HCBA Lawyer Magazine No. 35, Issue 2 | Page 13

Y L D M E S S A G E N i c o l e G e h r i n g e r – H a r r i s , H u n t & D e r r , P . A .
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While peer pressure isn ’ t always a good thing , I have the “ encouragement ” of Lyndsey Siara , past president of the HCBA Young Lawyers Division and now general counsel at the Sixth Judicial Circuit , to thank for showing me the true value of getting involved in local bar association work . But for Lyndsey ’ s gentle nudging for me to “ just join the Member Services committee and offer to coordinate a few emails ,” I do not doubt that I would not be in the position I ’ m in today with respect to both my career and the YLD .
Participation in the YLD has offered so many more opportunities than what I could have imagined — from planning events with other young lawyers and judges , to the ability to take on leadership roles early in my career , to getting involved at The Florida Bar level — none of these would have been possible without having taken the first step of joining a YLD committee . The HCBA YLD is one of the busiest YLD ’ s in the state — with over 800 members and nearly an event a month , there really is something for everyone . Whether you ’ re just interested in joining us for a happy hour or want to plan some of our substantive CLE programming , the YLD can use all types of lawyers to help continue to grow what so many of us have worked on building for so many years .
Maybe the biggest benefit of being involved in the YLD has been the unexpected sense of community that the YLD has created for me — it ’ s expanded my network of colleagues and friends in a way I would not have expected from such a large organization . I never attend an event anymore without seeing a familiar face or having someone to catch up with . It goes a long way to helping keep my “ work-life ” balance calibrated when I enjoy doing the extracurricular work , because it is with people I genuinely like . Regardless of whether you intend to stay a government lawyer or already looking to make the move to private practice , the YLD is going to allow you to enrich your professional journey while contributing to our legal community . n
Author : Christian Katchuk – Thirteenth Judicial Circuit
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