Athena Dickson is 2025-2026 Missouri Bar president and a partner at Siro Smith Dickson PC.

Over the past several months, I have discussed in my “President’s Page” columns two closely related responsibilities that define our profession beyond the practice of law. First, I asked our members to help build a network of lawyer-leaders dedicated to civic education and public understanding of Missouri’s judicial retention system. I also discussed the importance of an independent judiciary and the constitutional principle that our courts are a co-equal branch of government, not a lesser one.

As my term as 2025-2026 Missouri Bar president draws to a close in September, I would be remiss if I did not reflect on how an informed electorate and an independent judiciary converge in my final “President’s Page” column.

As lawyers, we understand that judicial independence does not sustain itself. It depends upon public confidence. Public confidence depends upon public understanding. And public understanding requires education.

That work becomes especially important during judicial retention election years.

This November, voters will decide whether to retain 50 judges serving under Missouri’s Non-Partisan Court Plan, also called The Missouri Plan. For many voters, however, the judicial retention process remains unfamiliar. They may not understand why Missouri adopted merit selection, how judicial performance evaluations work, or why retention elections were designed to promote judicial accountability while protecting courts from political pressures.

If we — Missouri lawyers — do not explain these principles, someone else will.

The need for public education is not unique to Missouri. Our neighbors in Kansas provide a timely example. In August, Kansas voters will consider a constitutional amendment that would fundamentally change how justices of the Kansas Supreme Court are selected. The proposal would replace Kansas’ long-standing merit-selection system with direct statewide elections for Supreme Court justices.

The steps taken in Kansas demonstrate an important reality: Systems that protect judicial independence cannot be taken for granted. They must be understood, explained, and defended.

The Missouri Plan has long been recognized nationally as a model for balancing accountability and independence. It helps establish a process to select judges on the Supreme Court of Missouri, on the Missouri Court of Appeals, in the City of St. Louis, and in Clay, Jackson, Platte, St. Louis, and Greene counties while preserving voter oversight through retention elections.

The Missouri Plan seeks to ensure that judges are selected based upon qualifications, integrity, temperament, and competence, not political popularity or campaign fundraising ability.

Yet even the strongest systems depend upon an informed public.

This is not about advocating for particular judges, nor is it about partisan politics. It is about helping Missourians understand the structure of our government, the role of the judiciary, and the safeguards that protect the rule of law.

It is about explaining why judges must be able to make decisions based upon facts and law, even when those decisions are unpopular. It is about ensuring voters have accurate information when they enter the voting booth.

And it is about preserving public trust in the institutions that resolve disputes peacefully and fairly.

As we move toward November, I encourage every Missouri lawyer to become an ambassador for civic education. That is why The Missouri Bar’s Education Outreach Network is so important. Across the state, lawyers serve on Rotary clubs, chambers of commerce, school boards, neighborhood associations, civic organizations, and nonprofit boards. Every one of those organizations represents an opportunity to help Missourians better understand how our courts function and why judicial independence matters.

Visit MoBar.org/EducationOutreach to sign up.

Help us educate — we cannot do this without everyone’s help. Engage in conversations about the role of the courts. Most importantly, help your fellow Missourians understand why an independent judiciary matters to everyone.

The rule of law is not self-executing. It depends upon institutions that are respected, courts that are independent, and Missourians who understand both.

Lawyers have always been teachers as well as advocates. This year, our state needs us to be both.

Together, we can ensure that Missouri voters enter the November election informed, engaged, and prepared to fulfill one of the most important civic responsibilities entrusted to them.

Thank you for helping advance this important work and for your support throughout my year as president. It has been a tremendous privilege to serve The Missouri Bar. I am proud to be a Missouri lawyer and grateful for the opportunity to work alongside so many dedicated professionals who care deeply about our profession, our justice system, and our communities.

I look forward to seeing you in Kansas City at The Missouri Bar’s Annual Meeting Sept. 16-18.

