Bar Blast – December 1, 2015

The Committee formerly known by the names Lawyer Information and Referral Service and Tuesday Legal Connect has changed its name to The Legal Outreach Committee. The change of name reflects the progress the Committee has made during the past few years making legal services more readily and easily available to the public. The Committee now sponsors three different programs:

• Tuesday Legal Connect – The weekly call in service operated by the West Virginia State Bar and Legal Aid of West Virginia from 6 to 10 p.m. on Tuesday evenings.

• West Virginia Lawyer Referral Service – A 24/7 online service that allows the public to connect with attorneys who may be willing to take on new cases. Participants in the Lawyer Referral Service can be searched by practice area and county, or zip code.

Pursuant to an Administrative Order entered by the Supreme Court on May 21, 2013, (click here for a copy of the Order) the West Virginia State Bar developed an electronic voting system for use in Board of Governor and Young Lawyer Section Executive Committee elections. By Resolution of the State Bar Standing Committee on Elections, drafted on September 22, 2015, (click here for a copy of the Resolution), the Elections Committee approved the electronic voting system which had been developed. The Resolution was accepted and approved by the State Bar Board of Governors on October 23, 2015. Therefore, beginning after January 1, 2016, all Board of Governor and Young Lawyer Section Executive Committee elections will be done by electronic method.
While elections for Districts 1 through 5 are scheduled to take place in 2016, the new voting system should be reviewed by all attorneys. A test of the new electronic voting system can be accessed by clicking here. Questions on the operation of the voting system should be directed to Mike Mellace at mellacem@wvbar.org. Other questions should be directed to the Elections Committee via Anita R. Casey at caseya@wvbar.org.

Click here for a copy of the order