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16 Retainer 1 (1987)

handle is hein.barjournals/phlbrrpr0016 and id is 1 raw text is: etainer Philadelphia Bar Assci)in -JANUARY 14 1987-VOfL IANl U New program M-PER to civil case The Bar Association in coopera- tion with the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, recently an- nounced a new program which. ac- cording to Chancellor Seymour Kurland. has the potential to dra- matically reduce Philadelphia s Civ- it Court case backlog. The Mandatory Pre-Trial Evalua- tion and Resolution Program (M-PER) will begin operation on Tuesday. Jan 20. for a two-week experimental period The program is designed to quickly settle civil cases which are ready for trial and thus eliminate the necessity for an actual trial in front of a judge. Ac- cording to Kurland. the program was designed under the direction of Judge Edward J. Blake. administra- tor of the Common Pleas Court Civ- il Trial Division, and Judge Abra- ham J. Gatni, the Common Pleas Court civil calendar judge, in re- sponse to a crisis in the court sys- tem created by numerous judicial vacancies due to resignation, death or suspension Former Common Pleas Court Judge Stanley M. Greenberg will administer the pro- gram for the Bar Association. M-PER will work as follows: 1. Plaintiffs and defense attor- neys on each side of the case in question will be directed to submit detailed memos on the case, an- What's inside Board Outgoing Board members and officers were honored at a meeting Dec. 18 at Bar Head- quarters. See story on page 2. pix on page 3 Calendar With this issue, The Retainer will carry a calendar of Bar- related events. Items for the calendar are welcome See details on page 4. Chairs A complete list of names, ad- dresses and telephone num- bers for all Association Section and Committee chairs is pub- lished in this issue See page 7 reduce backlog swering comprehensive question' relating to the facts of the case le gal contentions, liability, claims damages, etc 2 The memos will be presented to a three-member lawyer pane composed of one attorney who commonly handles plaintiffs cases another attorney who commorly handles defense cases and a neu tral attorney 3 The attorneys representing the plaintiffs and the defendant in the given case will have an opportunity to meet with the panel and answer Holi questions You 4. The panel will render a unani- at mous evaluation and recommenda- Casel tion for -ettlement The recommren- 'iPir dation will be transmitted to the judge in the case and the participat- ing attorneys 5 It is hoped that in nearly all of the cases. the recommendation will be accepted and the case will be resolved All parties, however, will in retain the nght to pursue the case to trial. Pre Calling M-PER an important perce step in our commitment to resolve judge the very important and serious on Ja court crisis which is facing this city. into e Kurland noted that the M-PER pan- unles els will be composed of very vote prominent defense and plaintiff civil which trial lawyers The list of participating signai panelists, Kurland said, reads like The a Who s Who of Philadelphia tnal dorsed lawyers. We are delighted that so tially many fine Philadelphia lawyers levelI have agreed to participate on these eral c panels without compensation to or help make this program a reality. signii We expect that the recommenda- al sa. tions of these distinguished attor- ty ned neys will carry the kind of weight t be that will result in the quick resolu- court tion of cases. The Chancellor joined noted that he will participate in the for Sey program as a neutral panel mem- sociali ber along with former Chancellor menda Bennett G Picker and Chancellor- Comi Elect Laurance E Baccin At pi M-PER is expected to take on at judges least 10 cases per day dunng its ini- and Co tIal two-week Inal run Assuming S8320 all goes according to plan, we are dation hopeful that this new program will Federa become a permanent feature and and Ju we expect that it will divert cases substar f-mnvr~d -~r Pge. 6i judges day party g lawyers celebrated the holiday season with a party held Dec. 18 pectacles in the Sheraton Society Hill. Shown L to R are Gilbert F. llas, YLS chair, Patricia M. Dugan and Kenneth M. Rothweiler, co- s #^, the event attended by more thin 200 ,tion members. ar endorses increase federal judicial salaries sident Reagan proposed a 15 nt salary increase for federal s in his new budget released n. 5 The salary level will go ffect automatically in 30 days s both houses of Congress I down in a joint resolution would require the President s ure. Association last month en- d a plan that would substan- boost the salaries of all top ederal officials including fed- urt judges Former Chancel- nnet G Picker said that 'a ant increase in federal judici- nes is overdue and absolute- essary to attract and retain st and the bnghtest federal udges Picker, who was n his comments by Chancel- mour Kurland. said the As- on was acting on the recom- lion of 1986 Federal Court ttee Chair Robert C Heim. esent. federal distnct court are paid $78.700 per year iurt of Appeals judges earn 0 per year. In a recommen- to President Reagan, the I Commission on Legislative dicial Salaries proposed a itial salary increase for the In its report. the Commission pointed out that real earnings of top federal officals have declined by 40 percent since 1969 President Rea- gan proposed a 16 8 percent salary increase for top level federal offi- cials in 1981 but Congress turned that proposal down. Five additional Commission recommendations for higher top level federal salaries also have been rejected. In a letter to President Reagan. Picker urged adoption of the salary increase recommendations so that we can insure the continued integn- ty. general excellence and stead- fast independence of our federal ju- diciary. Picker noted that more than a few outstanding federal judges have stepped down in re- cent years because they simply could not afford to remain on the bench These men and women are very often able to command much higher salaries in privale practice If we want to attract and keep the very top of the profession on our federal court bench, then we have to be prepared to pay these judges salaries commensurate with their talents, abilities and experience, he added Picker predicted that a failure to raise judicial salanes will connted on page 31 ,JNUR 14 1,7 O i N

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