Each year, the National Council of Lawyer Disciplinary Boards (NCLDB) holds its annual conference, bringing together disciplinary adjudicators and staff from around the United States and Canada. This year’s conference, held from February 12th-13th, featured educational sessions on a variety of topics ranging from efficiency in adjudication to the ethics of generative AI in the legal profession.
Gillian Chadwick, Professor of Law at Washburn University School of Law, and Hon. Mary Pat Gunderson, Retired District Court Judge of Polk County, Iowa, kicked off the conference with a discussion on adjudication of attorney sexual misconduct, particularly against clients. Their compelling presentation articulated unique challenges that arise in sexual misconduct cases and also provided practical guidance for handling such matters with “rigor, fairness, and sensitivity to trauma.”
Constance A. Anastopoulo, President and Professor of Law at Charleston School of Law, delivered this year’s keynote speech. President Anastopoulo stressed the importance of the work of attorney discipline as well as the significance of civility and professionalism. Always an educator, President Anastopoulo offered her time and wisdom, answering myriad audience questions as each attending jurisdiction values the well-being and support of the next generation of lawyers.
Other conference sessions addressed flat fee arrangements, reciprocal discipline, the relationship between prosecutors and adjudicators in bar discipline, and more. Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board Special Counsel Kimberly M. Henderson and Board Prothonotary Marcee D. Sloan delivered a session exploring how to recruit a diverse and highly-qualified Hearing Committee pool in addition to best practices to effectively train and support those Hearing Committee Members. Board Vice-Chair Shohin H. Vance presented one of the two (the other being from the California delegation) state mini-sessions. Vice-Chair Vance provided a brief overview of the adjudication of In the Matter of Anthony C. Cappuccio and led a discussion on differing state practices regarding adjudication.
PA Disciplinary Board staff member Lauren Chavey-Dinh currently serves as President-Elect of the NCLDB Board of Directors, and Disciplinary Board Prothonotary Marcee D. Sloan serves as Secretary. Disciplinary Board Executive Director Jesse G. Hereda serves as an Ex Officio Director, having served as President from July 2023 through June 2024.
The NCLDB is a non-profit organization serving as a clearinghouse for the adjudication process of attorney discipline throughout the United States and Canada. Member jurisdictions of the organization convene yearly to collaborate on matters at hand in the field of lawyer discipline.