Executive Director's Report, 0920 ALBJ, Vol. 81 No. 5 Pg. 332 (September, 2020)
| Author | Philip W. McCallum |
| Position | Vol. 81 5 Pg. 332 |
Philip W. McCallum
At a Crossroad
We all measure our years in different ways, whether it's by tax year, fiscal year, or calendar year.
For us, the "bar year" is determined by the terms of our elected leaders, and that term normally runs from July to June.
As you know, Christy Crow ended her presidency amidst a global pandemic. Her final months in office can only be described as "unprecedented." President Bob Methvin's beginning was much the same.
In his inaugural address as president, Bob highlighted the fact that he was being sworn in during the bar's first-ever virtual Grand Convocation. (You can watch the full recording of the Grand Convocation on the bar's YouTube Channel, by the way!)
In addition to Bob's swearing in, we also heard Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker give the State of the Judiciary address, and we celebrated the 200* anniversary of the Alabama Supreme Court.
It wasn't just the Grand Convocation; our entire 143rd Annual Meeting was virtual. I'm so proud of our staff, who, without any past experiences or plans to follow, hosted a top-notch annual meeting through Zoom. Thanks to that technology, we were able to invite speakers from all over the country to present
CLE programming that prompted some very important conversations.
Those speakers and their respective topics included: • Tifffany Cross: Black Voters, White Voices, and Saving Our Democracy
• Jan Hargrave: Body Language and Nonverbal Communication Skills that Build Trust Via Teleconference
• Lilly Led better: Equal Pay Activism and the Role of Lawyers
• Shon Hopwood: From Convicted Felon to Georgetown Law Professor
• Robert Bilott:The Story Behind the Environmental Legal Battle Exposing Corporate Cover-Up
• Lauren Sisler:The Importance of Mental Health and Wellness
• Dr. Bryan Fair:The Intersection of Free Speech and Protests
We also got to hear from some familiar names here in Alabama-Alabama head football Coach Nick Saban and Auburn University men's head basketball Coach Bruce Pearl. I give special kudos to our communications department and programs department who worked hard to make the vision of a virtual meeting a reality, and we have received great responses from our members. Melissa Warnke, Megan Hughes, Ashley Penhale, Robyn Bernier, and Merinda Hall, our...
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