Kentucky Bar Association

Overview

Established: 1934 as Unified Bar
Total Number of Members: 16,028
Annual Meeting: June alternating between Lexington, Louisville and Covington
Membership in Other Bar Associations: American Bar Association

Bar Profile:
The Kentucky Bar Association (Bar) is an agency of the Supreme Court of Kentucky (Court) which is the judicial branch of the government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Because of the status that the Bar enjoys as an agency of the Court, all lawyers admitted to practice in Kentucky must also be members of the Bar. Thirty-two of the fifty-one State Bar Associations in the United States (including the District of Columbia) are agencies of their respective state's highest court and have compulsory bar membership.

The Constitution of the Commonwealth gives the Court the authority to regulate the legal profession. Section 116 of the Kentucky Constitution reads as follows:

"The Supreme Court shall have the power to prescribe rules governing its appellate jurisdiction, rules for the appointment of commissioners and other court personnel and the rules of practice and procedure for the Court of Justice. The Supreme Court shall by rule, govern admission to the bar and the discipline of members of the bar."

The Bar has been a unified organization since 1934 when the General Assembly passed an act creating an all inclusive bar association which authorized the Court of Appeals (now Supreme Court) to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations defining the practice of law and to establish a code of professional responsibility to govern the discipline of members of the Bar. The early history of the Bar dates back to 1871 when the first meeting of lawyers from across Kentucky was held in Louisville and a voluntary association was created.

An extensive Rule of the court, known as Supreme Court Rule 3 (SCR), governs the operations of the Bar. SCR 3.025 defines the mission and purpose of the Bar:

"The mission and purpose of the Association is to maintain a proper discipline of the members of the bar in accordance with these Rules and with the principles of the legal profession as a public calling, to initiate and supervise, with the approval of the Court, appropriate means to insure a continuing high standard of professional competence on the part of the members of the bar, and to bear a substantial and continuing responsibility for promoting the efficiency and improvement of the judicial system."

The governing body of the Bar is known as the Board of Governors (Board). The Board is the agent of the Court for the purpose of administering and enforcing the Rules. The President of the Bar is the Chief Executive Officer who is charged with the responsibility of presiding at all meetings of the Board and the Association. The President is a member of the Board with full power to vote on all matters that come before it. The term of office of the President is one year and it commences each July 1. Any of the over 16,000 members of the Bar are eligible to run for the office of President-Elect, by filing a nominating petition signed by 100 or more members in good standing.

Other members of the Board include the President-Elect, Vice President, Immediate Past President, the Chair of the Young Lawyers Section, and two lawyers from each Supreme Court District. Board members from each of the seven Supreme Court Districts are elected from their respective Districts for two-year terms with a limitation of three consecutive two-year terms. Any member in good standing is eligible to run for the Board of Governors from his or her respective District.

The Board meets at least six times each year and, in addition, Board members serve on the various committees, commissions and task forces of the Bar.

The investigation and processing of complaints of unethical conduct against lawyers is one of the major missions of the Bar. An Inquiry Commission, composed of six lawyers and three non-lawyers appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, has the responsibility of reviewing complaints of lawyer misconduct. The Commission determines whether a complaint should be dismissed or the lawyer should be charged. If a lawyer is charged with unethical conduct and there is any factual dispute to resolve, the case is referred to a Trial Commissioner for an evidentiary hearing. The Trial Commissioner issues an advisory report containing findings of fact, conclusions of law and the recommended sanction, if any. If no appeal is taken from the Trial Commissioner's report, the case goes directly to the Supreme Court of Kentucky for the entry of an order consistent with the Trial Commissioner's recommendation. If an appeal is taken, the case is submitted to the Board of Governors of the Kentucky Bar Association, which includes four non-lawyers when it hears disciplinary cases. After receiving briefs and hearing oral arguments, the Board will consider the case in closed session and issue an advisory decision, after which the case will proceed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court makes the ultimate determination of all charges. A disciplinary case is confidential until sixty days after a finding by a Trial Commission that the attorney is guilty of misconduct that warrants public discipline, at which point the case becomes public.

The Bar has a mandatory continuing legal education (CLE) program for all members who are not specifically exempted from compliance. Each member must obtain a minimum of 12.5 CLE credits per year or risk suspension of the privilege to practice law. At least two of the 12.5 credit hours required shall be devoted to continuing legal education specifically addressing the topics of legal ethics, professional responsibility or professionalism. Operation of the program is funded from a portion of each lawyer's annual dues. CLE seminars are presented across the state by the Bar, the state law schools, various local bar associations and other associations of attorneys such as the Kentucky Justice Association, the Kentucky Defense Counsel, the Commonwealth Attorneys Association, the County Attorneys Association, the Municipal Attorneys Association and the School Board Attorneys Association

A seven-member CLE Commission is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the operation of the continuing legal education program. There is one member of the Commission from each Supreme Court District. Commission members serve terms of three years with a limitation of two consecutive terms and are appointed by the Court upon recommendation of the Board.

