President's Pages

Introducing Yourself

• All Hands On Deck: This is OUR Bar Hon. Janaya Trotter Bratton, Cincinnati Bar Association (2023)
• A Stolen Fish Fletcher McMurry Schrock, Kentucky Bar Association (2023)
• President’s Letter Ian Russell, Iowa State Bar Association (2023)

Lawyers Give Back

• Pro Bono isn’t Charity. It’s Part of the Profession. Dyan Ebert, Minnesota State Bar Association (2020)
• Are We Ready for Mandatory Pro Bono? Marc J. Zucker, Philadelphia Bar Association (2023)
• Hurricane Laura and How the LSBA Can Help Alainna R. Mire, Louisiana State Bar Association (2020)

Get Involved

• Free CLE Immediately Below! Nate Orr, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (2019)
• Reply All Email Chains Jennifer Thompson, Minnesota State Bar Association (2021)
  
  

The Profession

• Setting the Record Straight on the Meaning of 'Philadelphia Lawyer' Lauren P. McKenna, Philadelphia Bar Association (2021)
• What I Learned From My Father_­­—and From Closing His Practice Laura Gibson, Texas Bar Association (2022)
• The Island of Misfit Lawyers J. Ryan Peyton, Colorado Bar Association (2023)
  
  

Taking a Stand

• We are Your Voice Wesley R. Payne IV, Philadelphia Bar Association (2022)
• Living Up to Our Immigration Principles Chinh H. Pham, Boston Bar Association (2023)
  
• On Lawyer Silence and Authoritarianism Susan J. Kohlmann, New York City Bar (2022)

The Judiciary/Rule of Law

• Not Allowing Courts to Electronically Record Proceedings Limits Access to Justice Michael A. Gregg, Orange County Bar Association (2023)
• What has Happened to the Rule of Law? John Gunn, The Missouri Bar (2021)
• Public Attorney Staffing Shortages Continue Margaret Wrenn Hickey, Wisconsin Lawyer (2023)

Diversity & Inclusion

• It’s Time for a Change Adrian Thompson, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (2023)
• Racism, Change, and Me Rory T. Weiler, Illinois State Bar Association (2023)
• The Insidiousness of Perfectionism J. Ryan Peyton, Colorado Bar Association (2022)

Wellness/Work Life Balance

• June Bugs: Resilience and Hope Wynne Caffey-Knight, Knoxville Bar Association (2019)
  
• President’s Message on Renewal David Cooper, Idaho State Bar (2019)
• Talk Saves Lives Laura Gibson, State Bar of Texas (2023)

Law Students/Young Lawyers

• Driving Mr. Graham Weston T. Graham, Wyoming State Bar Association (2019)

The Final Column

• So Where Did the R.I.D.E. Take Us? Sylvia Borunda Firth, State Bar of Texas (2022)
  
• What If There Were No Bar Association? Tasha Blakney, Tennessee Bar Association (2023)
  
• Pro Humanitate: “We Are The World” Clayton Morgan, North Carolina Bar Association (2023)

Helpful Articles

• 7 Tips for Success, Not Stress, with President’s Pages 2015 ABA Bar Leadership Institute
• Presidential Communications 2015 ABA Bar Leadership Institute
• President's Pages Without Fear 2013 ABA Bar Leadership Institute   
  
• Your president’s page—and how your bar staff can help Bar Leader (March-April 2010)
• Message in A Bottle: Writing Memorable President Pages Handout from 2004 Bar Leadership Institute workshop with advice from Raymond (Tom) Elligett, Jr., Past President of the Hillsborough County Bar Association
• They Don't Write Themselves: Planning Your President's Columns Handout from 2000 Bar Leadership Institute workshop with eleven quick tips from Michael P. Gunn, Past President of the Missouri Bar

Advice

Members of the NABE Communication Section offer the following suggestions:

• Develop a personal theme in line with the bar's ongoing activities. Given this, the president's page is best used to reinforce the individual's focus and to connect that focus to the bar's long-term goals.
• Think of the president's page as a yearlong ongoing "conversation" between the president and the bar members.
• Ask for a list of theme issues and tailor remarks to the theme for that month.
• Start thinking early! Begin compiling ideas for articles when you become president-elect.
• Drawing upon personal experiences makes for an interesting column.
• Write for one page only - jumping an article to another page loses readers.
• Don't get hung up on perfection. Better to get a rough draft to staff and let them work collaboratively to edit.

Contact

Questions on this topic? Contact Molly Flood, Associate Director.

E: [email protected]
P: (312) 988-5362