Introducing Newly Installed President E. Tyron Brown
A major initiative I propose for this bar year is to start a Capital Fundraising Campaign to buy a 4,000 to 9,000 square foot building for the Atlanta Bar Association. Owning, not renting, a small building / real property, will significantly strengthen the financial stability of the Atlanta Bar Association for the next 138 years. Land in Atlanta will never decrease in value over time.
I
E. TYRON BROWN Hawkins Parnell & Young LLP tbrown @ hpylaw. com
am honored to serve as the 118th president of the Atlanta Bar Association. The Atlanta Bar Association was founded in 1888. This bar year, the Atlanta Bar Association will be 138 years old. It has provided 138 years of excellent service to its members and the community. In 1890, the population of the Atlanta / Fulton County area was 65,553. Now, the Atlanta metropolitan area has about 6.4 million residents.
My overarching goal this bar year is to strengthen the membership, services, and financial stability of the bar, to position it to deliver excellent service for the next 138 years.
Atlanta is the 6th largest Metropolitan area in the country. Last year, the Atlanta metropolitan area surpassed Washington D. C. and Philadelphia to reach that status. Atlanta hosted the 1996 Olympics, has hosted 3 Super Bowls – and will host the 2028 Super Bowl – and regularly hosts Collegiate championships. On July 15, 2025, Atlanta will host the Major League Baseball Allstar Game. In 2026, Atlanta is one of only nine U. S. cities that will host the FIFA World Cup. Atlanta is headquarters to 16 Fortune 500 companies, making it one of the top 10 cities in the country for Fortune 500 companies.
And yet, the Atlanta Bar Association does not have a physical office. We do not own any real property. The Atlanta Bar rented office space in downtown Atlanta from 2007 to 2022. It paid $ 14,000 in rent per month. When the lease came up in 2022, we decided not to enter another lease. Smith Currie Oles, LLP has generously donated space for the Atlanta Bar Executive Director to have an office and for the staff to conduct regular meetings. However, for every“ big bar” Board of Directors meeting, and for every other event and activity, the bar must borrow space from a law firm or rent a space. Law firms have graciously assisted by providing space for some activities. The current mode of seeking help to acquire space for every meeting is not sustainable over the next 138 years.
Several other large metropolitan bar associations, including the Dallas Bar Association, Hillsborough County Bar Association, Boston Bar Association, and Miami Dade Bar Association, own their own buildings. The Dallas Bar Association building is in the Arts District in downtown Dallas. That area is the equivalent of Midtown Atlanta. The Dallas Bar rents its building out for weddings, receptions, and other events as another
4 MAY / JUNE 2025