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 5th-6th, featured educational sessions on myriad topics ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) to the uniformity and cooperation across jurisdictions.
Professor Gary Marchant ̶Regents and Foundation Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Center for Law, Science, and Innovation at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law ̶ and Judge Yvette D. Roland of the State Bar Court of California spoke on AI and its effects and implications on legal ethics. In addition to the benefits that the use of AI may provide to law practice, Professor Marchant articulated the drawbacks of current AI usage such as biased outputs, data privacy concerns, and the potential for overreliance on AI-generated work.
Tracy L. Kepler, Risk Control Consulting Director of the Lawyers Professional Liability Division at CNA Insurance, and District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility Member Tom Gilbertsen addressed evolving disciplinary approaches toward substance use and mental health challenges. Both stressed the importance of accessible and substantive resources for struggling lawyers as well as lawyer well-being as the core of ethical law practice. Ms. Kepler affirmed, “We are human beings. We help one another.”
Other conference sessions addressed unusual defenses in lawyer discipline, updates in jurisdictions around the U.S. and Canada, and more. Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board Vice-Chair Gretchen A. Mundorff and Board Prothonotary Marcee D. Sloan presented a session exploring how to recruit a diverse and qualified Hearing Committee pool in addition to how to train, support, and appreciate those Hearing Committee Members. Ms. Sloan and Board IT Systems Support Specialist Teri A. Stoltenburg also discussed public transparency and methods to disseminate publicly-available Board information. They covered such features as the Board’s pending and recent cases webpages, its Case Research Collection, the online complaint form available in nine languages, and more.
Executive Director of the PA Disciplinary Board, Jesse G. Hereda, currently serves as Immediate Past President of the NCLDB Board of Directors. At the conference, Mr. Hereda presented a commemorative plaque to President Aisha L. Cassis (DC Board on Professional Responsibility) on behalf of the NCLDB Board. Ms. Cassis’s term will end on June 30, 2025 at which time she will be succeeded by current President-Elect Karen M. Daley, Associate Counsel of the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board.
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.