The Education Initiative - An Introduction to the 2008-09 Young Lawyers Section

The Young Lawyers Section seeks to accomplish many goals throughout the course of the year. In fact, our mission statement as outlined in our Bylaws is quite particular:

The Section's mission is to further the Association's goals and purposes, and thereby to serve the community and the legal profession; to represent Members in the Association, and to represent the Association to Members; to help shape policies and priorities that affect members of the legal culture in which they practice; to create a deliberate forum for the exchange and expression of Members' views, and a voice to advocate views; to promote diversity within the Association, the Bar and Connecticut law schools; to perform acts of charitable service to the Bar and the Community; to provide continuing legal education; and to facilitate the participation of Members in the American Bar Association.

In order to accomplish these objectives, appointments for positions as Directors, Substantive Committee Chairs, Local Unit Chairs and Liaisons on the Executive Committee of the Section have been made by the Section's Selection Committee. These enthusiastic individuals have volunteered their time and effort to see that our goals are met. I introduce to you the 2008-09 Young Lawyers Section - Executive Committee:

This is an incredibly diverse group with attorneys participating from firms throughout the state. There is also an eclectic mix of attorneys from the private and public sectors, ranging from solo practice to large firm. The Section has expanded this year with the initiation of the Middlesex Local Unit, Education Law Committee, Lesbian and Gay Rights Committee, and the Corporate Counsel Liaison position. In addition, the Land Use & Real Property Committee and the Environmental Law Committee have been separated based on interest for the subject matter.

The Executive Committee has already been hard at work organizing programs for their respective constituencies at the annual Retreat, which took place in Mystic, Connecticut in June of 2008. We were honored to hear from guest speaker, Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Peter Zarella. Justice Zarella focused on the importance of an independent judiciary and followed with a question and answer session for the attendees. We were also honored to have incoming Chair of the Connecticut Bar Association, Attorney Livia Barndollar, and Past Chair, Attorney Lou Pepe, speak to the group during our lunch session. In addition, Executive Committee members were responsible for donating significant supplies (filling dozens of boxes) for a troop drive in support of fellow member, Jeffrey LaPierre, a Public Defender in Bridgeport, currently serving in the military overseas.

Each year, it is customary for the Chair to focus on one theme and advance it through programming efforts. As far as this year is concerned, the Section is concentrating on the Education Initiative. In simple terms, we are looking to keep lawyers educated on several levels in order to heighten the level of quality in our profession. Our goal is three-fold: 1) educate lawyers by providing Continuing Legal Education seminars; 2) provide lawyers the opportunity to balance their work and life; 3) refresh lawyers with the importance of civility and conduct through professional ethics and responsibility training.

It is our goal for each of our substantive committees to organize and hold at least one Continuing Legal Education seminar. Keeping apprised of the substantive law of your area of practice seems like a simple task. However, with the rigors of practice always increasing, the importance of understanding the nuances of procedural and substantive law are paramount. The Young Lawyers Section has been a steady contributor to the Bar Association in this regard with the installation of the Basic Practice Series. This year, you should be able to look up the Section or Committee you are a part of, whether a young or experienced lawyer, and attend a seminar to advance your knowledge of a particular subject matter.

In addition, workshops will be held to advance the Equilibrium Project (the importance of balancing your job with daily life) and the third prong of the Education Initiative, Professional Ethics and Responsibility. Equilibrium has been a mainstay of the Young Lawyers for several years. Young lawyers throughout the state have benefited from the expertise of chefs, financial planners, fitness trainers and the like to balance the harshness of practice with certain necessaries to improve quality of life. Taking a deep breath is imperative for healthy living and we plan to instill these values to our Section through our balance and life programs. The Professional Ethics and Responsibility Section, a new creation, will allow us to remind our Section members of the importance of adhering to the principles of professionalism and the Model Rules. I noticed in a recent glance of the Connecticut Opinions section of the Connecticut Law Tribune that the Statewide Grievance Committee has not been shy about pursuing claims against attorneys of all practice areas. It is our goal to keep young lawyers informed and aware of potential pitfalls and how to avoid them.

I want to thank in advance the Officers, Directors, Liaisons and Substantive and Local Unit Chairs referenced above for their efforts to set out and accomplish the stated mission this year. While educating attorneys will be a major focus of the Section, we cannot forget the importance of public service, pro bono efforts, diversity awareness, and networking, all of which will make us not only better lawyers, but better people. The Section will keep you updated with respect to programming of all variety. Please feel free to contact me directly or the individuals listed above should you have comments or suggestions for future programming or wish to participate in a particular area of the Section this year.