Streamlined compliance processes unveiled for 2019

JOHN MUDD

Executive Director's Message: Streamlined compliance processes unveiled for 2019

Happy New Year from all of us here at the State Bar of Montana!

In 2019 your state bar will continue to make improvements in the delivery of services to members, with an expanded dues season and a streamlined compliance process.

In the past, the Bar has mailed dues statements approximately 30 days prior to the April 1 payment deadline. This year we have decided to provide those notices earlier, near the end of January, so that members have more time to make their dues payments and more time to plan for that process.

Working with our strategic partners, we also have aligned the compliance deadlines for pro bono reporting to the Montana Supreme Court and your IOLTA compliance with the Montana Justice Foundation. A web portal through the State Bar of Montana website has been developed for you to make this as seamless as possible. You will be receiving more information by electronic mail and with your dues statement. We hope that this change will make the compliance process easier for members.

Finally, later this spring, we will move to an electronic voting platform for our officer and trustee elections that will allow secure, anonymous voting integrated with your existing State Bar of Montana log-in information. Paper ballots will still be available for those members who request a traditional ballot by mail. This move comes in response to strong member interest in electronic voting as expressed in the 2017 Member Survey and in an on-line survey conducted during last year’s elections.

Each new year brings with it the opportunity to improve and these are just a few of the changes we will be making for our members in 2019. We hope they will make a positive impact in your interactions with the State Bar of Montana, make compliance and dues season a little easier and encourage broader member participation in the governance of the bar by making voting more accessible.

Please let us know how we are doing and, again, we wish you and your colleagues a happy, impactful and prosperous 2019.