Interns -- impressive indeed. There are so many ways we
can help the next generation and many ways to mentor. My
advice is to reach out and offer a hand (or ask for one).
Finally, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I want to
acknowledge and thank one of my predecessors. Many
past presidents have given me advice and one of the more
frequent refrains was “There is the year you plan for and
then there is the year you have. Usually, they are very
different.” Seth Kirschenbaum, Atlanta Bar President in
2001-2002, experienced that in a way I hope none of us
will ever experience again. Seth had been President just
over three months, like me, when our nation experienced
an unimaginable tragedy. Many people stepped forward
and showed exemplary leadership and vision in the days,
weeks, months, and even years, after 9/11. Seth was one
of them. Seth seized the opportunity to take positive action.
He almost immediately contacted leaders of six minority bar
associations to meet with the Atlanta Bar Association Board
of Directors on a two-day retreat to identify areas of common
interest and concern and to explore the possibility of joint
projects for their associations. As his article (page 6) in
this issue reflects, out of that retreat was born the Multi-Bar
Leadership Council (MBLC), now with the fourteen member
organizations listed here: Atlanta Bar Association, DeKalb
Bar Association, DeKalb Lawyers Association, Gate City Bar
Association, Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association,
Georgia Association of Black women Attorneys, Georgia
Association for women Lawyers, Georgia Hispanic Bar
Association, North Fulton Bar Association, Sandy Springs
Bar Association, South Asian Bar Association of Georgia,
State Bar of Georgia Diversity Program, State Bar of
Georgia Younger Lawyers Division, and the Stonewall Bar
Association It is an awesome mosaic of the Atlanta legal
community. I am proud of Seth and the others who launched
and have sustained this important initiative. On October
1, representatives of this expanded group will assemble to
celebrate the accomplishments of the past 10 years and
to focus on the future as we continue to reach out to one
another to build a better community based on understanding
and communication. Please join us at 4 pm that Saturday as
MBLC presents the Seth Kirschenbaum Diversity Awar d and
for a champagne reception to celebrate MBLC (see page 7).
Thank you, Seth, for your vision, leadership, and friendship.▪
The Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association was held
in Toronto, ON, Canada, August 2-9, 2011. Shown from left to
right at the Law society of Upper Canada on Friday, Aug 5, 2011,
are Atlanta Bar Association president Rita A. sheffey (Hunton &
Williams LLP), Tom Rounds, and Atlanta Bar Association Executive
Director Diane o’steen.
Shown at the American Bar
Association Bar Leadership
Institute in Chicago on March 11,
2011, are left to right: Atlanta Bar
Association Executive Director
Diane o’steen, ABA President
stephen N. Zack , Chair of
the ABA House of Delegates
Linda A. Klein (Baker, Donelson,
Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz,
PC), ABA President-elect Wm. T.
(Bill) Robinson iii, Atlanta Bar
Association President-Elect Rita
A. sheffey (Hunton and Williams
LLP) and Atlanta Bar Association
Treasurer Wade H. Watson iii
(Caldwell and Watson).
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association
August/September 2011
THE ATLANTA LAWYER
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