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In
my last article, I had the opportunity to share with
you my vision for the young lawyer's section which
was to continue improving our existing programs and
increase participation by our members. I am happy
to report that we are on track in meeting this vision.
One of our cornerstone
projects, Lawyers for Literacy, continues to draw
praise from teachers, students and parents. Stephanie
Potter is now heading up this project and will no
doubt continue to improve and expand this program.
Another new and exciting
project young lawyers are participating in is the
Parent Wars video project. This video illustrates
the devastating effect that divorce can have on children
if parents are unable to set aside their differences
and control their anger. The video was put together
by Marcia Barnes and includes dramatic scenes of what
many children must endure as divorced parents are
openly hostile and confrontational. In addition, it
features several Arkansas judges, attorneys and experts
addressing the issue of conflict resolution in the
post divorce setting. The Executive Council had the
opportunity to view scenes from the video at our fall
retreat. Michelle Cauley will be heading up this project
whose goal is to provide the video to as many judges
and divorce attorneys as possible in the hopes that
parents will be able to view it and avoid the many
problems associated with this issue. Ideally, some
judges may choose to require all divorcing parents
in their court to view the video prior to child custody
decisions.
Another exciting component
of the Parent Wars project is that AETN has agreed
to air the video and then host a panel of professionals
afterward for a call-in program to discuss the video
and related issues. We hope to have this occur within
the next three months so keep watching. On a personal
note, I am eager to begin using this video in my own
practice as I think it will be beneficial to many
of my divorce clients and their children.
Several other projects
of note bear mentioning. The Junior Judges program
is in full swing thanks to Past Chair Cindy Thyer.
JaNan Davis has agreed to head up this project for
the year. In addition, Law Day will be upon us soon.
Executive Council members Shannon Smith and Michelle
Cauley will be in charge of this project for 2004.
Another popular project that is enjoyed by our section
members is the YLS Newsletter, "In Brief."
Michelle Cauley has passed the reins of this project
to David Whittaker. I want to especially thank Michelle
for all her hard work on this Newsletter as this is
a time consuming project. Anyone who has news about
yourself or another young lawyer, please contact David
with the information so that it can make it into the
Newsletter. He will be relying on you to contact him
as this is how he gets the information to put in the
Newsletter.
I also want to take
the time to congratulate Patrick Wilson for another
outstanding Bridging the Gap Seminar this year. As
most of you know, this is one of the cornerstone projects
of our section. I chaired this program for two years
and it takes an incredible amount of time and work
to put together. Please take the time to let Patrick
know how much you appreciate his hard work this year.
I had the opportunity to be a presenter at this year's
seminar and things couldn't have been smoother.
One of the areas in
which I believe our section has always needed improvement
is in our relationship with the American Bar Association
and its Young Lawyers Division (YLD). Not only does
the ABA YLD have tremendous opportunities for worthwhile
projects, it also can be a wonderful source of revenue
and recognition for many of our current projects.
I would like to recognize Executive Council member
and former ABA district representative David Sterling
for his hard work and contributions to our section
over the past several years. David has worked countless
hours on behalf of our section in building relationships
with key people in the YLD, as well as seeking out
sources of funding for our sections projects. He has
assisted us in tapping into a wealth of resources
with the American Bar Association that might otherwise
have been overlooked.
Finally I want to express
my gratitude to our section members. I appreciate
all the emails and phone calls I have received from
young lawyers wanting to get involved in our projects.
Keep spreading the word that our section is moving
forward with a variety of exciting projects with something
to fit everyone's interest.
I remain excited about
the direction our section is headed, and I invite
all young lawyers to be a part.•
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