Record-breaking week for Fall Committee Meetings

The Missouri Bar’s committee meetings again broke a record for participation this fall. 

Participation included more than 6,100 attendees across all sessions, an increase from the spring’s total of 5,800. 

In The Missouri Bar’s fifth year of virtual committee meetings, 30 committees hosted a total of 28 meetings Nov. 18-21. The meetings offered a total of more than 15 hours of CLE, including some ethics and bias credits. 

“We continue to be amazed by the member participation,” said Krista Lepper, director of committees and meetings at The Missouri Bar. “The committee meetings have grown in popularity thanks in part to the chairs working hard to line up excellent CLE programs.” 

The Missouri Bar will offer the programs on demand for self-study credit, so if you missed a CLE during Fall Committee Meetings you can still view it at MoBar.org/fcm24ondemand. 

Some of the top attended meetings included those by the Women in the Profession Committee, the Civil Practice & Procedure Committee, and the Senior Lawyers Committee. 

The goal of the Civil Practice & Procedure Committee’s meeting was to facilitate an elimination of bias discussion with three experienced, top-tier Missouri legal professionals within the context of voir dire, said chair Ryan Turnage. 

“I hope attendees were reminded that the primary focus of voir dire is uncovering bias,” Turnage said. “Once uncovered, the trial lawyers have an obligation to strategically use the law to prohibit those biases from influencing the trial.” 

Turnage said that some practical tips from the panel included: 

— Identify potential juror bias from the very beginning of the case. 
— Be fearless in uncovering bias – because if both sides and the trial court do their part, the system will work to eliminate bias. 
— Every trial juror should speak during the voir dire process as a venireperson. If a venireperson is likely to become a juror, you must explore their bias. 

“Many trial lawyers and judges believe voir dire is the most important part of the trial,” Turnage said. “I hope attendees left with practical tools for preparing and conducting voir dire.” 

The Women in the Profession Committee hosted a panel with the female judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri moderated by Megan Phillips, the bar’s immediate past president. 

Co-chair Amy Bender-Levy said the idea began when the co-chairs realized there would be a female-majority Supreme Court in the state and that the outgoing and incoming Missouri Bar presidents would be women. 

“When we had the opportunity to have a panel of women of the Supreme Court, it’s pretty hard to pass up an opportunity like that,” Bender-Levy said. 

It was great hearing the judges’ perspectives about various issues they have faced, she said. It was inspiring for everyone, especially younger attorneys. 

Bender-Levy said she and several members of the Joint Commission on Women in the Profession collaborated with law schools in the state to meet with groups, mainly women lawyers’ associations, before and after the virtual meeting. 

She said she went to Saint Louis University to meet with its Women Law Students’ Association. They had lunch and projected the meeting on a large screen. They also had a Q&A, and she talked with some students one-on-one afterwards. They hope to do more of these collaborations in the future, Bender-Levy said. 

She said it was great to have a program that can engage so many people for a common good and a common goal. 

“Even if we have different opinions in politics and in practice areas, the goals are the same in terms of promoting individuals in the practice and educating and really helping all of us achieve everything that we can within our practice and really to support each other,” Bender-Levy said. “And I think at the end of the day that’s really one of the most important things we can do for each other.” 

While committee membership is not required to attend CLEs, The Missouri Bar encourages lawyers to stay up to date on the law by enrolling in the various open-enrollment committees and sections. Click here to join. 

Stay tuned for information about the 2025 Spring Committee Meetings at MoBar.org.