Athena Dickson is 2025-2026 Missouri Bar president and a partner at Siro Smith Dickson PC.

Last July, The Missouri Bar established the Special Committee on Rural Practice to conduct an extensive review of what residents in rural Missouri counties may be experiencing in accessing legal services. While there have been informal observations of potential lawyer shortages in certain rural areas, we need comprehensive, data-driven research to determine whether this is a widespread problem and, if so, to understand its true scope and underlying causes. 

The Missouri Bar tasked the special committee with researching and answering several critical questions: 

• Are rural Missouri counties experiencing a shortage of lawyers relative to the legal service needs of community residents?
• If shortages exist, which specific counties or regions are most affected?
• Are there specific practice areas that are most affected?
• How severe are these shortages, and are they getting worse over time?
• What is the current age distribution of rural lawyers, and what does this suggest about the future availability of legal services? 

To help answer these questions and provide a more comprehensive view of the legal landscape in rural Missouri counties, the special committee has launched surveys catered to the public, lawyers, and judges. 

If you are a Missouri lawyer or judge living in a non-metropolitan county, please complete one of the rural practice surveys to help The Missouri Bar better understand the current state of legal services in rural areas. 

Lawyers are encouraged to take the survey at SurveyMonkey.com/r/MoRuralLawyers.

Judges can take the judicial survey at SurveyMonkey.com/r/MoRuralJudges.

Please also share the public survey with friends, family, neighbors, and others living in rural communities. It’s available at SurveyMonkey.com/r/RuralLegalSurvey. 

Along with these surveys, the special committee will be meeting with lawyers and judges for in-person interviews throughout rural regions of Missouri. 

The feedback we collect will help us answer a critical question: Are rural Missouri residents able to obtain a lawyer when needed? 

The committee’s data collection efforts will be used to establish baseline facts about the current state of legal service accessibility in rural Missouri communities. This includes determining the number of practicing lawyers in each rural county, understanding the types of legal services currently available, and identifying any gaps between community legal needs and available services.

Equally important is understanding the barriers that may prevent lawyers from establishing or maintaining practices in rural areas. While various factors have been suggested — such as economic considerations, educational debt burdens, lifestyle preferences, or professional isolation — there has been no systematic study of what actually influences lawyers’ decisions about where to practice. The committee will investigate whether financial concerns are the primary deterrent or whether other factors, like technology infrastructure challenges or family considerations, play significant roles. 

The committee will conduct its data collection throughout this year. Through its comprehensive research, the committee will deliver timely results to The Missouri Bar Board of Governors next spring that can inform future policy and program recommendations. 

I am pleased to report that this special committee has hit the ground running and has taken quick steps to help determine the scope of these core concerns. But we need you — Missouri lawyers and judges — to help provide depth to this project. 

Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey and spread the word, and a special thank you to the committee for its work on this important issue.

Athena Dickson is 2025-2026 Missouri Bar president and a partner at Siro Smith Dickson PC.

The principle that our government is governed by laws, not by individuals, is not abstract. It is not partisan. And it is not optional. It is the shared civic agreement that no one stands above the law, and that our system of government functions only when each branch respects the constitutional role of the others. 

That is why the recent decision not to hold Missouri’s State of the Judiciary on Jan. 28 gives pause. The State of the Judiciary has long served as a moment of institutional respect — an opportunity for the judicial branch to speak openly about the administration of justice, challenges facing our courts, and the needs of the citizens it serves. When that tradition is disrupted and the judiciary is publicly characterized as the “lesser” branch of government, it raises serious concerns that transcend any single bill or political disagreement. 

The Missouri Constitution does not recognize “greater” or “lesser” branches. It establishes co-equal branches — legislative, executive, and judicial, each with distinct responsibilities and each essential to preserving liberty. Our courts, led by the Supreme Court of Missouri, exist to interpret and apply the law impartially, safeguard individual rights, and ensure that the rule of law prevails. 

