An Interview with Outgoing President Emily C. Ward
JUDGE BESSEN State Court of Fulton County Diane. Bessen @ fultoncountyga. gov
HARRY WINOGRAD Bodker, Ramsey, Andrews, Winograd & Wildstein, PC hwinograd @ brawwlaw. com
With our May 2025 Annual Meeting of the Atlanta Bar Association, Emily Ward’ s term as President will close. Emily will pass the gavel to the incoming leadership of new President Ty Brown. In a discussion with the Co-Chairs of The Atlanta Lawyer, Emily examines her term in office and shares her thoughts on leading a broad diverse group of attorneys in a way that represents our Bar membership.
When you consider the role, was it different than you expected?
Yes, it was a very steep learning curve for me simply because of the size and scope of all the Bar does. I had to learn to fly a plane, while flying a plane! Despite having been active and involved for many years in our Bar Association and other groups, it took almost half of my term to learn who best to call on for specific matters, problems, and opportunities. Once I settled in, I enjoyed the second half much more.
What surprised you about serving as President?
The amount of time necessary was surprising. Our Atlanta Bar does so much more than I expected or knew about. As an example, the history and influence of our Minority and Diversity Clerkship Program with schools and the communities. It was not something I had worked with before so it was great to learn. I’ m continually surprised me how plugged-in the Atlanta Bar Association is with the community at large.
Would you describe the scope of Bar projects and activities?
Impressive. Awesome. How would you describe your term in office?
I had a running joke, for the most part, only one part of my life was on fire at a time.
What helped you better serve in this role?
The Bar sent me to the National Conference of Bar Presidents. I wish I had gone more than once. We learned so much at the Conference. My suggestion is to build this into the Bar Association budget so that rising leaders can attend this Conference once or twice before they become President.
How did you manage the impact of this commitment on other aspects of your career and life?
The emails would come in too fast to handle, so rather than immediately reply to everything, I set those emails into a sub-folder“ Atlanta Bar to read” which allowed me to do all the other things in my world and then focus later on the Atlanta Bar business. I compartmentalized my days to jealously guard my time( and brain cells). I tried to focus on one aspect of my life at a time, whether it was Bar service, my law firm and practice, my home life and especially gardening. My law firm [ Continuum Law Group ] was supportive and flexible when needed.
6 MARCH / APRIL 2025