President's Corner

Quality of Life and Quality of Practice

by Patricia C. Hannigan, Esquire

Hello, folks. It's a pleasure to put fingers to keyboard (I suppose that's the contemporary equivalent of "pen to paper", unless there is some newer technology I do not know about, which is not even slightly out of the question) for the first time to write a President's Corner for IN RE:. Although I would be lying if I didn't admit that the idea of writing this column every month for the next year is daunting in the extreme. Shoot, I've spent most of my adult life trying to learn to keep my mouth shut. Besides, who really has that much to say that others want to hear? Still, I shall endeavor to follow in the footsteps of those who precede me.

First, I must acknowledge the truly extraordinary efforts of my immediate predecessor, Bill Johnston, on behalf of the Bar Association and every one of its members during the last year. No detail was too trivial, no concern too remote, no point too arcane, for Bill to consider it, to analyze it and to respond carefully to it with a reasonable and appropriate proposal. Boy, did we have some long Executive Committee meetings! The Executive Committee and the Bar are both the better for his attention. I am confident we will reap the benefits of his presidency well into the future, as many of the seeds he sowed continue to bloom. Thank you, Bill.

I, on the other hand, while I hope I bring some talents and skills to this job, am of a rather different personal style. I invite any and all members of the Association to hit me over the head when you are aware of an issue that requires the attention of the President, because I might miss it if left to my own devices. Luckily, I am not. Our Executive Committee for the next year (as is usually the case) is an extremely gifted group with a wide variety of experience and expertise, whom I trust to keep me and the Bar Association on the "right path", whatever that may reveal itself to be. And no one can say too much about the fabulous DSBA staff. In any event, most of the real work of the Association is carried out by you folks in the trenches, through involvement in Sections and Committees. So, imbued with confidence that I will be prevented from running this particular ship of state aground, I unveil here some initial priorities for your consideration.

Quality of Life and Quality of Practice
I looked around the room at the Bench and Bar Conference a few weeks ago and saw so many friends I've known now for nearly twenty years, which is itself an almost incomprehensible fact to me. Through the Bar Association, I have met many wonderful people (OK, so a few were not quite so wonderful) I would never have met any other way, or at the very least, I would not have met for decades through my own practice. It is my opinion that one of the most important functions this Association serves is to provide the opportunity to build personal relationships among us. Sociology (my first love and career) teaches us about the shredding of our social fabric as we become more isolated one from another. We know that a sense of membership in a small group makes us healthier, better people. We know the tremendous stressors attendant to the practice of law, stressors which may particularly strike newer lawyers, who have fewer resources on which to rely. What could be a more important contributor to the vaunted collegiality and civility of our Bar, especially as our numbers grow, than interpersonal relationships among us?

With that perspective in mind, and recognizing that if you are still reading this I am probably preaching to the choir, I urge all of us to make a particular effort to reach out to the newer members of our Bar and invite their participation in Bar Association activities. I know, some people are joiners and some are not, and all of us have more than enough demands on our time. But I am a true believer in the beneficial effects, both personal and professional, of fostering a sense of community among us.

Relatedly, I have recently heard from newer members of our Bar the desire for mentoring. We all know that mentoring builds not only supportive personal relationships, which can be life-long, but also contributes to improvement in the quality of practice of the mentored lawyer. If you have been admitted ten years or more and are not mentoring someone, look around and see if there isn't a newer lawyer in your sphere of influence who could use your guidance. If you are a newer lawyer, look for opportunities to find a mentor. In addition to structured programs like the Inns of Court, which offer wonderful opportunities, I again recommend involvement in Bar Association activities, which can quickly bring you into contact with many more experienced lawyers than your own practice is likely to offer.

There you have it, my first pitch. A slow and soft one; who's going to argue with community and mentoring, after all? Another big issue on my horizon, about which there will be more in next month's President's Corner, is the ongoing effort to promote ethnic diversity at the Bar and the related question: now that we have more members of the Association who may look and even think differently than members have historically, how do we turn what may have started out as a single voice into a harmonious chorus?

I look forward with great enthusiasm (matched only by the trepidation referred to supra) to the next year and to establishing many more "interpersonal relationships" through the Bar Association, with many of you.

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