Disagreement with court decisions or judicial administration is not only permissible; it is inevitable in a healthy democracy. But respect for the judicial branch as an institution is non-negotiable. When rhetoric diminishes the courts or seeks to pressure them through political means, public confidence in the justice system erodes. And when confidence in the courts erodes, so too does the rule of law. 

As lawyers, we occupy a unique position at this moment. We are officers of the court. We are sworn not merely to advocate for clients, but to uphold the Constitution and the legal system itself. That obligation requires us to speak clearly when foundational principles are threatened. 

This is not about taking sides in a policy dispute. It is about defending the structure that allows disputes to be resolved lawfully, peacefully, and fairly. The rule of law depends on independent courts, mutual respect among the branches, and a shared commitment to constitutional governance. Let us be clear, consistent, and courageous in saying so. 

The Missouri Bar’s Board of Governors issued this statement related to the events on Jan. 28, and so many of you have reached out in support. I encourage you to continue standing up for an independent judiciary. 

One essential way to support an independent judiciary is to participate in the judicial performance review process. The judicial performance review process in Missouri plays a vital role in strengthening public confidence in our courts and ensuring those who serve on the bench meet high standards of fairness, integrity, and competence. It is an essential component of our justice system and one that depends on your engagement, especially through lawyer surveys.

You will soon receive an email asking for your feedback on the judges standing for retention this year. I strongly encourage you to complete that survey. Your perspective matters. 

By participating in the judicial performance review process, you are not only serving your profession, but also reinforcing the foundational principles of justice and helping maintain Missourians’ faith in our system of government.

Athena Dickson, 2025-2026 Missouri Bar president

One of the most important roles of the legal profession is public education — particularly when it comes to the third branch and our judicial system. Nowhere is that responsibility more evident than during judicial retention election years, when citizens are asked to vote on whether judges should remain in their positions, often with limited understanding of how the retention process works or why it exists. 

Lawyers are uniquely positioned to help bridge that gap. Many of you already do so — not just through your professional work, but through leadership roles in civic and community organizations across the state. Members of this bar serve in organizations such as the Optimist Club, Rotary, Eagles, Lions, chambers of commerce, neighborhood associations, and other civic groups that regularly host speakers and educational programs. 

The Missouri Bar is building a database of civic education resources — a network of lawyer-leaders embedded in their communities who are willing to help educate Missouri residents about the Missouri Plan and the judicial retention process. The goal is to inform the public about the structure, purpose, and safeguards of retention elections, and to underscore the importance of an informed electorate.

To accomplish this, I am asking our members to take a moment to share with us the civic and community leadership positions you currently hold. This includes officer roles, board service, committee leadership, or active participation in organizations that engage the public. By identifying where our members are already involved, The Missouri Bar can more effectively and responsibly deploy resources about our courts, judicial selection, and Missouri’s Non-Partisan Court Plan. 

Having this network will allow The Missouri Bar to more thoughtfully share judicial performance review results to ensure all Missourians have access to ongoing civics education. When civic groups request speakers or information, the bar can connect them with trusted local lawyers who understand the legal system and the communities they serve. 

Judicial independence depends, in part, on public understanding. By helping citizens understand the benefits of merit selection and the retention process, lawyers help preserve confidence in the courts and the rule of law. This effort reflects the best traditions of our profession — service, education, and leadership. 

Please visit MoBar.org/lawyer-leader and submit your civic involvement. Your willingness to serve, and to be counted as a resource, strengthens both our communities and our justice system. Please also reach out to MoPlan@MoBar.org if you are willing to volunteer to help educate about the importance of the judiciary and champion Missouri’s Non-Partisan Court Plan.¹ 

Thank you for your continued commitment to the profession and to public service.

Endnotes 
1 Missouri’s Non-Partisan Court Plan, commonly known as The Missouri Plan, governs selection and retention of judges on the Supreme Court of Missouri, the Missouri Court of Appeals, and six circuit courts (Clay, Jackson and Platte counties in the Kansas City area; both the county and City of St. Louis; and Greene County in the Springfield area). Learn more at YourMissouriJudges.org.

