SBAND PRESIDENT
SBAND PRESIDENT
THE GAVEL PASSES
DEBRA HOFFARTH SBAND President
In January, I had the privilege of speaking at the ceremony passing the gavel to Chief Justice McEvers, the first woman to lead the North Dakota Supreme Court. I was struck by the weight of the moment and by what the judicial gavel represents: continuity, responsibility, and a promise made by one generation to the next.
That moment, along with visits to local bar associations, judicial investitures, swearingin ceremonies of newly licensed lawyers, and conversations with lawyers across the state, confirmed that lawyers are community leaders who promote justice every day. The public most often encounters the rule of law not through landmark cases, but through ordinary interactions- a lawyer explaining a difficult outcome, a judge ensuring every voice is heard, or colleagues resolving disagreement with professionalism. In those moments, trust in our system is built quietly, one interaction at a time.
Building trust in our system is not new. It reflects a professional mission that has guided the State Bar Association of North Dakota( SBAND) since its founding. In 1899, 30 lawyers established SBAND. Its constitution listed four purposes:
“ First. To maintain the highest standard in the profession.
Second. To promote professional fellowship. Third. To aid in securing good government.
Fourth. To keep inviolate the present high standard of the judiciary.” 1
More than a century later, that mission remains remarkably current.
At SBAND’ s first annual meeting in 1900, inaugural president Seth Newman described justice as“ an ideal conception, nowhere fully attained, or perfectly exemplified, yet it is that which every lawyer in his humblest efforts is unconsciously and unceasingly seeking, and which it is the highest and purest ambition of all courts to dispense.” 2 He emphasized the duty of lawyers and judges to ensure that constitutional guarantees“ are enforced, their asdency [ sic ] maintained, and their guarantees made effectual in favor of every person, regardless of wealth, position, or condition.” 3
Today, more than 125 years later, SBAND continues the work: advocating for access to justice, judicial independence, and high professional standards. Our 2025-2027 strategic plan carries the vision forward by partnering with Legal Services of North Dakota to expand pro bono and low bono programs, exploring technology-driven legal service delivery, asking hard questions about alternative paths to licensure, and strengthening the pipeline of future lawyers who know and love North Dakota.
That continuity in purpose is not just institutional, it is personal. Every North Dakota lawyer takes the same oath upon admission to the bar:“ I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of North Dakota; and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of attorney and counselor at law according to the best of my ability, so help me God.” 4 This oath is a thread connecting the 30 lawyers in Grand Forks in 1899 to the nearly 3,000 licensed SBAND members today. It is a promise to the people of North Dakota, renewed every time a new lawyer is admitted to the bar.
In a few months, I will pass this gavel to President-Elect Rob Manly. The passing of the gavel is a recommitment and a reminder that while our individual roles are temporary, the institution endures. The lawyers who gathered in Grand Forks in 1899 trusted the generations that would follow them. We honor that trust each day we serve our clients, our communities, and uphold the oath we each swore.
I am grateful to have been part of this chain.
The gavel passes. The mission remains.
1. Proceedings of the State Bar Association of North Dakota, < https:// dn721802. ca. archive. org / 0 / items / proceedingsstat00dakogoog / proceedingsstat00dakogoog. pdf >( pp. 11-12.) 2. Id., p. 20. 3. Id., p. 32. 4. Article XI, Section 4, North Dakota Constitution.
4 THE GAVEL