Missouri Bar Committee Meetings held in Mid-Mo

More than 450 Missouri lawyers gathered Friday in Jefferson City for The Missouri Bar’s 2019 Fall Committee Meetings. Over the course of the day, over 30 committees and sections met to provide practice-area updates and discuss current legislation, all aimed at helping lawyers even better serve their clients. 

Kathie Davis traveled from St. Louis to attend. As a newly appointed division chair, she hopped from session to session to hear from peers and gain insight into current legal matters. In the Administrative Law Committee’s meeting, for example, Davis learned more about cybersecurity, the Dark Web, phishing and other digital risks. During the Criminal Practice & Procedure Committee meeting, she participated in an open forum. 

“I’ve been coming to the committee meetings pretty much my whole career,” Davis says. “I think more people should come to this.” 

The promise of free CLE draws in many lawyers. During the Access to Justice Committee’s session, attendees heard Cherlyn Crosby present on “Labels, Prejudice, Stereotypes and Bias –Why it Matters in the Law?” The program met the qualifications for an Elimination of Bias credit, a new MCLE 2019-20 reporting year requirement for Missouri lawyers. Austin Fax, a Springfield lawyer, sat in on the meeting.  

“I was impressed,” Fax said. “I always think that the discussion of implicit bias, as opposed to bias that’s known, is always an interesting topic, especially among the legal community.”  

CLEs relating to medical marijuana, arbitration and the First Amendment were also available, among others.

The Fall Committee Meetings also include a luncheon keynote. This year’s speaker was Jolie Justus, director of pro bono services for Shook, Hardy & Bacon in Kansas City. Justus, a former Missouri state senator, used her time behind the podium to encourage lawyers to participate in public service, from volunteering to running for office. 

“Doing the lawyer thing is pretty awesome,” Justus said. “We’ve been given a gift, and we have a moral and ethical obligation to use that gift for the public good.” 

Missed the 2019 Fall Committee Meetings? See photos from the day here.