Guiding legal industry in trying times

Justin M. Bowen

Cam Ferenbach, president of the State Bar of Nevada, says the state would benefit from an appellate court.

By Steve Kanigher

Thursday, July 8, 2010 | 11:23 a.m.

Commercial litigation attorney Cam Ferenbach of Lionel Sawyer & Collins became president of the 8,000-member State Bar of Nevada on June 25. Ferenbach, 62, has lived in the Las Vegas Valley since 1980 and previously served as president of the Clark County Bar Association.

With our economy in rough shape, are there areas of law where there is a need for more pro bono work from attorneys?

The foreclosure mediation process is something that needs a little more attention. Also, there’s usually no lawyer representing the children in Family Court cases involving the foster care system or neglect. And, yes, the downturn in the economy has caused legal aid services to be flooded with clients. These are situations where in years past they wouldn’t have had these problems or they would have been able to hire a lawyer. There’s a great demand for pro bono work in all areas. We support the Nevada Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission, which has been studying the need for pro bono services. The State Bar funds its director, and we host recognition events to honor lawyers who make good efforts in the pro bono area.

The bar supported a proposed constitutional amendment when it was considered by the Nevada Legislature to appoint state judges and then have them face retention elections. The bar has not yet taken a formal position on the November ballot question to approve that proposal, but you personally are supportive. Why?

In my view the system that is proposed gives more electoral control to voters as to who is in office and who stays in office. Right now, once an incumbent gets into office, he or she may never have to run again. If no one challenges them, there is no election. Whether that’s the result of how good a job they’re doing or how good a politician they are may not be the same thing. Retention elections would make judges much more accountable to the voters.

Should Nevada also create an appellate court?

Personally, I think it’s a good idea. Our Supreme Court has among the highest, if not the highest, caseloads per justice. The cases that have those precedential dimensions to them, the Supreme Court could focus on those and turn out written opinions that attorneys could rely on. The appellate court could handle the routine cases that are often just an order affirming something where there is no real discussion of the case.

How well do you think the bar performs at disciplining attorneys?

I am very comfortable that our system works fairly. Of course, any time discipline is imposed, it is reviewed by the Supreme Court. There has always been hesitancy to make public the initial charges against attorneys. We still have a procedure that until there’s a formal complaint, we have a shield of confidentiality just to protect against frivolous claims. But once a formal complaint is filed, everything is open to the public to see. Beyond that, if discipline is imposed, it is posted under that attorney’s name on our website.

Why is the State Bar conducting a demographic study of its members?

One reason is that if our bar is aging, we’re going to be facing issues when people become unable to practice. They will have a book of business or a number of files that need attention. One area we’re looking into is having a legal will where sole practitioners or very small practices with a partner and two associates have a plan for how those cases are handled should the lead attorney become disabled.

Does the bar have any concerns about the quality of lawyer advertising?

Yes, it is a concern of ours. There’s always a tendency to police taste in advertising to avoid the outrageous. Under precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court, the First Amendment protects this type of advertising, so we are very limited in the type of regulation we can do. Basically we can prohibit false and misleading advertising and we try to do the best we can on billboards and television. But how in the world can the State Bar of Nevada police all the advertising on the Internet that anyone can pull up at any minute? To me, that’s an issue we have to struggle with.