President's Page, 0716 ALBJ, 77 The Alabama Lawyer 240 (2016)
| Author | Lee H. Copeland, J. |
Lee H. Copeland, J.
Interview with Myself
As most (well, not most–many–ok, a few) of you know, this is my last article for The Alabama Lawyer. I decided that I wanted someone to interview me in a question-and-answer format. Since I could think of no one more qualified than me to interview me, I did so.
Q: Why have you, this past year, made everyone call you Mr. President?
A: Well... they call President Obama Mr. President, so why can’t they call me that?
Q: I understand you made your wife and children call you Mr. President. Is that right?
A: Only during the weekdays
Q: Do you think anyone realizes (or cares) that your year is complete, up, over and done as president of the Alabama State Bar?
A: Well, from what I know, people do realize it and are very upset.
Q: Okay, I will play along. Why would they be “very upset?”
A: Let me refine my answer. Cole Portis is the president following me. I know he has a very tough job to do. It is sort of like following Bear Bryant but I am sure that Cole will do an adequate job–and I plan on making my services available to him daily.
Q: I’m sure he will be thrilled with that.
A: I think so.
Q: Let’s move on to something other than you.
A: Why?
Q: What do you think of the staff of the Alabama State Bar?
A: We are fortunate to have the best staff in the country for our state bar. As I go to the national conventions and hear other presidents talk, I am amazed at how much our bar does with our budget and the limited number of employees that we have. We are a unified bar. In other words, we perform both regulatory functions and association functions. Most of the employees of the bar have been there for years, and that speaks of their loyalty to the organization.
Q: With Keith Norman’s pending retirement, will things change at the bar?
A: Keith has been with the bar for more than 30 years (as executive director since 1994) and has done a wonderful job. We continue to increase the benefits to our growing membership, as well as the level of service. There is a task force working on a successor to Keith. I am confident that we will have someone in place by the time he leaves, in mid-2017.
Q: Other than raising professional fees, which I understand was extremely popular, what else has taken place this past year at the bar?
A: Not much
Q...
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