From the President of the Kba
| Citation | Vol. 89 No. 6 Pg. 07 |
| Pages | 07 |
| Publication year | 2020 |
July 2020
"It's an Adventure!"
by Charles E. Branson
KBA President, 2020-2021
When those words are uttered in my household, it holds a special meaning for my entire family. Typically, it is a signal we are embarking on a trip or outing where we have little idea what is going to happen—but we are going to do it anyway. Sometimes, this phrase also evokes that internal feeling of being in a roller-coaster car as you clatter towards the top of the track for the first big plunge.
As my term starts as President and I survey the landscape, those words come to mind. Both as an association and as individual legal professionals, we have watched our world change like it never has before. Due to the pandemic, we have had courts close and clients vanish. We have had to learn new technology. Where we used to rely on a face-to-face meeting and a handshake, we now rely on a video call and the inevitable cat that walks across on the participant's screen.
Your KBA has been rising to meet the new challenges we face. Our Past President Mira Mdivani was quick to take action in April, creating a series of informative, live-streamed roundtable discussions on the impact of COVID-19 on our law practices. These programs helped many Kansas attorneys navigate this new frontier. I could not be prouder of the KBA's response to our members during this time.
In the midst of the pandemic, the KBA and the Kansas Bar Foundation also interviewed and hired a new executive director. More than forty people applied, with interest coming from all over the country. As President-Elect, I had the privilege of leading an amazing search committee. These dedicated people experienced business in the age of COVID firsthand. After reviewing applicants and several Zoom interviews, we passed finalists on to the Board for consideration. The final interview process really showed the KBA's creativity. On the first day, each candidate hosted a Zoom social hour as Board members rotated between the candidates in small groups. On the second day, the candidates each went through a formal interview with the Board. On the final day, the candidates presented a formal action plan to the Board concerning how to study and account for the challenges of maintaining and increasing bar membership in the wake of COVID-19. With that process complete, the Board met and deliberated in a digital...
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