Athena Dickson is 2025-2026 Missouri Bar president.

As the year draws to a close, many of us — myself included — find ourselves racing toward the finish line. We’re finalizing cases, wrapping up projects, attending professional holiday parties, and preparing for family gatherings — all while trying to make sense of a calendar that somehow feels both full and fleeting. 

The end of the year is often a time of reflection, celebration, and connection. But for lawyers, it can also be a season of intensified stress. Court deadlines don’t disappear for the holidays. Clients often want answers before the new year begins. Our personal calendars fill up quickly. And in the rush to complete everything, it’s easy to put our own well-being last. 

I offer a simple but important reminder: Your well-being matters. Not just for you, but for your clients, your colleagues, your families, and our profession. 

Practicing law is demanding in every season, but the year’s end brings its own unique pressures. Along with financial and professional expectations, many of us find ourselves navigating the emotional weight that often accompanies the holidays. For some, this is a season of joy and connection; for others, it can feel isolating or overwhelming. 

This will be my first holiday season without my dad, and I feel a sense of apprehension about what the holidays will look and feel like. 

As lawyers, we’re trained to focus on solving other people’s problems. But we are not immune to fatigue, anxiety, or burnout. In fact, studies over the last several decades have shown that lawyers experience higher rates of stress and mental health challenges than the general population. Acknowledging that truth is not a sign of weakness — it’s a sign of wisdom. 

One of the most powerful things we can do as a profession is normalize conversations about well-being. Mental health should be treated with the same seriousness and compassion as physical health. Mental health is health. Taking time off, setting boundaries, or reaching out for help should be seen not as weaknesses, but as essential parts of being an effective and ethical lawyer. 

Creating a culture that supports well-being starts with leadership, but it doesn’t end there. Each of us can help — by checking in on colleagues, modeling healthy habits, and extending grace to one another during this busy time.

As we move through the coming weeks, consider these reminders: 

– Set boundaries intentionally. Communicate clearly with clients and colleagues about your availability and give yourself permission to rest and recharge. While we want to complete every task before the year’s end, it is important to be realistic about what is achievable so expectations remain manageable. 

– Take real breaks. Even a few days away from work can offer valuable perspective. The greater challenge is not stepping away from the office but stepping away from email. Though disconnecting fully can be difficult, it allows us to be truly present in other areas of our lives. 

– Recognize the warning signs. Irritability, exhaustion, or difficulty concentrating can indicate it is time to slow down. Listen to what your body and mind are telling you, and take steps to restore balance before burnout sets in. 

– Reach out for support. Whether through friends, family, colleagues, or professionals, talking openly about challenges or worries makes a meaningful difference.

Remember that the Missouri Lawyers’ Assistance Program is a confidential resource available at no cost to all Missouri lawyers and judges, immediate family members who reside with them, and law students. If you or someone you know needs support, contact MOLAP at 1-800-688-7859. If it’s an emergency, call 911 or the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. 

Reaching out is a sign of strength — and it can change lives. 

As we prepare to turn the page on another year, I encourage each of us to take stock not only of our professional accomplishments, but also of our personal well-being. Have you allowed yourself time to rest? Have you nurtured relationships outside of work? Have you given yourself permission to slow down, even briefly? 

The legal profession is a calling that demands much of us. Yet if we wish to continue serving our clients and communities, we must also care for ourselves. 

This holiday season, I hope you will create space for rest, connection, and reflection. Our work will be waiting for us in the new year. For now, let us allow ourselves a moment to pause, breathe, and simply be. 

Wishing you a peaceful and restorative holiday season.

Athena Dickson is 2025-2026 Missouri Bar president.

