President's page: The widest influencers

Megan Phillips is the 2023-24 Missouri Bar president.

In an effort to maximize cross-generational synergy toward this ideal, I recently crashed a meeting of our Young Lawyers’ Section Council – a truly impressive group who will  lead the bar into the future.

The mission of YLS is to enhance the professional growth and public service of Missouri lawyers age 36 or under or in their first five years of practice. YLS organizes and/or sponsors, often with other bar groups, numerous public service projects, CLEs, and networking experiences for young and newly admitted lawyers across the state. Just this past year, the YLS Council:

• Completed service projects to benefit the community at each of its five meeting locations;
• Organized free professional headshot photos and the wildly popular puppy playtime for stress relief at Annual Meeting in Kansas City; 
• Increased CLE attendance by 200% during the monthly “YLS Accelerator Series” CLE; 
• Hosted “The Milly Project,” an award-winning production about an enslaved woman who litigated her way to freedom before the Civil War, which inspired 300 attendees throughout the state; 
• Provided programming to students at Missouri’s four law schools; 
• Sent 450 welcome boxes, which included handwritten notes of congratulation, to new admittees; and 
• Coordinated with the bar’s citizenship education department to send volunteer lawyers into 15 schools to talk about the Constitution – perhaps my personal favorite.

In conjunction with the recent YLS Council meeting I attended in St. Louis, YLS leadership spent a day volunteering at Southside Early Childhood Center, answered citizens’ questions through the online pro bono platform Missouri.FreeLegalAnswers.org, and hosted a happy hour for area members.

In addition to their public impact throughout the state, members of the council contribute considerable time and stellar leadership skills in service to The Missouri Bar. During the council’s formal meeting (on a Saturday morning!), I learned about myriad service and social events in the works to uplift and unite young lawyers in this new era of remote practice, and I witnessed a deeply thoughtful and respectful debate resolved through collaboration and compromise. I left the meeting full of hope. Giddy, even. The future of our bar is bright, and our influence for good continues to expand.

New and young lawyers have the potential and shared ethos to change the profession for the better. Their career ambitions surpass professional or financial gains; rather, they see success as holistic and collective. They set boundaries to protect their personal lives and their own well-being. Gender parity is a given. They think beyond visible diversity and strive for meaningful inclusion and belonging. They expect these things. And they should. 

Missouri’s young lawyers and leaders are invaluable to the bar as both a focus group and a pipeline. They will catapult us forward as a profession and reinforce public confidence through their good works. They promise to be the widest influencers.

Photo caption: YLS members help staff at the Southside Early Childhood Center in St. Louis on Feb. 23 build furniture, sanitize classroom equipment and chairs, and clean strollers. Photo taken by Erica L. Frank