New audio feature: To start, we chat with leaders from the Bar Association of Erie County

In this issue of Bar Leader, we’re introducing a new audio feature called Leadership Chat, in which we spend a few minutes with a pair of leaders at a particular state, local, or special-focus bar. To start us off, Eric T. Cooperstein recently sat down (virtually) with Anne M. Noble and Oliver C. Young from the Bar Association of Erie County (N.Y.).

Cooperstein is a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services, a past president of the Hennepin County (Minn.) Bar Association, a frequent faculty member at the ABA Bar Leadership Institute, and a small-firm lawyer whose practice is focused on legal ethics. Noble has been executive director of the Erie County bar since 2017. Young began his term as president of the bar in June 2020. The Erie County bar, based in Buffalo, N.Y., has about 3,500 members throughout western New York state.

Noble is also principal at Invictus Noble Consulting, which provides insight and strategic consulting services in gaming and other industries. Young is of counsel to Barclay Damon LLP, with a focus on general commercial litigation. Before retiring in 2018, he served for more than 38 years as a principal court attorney for the New York State Supreme Court, 8th Judicial District. He is also a member of the ABA House of Delegates.

Together, the three discussed the nature of leadership—and of the connection between president and executive director—during COVID-19. Another highlight of their conversation: the bar’s recent diversity pledge to help combat the disparity faced by women lawyers and lawyers of color in western New York.

Listen in—and get ready for another Leadership Chat, featuring a different bar leadership team, in a future issue of Bar Leader.