outgoing president’s message
Remarks of outgoing President Michael B. Terry
at the May 25, 2011 Annual Meeting
by Michael B. Terry
Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, LLP
M
embers of the judiciary, distinguished guests, fellow
members, family and friends. What a year it has been.
As bar president you have two distinct years—the one
you plan for, and the one that actually occurs. My year as President
began with an unexpected event. When the annual membership
renewals arrived in May 2010, our membership was substantially
down, as a result of attorney layoffs that occurred after the
2009 membership renewals were submitted. The impact on bar
membership and finances of the 2009 layoffs was not recognized
until the month I became President.
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bono fair where pro bono legal providers can meet and provide
information to potential donors and volunteers. It includes the
presentation of pro bono and public service awards. And this
year’s keynote speaker was Mayor Kasim Reed.
We also continued our tradition of Leadership Luncheons. I know
many of you were present when Seaborn Jones and Ray Persons
received Leadership Awards in August, and when Liz Price and
Bill Barwick received Leadership Awards in March.
For the 18th year, our Summer Law Intern Program offered high
In response to the attorney layoffs, we undertook two initiatives. school students opportunities for paid work for six weeks in law
First, we set out to help the attorneys who
firms, law departments, public interest
had lost their jobs. Free programs for
groups and courts. The 2010 program
“But while we were
unemployed lawyers were initiated by the
placed 32 interns. This is a great program
Atlanta Bar Association and announced at
and is going strong into year nineteen.
fighting to keep our
the Annual meeting last year. Unemployed
attorneys have been allowed to attend CLE,
financial heads above The Minority & Diversity Clerkship
networking events, bar-wide luncheons and
Program since 1985 has provided clerkship
meetings, and many section activities, free
opportunities in Atlanta firms to over
water, we not only
of charge and without paying bar dues
200 first year summer clerks. This year,
continued but expanded Seaborn Jones and Charlie Lester have
The second initiative was to try to help the
promoted the program heavily and nine
Bar recover its losses, both in numbers and
our award winning
firms have agreed to host students during
in dollars. After an emergency Executive
this summer’s programs and the Atlanta Bar
programming.”
Committee retreat in June, we expanded our
Foundation has funded four more clerks to
membership committee, expanded member
be assigned to judges.
benefits, and sought new sponsors to help fill the financial gap.
Thanks to the hard work of a lot of people, too numerous to name, In addition to these great traditional programs of the Atlanta Bar
we have not only survived but have met our budget for the year.
Association, we had some new things happen this year as well as
well. At the request of Vice President Joe Biden, I, along with
But while we were fighting to keep our financial heads above several other bar presidents, was invited to participate in a program
water, we not only continued but expanded our award winning to discuss a proposed new federal agency/private bar collaboration
programming. There is no possible way I can mention even to provide access to justice to working families. The meeting
a small percentage of the programs put on by the Atlanta Bar was held at the White House and included as participants Vice
Association this year, but I want to mention a few things that President Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder.
were highlights for me.
As a result of two years of preliminary meetings with
We continued our tradition of promoting pro bono and public representatives of the Istanbul Bar Association, I spent March 8-13
service through many programs, including the Celebrating Service in Istanbul, Turkey, meeting with representatives of the Istanbul
luncheon. The Celebrating Service Luncheon includes a pro Bar concerning a proposed lawyer exchange and other joint
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THE ATLANTA LAWYER
June/July 2011
the official news publication of the atlanta bar association