Dear colleagues,

It is both an honor and a privilege to serve as your president this year. I look forward to traveling across our state, connecting with and supporting as many of you as possible. I also plan to emphasize and encourage leadership within our profession and our charge to serve the public by enhancing the legal profession, the administration of justice, and the rule of law. 

At the heart of our system lies a critical principle: independence of the judiciary. 

Our judiciary exemplifies impartiality, competence, and diligence — the hallmarks of leadership in our profession. This begins with how judges are selected under Missouri’s Non-Partisan Court Plan, commonly known as The Missouri Plan.

Under The Missouri Plan, for all of our appellate judges and trial judges in six judicial circuits, non-partisan commissions of lawyers and lay people evaluate applicants to select the best three candidates to fill an open judgeship. Those three qualified applicants are then sent to the governor, who will appoint one of those candidates to the position. Judges appointed by the governor are evaluated for retention by the voters in uncontested elections at the next general election following 12 months in office. Supreme Court of Missouri and Missouri Court of Appeals judges serve 12-year terms, circuit judges serve six-year terms, and associate circuit judges serve four-year terms.

Recent years, however, have brought growing pressures on this venerable system. Political criticisms of The Missouri Plan and intensely contested retention elections have become more frequent. In November 2024, there were 71 Missouri judges on the ballot for retention. Many of these judges were subjected to attacks in their retention elections based on prior legal opinions. As lawyers, we understand that judges are ethically bound to set aside any personal opinions and are expected to make decisions based solely on the law and facts presented. 

Following the 2024 retention election, 2024-2025 Missouri Bar President Shelly Dreyer established the Special Committee on the Impartiality of the Judiciary in February 2025. The committee’s goal was to identify the appropriate involvement of The Missouri Bar in defending the judiciary, evaluate communication plans, and determine means to defend The Missouri Plan. It was determined that additional work was necessary since the bar’s prior 20-year-old policy did not address current technologies and social media attacks — especially when social media magnifies criticism, and attacks can spread instantly across platforms. 

For months, the committee devoted itself to reviewing the existing bar policies, comparing practices in other jurisdictions, evaluating current civic education efforts, and identifying best practices and necessary improvements. Their work culminated in a forward-looking policy proposal, adopted during the July 2025 Missouri Bar Board of Governors meeting, the “Policy for Response to Criticism of Judges and Courts.” 

This newly adopted policy establishes a structured protocol for addressing unjust or unfounded criticism of the judiciary. It emphasizes flexibility and rapid response, while meticulously preserving a record of actions taken. Should The Missouri Bar itself be unable to respond, the policy provides that Board of Governors members may take individual action — without representing the bar officially. Bar leaders will also regularly review, develop, and implement educational initiatives in support of The Missouri Plan. The policy also encourages lawyers and bar leaders to partner with the judiciary through speaking engagements and civic education — reinforcing public understanding of judicial selection and retention. 

This balanced approach respects the judiciary’s limitations in responding to criticism while empowering The Missouri Bar to help educate and inform the public to preserve the integrity of our legal system. 

By helping students and the public understand the merits of The Missouri Plan, the significance of judicial retention elections, and the broader necessity of civics education, we empower informed citizenship. I plan to educate across the state during my time as president, and I encourage you to join me. 

You can get involved with The Missouri Bar to volunteer during events like Show Me the Constitution and Summer Institute, present to students during Constitution Day, and more. Email CitizenshipEducation@mobar.org for more information on ways you can get involved and even better serve your communities. 

Thank you to all Missouri judges for your unwavering commitment to impartiality, competence, and diligence. And a special word of gratitude to the members of the Special Committee on the Impartiality of the Judiciary for your extraordinary leadership and dedication to strengthening our profession.

Shelly Dreyer is 2024-2025 Missouri Bar president.

As I write this final column of my term as Missouri Bar president, my heart is full — not just from this extraordinary year, but from 28 years of practicing a profession that continues to inspire me every day. For a girl from humble beginnings who once thought becoming a lawyer was an impossible dream, I can honestly say that my love for this profession has only deepened with time.