An Attorneys Advertising Commission, consisting of nine members appointed for terms of three years by the Board, has the responsibility of assisting lawyers in ethically advertising and to protect the public from false, misleading or deceptive lawyer advertisements. During the past several years, the United States Supreme Court has consistently held that lawyers have a constitutional right to advertise their availability for legal services. The Commission may disapprove advertisements that do not meet the guidelines of the Kentucky Supreme Court Advertising Rule.

In 1986, the Kentucky IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts) Fund was established by Kentucky Supreme Court Rule 3.830. The IOLTA program uses the interest from funds held in trust by attorneys to provide grants to programs that serve the public. Attorneys who voluntarily participate in the IOLTA program designate small or short-time trust accounts as IOLTA accounts with participating banks, and after converting the accounts to interest-bearing status, the interest is paid by the banks to the IOLTA Fund, which is a special fund of the Kentucky Bar Foundation. The IOLTA Fund Board of Trustees, with the approval of the Kentucky Supreme Court, decides on grant disbursements for the following purposes: legal aid to the poor; projects to improve the administration of justice; and other special law-related projects approved by the Court. As of June, 2009, total grants of over $12.2 million have been awarded by IOLTA since the inception of the program. The Kentucky Bar Foundation through the support of its Bar Foundation Fellows program, has made grants separate from the IOLTA Fund which total in excess of $1,358,000 since 1988.

Another service of the Bar designed to protect the public is the authority of the Board to proceed against a person who is practicing law without the proper qualifications. The Board may direct that a motion be filed with the Supreme Court to request that a person be held in contempt of court for the unauthorized practice of law.

The Bar has a Client Security Fund that is funded by lawyers and administered by five Trustees who are appointed for terms of three years by the Board of Governors. The purpose of the fund is to protect the public and provide indemnification to clients who may suffer monetary loss by reason of fraudulent or dishonest acts on the part of a member of the Bar. The fraudulent or dishonest act must occur in the context of the lawyer-client relationship.

The KBA Client Assistance Program complements the current disciplinary procedures by assisting clients and their Kentucky attorneys in resolving problems which do not rise to the level of professional misconduct and to facilitate greater use of the KBA's client/attorney dispute resolution services. The program is designed to serve the needs of the membership and public alike.

The Kentucky Lawyer Assistance Program (KYLAP) is a program whose mission is to assist members of the legal community who may be impaired by reason of chemical dependency or mental disease or defect, and whose impairment is adversely affecting, or has the potential to affect, their ability to effectively practice law. The assistance offered to self referrals and third party referrals isconfidential (pursuant to Kentucky Supreme Court rule). This confidentiality extends to the names of anyone who communicates with KYLAP and all information gathered, records maintained and actions taken by KYLAP. There is a specific prohibition against disclosing such information to any agency of the Court and any department of the KBA.

The Bar has a Fee Arbitration Plan that may be used by clients and lawyers where there is a disagreement over the amount of a legal fee. All parties must agree to arbitrate and the decision of the Trial Commissioner is binding. One Trial Commissioner is appointed to conduct hearings in fee disputes of $10,000 or less and three Trial Commissioners are appointed where the controversy exceeds $2,500. If the controversy exceeds $10,000, one of the three Trial Commissioners will be a non-lawyer.

There is also a Legal Negligence Arbitration Plan that is established to resolve claims of legal negligence involving $10,000 or less. Like fee arbitration, all parties must agree to arbitrate and the decision is binding on the parties.

There are currently 23 sections of the Bar that have been established to address the issues and needs of the various areas of the practice of law. Section membership is voluntary and is open to all members of the Bar. Each section has dues and elects officers during the annual section meetings held during the Bar's Annual Convention. One of the primary responsibilities of each section is to assist sponsors of continuing legal education seminars in obtaining the best speakers available for the subject matter to be presented.

Members of the Board, the various commissions, committees, task forces and sections of the Bar serve without pay and only receive travel expenses. The volunteer leadership is supported by a full-time paid staff of 48 people, including 13 lawyers who work out of the Kentucky Bar Center in Frankfort. The Bar Center is located in the historic district of downtown Frankfort and is a beautiful Federalist Georgian style structure that is a source of pride for every Kentucky lawyer.

Just as the Bar Center is a source of pride for each lawyer, so is the fact that a lawyer is an officer of the Court and, as such, has the responsibility to carry out the administration of justice and to both serve and protect the public.

(Revised 06/01/09)

Annual Meetings:
June 10-12, 2009
Covington, KY