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Chuck Coulter, a lawyer with Stanley, Lande & Hunter, was awarded the distinguished Samuel S. Smith Award by the Law Practice Division of the American Bar Association at its Annual Meeting in New York recently.  It is the highest honor bestowed by the Division for individuals who have demonstrated outstanding lifetime achievement in the field of law practice management.

Coulter was active in the Section of Law Practice Management of the ABA for years, served on its Council, and became Chair of the Section in 1991-92.  He also served on the ABA Standing Committee on Technology and Information Systems and later chaired the ABA Coordinating Commission on Legal Technology from 1994 to 1997.

Samuel S. Smith was a founding member of the earlier Economics of Law Practice Section, served as Chair of the Section in 1979-80, and later served as Secretary of the American Bar Association.  The Award was presented by John Mitchell, Chair of the Division, and Tom Grella, Division Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates.

Coulter was also a Charter Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, served on its original Board of Trustees when the College was founded in 1994, and was President of the College from 2002-2004. The College is an international professional, educational, and honorary association which honors and recognizes distinguished law practice management professionals who are qualified for membership in an effort to set standards of achievement for others in the profession. 

He had previously served as Chair of the Iowa State Bar Association Committee on Bar Economics and Law Office Operations for five years.

Coulter and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Iowa City where she founded New Song Episcopal Church in 1994.

Chuck Coulter, a lawyer with Stanley, Lande & Hunter, addressed the Fellows of the College of Law Practice Management at its Annual Meeting and 20th Anniversary celebration in Boston recently. 

The College is an international professional, educational, and honorary association which honors and recognizes distinguished law practice management professionals who are qualified for membership in an effort to set standards of achievement for others in the profession. Its members are law professors, firm administrators, consultants, lawyers, marketers, recruiters, and others who are dedicated to improving practice management processes and to enhancing the professional quality of and public respect for the practice of law.

“The real genius of the College,” Coulter said, “was and continues to be the inclusion of the wide range of participants in law practice management – no other organization has this breadth of membership.”

Coulter is a Charter Fellow of the College, having served on its original Board of Trustees when the College was founded in 1994 and later as President of the College from 2002-2004.  His address reflected on the beginning of the College and the missions it has since undertaken above and beyond recognition of Fellows.  The College’s InnovAction Awards which recognize and award innovations in the practice of law were introduced in 2004.  The College now holds its annual meetings at law schools to help introduce law students to the need to manage their law practices.  Through a partnership with the Legal Services Corporation, Fellows have been volunteering their time at legal aid offices around the country to assist them in working better and faster and serving their clients more effectively.

The College inducted 31 new Fellows at the Boston meeting.  In addition, the Fellows and guests participated in a day-and-a-half  Futures Conference focused why law firms can and should develop Six Sigma process improvements in the practice of law, major changes occurring in the profession around the world, and how to address the access to justice issues for middle and lower income clients.

Coulter was active in the Section of Law Practice Management of the American Bar Association (ABA) for years and served as Chair of the Section in 1991-92.  He also served on the ABA Standing Committee on Technology and Information Systems and chaired the ABA Coordinating Commission on Legal Technology from 1994 to 1997.