The State Bar Association of North Dakota Fall 2013 Gavel Magazine | Page 2

PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE

Nancy J Morris
President, SBAND

Fall is the best. The crisp, cool air is
invigorating. The array of golds, reds and
browns are spectacular. And why is it
that the smells of fall are so powerful at
evoking memories? Because fall is a time
of change.
For me it is time to embrace the
changes that come with a new school
year, a new routine, and quite frankly a
renewed sense of purpose. Ok, maybe
that was a bit deep. What I am really
talking about is the fact that we have all
moved back indoors and are ready to get
some serious work done, right?
It has certainly been a busy fall at
SBAND. Tony has quickly become the
Judicial Nominating Committee Secretary Extraordinaire, attending to numerous appointments in less than four
months, with at least one more in the
hopper! All this in addition to learning
the day to day operations, attending local
bar meetings, welcoming new bar admittees, and answering a constant barrage of
emails from me. These first four months
have certainly gone fast.
While we have been busy, my goals as
president have remained foremost in my
mind, and we have made great strides
toward addressing some of SBAND’s
important issues. I am pleased to announce the launch of the Justice for All
Pro Bono Recognition program, championed by the Pro Bono Working Group.
This program is a way to encourage
lawyers to be recognized for the good
work they do every day. Check out this

link: http://www.sband.org/News/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=703. And did you
know that SBAND pays for malpractice
insurance for lawyers engaged in Pro
Bono service? Any pro bono work done
under the Volunteer Lawyer Program is
covered up to $1 million! I am hopeful
that we can get the word out to encourage in-house counsel and non-traditional lawyers to take on pro bono work.
Call Carrie at SBAND to find out how to
take advantage of this well-kept member
benefit secret.
Again this year you will have an opportunity to make a direct donation to
the Pro Bono fund in your license dues
statement. All funds received will go
directly to LSND to help finance the
private attorney fund. I encourage you
to read Jim Fitzsimmons’ recent memo
to his staff in the fall LSND newsletter
for a better understanding of the grim
financial situation facing legal services.
http://www.legalassist.org/?id=29. The
donations you make have a direct and
immediate impact.
On a different note, I must admit
that I had no idea when I signed up
for this “gig” the number of committee
appointments I was tasked to make. I approached this task with the goal of inclusiveness in mind, and truly enjoyed the
chance to personally call and connect
with so many enthusiastic lawyers willing to serve our association. A big thank
you to all of the dedicated volunteers.
The next step is to actively engage all of
the committee members, in furtherance
of the omnipresent goal of relevance.
To that end, we have begun evaluating
the missions of each committee. It is
very possible some committees will be
merged in an attempt to eliminate duplication, and in furtherance of the goal to
make your volunteer time worthwhile.
Change is in the air! I am pleased to
announce that SBAND has engaged
experience cultivator Greg Tehven to
help revitalize the annual meeting in
downtown Fargo in June 2014. Any and

all suggestions are welcomed and appreciated, including and especially speaker
nominations and topics.

“

”

Be a part of your bar
association annual
meeting!
Be a part of the change!