it was UNANIMOUSLY
RESOLVED to adopt the recommendations as presented.
Nominating & Board Development Committee
Chair Rick Fay reported that the committee had developed a mission
statement which will be revised to include the functions of board development
and will be presented to the board at the December meeting.
Finance Committee
Chair Jim Maxwell reported that the committee was reviewing the Proposed
2003 Base Budget on pages 42 and 43 of the Board book. A proposed budget will be
presented to the board at the December meeting for approval.
The Finance Committee recommended that the board authorize the Administrative
Staff and the Finance Committee to negotiate refinancing the existing mortgages
on properties in Raleigh, Sylva, Ahoskie, and Morganton. Following discussion,
upon motion duly made and seconded, it was UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to approve and
adopt the recommendation of the Finance Committee as presented.
The Finance Committee further recommended that the board authorize the
President and the Assistant Director of Finance to obtain a new loan in the
amount of $400,000 to be secured by a second loan on the Administrative Office
building to fund implementation and related support costs of the Case Management
System. Following discussion, upon motion duly made and seconded, it was
UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to approve and adopt recommendation of the Finance
Committee as presented.
The Finance Committee recommended that it be authorized to select and retain
the current auditors, Romeo, Wiggins & Co. of Raleigh, to perform the audit for
the fiscal year ending December 31, 2002 and also to negotiate a contract with
the auditors to supervise the expenditures of the newly approved health
insurance plan for 2003. Following discussion, upon motion duly made and
seconded, it was UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to approve and adopt the recommendation as
presented.
Personnel Committee
Chair Cal Adams presented the Personnel Committee’s recommendations for a
proposed Personnel Policy and asked that the Board approve those policies.
Following discussion, upon motion duly made and seconded, it was UNANIMOUSLY
RESOLVED to approve and adopt the proposed policies as recommended. The policies
are attached to the minutes.
Local Office Report
Ted Fillette, Assistant Executive Director of LANC and Senior Managing
Attorney in the Charlotte office, reported that the Charlotte office has
locations in Charlotte, Concord and Gastonia. Legal Aid staff is responsible for
family law and landlord tenant cases, and the Charlotte office has a significant
number of volunteer lawyers. These lawyers handle various cases as well as
screen clients in need of power of attorney documents and wills.
Mr. Fillette further explained that Legal Services of Southern Piedmont (LSSP)
provides services to clients in Mecklenburg and surrounding counties on
immigration matters because it does not use LSC funds to support this type of
work. Further, LSSP also handles case action suits in the public benefits area,
which is also unrestricted work and not supported by LSC funds.
Mr. Fillette formally introduced Lisa Flowers to the Board. Ms. Flowers is an
associate with Kilpatrick Stockton in Charlotte who will serve a six-month
fellowship with the Legal Aid office in Charlotte. She will provide legal
representation to low-income people in the Mecklenburg County area and will
focus on housing litigation.
Mr. McElroy commended Ms. Flowers for her willingness to provide this service
to the Legal Aid organization and to her law firm for creating the opportunity
for her to render her time and expertise in this manner.
Operations Committee
Celia Pistolis, staff to the Operations Committee, reported that a site visit
evaluation has taken place in the Boone office. A final report of the Boone
evaluation will be presented to the board at the December meeting.
Strategic Planning Committee
Chairman Glenn Barfield reported that the Strategic Planning Committee
had not yet met, but is planning a meeting in the near future to develop a work
plan and a committee charge. The mission statement and focus of the committee
will be presented to the board at the December meeting.
Grievance Committee
In Willie Dawson’s absence, George Hausen reported that there are
currently no grievances to report and none pending.
Adoption of Policies
George Hausen reported that the Personnel Committee has begun to address
the adoption of personnel policies for the new Legal Aid of North Carolina
organization.
Mr. Hausen further reported that the Legal Services Regulations require this
board to adopt certain policies:
-
Regulation 1605, Appeals – The Operations Committee will develop a
recommended policy for appeals to be presented to the board at its December
meeting.
-
Regulation 1610, Certification of Program Integrity – Mr. Hausen reported
that the Executive Director is required to present a report to the Board to
certify to LSC each year that we are in compliance. The Operations Committee
will review this report and make recommendations regarding certification of
program integrity at the December board meeting.
-
Regulation 1611, Eligibility Guidelines – The Board must approve
eligibility guidelines each year and report them to LSC. The Operations
Committee will make recommendations regarding eligibility guidelines at the
December board meeting.
-
Regulation 1620, Annual Review of Priorities – Mr. Hausen reported that
priorities will be presented to the Board each fiscal year. The Operations
Committee will recommend case priorities at the December board meeting.
-
Regulation 1621, Client Grievance Procedure – The newly-formed Client
Affairs Committee will address the procedures for client grievances and will
present recommendations to the Board for approval.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 1:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
_________________________________
Reid C. Adams, Secretary
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Mission Statement
Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that
provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in
order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers
to economic opportunity.