Asb Leadership Forum

• Publication year: 2010
• Pages: 0052
• Citation: Vol. 71 No. 1 Pg. 0052

ASB LEADERSHIP FORUM
Vol. 71 No. 1 Pg. 52
The Alabama Lawyer
JANUARY, 2010

By Edward M. Patterson

On October 30^th , the Board of Bar Commissioners approved 30 attorneys for participation in Class 6 of the 2010 Leadership Forum. The Board of Bar Commissioners also selected Matthew Lee Huffaker as an honorary posthumous member of Class 6. At the time of his death August 16^th , Lee was a partner at Maynard, Cooper & Gale PC in Birmingham.

The application process opened in July and closed on October 2^nd . The Selection Committee received 75 applications from lawyers who have been admitted to practice at least five but not more than 15 years as of January 1, 2010 based on an applicant's year of first admission to any state bar. Demonstrated leadership ability based on past accomplishments and current engagements, and an understanding of the importance of servant leadership as demonstrated in the applicant's narrative, are the most weighted factors in the selection process. The selection process is highly competitive so consideration was also given to applicants who have applied in previous years. Christopher A. Mixon (Class 5) chaired the 10-member Selection Committee. Other members included Shawn T. Alves (Class 3), J. Chandler Bailey (Class 5), Sandra E. Gregory (Class 4), Teresa G. Minor (Class 1), Emily K. Niezer (Class 5), Valerie H. Plante (Class 5), Robert E. Poundstone, IV (Class 5), Erica L. Sheffield (Class 5), and Aldos L. Vance (Class 2).

The racial and gender diversity of the class exceeds the percentages of the state bar membership as a whole. The 2010 class includes 13 females (43 percent), 17 males (57 percent), five African Americans (17 percent), one other (3 percent), and 24 Caucasians (80 percent). The average age of the class is 35.9 years. A chart accompanying this article illustrates the applicant demographics for the past six years. Forty-four of the 75 applications were from attorneys living in the Birmingham area. Class 6 includes seven lawyers working in the public sector, two public interest lawyers, one in-house counsel, three transactional lawyers, six plaintiff's trial lawyers in a large firm or solo practice, two criminal defense lawyers, and nine civil defense litigators.

Class 3 alumni Clay Martin, Huntsville, and George Parker, Montgomery, get ready to facilitate a Class 4 session on Alabama educational issues.

Tom Warburton (Class 4), Kimberly Powell (Class 2) and Cynthia Ransburg-Brown (Class 4) all of...