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SATURDAY February 28, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels February 6, 2004 Lawyer has Ashland roots By Steve Zimmerman Ashland Daily Tidings Attorney William Carter and his family have deep ties to the city of Ashland. Although he never lived here, his family was instrumental in Ashland's early days. His grandfather, George R. Carter was Jackson County Clerk for 20 years and his great-grandfather, Frank H. Carter was Ashland's mayor. The pioneer statue in the downtown plaza is dedicated to his great-great-grandfather and grandmother, Henry B., a banker, and Harriet H. Carter. William Carter, the new president of the Oregon State Bar Association, is the great-great-grandson of Henry B. Carter, whose likeness resides on the Plaza in Ashland. Bob Pennell | For the Tidings Now Carter, a Medford attorney, is blazing his own trail as president of the Oregon State Bar Association. He began his new position on Jan. 1 after serving on the Board of Governors for three years. The fourth year, the board gets the presidency. Carter and the Bar face many challenges during his term. "The primary one right now is Judicial department funding," he said. "Just like everyone else in the state we (the courts) are short of money." All lawyers in Oregon must be members of the Bar Association. Because of that, no dues money can be used for political purposes. So the Bar Association could not take a stand on Measure 30 - although many of Oregon's lawyers favored its passage. One area where Carter wants to see change is in use of electronic media to assist lawyers. "We are working on programs to do videoconferencing around the state, so a lawyer in Talent doesn't have to drive to Portland for a conference," he explained. "That is tremendously expensive and we hope to get that accomplished this year. "Our greatest challenge is technology and how best to use it in the practice of law. We are looking at implementing electronic filing of documents. Right now if I am preparing a divorce case for a client, I have to dictate a petition for dissolution of marriage, a secretary has to type it, I review it and the client comes in and signs it. Then I get in my car and drive it to the justice building where I have to wait in line to have a clerk file stamp it. The federal courts are way ahead of us on electronic filing." With a formidable case backlog, it would appear that there is a shortage of attorneys in Oregon. But Carter said a lack of attorneys is not the problem. "I don't think there is a shortage of lawyers. I think there is a shortage of lawyers to help people of modest means," he said. "Most lawyers practice law to make a living. As a consequence, the legal aid services are suffering because they can't afford to pay lawyers very much." Carter said only 18 percent of those who cannot afford an attorney get one through legal aid services. "The Bar Association encourages improvement of that situation. One of the ways is through "pro bono" services. We encourage lawyers to do about 80 hours a year of pro bono work. A lot of lawyers do more than that and many do less than their share. When I started practicing law in 1965, lawyers were expected to offer free legal services to the poor." Carter said his decision to go into law came in part from popular legal shows on television in the '60s. "[The law] always fascinated me," he noted. "As is true today, there were popular lawyer shows on television like 'The Defenders.' (Show star) E.G. Marshall was my hero. I have always also been a word person so it looked like the ideal thing to do was to stand up in court and persuade." Carter said educational values in his home helped shape his life and career. "My family always valued education," he said. "My dad was an engineer builder and my great-grandfather, in 1907, was mayor. I feel real close to him because he kept a daily diary with the most intimate details of his life. Here I am, 100 years later, and I can read it and see what he did on a given day. "His father was H.B. Carter, who was an early day banker. I do not know the history of why they thought so much of him that they would dedicate a statue to him, but they did." Carter was born in Berkeley, Calif., but grew up on the family farm in Talent. In 1956, his mother moved to Medford, where he graduated from Medford High School. He began his career in criminal law as a deputy district attorney in Roseburg for Douglas County. Now, as he winds down his legal career, he is in mediation and arbitration law. He said it has become a very popular form of law. In arbitration, Carter acts like a judge and has the power to make decisions. In mediation, he tries to persuade people to come together. "I think that people are starting to realize that alternative dispute resolution is a better way to resolve different types of cases," he explained. "It is cheaper, faster, less confrontational and seems to work better. I do a lot of divorce mediation, having tried about a thousand divorce cases, and it is a much less stressful way for the clients and the lawyers to resolve their divorce issues." Carter said making the decision to enter the law and determine what area of law to practice are both big decisions and ones he wishes young people thought harder about. "I wish more youngsters thought that decision through a little better," he said. "There is a tendency for young lawyers to want to be Perry Mason and jump into the courtroom. I think you can have a wonderfully satisfying legal career doing estate planning, tax work, bankruptcy or worker compensation. They may not involve the courtroom at all but are still very satisfying." 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