President’s Page, 072021 ALBJ, Vol. 82 No. 4 Pg. 232 (July, 2021)
| Author | Robert G. Methvin, Jr. |
| Position | Vol. 82 4 Pg. 232 |
Robert G. Methvin, Jr.
A Year of challenges brought opportunities for success
Those who know me well know that i often speak of life lessons taught by my parents, who unfortunately are no longer with us. my dad, affectionately known in eufaula as “big bob,” loved various sayings and quotes, which we compiled in a short book. my friends call them “big bobisms.” one of his favorites and mine is “your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude.” my mom also taught my siblings and me that we could accomplish anything if we worked hard and never quit. armed with my parents’ guiding wisdom and the help of our amazing bar leadership, we were able to successfully navigate and overcome the challenges presented this year.
I started my presidency with three main initiatives: unity, diversity, and inclusion; helping the legal profession adapt to a new norm; and lawyer public relations with an emphasis on pro bono service. i express my appreciation to all of the people who helped lead these initiatives; without them, we would not have accomplished so much.
Three dedicated task forces, the Presidential council on Unity and diversity led by cassandra adams, hilaire armstrong, and ricardo Woods; the COVID-19 Task Force led by Tom Perry, Jeanne rizzardi, and clay martin; and the COVID-19 bench and bar Task Force led by christy crow, melody eagan, and circuit Judge Jim hughey, guided us through these turbulent times.
As discussed in my last article, the bar honored one of the greatest civil rights leaders of our history, Fred gray, and will soon break ground on the Fred gray courtyard adjacent to the state bar building. We sponsored the free “Unity matters” CLE series which addressed diversity and unity issues.
I am also very proud of the COVID-19 bench & bar Task Force’s work in preparing a Zoom virtual hearing handbook and creating a plan to safely re-start jury trials.1 The outstanding staff at the alabama state bar continues to update a very useful COVID-19 resource page on the bar’s website.2
As part of our adaption to working remotely, we started a virtual CLE program allowing attorneys to obtain all of their required hours for free. because of its popularity (over 3,000 lawyers completed more than 20,000 hours with the program last year), this valuable member benefit is also available this year. other...
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