The Atlanta Lawyer August/September 2011 | Page 5

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 5