Executive Summary: YLS Council strives to help the profession and the public

From time to time, The Executive Summary will feature contributions from the leaders of various entities and partners of The Missouri Bar. Our Young Lawyers’ Section is a dedicated group of bar leaders who provide educational and leadership opportunities to new lawyers, and who make a difference in their communities.

The Young Lawyers’ Section (YLS) of the Missouri Bar is primarily known as the public service arm of the bar. The Section has been in existence for more than 50 years and membership is open to all lawyers 36 years or younger, or who have been admitted for less than five years. All newly admitted lawyers are automatically included in the Section membership. I am currently the chair of the Young Lawyers’ Section, and I have had the pleasure of serving on its governing Council for the past nine years.

The YLS Council is comprised of 34 elected representatives from 14 districts covering the entire state of Missouri. YLS Council members serve as delegates and representatives to The Missouri Bar Board of Governors, the American Bar Association’s (ABA) House of Delegates and Young Lawyers Division, and the Missouri Bar Foundation. The Council meets four times annually and is organized into committees that advance projects and programs across the state.

One of the largest committees of the YLS Council is the CLE Committee, which organizes events such as the upcoming trial skills CLE presentation scheduled in Kansas City on May 30, 2019 and in St. Louis on May 31, 2019. Additionally, the CLE Committee has planned a series of telephone CLE presentations called “Coffee & Core Concepts” regarding common legal issues such as incorporating a business, drafting guardianship documents, registering a trademark, conducting a DWI case, terminating parental rights, proceeding through a chapter 7 bankruptcy case, handling a foreclosure, and contracting and closing real estate transactions.

There has been a concerted effort by the YLS Council to increase the diversity of its membership. A diversity seat was added to the YLS Council that rotates throughout the state among Kansas City, St. Louis and outstate. Additionally, the YLS Council has an assigned affiliate liaison to reach out to affiliate bar associations to provide support and funding for various events. Every summer there is an Affiliate Outreach Meeting held in Branson, where a representative from each affiliate specialty bar in Missouri is invited to meet and exchange ideas with the YLS Council.

The YLS Council also has a committee dedicated to citizenship education and outreach. This committee coordinates statewide programs such as a Law Day Essay Contest, Law Day Picture Contest, We the People, and Constitution/Liberty Day. Additionally, the YLS Council organizes and participates in various community service projects and recently volunteered at Harvester’s – The Community Food Network in Kansas City as part of the YLS Council’s winter meeting.

YLS Council members can attend quarterly ABA meetings that take place across the country. At the annual and mid-year ABA meetings, YLS Council members attend ABA-YLD Assembly sessions, where various resolutions are debated and voted on for consideration by the ABA House of Delegates.

Many YLS Council members go on to become elected representatives to The Missouri Bar Board of Governors or other local bar associations. If you are interested in getting more involved with the YLS Council or any of its programs, please email me at nicole@fisherlawkc.com or contact your regional district representative.

Endnotes

1 Nicole Fisher, managing partner of Fisher Law LLC in Kansas City, is the 2018-19 chair of The Missouri Bar Young Lawyers’ Section.