President’s Column:
Thoughts, Goals and Plans of Action

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.

Since 2007, I have assisted with the State Bar of Georgia’s Transition into Law Practice Program and participated with Law Day, Mock Trial or Moot Court competitions each year. Last year under the leadership of Denise Warner, I initiated an Education and Leadership Day where members of the community of all ages were encouraged to continue learning and be leaders in their community. Various professionals and government agencies were on hand to answer questions and assist with career development. For the past two years I have participated in the Atlanta Bar Association’s high school internship program that is responsible for changing the lives of many kids in our community; a few of our members are even graduates of this program.

As I became more invested with the bar and received so much support from attorneys, judges and others along the way, it was a good fit for me to run for president. I have to thank you for your encouragement as it underscored my conviction that one should never doubt oneself or one’s abilities as one learns and grows. The bar association is an organization that offers many opportunities for members. In our times of stress, it provides social outlets. In times of need, it provides support to the community and members. In times of legal transitions, it provides guidance and instruction. In political times it provides a vehicle for community discussion and debate. As I said on June 24 when I was sworn in before the membership, I am truly honored to serve as your president. I look forward to serving all the interests of the bar, its members and our community.

In my first letter to you, allow me to share my thoughts, goals and plans of action. I believe in encouraging and developing leaders in our profession. Reaching out to law students can only benefit our profession by encouraging them to be future leaders while developing the skills necessary to be successful. One of our first decisions as a board at our July meeting was to create a student level of membership. In today’s economy with graduation employment rates at an all time low, we saw an opportunity to increase membership as well as assistance to the bar. The new student membership rate is $45 annually plus 10 hours of service to the bar. We created a YLD student board with members from Emory, GSU, and John Marshall. The DeKalb Bar members will now have an intern referral service available at the click of an email. You can email  dekalbbarintern@gmail.com and our student members will assign you an intern for the school year, the summer or simply a few hours of research.

We are also offering a mentor program to students, and we need your assistance. Please see the student member article for more information on our intern and mentor program. In November the YLD will host a social to honor the mentors and introduce the students to our membership.

Another of my goals for the year is to expand our community outreach. We will host our second annual Education and Leadership Day on Nov. 13 and we hope to expand our Law Day program this year with our new student members. I’m extremely excited to announce that we will host a series of educational events on issues currently facing DeKalb citizens. Community series events scheduled for the fall include Gangs, Elder Abuse, Wills & Trusts Basics, Mortgage Rescue Fraud, Landlord/Tenant concerns, and a Family Law Q & A. Please let me know if you have any other suggestions for topics or speakers.

On Sept. 21 the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA) and the DeKalb Bar Association will co-host a candidate forum for the judicial races in DeKalb, Fulton and Cobb counties. For our September luncheon all four members of the Georgia Gang from Fox will be here to discuss the current issues facing DeKalb and metro Atlanta. Only a few days before the election, our candidates for Attorney General, Ken Hodges and Sam Olens, will join us at our October luncheon. Last year we had to sacrifice two luncheons due to financial constraints. We are able to bring back a luncheon this year thanks to Westlaw, who is sponsoring a one-hour CLE on their brand new platform in November.

We have a new website this year where members can join and pay through a secure service. No more paper forms to send in each year. Due to the capabilities of the new website, the board is considering various forms of a lawyer referral service. Please let me know if you have any comments or concerns, or would like to assist this committee with brainstorming.

We will continue to hold social events throughout the year in Decatur as well as North and South DeKalb. We will host a holiday party, the Bench and Bar reception, Law Day, and several CLEs. We will continue to help families in need during the holidays and times of tragedy, and we will continue to develop relations with the Multi-Bar Leadership Council (MBLC) and other bar associations. We plan to host a large event inviting members of other bar associations in May.

Please help the DeKalb Bar do more for others this year by becoming a mentor, hosting a community series topic, assisting with an event, or in any other way you can.

None of us has gotten where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We got here because somebody bent down and helped us.

— Thurgood Marshall