When I began practicing in 1997, the legal world was a different place. We were just beginning to embrace email as primary communication. Legal research was beginning to be available online, but still much of it involved trips to the law library. Instead of exchanging emails, we exchanged letters or faxes. Document production involved boxes of paper and conference rooms filled with associates conducting manual review. Court filings required trips to the courthouse, and filing appellate briefs required an excessive number of paper copies.

Today, I carry more legal research power in my smartphone than entire law libraries once contained. Lawyers file pleadings electronically, conduct depositions via video conference, and manage complex cases through sophisticated software. The COVID-19 pandemic compressed what might have been decades of gradual change into months of necessary adaptation, proving our profession’s remarkable ability to evolve while maintaining our core mission. 

But technology has been just one force reshaping the legal profession. We’ve seen long-overdue attention to mental health and well-being issues. We’ve witnessed challenges to public trust in our legal institutions. We’ve grappled with growing concerns about access to legal services, especially in rural Missouri counties where many stress there are not enough lawyers to serve the needs of the community. 

Through it all, what strikes me most is how our profession has not just survived these changes, but become stronger and more essential. 

But perhaps one of the biggest challenges today isn’t technological — it’s generational. There are lawyers who built their careers working 70-hour weeks at the office and communicating through phone calls and mail now working alongside a generation that grew up with technology and prioritizes work-life integration. 

This creates real tensions. Senior lawyers may view remote work as lacking commitment. Younger lawyers may see traditional practices as outdated. But both generations have something essential to offer — experience and wisdom on one side, technological fluency and fresh perspectives on the other. 

The firms that succeed will bridge this divide, valuing different generational approaches rather than seeing them as conflicting. 

Looking ahead, I see change accelerating rather than slowing. Artificial intelligence will move beyond document review to more sophisticated applications — drafting initial pleadings, predicting case outcomes, and identifying legal strategies by analyzing thousands of similar cases. Virtual reality may transform how we present evidence to juries. 

Much of the routine legal work will become automated through technology platforms. This shift will push our profession toward higher-value services that require human judgment, creativity, and relationship skills. Legal education will need to emphasize technology integration alongside traditional legal training. 

Despite these dramatic changes, the core functions that require human lawyers will become more valuable as routine work becomes automated. Strategic judgment cannot be programmed. When clients face decisions involving competing interests, they need lawyers who can assess risk in novel situations and provide guidance that considers legal, business, and human factors simultaneously. 

Advocacy remains fundamentally human work. Client counseling is irreplaceable. People facing legal problems often need more than technical advice — they need advocates who can understand their fears, explain complex situations clearly, and provide both legal and emotional support through difficult times. Effective courtroom advocacy requires reading emotional cues and adapting arguments in real time. Connecting with clients and jurors on both logical and emotional levels is something only humans can do. 

The lawyers who succeed in the coming decades will be those who combine technological efficiency with enhanced strategic thinking, advocacy skills, and client relationships. 

After 28 years, what keeps me passionate is straightforward: Every day, lawyers across Missouri help families navigate their most difficult moments, assist small businesses in achieving their dreams, ensure that the accused receive fair representation, and stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. 

We draft the wills that provide families peace of mind. We negotiate the contracts that fuel our economy. We stand in courtrooms defending the principle that everyone deserves their day in court. This work isn’t always glamorous, but it’s profoundly meaningful. When I help a client navigate a complex legal issue, when I see justice served, I’m reminded why I fell in love with this profession. 

Throughout all these changes, The Missouri Bar has been a professional home. For over 80 years, The Missouri Bar has supported lawyers through economic upheavals, technological revolutions, and social transformations. It provides continuing education that keeps lawyers up to date on the law, practice management resources and services that help lawyers even better serve their clients, and the professional community that reminds us we’re part of something larger than individual practices. 

As the profession continues to evolve, I’m confident The Missouri Bar will evolve with it, always maintaining its core mission of improving the legal profession, the administration of justice, and the law on behalf of the public. 

