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Bar News - December 17, 2004 Newer Lawyers: Bar 'Barely' Relevant WHEN BAR ASSOCIATION leaders decided to host their first leadership conference in five years, they took aim at a segment of the Bar that they had not heard much from – newer lawyers. They spoke with several and by the time they had finished listening, they had found out why they had not heard much from this segment of the Bar. The message to Bar leaders was very clear: For newer attorneys, the Bar Association is barely relevant. However, from the conference came a hope and a resolve that the Association would devote itself to ideas, programs and work that would ring true to newer attorneys. Among the ideas put forth are: a revamped justice system with better access by those most in need of legal services; structural changes to the Association to encourage meaningful participation by newer lawyers; outreach and personal connection with newer attorneys; and elimination of barriers to Bar Association involvement. The two-day conference was held at Waterville Valley at the end of October. Among the invited guests were nearly 100 attorneys who had been identified by other members of the Bar as people who were interested in bar activities and might be willing to become more involved in the work of the Association. The conference was hosted by President-Elect Richard Uchida and Executive Director Jeannine McCoy, and featured talks by Bar President James Gleason, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick and Vice President Richard McNamara. Leading the conference was Michael Brandwein, a nationally acclaimed speaker and facilitator from Chicago, who had led a previous Fall Bar Leadership Conference in 1995. Chief among the concerns expressed by members at the Retreat was the lack of any sense of personal investment in the Association. Despite outreach efforts by the Bar, many members felt isolated from the Bar. They described Bar events at which they had been escorted into a room by a senior member of the Bar, and then dumped, left to fend for themselves. They described a "club" or "clique"-like atmosphere that pervaded the Bar. Others cited financial, family and time concerns that impeded participation in the Bar. Still others stated said that the Bar was not working on projects worthy of their attention. In his opening remarks to the conference, Uchida summed it up by stating that the Bar Association today was not the same as the Bar of 25 to 30 years ago. "Then, like many civic groups and organizations of their time, the Bar built its strength on the social bonding it provided its members," he said. "The summer Bar meeting, the Mid-Winter banquet, other Bar meetings, and even Bar elections – these were big events. Life as a lawyer revolved around the Association as the major social and professional institution of the day. That has changed." "Today," he continued, "our numbers at Bar meetings are down. Bar elections demonstrate that the draft is alive and well in New Hampshire because so few people throw their hats in the ring without some prodding. By virtue of the great growth in sheer numbers of lawyers now in the New Hampshire Bar, the Association has placed less emphasis on bonding among lawyers, and greater emphasis on bridging out to lawyers with interests as diverse as this state has ever seen. At the same time, participation in bar leadership at all levels has waned. The ranks of lawyers volunteering for bar committees and bar sections are dwindling. And in critical areas such as pro bono service and civic and charitable causes, demand for involvement by members of our profession continues to outstrip the supply." Attendees were asked to make recommendations about how the Bar might change in a way that would make it more valuable to them. First on that list were projects related to a new and redefined justice system, and improving access to that system. Among the ideas floated were: a public defender model for family law courts; a justice system offering every type of problem-solving resource and forum; and easy, affordable access by users to attorneys who participate in those forums. The lawyers suggested more attention paid to broad-ranging law practice management assistance, especially for attorneys in small firms; law-related education outreach efforts to self-represented litigants; and thoughtful exploration into the future of the profession. Second, according to attendees, structural changes for the Association are needed to encourage greater participation. These proposals included such simple items as organizing member participation around specific tasks and goals, rather than having standing committees; to ensuring social events such as the Midyear meeting, CLE lunches, etc. encourage meaningful mingling and participation by newer attorneys; as well as meaningful recognition of volunteer work. Attendees also believed that participation in Bar committee work could be enhanced through better scheduling, better locations, and the use of technology in conducting meetings. Equally as important, attendees said that the Bar must work harder to reach out to members, particularly for newer attorneys. Newer attorneys must feel they are welcomed as a part of the Bar, especially at Bar functions, meetings and activities, through the efforts of experienced attorneys and judges. Niche marketing of bar services to different segments of the Bar (rural lawyers, public lawyers, transactional lawyers, etc.) is also important to would also help create and retain involved volunteers. Board of Governors members must encourage firms to support attorneys who volunteer for Bar activities and recognize them when their lawyers they fulfill such commitments. And all Bar leaders need to remember the importance of the personal "ask" when seeking volunteers. The judiciary must also understand that its outreach efforts to newer lawyers are as important as a Bar leader’s efforts in making members them feel welcome. The conference also featured remarks from Chief Justice Broderick, who focused on the need for a revamped justice system, and expressed his hope that recommendations for change to the system would be forthcoming from a new task force that will be created to review three major reports released in 2004 on various aspects of the court system — - the Pro Se Task Force Report, the Vision of Justice report issued by a task force chaired by Manchester lawyer Bruce Felmly, and the Family Division Implementation report. Justice Broderick, a former NHBA President from 1990-91, also stressed the importance of broad participation in Bar leadership to enable the Association to remain valuable to all members. Finally, attendees urged the Bar to innovate in helping newer members overcome fiscal and other barriers that impede participation in the Bar. CLE, mid-winter Midyear and Annual Meeting scholarships should be considered for motivated volunteers. Bar leaders were told, too, that a number of lawyers in the public private and public interest sectors would be pleased to participate in Bar activities, if the Bar made it easier and more affordable for them to do so. "There are dozens of brilliant ideas which cry out for attention," Uchida stated in a report to the Board of Governors. "With these ideas, I hope we can create a forum to give life to many of them. Between our Board, the New Lawyers Committee, and a willing judiciary, we can achieve many of our goals." Uchida has scheduled a meeting with a number of conference attendees in December, to follow up on ideas from the conference. Since the conference, he has begun work on locating ombudspersons to encourage reluctant or skeptical partners in law firms to support the participation of newer members in Bar work. He and Jennifer Parent, chair of the New Lawyers Committee, have held initial discussions about a number of initiatives under the broad areas of outreach and bar structure to promote meaningful participation and involvement by newer lawyers. Immediate Past President Russell Hilliard, Gleason, McCoy and Uchida met with the Supreme Court to air some of the ideas and themes about a new and improved justice system, and encouraged the Court to include some newer lawyers in the Court’s Future of the Profession Task Force that Chief Justice Broderick is assembling. Uchida also met with members of the Conference’s steering committee, including past president Gregory Robbins and committee members Paul Pudloski, Pat Closson, Donna Marie Cote, Paul Chant, Paul Moore, Alex Walker,Deanna Baker, Denice DeStefano, Eleanor Dahar, Valerie Raudonis, James Tenn, Parent and McCoy to obtain advice on traditional and non-traditional ways to keep the work of the conference going. If some of these ideas sound interesting to you, contact Richard Uchida at 224-5004 or at richarduchida@hebertanduchida.com or NHBA Executive Director Jeannine McCoy at 224-6942 or at jmccoy@nhbar.org.
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