Article by 2022-2023 CABA President
Posted October 2022I’m delighted with how our 2022–2023 CABA year has begun. As I have said many times, and has been said many times by my predecessors, CABA accomplishes its work through the selfless service of its committees. I am grateful to all who have agreed to chair a committee this year: Bench & Bar: Judge David McCarty & Amorya Orr; Community Outreach: Judge Carlyn Hicks & Seth Shannon; Diversity: Alicia Netterville & Michael Williams; Evening Honoring the Judiciary: Mary Purvis & Leah Ledford; Golf: Adam Stone & Adam Porter; Law Related Education: John Rouse & Lindsey Roberts; Small Firm: Laurel Li Harris, Jason Kirschberg & Michael Cory; Social: Madison Keyes & Bud Sheppard; Strategic Plan: Will Manuel & Judge Tiffany Grove; Women’s Initiative: Meta Copeland & Claire Barker; Library: Ben Piazza; Newsletter: Kate Margolis. If you are interested in serving on any of these committees, please feel free to contact me, your committee chair, or Jane Harkins, CABA’s executive director.
Our August meeting featured our municipal bench, and we were honored to be joined by Senior Judge Henry Clay, III; Judge June Hardwick; Judge Taurean Buchanan; Judge Lilli Evans Bass; Judge Kevin Bass, and Nick Coleman from the Metro Public Defender’s Office. Former Jackson City Prosecutor Keith Gates did an exceptional job of moderating this distinguished panel. Our panelists shared with us the good and hard work that the municipal courts perform, the challenges they face, and how they overcome those challenges. I know that many of our members (myself included) are civil litigators who’ve never set foot in municipal court, so the meeting was an illuminating look into a critical part of our criminal justice system.
I’m excited about our upcoming October 18, 2022 membership meeting. This meeting will feature a panel of General Counsels, including Dodds Dehmer of Yates Construction; Mary Clay Morgan of Horne; and Edward Watson of Jackson State University. The panel will be moderated by my law partner, Adam Stone. I have always been curious about what life is like “in-house,” and I’m interested in learning how our panelists’ perspective on the practice of law changed once they became the clients. I hope you’ll join us.