2015-16 Annual Report, 0916 COBJ, Vol. 45, No. 9 Pg. 23
FROM THE 2015-16 PRESIDENT
CBA Annual Report
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as president this last year and for giving me the opportunity to work on and help shape several important projects that will improve the bar and the profession for years to come.
No one can prepare you for all that comes with being president. Because of that, there is too much to mention and there are too many people to thank in the space of this article. Still, there are two important projects from this past year that I would like to highlight: the Presidents 'Diversity Council and the strategic plan.
Presidents' Diversity Council
Diversity and inclusion are two significant issues that the CBA (like most organizations) is working to address. The Presidents' Diversity Council was formed to tackle this challenge within the CBA. The council comprises CBA leadership and staff, as well as the presidents from the specialty/minority bar associations. The council focused on ways in which the CBA can help support these bar associations and, more important, on how specialty/minority bar associations can help the CBA achieve its goal of meaningful diversity. There are hundreds of talented attorneys who have perspectives and experiences that, if shared, will enrich us and improve the bar and profession as a whole. For a variety of reasons, however, that sharing has not reached an appropriate level. The council strives to make sure that all attorneys, regardless of race, orientation, gender, and so on, feel welcome and included within our organization.
I believe that we have begun to lay the groundwork for meaningful diversity and inclusion within the bar association and the profession. I ask that all members continue this work to ensure that the CBA remains an organization that respects and includes all attorneys in our communities.
Strategic Plan
The strategic planning process was initiated during Charley Garcia's presidency. It took full direction when Patrick Flaherty became executive director of the CBA and DBA. The process involved speaking with key stakeholders, including the CBA Board of Governors, the CBA Executive Council, and all local bar associations, to determine the future course of the bar. We also took the time to complete a membership-wide survey seeking input on the strategic plan. The strategic plan, titled "REFOCUS 20/20," was approved by the Board of Governors at the May meeting. The plan provides an outline for the aims of the bar with a particular emphasis on:
"R" Goal: Recruit and Retain Members
"E" Goal: Engage Under-Represented Populations
"F" Goal: Facilitate Access to Justice
"O" Goal: Optimize Sections
"C" Goal: Continue Core Programming
"U" Goal: Utilize New and Young Attorneys
"S" Goal: Strengthen Governance and Operations
I am very excited about what the future holds for the CBA. Our strategic plan will help the CBA continue to be successful for years to come.
Continuing a Strong Mission
The CBA's refocused mission is to advance members' practices, support the justice system, and enrich our communities. The following highlights summarize CBA accomplishments during the 2015-16 fiscal year—a year that culminated in the adoption of the bar association's strategic plan.
Advancing Members' Practices
The CBA Law Practice Management (LPM) Department's forms bank, Forms2Share, continued to grow with the addition of new documents (www.cobar.org/forms2share). Forms2Share is an evolving collection of law practice management forms for members. The department continued to publish its monthly e-newsletter (www.cobar.org/lpm), distribute an LPM computer tip in the biweekly C-Brief e-newsletter, and add titles to its free lending library (www.cobar.org/lendinglibrary). LPM Tech Tuesdays webinars, created to help members learn new technology to practice more efficiently and better serve their clients, covered relevant technology-related topics (www.cobar.org/techtuesdays). Case-maker continued to add functionality and additional materials, enhancing the value of CBA membership. As in the past, the department presented Casemaker training (live and by webinar) at no cost to CBA members.
The CBA Sections and Committees Department had another busy year. The...
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