The following are highlights from the KCBA Board of Trustees meeting held May 21, 2025, and convened by KCBA President Erin Overbey.
The KCBA Board of Trustees met on May 21. President Erin Overbey called the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance.
President Overbey remarked on a great turnout for the May 1 Law Day event, noting that it was well attended despite the short notice, and that the responses received have all been positive. She thanked staff and all involved in preparing for the event.
Next, Executive Director Kathleen Jensen briefed Trustees on the status of the Union negotiations in consideration of budgetary limits and reported that the staff executive team held an offsite meeting to focus on staffing needs, efficiency, and budget limitations. She also provided a staffing update, including the hiring of three new HJP staff attorneys to assist with work overload and a Front Desk Administrative Assistant, Ernesto Torres, who will be full-time and in-person starting mid-June, when KCBA doors will resume pre-pandemic business hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lastly, she remarked on the highlights of this year’s Breakfast With Champions fundraising event and thanked everyone who attended and donated.
Treasurer Neal Black provided highlights from the March 2025 financials, noting that we are still on the same trajectory as tracked for several months. Both revenue and expenditures continue to trail slightly, but more so on expenditures. We can expect to land a balanced budget by the end of June despite having approved a deficit budget.
NLD Chair Amanda Simantov announced that their Board has welcomed four new members — their bios will be posted in the June Bar Bulletin. She added that they still need to fill the layperson role, hopefully at their last meeting of the fiscal year.
The Board handled some business matters. First, they unanimously approved the 2025 Annual Award Nominations slate submitted by the Awards Committee: Outstanding Lawyer (James Williams), Outstanding Judge (Hon. Patrick Oishi), Helen M. Geisness Award (Kathryn Battuello), and Pro Bono Award (Federal Civil Rights Legal Clinic). Then, after discussing the fully-formed strategic framework that will aid in addressing time-sensitive, nonlitigant issues in defense of the rule of law, independent judiciary, and KCBA core values, they approved the framework which will include a section on notifying the Board of Trustees via email with a response deadline included.
Prior to entering the Executive Session, the Board received a preview of the proposed FY2026 budget by contract CPA Jessica Adair. Adair remarked that the same conservative approach was used as last year’s budget due to the uncertainty of the state of the economy and recommended with the support of the Finance Committee that the Board approve another deficit budget this year. The Board will vote on the finalized budget at their June meeting.
In Executive Session, the Board discussed legal considerations for the HJP transition before adjourning the meeting.
Jennifer Dixon is the KCBA Executive Assistant and is writing on behalf of KCBA Secretary Michelle Pham.
