The VSB/VBA Joint Commission on Multidisciplinary Practice met in the Board Room of the Virginia State Bar offices on Tuesday, August 29, 2000, commencing at 10:00 a.m.

Committee members in attendance were:

Theodore I. Brenner James S. McNider, III
Ann T. Burks Leigh B. Middleditch, Jr.
Brian V. Ebert Robert C. Nusbaum
John D. Epps Nina E. Olson
Paul E. Fletcher Craig L. Rascoe
John A. C. Keith Thomas E. Spahn
Donna D. Lange James M. White, III
Jeffrey G. Lenhart Clark H. Worthy
Heman A. Marshall
Howard C. McElroy

Unable to attend were:

Frank A. Thomas, III
Robert C. Wood, III

Also attending were:

Thomas A. Edmonds, Executive Director
James M. McCauley, Ethics Counsel

I. Introduction and Round Table Discussion

After convening the meeting, the Chair, John Keith, gave each member an opportunity to introduce themselves and briefly describe their views on MDPs. The Chair explained to the group that there appear to be three options: 1) ignore the issue; 2) enforce the current rules prohibiting MDPs; or 3) modify the current rules to accommodate MDPs.

After discussion, the Chair observed that there was a consensus that the first option is not a viable alternative. Some members indicated their view that MDPs are inevitable and the market force driving MDPs is too powerful for the bar to resist, given its limited resources.
Other members had reservations, however, about MDPs and the impact on the practice of law in Virginia.

II MDP Subcommittees

Since the Commission is a large group, the MDP Steering Committee recommended that subcommittee be formed to conduct the work of the Commission. Upon recommendation by the Chair, and after discussion, the Commission approved the following subcommittees:

UPL/Ethics. This subcommittee will be chaired by Tom Spahn and include Jim McCauley, Nina Olson, Frank Thomas, Ann Burks, James White, John Epps. This subcommittee will study the implications of enforcing out current rules, as well as the consequences of modifying the current rules to permit MDPs. The work of this subcommittee will include researching applicable legal ethics opinions, rules, definition of the practice of law and the regulatory experiences in other jurisdictions.

Professional Regulation of Accountancy and Other Disciplines. This subcommittee will be chaired by Craig Rascoe and will include Robert Wood, Heman Marshall, Robert Nusbaum and James McNider. This subcommittee will investigate professional regulation of accountants and other professionals to determine to what extent these professional share core values and the degree to which their rules and regulations are compatible with those of the legal profession.

The European Experience. This subcommittee will be chaired by Leigh Middleditch and include Jim McCauley and Jay White. The purpose of this subcommittee is to investigate and report on the establishment of MDPs in Europe and the extent to which the European experience is relevant to MDPs in the United States.

Impact of MDPs on Small and Solo Practices. This subcommittee will be chaired by Jeff Lenhart and include Howard McElroy, Brian Ebert, Clark Worthy and Paul Fletcher. The purpose of this subcommittee is to study and report on how MDPs are perceived as effecting small firms and solo practitioners. This group will contact local and speciality bars and other interested parties for input.

Education, Communication, Funding and Consumer Demand. This subcommittee will be chaired by Donna Lange and include Robert Wood, Ted Brenner, Leigh Middleditch, Heman Marshall, John Keith and Tom Edmonds. This subcommittee is a combination of three working groups as proposed by the Steering Committee. This group will make recommendations concerning how to communicate with the public and the legal community concerning the work of the Commission and to obtain input from interested parties on MDPs. This subcommittee will also make recommendations concerning how to determine or quantify the extent to which consumers seek legal services through MDPs. In addition, this subcommittee is charged with investigating how bars in other states have funded similar commissions, so this commission can propose to bar leadership how some of its activities may be funded.

III Initial Meetings of Subcommittees

Following appointment of the subcommittees, the chair recessed the meeting of the full commission so they subcommittees could conduct organizational meetings.

IV Reconvene and Adjourn

Following the subcommittees' organizational meetings, the full commission reconvened and heard reports presented by chairs of the subcommittees. After these brief reports, the chair reminded the members of the commission's next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 26, 2000, in the second floor conference room in the Eighth and Main Building in Richmond, Virginia. There was no further discussion and the meeting was adjourned.