From the Executive Director

• Publication year: 2021
• Pages: 0014
• Citation: Vol. 27 No. 3 Pg. 0014

From the Executive Director No. Vol. 27, No. 3 Pg. 14 Georgia Bar Journal December, 2021

Prepare and Give Thanks

I cheated. For weeks, I wrote and rewrote this article. In the beginning, I thought about a general update of our work. It was a modified version of our report to the Board of Governors as part of the Fall Meeting in October.

That report was a reminder of how we do things better in Georgia. Key highlights included recent changes in the area of continuing legal education that are designed to make things better for our members. We are grateful to our CLE department and members of the Commission on Continuing Legal Education for their work and vote to lift the cap on distance and in-house learning going forward. I shared special thanks to my fellow YLD Past President Joe Dent in Albany, and CLE Director Dee Dee Worley for recognizing how and why this is important.

I mentioned how we had some new faces on the Bar staff since our last report. We asked the Board members then, and we ask you now, that when you see them—LaCara Reddick (South Georgia Office), Nkoyo Effiong (Law Practice Management), Rebecca Stills (Executive Office), Jada Pettus (Communications), Erica Dean (Coastal Georgia Office) and Justin Lasseter (CAP)—tell them hello! At the same time, we lost an important piece of the work we do due to the untimely passing of Betty Sims, executive director of our General Practice & Trial Law Section. Please keep her family in your thoughts. By the time you read this, we will have also said goodbye to Michelle Garner, our director of meetings. While Michelle has left the State Bar to tackle another role, she will still work to support Georgia lawyers. We recognize and appreciate her 20 years of service with the Bar.

But that did not feel adequate enough. At the end of the day, while I have added something here that is sincere and genuine, the truth is that it is an updated version of an article I penned in my role as president of the YLD in December 2005. It was good then. It is good now.

In that article, I looked back on the previous 12 months. I gave thanks as we are naturally inclined to do this time of year. I shared my thoughts on planning and preparation for the road ahead. There are, however, some major differences.

My role supporting Georgia lawyers and the work I am charged with—to focus our mission on the quality of legal services—has changed. My experiences and views have changed. The good news is that I...