From the Kba President

• Jurisdiction: Kansas,United States
• Citation: Vol. 92 No. 5 Pg. 05
• Publication year: 2023
• Pages: 05
• topic: Charity and Non-Profit Law,Civil Rights,Family Law,Labor Law

From the KBA President No. 92 J. Kan. Bar Assn 5, 5 (2023) Kansas Bar Journal October, 2023

September, 2023

Lawyers Leading Positive Change

By Laura Ice, KBA President 2023-2024

As I was growing up, I observed my parents and grandparents actively and constantly participating in civic and professional activities. Often, my siblings and I were the kids sitting in the back of the room reading books while my parents attended meetings. I clearly remember my parents' advice: "You should give back to the community that gives you a job, and you should give back to the profession that gives you a career." I think that advice is the driving force behind this year's theme for the KBA: Lawyers Leading Positive Change. In these columns, I intend to spotlight the many positive changes that lawyers in this state lead.

When I was serving on the Kansas Board of Law Examiners, lawyers from Koch Industries in Wichita appeared in front of the board seeking a change to the Kansas Supreme Court Rules to allow a mechanism for single-employer lawyers admitted under Rule 721 to provide pro bono services. Likewise, many lawyers who were retired or inactive under Rule 206 still wanted the opportunity to keep giving back. The board supported those ideas, and in October 2019 the Court introduced Rule 1404, which allows lawyers to volunteer their time to provide pro bono assistance under the guidance of authorized...