700-plus lawyers, judges connected during Annual Meeting in St. Louis
There is still time to register for the Virtual Annual Meeting ‘Lunch & Learn’ Oct. 7-11
More than 700 lawyers and judges traveled to St. Louis Sept. 18-20 to attend the Annual Meeting of The Missouri Bar, where they had a chance to attend insightful CLEs; meet new acquaintances and catch up with old friends; connect with the new bar officers; and celebrate colleagues leaving a positive impact on the profession.
Retired lawyer Mary Nelson has been attending Annual Meeting since she was a law student at the University of Missouri School of Law in the early 1980s. From receiving tips that can help win cases to learning about daily workout exercises, Nelson said she can always count on learning something from fellow lawyers and “renewing friendships” while attending Annual Meeting.
“It’s community for us, so you get to learn new things to make you better at your job,” she said. “You get to make connections with lawyers from all over the state, which I find fascinating. I’ve had fun with these people for almost 50 years, and it’s been great.”
Being a first-time Annual Meeting attendee, Carleigh Cavender agreed Annual Meeting is the perfect way to meet lawyers, particularly those she will serve with on The Missouri Bar Young Lawyers’ Section Council. Cavender was recently elected to represent District 8.
“I’ve been connecting with lawyers who have served on it (YLS Council) before and they have phenomenal things to say about networking opportunities and how great everyone is, how they are like a family and raise each other up,” she said, nodding towards Dashawn Cason, a former YLS Council member.
Cason said Annual Meeting is all about “community building” – from meeting Supreme Court of Missouri judges to catching up with a lawyer from your alma mater.
“It’s a lot easier to do the work that we do in the legal profession when you have a familiarity with the other parties involved, when you can connect on a human level and not just strictly about the business,” he said.
Annual Meeting featured the swearing-in of Shelly Dreyer as 2024-2025 Missouri Bar president and the recognition of several awardees. View photos from the Annual Meeting of The Missouri Bar here.
Couldn’t attend Annual Meeting in St. Louis? Register for the Virtual Annual Meeting “Lunch & Learn” Oct. 7-11 to watch the CLEs and plenaries.