Columbus Bar Association President’s Report | September

Join Robert D. Erney, president of The Columbus Bar Association for his September president’s report.

Hello everyone, and welcome to our September podcast. Being president of the Columbus Bar Association is one of the greatest honors of my entire life, and I thank you once again for giving me the chance to serve.

Speaking on behalf of our 5,000 members is truly a big responsibility and one that I take very seriously. I could not serve successfully without the help and support of our executive director, Jill, and her staff. I would like to thank them for all of their help and support.

We are hoping to reopen to the public in January of 2021. Until then, we continue to operate virtually at a very high level. Our committees and our CLE are really outstanding at this point with great attendance and participation, and we’re really happy about that.

On October 1, we’re gonna have our next community conversation, and it is going to be on voting and the democratic process, and the elections. It’s a two-part series, and the first part is on election protections, ballots, barriers, and the backbone of democracy.

It will be at noon and it will be by Zoom, and we’re hoping you can set that time aside and join us for what promises to be another great presentation. On November the 7th, we will have our CBA 5K Virtual Walk/Run to raise funds for our Columbus Bar Foundation and all the charitable work that they do.

Everyone will receive a long sleeve t-shirt, a medal, and a swag bag. Please register by September 30th. We hope you can join us to continue to support our foundation. Our Barrister Leadership Program is accepting applications for the 2021 class. It is open to all lawyers practicing less than 10 years and is a great way to learn leadership skills.

We know the practice of law is not easy, and it’s particularly challenging during the pandemic. What will the practice of law in Columbus look like when the pandemic is over? My guess is, it’s going to be better. If there is anything that the Columbus Bar Association can do for you as a member to assist you at this time, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

We, lawyers, are community pillars, and it is critical that we always do our best to set a good example for others at home, at work, and in the community. Many lawyers I speak with tell me how important it was that they had a mentor when they first began the practice of law, someone to talk to, someone to look up to, someone to rely upon when they need help.

We have that opportunity ourselves today, and I urge you to mentor a younger lawyer or even a law student and be there for them, to share with them what you’ve learned in order to make them a successful practitioner. Thank you so much for listening today.

I’m Rob Erney, number 130. We’ll see you in October. Have a great day.

Consider watching the video podcast for this President’s Report on The Columbus Bar Associations Website.