The Hawaii State Bar Association yesterday issued a statement on last week's flap over a local attorney's e-mail about a possible new lawsuit concerning the Hawaiians-first admissions policy of Kamehameha Schools.

Bar association president Jeff Portnoy said in the statement that the e-mail, sent by lawyer David B. Rosen, highlights the sometimes controversial issue of lawyers soliciting clients.

"There is an ongoing debate concerning lawyer solicitation" in Hawai'i and elsewhere that concerns "the commercial free-speech rights of attorneys with the high professional standards of the legal profession," Portnoy said.

Rosen's e-mail said that he was trying to put together a group of 10 to 20 plaintiffs for a lawsuit similar to the one by an unnamed non-Hawaiian teenager who challenged the school's 120-year-old admissions policy.

The e-mail followed a settlement in which Kamehameha Schools paid an undisclosed amount of money to the teenager in exchange for the dismissal of the challenge as the U.S. Supreme Court was considering whether to rule in the case.

Rosen told bar association directors last week that the e-mail was not a solicitation of fee-paying clients and did not violate ethical restrictions on attorney conduct.

Rosen could not be reached for comment last night.

He said last week that the e-mail was the subject of a complaint filed against him with the state Office of Disciplinary Council, which regulates attorney conduct here.

Portnoy said yesterday the Disciplinary Council and the state Supreme Court "have sole jurisdiction over matters relating to attorney discipline."

A committee is studying possible new rules on client solicitation by lawyers here and "expects to complete its work this summer," Portnoy said.