PRESIDENT ’ S MESSAGE
Vision 20 / 20 – Focused on Recovery Step 8 – JOIN A COMMITTEE to make your practice and personal life better and help YOUR Bar Association
Dean T . Xenick 2020-21 PBCBA President
As 2021 clearly showed , the Palm Beach County Bar Association is strong and that is due to our members , sponsors and staff . We are only as good as our members and their volunteer participation is what makes this Association what it is . Our committees are the lifeblood of our Association and without them , the PBCBA would literally cease to exist .
To that end , I would encourage you VOLUNTEER to join one of our THIRTY committees we have to offer . Chances are there is a committee that will interest you , whether it be a committee within your area of practice or a committee that addresses a particular non-practice need .
Joining a committee will not only help the Bar Association , but it will help you as well , both professionally and personally . You will meet new people , work on projects that benefit your practice area , the community , the Bar Association , or a combination of all three .
My last President ’ s Message discussed the many benefits of mentoring . Serving on a committee is a prime opportunity for mentoring , as our committees are truly a representative cross section of our entire membership , giving both new and “ more experienced ” lawyers the chance to serve and exchange ideas with each other . Some of my best lawyer relationships have started with committee work ; I cannot recommend this enough .
So , you want to join a committee , but which one ? Well , that is up to you . I will only tell you this : Join a committee that you are interested in , do not join to “ pad your resume " so you can post it on your website or social media . That will not help you or the committee . If you have an interest in the committee , your committee work will reflect it and we will all benefit from it . I will also say that if you join a committee , you must participate . Failing to attend meetings and / or not volunteering to assist with projects hurts the committee work and forces the other committee members to shoulder those additional responsibilities , which is of course unfair . Conversely , working on projects with other members and seeing positive results from your hard work is extremely rewarding .
President-Elect Julia Wyda will be asking you to sign up for a committee shortly for the 2021-2022 year . To make it as easy as possible to select a committee , here is a list of our committees available to join :
Alternative Dispute Resolution Appellate Practice Bankruptcy Law CLE Business Litigation CLE Circuit Civil Practice Community Assn Law Committee for Diversity and Inclusion Construction Law CLE Criminal Law CLE Elder Law Affairs Employment Law CLE Estate / Probate Law CLE Family Law CLE
Guardianship Education Judicial Relations Law Related Education Law Week Lawyers for Literacy Local Govt & Land Use Membership Paralegal PI / Wrongful Death CLE Probate / Guardianship Practice Professionalism Real Estate CLE Small Claims Court Clinic Solo & Small Firm Technology Transaction Law Unified Family Practice Workers ' Compensation CLE
Our website has more detailed descriptions of the above committees , so check them out and please go to our website and sign up for a committee today ! https :// palmbeachbar . org / committee-preference /
I will conclude my article by saying that research shows that volunteering and giving back not only helps the organization or individual who receives the help , but the volunteer also receives a mental health benefit . It is absolutely a win-win situation for all involved . So , what are you waiting for , sign up for a committee right now !
And as always , I encourage you to drop me a line at dtx @ reidburmanlaw . com with any suggestions as to how we can do better , whether that be for “ work ” or “ play .” I hope to see you at one of our many planned events soon !
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 3