CHARLESTON – West Virginia State Bar Executive Director Anita Casey said easy access to information is important.
That is why the association launched the interest on lawyers trust accounts (IOLTA) database module Jan. 1 and now offers the experience of the West Virginia State Bar in your hand through its newly added mobile application device.
“The most recent upgrade is for us to track IOLTA information more efficiently,” Casey told The West Virginia Record, adding the website membership database is continually upgraded as new projects are completed. “We previously had a separate IOLTA database, which has now been merged into our ‘main’ membership database.”
The new West Virginia State Bar Mobile App is accessible through the iOS device App Store or Android Play store. Simply search “WV State Bar” and the system is free to all West Virginia State Bar members as well as to the public seeking local legal resources and material including colleague directory and event calendar.
“The app is integrated with the Bar’s website and database,” Casey said, of the feature that allows access to attorneys' personal MySDCBA pages where CLE history is provided. “The app is to provide member and the public with easy/remote access to information and services.”
Along with dozens of related links, the website offers a Young Lawyers Section (YLS), which promises to support novel counsel to make the transition between law university and actual practice. To utilize the website section, all new attorneys, those 35-years-old or under or members admitted to practice 10 years or less prior to the State Bar’s annual meeting, can access the YLS Website, Handbook and Bridge-the-Gap Program if they have been sworn to practice before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Sticking with website custom by offering a news, events, committees and publications section, the West Virginia home page offers an About Us section informing users of the association's mission.
“The objects of the West Virginia State Bar shall be to protect the interests of the public; to advance the administration of justice and the science of jurisprudence; to improve the relations between the public and the bench and the bar; to uphold and elevate the standards of honor, integrity, competency and courtesy in the legal profession; and to encourage cordial relations among its members,” the website reads.
“It is the purpose of the West Virginia State Bar to give effect to the pertinent rules of the supreme court of appeals of West Virginia, and to perform the functions expressed in this constitution and by-laws,” the website adds.
Casey said the website will continue to grow.
“The State Bar will be adopting a newer version of its Lawyer Referral Service in the next few months,” Casey said.
For more information about the West Virginia Bar and all of the website features, visit www.wvbar.org.