Welcome Back to
the Atlanta Bar
Association
(Even if you never left)!
I
n this day and age, we
live in a global economy,
with rapidly evolving advancements in
communications that facilitate connections
spanning states, regions, countries, and
even continents. The evolution of legal
practices have kept apace, allowing
attorneys to expand their practices in
ways that were once unimaginable.
Now, Atlanta-based firms and lawyers
regularly pursue opportunities to work
with clients around the country and around
the world. These expanding opportunities
have been key drivers in the expansion of
the legal practice in Atlanta, which now
boasts offices for firms based across the
United States and well beyond its borders.
But while these expanding opportunities
may take us far from Atlanta, it is important
to remember that Atlanta is our home. It is
not just where we are based, but it is where
we live. Maintaining a strong contact with
the Atlanta Bar not only allows us to stay
in touch with the local legal community,
but with the greater Atlanta community
of which the Bar remains a critical part.
4
August/September 2019
RYAN K. WALSH
Jones Day
[email protected]
For well over a century, the Atlanta Bar
Association has striven to provide its
members with ongoing support, networking
opportunities,
continuing
education,
leadership opportunities, and perhaps most
importantly, fellowship among the local
bar. The good news is that the Atlanta
Bar Association’s work does not stop with
Atlanta’s lawyers but reaches out into the
larger Atlanta community as a whole.
For example, the Atlanta Bar Foundation’s
The Legal Runaround provides financial
support for college scholarships to
children of Atlanta Police officers who
have been disabled or killed in the line
of duty. The Atlanta Bar Association’s
Lawyer Referral and Information Service
(w w w.atlantabar.org/page/lrishome)
provides
Atlanta’s
citizens
with
an
invaluable
resource
to
help
them gain access to local lawyers.
Meanwhile, programs that began as
Atlanta Bar Association projects - like the
Truancy Intervention Project (https://www.
truancyproject.org/), the Georgia Asylum and
Immigration Project (https://georgiaasylum.
org/), and even the Atlanta Legal Aid Society
(https://atlantalegalaid.org/) - continue
to provide less fortunate members of our
community with legal and other services
from local lawyers. While so much around us
changes at an ever increasing pace, the Atlanta
Bar Association and its steady contributions
have remained a comforting constant.
But while the Atlanta Bar Association's
positive presence may have been a constant,
the Atlanta Bar Association staff and its
leadership continue to look for new ways
to supports its members. Just last year, the
Atlanta Bar Association started a Wellness
Committee. Anyone engaged in the practice
of law for very long understands the physical
and mental toll this profession can exact on
those who practice law and, for the first time,
the Bar has a committee focused solely on
improving the physical and mental well-being
of its members. The Atlanta Bar Association
also began a program called “SideBar”
that enables members of the bar to gather
for social and mentoring opportunities in
smaller groups around town. The response
to this new initiative has been wonderful,
and the program has begun its second
year with great energy and momentum.
In addition, this fall, our new Innovation
Study Group will begin to work in earnest
on taking a hard look at the way the
Atlanta Bar Association operates at the
most fundamental levels to explore ways
that we can better serve our members.
As noted above, the legal practice continues
to evolve, and it is critical for the Atlanta Bar
Association to evolve with it. I am excited
that Judge Sara Doyle (Court of Appeals
of Georgia) and Steve LaBriola (Fellows
LaBriola LLP) have agreed to co-chair this
critical initiative, and we are extremely grateful
for the group of lawyers who have already
agreed to participate. Together, we will push
this project forward over the next two years to
help ensure that the Atlanta Bar Association