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     The complex issues facing the General Assembly and the decreasing number of lawyers in that body combine to call for the Arkansas Bar Association and its members to bear an increasingly important role in the state legislative process. In the recently completed 2005 regular session, there were only two lawyers in the Senate, and only one of them was a member of the sevenmember Senate Judiciary Committee. The House of Representatives had 22 lawyers among its members, with 11 seated in the 20-member House Judiciary Committee. However, the combination of term limits and members pursuing other offices will deplete those numbers. The following Arkansas Bar Association members were members of the 85th General Assembly:

     We hope that all of our members will take a moment to thank these fellow lawyers for their service to the State. Serving in the General Assembly is a substantial commitment that requires a great deal of time. When one considers the length of the 84th General Assembly (the 2003 regular session and two special sessions) and the 2005 legislative session, since January 2003 the General Assembly was in session for a total of 408 days—over one year! Moreover, the ever-increasing volume of bills make the job even harder. In the 2005 regular session, for the first time in its history the members of the General Assembly introduced over 3,000 measures. Finally, when the General Assembly is not in session, the legislature's interim committees continue to meet throughout the year. In short, being a member of the legislature is becoming a full-time job.
     Because the actions of the legislature necessarily affect both the law and the practice of law, the Arkansas Bar Association has responded by making increasing commitments of its own. The Arkansas Bar Association now has a full-time lobbyist position that has been ably and admirably filled by Jack McNulty of Pine Bluff, a past president of our Association. With Jack's efforts, we have forged strong relationships with members of the General Assembly, both lawyers and non-lawyers, and we have succeeded in passing, with unanimous votes in every instance, every measure included in the Arkansas Bar Association's legislation package since Jack became our lobbyist for the 2003 session.
     In addition to Jack's work, the Arkansas Bar Association's Legislation Committee spent countless hours reviewing bills and meeting to discuss them. There are nine members of that committee, including the president and president-elect, the committee chairman, the chairman of the Jurisprudence and Law Reform Committee, two at-large members, and one member from each of the Association's three districts. The members during the 2005 session were Fred Ursery (President 2004-05), A. Glenn Vasser (President 2005-06), Charles Schlumberger (chairman), L. Scott Stafford (J&LR chairman), Robert L. "Skip" Henry, Justin Allen, Roy Beth Kelley, Dennis Zolper and David Fuqua. The committee members read every nonappropriations bill that was filed and also monitored those measures that were of interest to the Association. The committee met every Friday while the legislature was in session. Conservatively, during the session the members of that committee devoted from five to seven hours each week attending to committee matters.
     Other Arkansas Bar Association members also devoted a substantial amount of time to the legislative effort. Jack Lassiter served on the Criminal Code Revision Committee, which was formed pursuant to a measure passed during the 2003 legislative session. That Committee's work culminated in a bill of over 400 pages that provide much-needed updates to the state's criminal code. Additionally, Tom Womack, Bill Haught and Leon Helms spent countless hours reviewing and revising the new Arkansas Trust Code, as well as negotiating changes and providing testimony at committee hearings. Finally, Association members too numerous to mention provided advice and guidance on other bills that were introduced during the session.
     Every member of the Arkansas Bar Association can make a valuable contribution to the legislative process, in any number of different ways. We will list them here.
     Run! First and foremost, Association members are encouraged to become candidates for their legislative seats. As the legislative process becomes more complex, lawyer-legislators are called upon more and more to provide advice and guidance to their fellow members in order to ensure responsive, well-drafted legislation.
     Contribute! The Arkansas Bar Association now has a political action committee chaired by Jim Julian and Tony Hilliard. Any member of the Association may become a member of the PAC with a minimum contribution of only $20. The money raised by the PAC is distributed solely to Association members who are candidates for the General Assembly. Contributions to those candidates are not based upon political affiliation.
     Join LAN! The Legislative Advocacy Network ("LAN") is an extremely useful Internet tool that we use on issues of vital importance to the Arkansas Bar Association. You may join LAN simply by accessing the Arkansas Bar Association's Web site www.arkbar.com, accessing "Legislative Matters" on the home page menu, and proceeding to the Legislative Action Network icon. By becoming a member of LAN, you will receive alerts that will also enable you to communicate by e-mail directly with your legislators. It is a very easy and tremendously effective way to let the members of the General Assembly know the Association's views on matters of concern. (NOTE: We realize that sometimes too much e-mail can be a bad thing. Accordingly, the Arkansas Bar Association is very sparing in its use of the LAN to canvass members of the legislature, employing it only on issues that are of greatest importance to the membership as a whole.)
     Propose legislation! You can also help the Jurisprudence & Law Reform Committee by offering suggested legislation to include in the Arkansas Bar Association's package. The Uniform Laws Section has been quite active in proposing new and revised uniform laws, and that section's contributions are always welcome. We encourage all of the sections to propose legislation on matters of interest to them.
     Review bills! Even though the Legislation Committee does a fine job of reviewing bills, additional review by our members is always welcome. The General Assembly's Web site, www.arkleg.state.ar.us, is a very good Web site and is quite user-friendly. At any time during the legislative session you may access that site and review bills and their status. If you see something of interest, we encourage you to contact a member of the Legislation Committee.
     With your help, the Arkansas Bar Association can be a useful and constructive resource in the legislative process. We hope that you will consider lending your assistance in some way. Thank you.•