by RICH CASSIDY on MAY 19, 2010
I have been a member of the American Bar Association since I was admitted to the bar in 1979. For many years, my involvement was fairly limited: I read a number of ABA publications and went to an occasional Continuing Education program.
In 1999, my involvement took a big jump when I was elected to represent the Vermont Bar Association in the ABA House of Delegates. Then in 2005, it took another leap when I started a three year term on the ABA Board of Governors. Although my term on the Board expired in the summer of 2008, I have stayed very active in the Association, having been appointed to the Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services (which I now chair), and returned to the House of Delegates to represent the VBA.
Many of my lawyer colleagues ask me why I bother. And the answer is fairly simple: I believe in the importance of the activities of the organized bar in maintaining and expanding the Rule of Law here and abroad, and in turn, in the Rule of Law’s importance in creating better and more just societies. And as I’ve become more familiar with the ABA’s extensive range of programs and activities, I’ve become ever more convinced of its importance and usefulness as a medium through which I can make my contribution. And besides, involvement with the ABA has been interesting and rewarding for me, and even a lot fun.
So, it’s no surprise to those who know me well that the ABA is an important organization to me.
Last weekend I chaired a meeting of the ABA Delivery of Legal Services Committee. I was concerned to hear our liaison from the Board of Governors, Lee Kolscun, report on the dismal prospects for the development of the ABA’s budget for the next fiscal year.
I wish I could say that during my term on the Board, we anticipated the recession that subsequently struck the nation and protected that ABA from suffering any financial loss. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I will say that we did take a few steps that have, I hope, better equipped the organization to deal with this situation. For one thing, we ended offering a defined-benefit retirement plan to new ABA employees. Given the fact that our old retirement plan (which still covers most employees) will require significant injections of additional capital in order to be adequately funded into the future, I think we made the right decision, although it probably should have been made years before. We also consolidated budget development into the hands of one board committee (Finance) rather than two, and tasked the Program, Evaluation, and Planning Committee with assessing the extent to which various ABA entities advance its mission.
But these changes were of a minor nature compared to the significant financial challenges presented by the recession. Governor Kolczun explained to us that the Association’s net value has decreased by 43% in the past two years, to a projected $120 million by August 2010. At the same time, the Association has converted from a system of spending forward, where for the past two years expenses have exceeded revenues, to a cash-flow positive system, where it is essential to shrink expenses. The Association faces required pension contributions, declining membership, and declining dues, at the same time that financial pressure on lawyers means it must increase the quality of the member services it provides. The budget for FY 2010 was some $105 million. The Board is targeting the budget for FY 2011 at between $85 and $90 million.
This is a very large decrease, and given the prominence of compensation for staff in the budget, it seems obvious that to achieve these savings, a very significant reduction in the number of staff employed by ABA is on the horizon.
That is very sad news indeed for the ABA staff members who are likely to be affected. And it is bad news for members who rely on those staff members to facilitate their involvement with the Association.
I suppose that it is possible that a “leaner, meaner ABA” will emerge from these budget cuts. If that is to occur, the Board and the ABA’s new Executive Director, Jack Rives, will have to be extraordinarily creative and efficient.
I wish them the very best of luck in this process. They will need it.
Rich