by Jennifer Little

Come January 1st each year most of us are looking at what we can improve, what we can change. What in our lives can be better? Are we disappointed with anything, anyone, any particular facet of what is so important to us? Are we happy?

The Babylonians started the tradition of new year’s resolutions some 4,000 years ago. They were made to the gods to gain favor. Interestingly, researchers have found that back then a popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment! The Babylonians also felt that to break these resolutions was bad luck, so you had to be careful determining what they were. The Romans refined the practice and started them in the month of January, named after the two-faced Roman god Janus, who could look forward and backward.

Now, as then, we make new year’s resolutions to change, adapt, or amend certain behaviors or things that we have in our life. Whether it is to eat better and work out, to achieve more professionally or to slow down and concentrate on family, we each approach this date with a desire to “follow through” on these goals in the upcoming year. But how many years do we recycle our resolutions? I don’t know about you, but I seem to have the same resolutions year after year. Is that because we never can truly change who we are? Are we supposed to?

by Jennifer Little

Twenty-ten was a year of tough economic news and political bombshells at the ballot box. It was a year of miraculous rescues in Chile and exciting Olympic and World Cup sporting events. The year revealed a worldwide spirit of philanthropic giving to the Haitian survivors as well as an alarming crime surge on both sides of our Southwestern border. We saw the largest oil spill in history and its devastating ecological and economic impact on our southern coastline. We saw the five-year anniversary of Katrina and the continuing struggle of those citizens to rebuild schools, infrastructure and homes.

by Jennifer Little

As we survey the many challenges facing American public education in the 21st century, consider these shocking statistics contained in the sobering new documentary movie by Davis Guggenheim titled Waiting for Superman:

• Among 30 developed countries, the United States is ranked 25th in math and 21st in science. When the comparison is restricted to the top 5 percent of students, the United States is ranked last.
• In 1970 the United States produced 30 percent of the world’s college graduates. Today it only produces 15 percent.
• Eight years after the passage of No Child Left Behind, the United States has four years left to reach the legislation’s goal of 100 percent proficiency in math and reading. Most states are now hovering around 20 percent or 30 percent proficiency.
• Barely half of African-American and Latino students graduate from high school. African-American students graduate at 51 percent and Latinos at 55 percent, while their white counterparts graduate at (a still lower than optimal) 76 percent.

While watching this movie I remembered what it was like to be in school, to be a child. Every child has a dream. Not one child wants to grow up to be a drug dealer; not one child dreams of going to jail and being a burden upon society. Each and every child dreams of something bigger, something better. Every child has the ability to do better. So why don’t they?

Why do we have judicial elections? It’s not as if people actually pay attention. I mean those of us in the profession do. We go to the candidate forums, we know the candidates, but who else does? Does your neighbor or your golf buddy? Do they even know that judges are something they vote on at the state and local level? You’d be surprised to find that several people I asked weren’t sure.

Sad to say, most people don’t realize the importance of a judge. They don’t realize that judges shape the law by defining and molding it through their decisions. Of those that do, are they looking further to determine the political and practical effects of rulings? The fact that we ask that question means we have failed to impart this importance on far too many people.

By the time a voter is at that point on the ballot, aren’t most of them voting based on party? Then they get to the judicial races. Nonpartisan, little name recognition, so people rarely know what to do.

by Jennifer Little

What is the importance of a bar association? What exactly do we do? Why do we exist? In trying to explain this to my family and friends, I realized the power and influence of the bar in my own life. A little over a year after I began practicing law, Stephanie Kirijan, a great friend and fellow ADA at the time, approached me about co-chairing a Young Lawyers Division (YLD) section of the DeKalb Bar with her. The State Bar of Georgia hosts an annual leadership academy for young lawyers and, as a participant of that academy, Stephanie was encouraged to organize a YLD section for her local bar. Then acting president of the DeKalb Bar Association Judge Mark Anthony Scott, along with his board, accepted our request and gave us valuable guidance for sustaining the success of the section in the future. And the rest, as they say, is history.

My early contributions to the YLD consisted mainly of hosting social events. Our events were a huge success among attorneys and judges, even having more than 200 people at one Park Tavern event. Due to the support and encouragement from the members of the bar, I then became more involved as a board member with the community service aspect of our organization. I have always been keenly aware that my achievements in life were a direct result of those individuals who reached out to educate me, to direct and mold me. I couldn’t have gotten here had it not been for that guidance and support; it is the reason I believe so firmly in giving back.

DBA President Denise Warner

In September I quoted United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, “What each of us must come to realize is that our intent always comes through.” I am pleased to report that I realized my intention as the 2009-2010 DeKalb Bar Association president to maintain the legacy of commitment that the past presidents of the DeKalb Bar Association have exemplified over the past 45 (now 46!) years.

Our CLE programs were second to none. A crowded room of attorneys joined DBA Treasurer Jack Fishman and CPA William Zachery at Carpe Diem in October to learn “How to Start and Run a Business.” More than 100 DBA members and DeKalb County citizens attended the “A View from the Bench: Professionalism in the Courtroom” CLE and public forum in February to increase their understanding of and respect for the rule of law, the legal process and the role of the legal profession.

by Denise Warner

The American Bar Association’s theme for Law Day 2010 is Law in the 21st Century: Enduring Traditions, Emerging Challenges. Constitutional principles, such as freedom of speech and press, will be hard fought traditions in the face of the emerging challenges of technology.

The state of Ohio is considering using the social media site Twitter to provide almost instantaneous news of completed executions. In Kentucky, just before a defendant was sentenced for the reckless homicide of his girlfriend, a juror allegedly brushed up on the case by watching a YouTube video. Could you imagine using a website as evidence in a trial 20 years ago?