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The Young Lawyers Section
is enjoying the momentum and enthusiasm generated
from its meeting at the annual meeting in Hot Springs
in June. We had over fifty-five young lawyers attend
the meeting. It was standing room only. I cannot recall
ever running out of chairs at previous meetings. Associate
Executive Director Judith Gray, who would certainly
know such things, said it was the best attended meeting
the YLS has ever had. Judith made the comment while
accepting an award for all of her assistance to the
YLS, which she richly deserves. Several Bar leaders
were also present and were visibly excited, if not
overwhelmed, by the attendance at the meeting.
This spring's Mock Trial
program was a resounding success in large part because
of the efforts of Brian Vandiver and Michelle Cauley,
who served as co-chairs of the Mock Trial Committee.
The program, designed to promote a greater understanding
of and appreciation for the legal system among high
school students, is a fixture at numerous schools
around the state. Rogers High School and Forrest City
High School in particular have had excellent teams
in the past few years, with Rogers winning the state
competition this year. Michelle and Brian received
Golden Gavel Awards for their efforts. Cliff McKinney,
Gwen Rucker, and others did an excellent job organizing
the YLS's Law Day activities this year. This year's
program was entitled "We The Jury" and involved
students serving on mock juries and deliberating and
deciding a mock case. Cliff and Gwen received awards
at our meeting for all of their hard work. Finally,
the Parent Wars program, through which we distribute
a booklet and video designed to help parties in divorces
understand the impact of their actions on their children,
has been a great success. You may know this project
received the highest award for a public service project
at the American Bar Association's annual meeting last
August. Michelle has also done a great job with that
program, and David Sterling spent considerable time
promoting it at the national level.
In addition to the awards
mentioned above, David Sterling received the Frank
C. Elcan Award for securing and organizing the 2005
Spring Regional Conference of the American Bar Association's
Young Lawyers Division, which we hosted in Little
Rock. Young lawyers from surrounding states came away
impressed with Little Rock and our YLS. Finally, Mark
Hodge received the Presidential Award of Excellence
at the annual meeting in recognition of all of his
efforts as past YLS Chair and his service over the
past several years. A plaque the YLS gave him for
his efforts seems very insufficient given the fact
that no one has done nearly as much for the YLS as
Mark. He has provided an outstanding foundation for
YLS efforts in years to come, and he will be a very
tough act to follow.
We have excellent programs
in place. Thus, the only new activity we are going
to undertake this year is a revision of the senior
citizens and caregivers handbooks, published in 1999.
You may view the current versions on the Bar's website
at http://www.arkbar.com/publications/publication_public.html.
These handbooks are excellent resources for the elderly
and lawyers alike. I have heard young lawyers say
they could not keep copies in their offices because
their estate planning clients found them so helpful.
Jay Scurlock of Barrett & Deacon in Jonesboro
has agreed to chair the revision committee. We have
already had numerous YLS members agree to assist with
the revision effort. Look for the new versions of
these handbooks late in this Bar year.
With the excellent programs
we have in place, my primary goal for my year as Chair
is simply to get the YLS more publicity for its efforts.
We have made strides in that regard. Mark's Lawyers
for Literacy program in local elementary schools was
so appreciated that the marquee at Brady Elementary
on Markham Street in Little Rock read "Thank
you Young Lawyers! ABA" for about six months
last year. Amy Freedman of Texarkana has done a fantastic
job of getting local press coverage for Young Lawyers'
efforts in that area, and her work has gotten her
recognition in the community and, as a nice by-product,
new clients. Another young lawyer is the subject of
a recent article in a bi-weekly newspaper, so approximately
40,000 people will see information about YLS projects.
While modesty prevents my naming this lawyer, suffice
it to say I know him well.
The YLS Executive Council
members for this Bar year are: Chair Patrick Wilson
(pwilson@wlj.com);
Chair-Elect Michelle Cauley (mcauley@mwsgw.com);
Secretary-Treasurer Derrick Smith (dsmith@mwsgw.com);
Central District Representatives JaNan Davis (jarnolddavis@duncanrainwater.com),
Amy Dunn (amy.dunn@kutakrock.com),
and Wayne Young (wyoung@fec.net);
South and East District Representatives Stephanie
Potter Black (steppotter@msn.com),
Eddy Doman (edoman@arklaw.com),
and Amy Freedman (amyfreedman@cableone.net);
and Northwest District Representatives Ray Schlegel
(rschlegel@justicetoday.com),
T.R. Brixey (tbrixey@Alltel.net),
and Bill Horton (bhorton@justicetoday.com).
Contact any of them, or me, if you are a young lawyer
and interested in getting involved in YLS activities
or if you know of young lawyers who should be interested
(read: your associates). I am very excited about a
great year for the YLS.•
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