From the Yld President

• Publication year: 2023
• Pages: 0010
• Citation: Vol. 28 No. 4 Pg. 0010

From the YLD President Vol. 28 No. 4 Pg. 10 Georgia Bar Journal February, 2023

RONALD EDWARD "RON" DANIELS

YLD President

State Bar of Georgia ron@danielstaylorlaw.com

Diamonds are the YLD's Best Friend

Dear reader, I hope you will excuse this article deviating from what I typically write.^[1] As the 76th YLD president, I am proud to be serving during our 75th (aka diamond) anniversary.

Working for the Profession and the Public

Our organization's history begins on May 31, 1947, when the Younger Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Georgia was created at the Annual Meeting.^[2] Since then, the YLD has lived up to its motto of working for the profession and the public. The YLD was instrumental in the founding of Georgia Legal Services Program in 1971, and our members have continued to support pro bono and legal aid efforts with both our time and money. We have completed countless community service projects—from painting playground equipment, to sorting food at food banks, to packing personal hygiene kits for unhoused people and more.

The YLD is also the source of the Georgia High School Mock Trial Program. Founded in 1987, it has grown into a nationally recognized educational program. Georgia hosted the National High School Mock Trial Competition most recently in Athens in May 2019, marking the third time that the national competition was held in our state.

Another project credited to the YLD is the rewrite of Georgia's Juvenile Justice Code. In 2004, the YLD secured funding to create a model juvenile code, and the YLD's Juvenile Law Committee spearheaded an entire overhaul of the previous code. The governor's Criminal Justice Reform Council focused on reforms to Georgia's juvenile law and legislation was passed unanimously by the Georgia General Assembly during the 2013 legislative session to rewrite and recognize Georgia's juvenile law.

YLD Signature Fundraiser

The YLD has organized a Signature Fundraiser benefiting charitable organizations since 2007. The YLD and its supporters have raised more than $800,000 for those organizations while also having a good time and building better friendships among our members.

Georgia Legal Food Frenzy

One in eight children in Georgia are at risk for hunger, and food banks are working around the clock to meet an overall 30% increase in need. Working with Georgia's Attorney General and Feeding Georgia (formerly known as the Georgia Food Bank Association), the Legal Food Frenzy competition has raised the equivalent of 20 million meals since 2012. The Legal Food Frenzy helps keep Georgia's seven regional food banks stocked so they can...