Article by 2023-2024 CABA President
Posted June 2023Welcome to a new year of the Capital Area Bar Association! It is an honor to lead this organization, and I hope that all of you are ready to dive in for some great events, CLE presentations, pro bono clinics, and other programs. By the time you read this we will have had our first membership meeting of the year featuring incoming Mississippi Bar President Jenny Tyler Baker, and we will be hard at work planning for the rest of 2023–2024.
As we wrapped up last year at the annual Evening Honoring the Judiciary in May, I was struck by how many of those present had contributed to CABA over the course of the year: our award winners (congratulations again to John Rouse, recipient of the Outstanding Service Award, and Frank Coxwell, recipient of the Community Service Award); our outgoing President, Kaytie Pickett (thank you, Kaytie, for an amazing year!) and other leadership; so many committee chairs and volunteers who helped make events happen—and our members, who attended events, gave of their time and talents at pro bono clinics, played golf to raise money for MVLP, and more. Thank you all for being a part of this large and active group that works hard to serve our community and our bar.
As we look forward to the coming year, please renew your membership, send a link to the CABA website to a non-member friend to encourage him or her to join us, and please also let me know if there is a committee that interests you—there are all sorts of opportunities for you to connect. Your volunteer help isn’t just a benefit for CABA, either: if you’re a young lawyer, it can help you find a leadership position, develop a network, and meet other lawyers as well as judges. Even if you’ve been practicing for years (or decades), CABA membership can be a great referral network, a way to get out of the office and get some (free to members) CLE, and a platform for you to meet and mentor the next generation. And whatever your age or stage of practice, it’s a great thing for your mental health! Lawyer burnout is real, and being plugged in to a network of others who work to strengthen our professional community can help.
All this to say: I hope to hear from you soon about how you’d like to get involved in CABA and about what you’d like to see our organization offer this year. Please be in touch.
