Movement Toward a New Missouri Plan?

Revolution may be afoot in the Missouri Bar regarding the matter I raised on this page back a couple months ago. The Board of Governors is back from their plush vacation at Atlantis, a luxurious resort in the Bahamas. They have been surprised that many of their colleagues are upset about the fact that the Board of Governors paid for their expensive travels out of the dues that they impose on other lawyers.

The Small Firm Internet Group (SFIG) listserve is a feisty collection of "regular guy and gal" type lawyers who share their opinions freely, and it became a hotbed of criticism of the Board's imperial behavior. The lavish sojourn has them particularly upset as it comes on the heels of a healthy dues increase passed by the same Board of Governors.

The outcry has caused Keith Birkes, the executive director of the Missouri Bar, to pen a post to the SFIG (an unprecedented step, to my knowledge) defending the dues increase. Regarding the travel expenses, Mr. Birkes explains:

There are five meetings of the Board of Governors each year - four of them inside Missouri and one traditionally outside Missouri at the site of The Missouri Bar�s Midyear Seminar. Reasonable and necessary travel expenses are reimbursed to Board members for the in-state meetings, and an adequate per diem is set for the one out-of-state meeting of the Board of Governors to cover travel, meals and two nights� lodging. At the most recent Midyear Seminar, $1,100 was authorized each Board member who attended the meeting. Members of the Board of Governors annually give up a minimum of ten working days in order to attend to their responsibilities as an elected member of the Board of Governors and many of them devote 20 or more working days to attend to those responsibilities.

The use of the passive voice in describing the reimbursement amount is kind of amusing. The $1,100 trip "was authorized each Board member" by none other than the Board of Governors itself. For several years, the Board has had a Conflict of Interest policy providing that "It is the obligation of members of The Missouri Bar, its Board of Governors, Committees and Staff to fully disclose any conflicts of interest that they may have while acting on behalf of, or participating in, the decision-making process of The Missouri Bar", but no such disclosures appear in any minutes of the Board concerning reimbursement policies or budget discussions.

Now, to be crystal clear, the Board of Governors is an outstanding collection of individuals, and Keith Birkes, is the single most competent, ethical and wise executive director I have ever worked with in more than two decades of nonprofit experience. My discussion is not meant to be a personal attack on anyone. But the Board of Governors is making a terrible mistake in blowing Missouri money and their own political capital on lavish trips to exotic locales. That money could be far better spent on meetings supporting Missouri workers, and the money blown on airfare to the Bahamas could be better spent on educating our public on how the Missouri Plan for selection and retention of judges is a crucial element of "the administration of justice and the law on behalf of the public." That would be money well-spent.