As I prepare to pass the presidential gavel, I’m filled with optimism about the profession’s future. 

To young lawyers: You’re entering this profession with tools more powerful than any previous generation could have imagined. Use them to expand access to justice and uphold the highest traditions of our profession. 

To experienced practitioners: Thank you for your wisdom and mentorship. The profession is stronger because of your contributions. 

To all Missouri lawyers: Remember that we are more than service providers. We are guardians of rights, protectors of democratic institutions, and servants of justice. That responsibility is both a privilege and a sacred trust. 

It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your president. This profession has given me 28 years of meaningful work, incredible colleagues, and the opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives. 

I believe in this profession, in its nobility, its importance to our society, and its bright future. I believe in The Missouri Bar and its continuing mission to support excellence in the legal profession. And I believe in all of you, the lawyers who prove every day that this profession deserves our love, our respect, and our very best efforts. 

The legal profession will continue to evolve, but its essential mission will remain constant: Ensuring we are governed by laws, not by the whims of the powerful. That mission is as important today as it was 80 years ago, and it will be just as important 80 years from now. 

Thank you for this incredible journey. Thank you for the privilege of serving as your president. And thank you for being part of a profession that makes our democracy stronger and our society more just.

Shelly Dreyer is 2024-2025 Missouri Bar president.

I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since I was a little girl. To me, the people who stood up for the rights of others and the judges who ensured justice was served were heroes. That admiration has only deepened as I’ve witnessed the extraordinary dedication of these guardians of our democratic principles. 

On April 11, The Missouri Bar Board of Governors adopted a resolution that reaffirms the bar’s commitment to supporting lawyers, judges, and courts. The board recognizes that our democracy is founded upon and depends upon legal principles that ensure no person is above the law, that laws are publicly and widely known, that laws apply equally to all and are equally enforced, and that disputes are settled by an independent judiciary. 

Public trust in our judicial system depends on widespread understanding of how courts function and why judicial independence matters. When judges face criticism for applying established legal principles, it can affect the integrity of our entire justice system. 

The Missouri Bar believes in protecting our legal institutions because they serve as the foundation of our democracy. 

The judiciary plays a unique role in our system of government. Courts serve as neutral arbiters where disputes can be resolved fairly, where constitutional rights are protected, and where all citizens stand as equals. For this system to work effectively, judges must be able to make decisions based on legal principles without concern for public opinion or outside pressure. We as lawyers understand this balance and can help others appreciate it, too. 

A cornerstone of our legal system is that laws must be applied equally to all individuals, regardless of status, wealth, or background. When the public sees this principle in action, trust in our institutions grows. Conversely, when people perceive that justice is not administered fairly and impartially, confidence in our entire system erodes. As lawyers, we play a crucial role in ensuring this equal application of the law through our advocacy and professional conduct. 

I’ve seen firsthand how this commitment plays out in courtrooms across our state. Earlier this year, I watched a judge carefully explain her ruling to a disappointed litigant, taking extra time to ensure they understood the legal reasoning behind the decision. It was a small moment, but it reflected the dedication to transparency and fairness that makes our system work. 

We, as lawyers, have numerous opportunities to strengthen these institutions through our daily work. When we explain to clients how courts reach decisions based on law rather than popularity, we help build public understanding. When we maintain respectful discourse even while disagreeing with a judicial ruling, we model how democratic debate should function. Each of us contributes to the health of our justice system through these everyday actions. 

Equally important is the principle that lawyers must be able to represent clients without fear of harassment, intimidation, or reprisal. This fundamental protection allows us to provide zealous representation even for unpopular clients or controversial causes. When lawyers face threats or pressure for fulfilling this essential role, the administration of justice itself is threatened. By standing firm in our commitment to this principle, we ensure that all members of society can access legal representation and that our system functions as intended. 

Early in my career, a colleague took on a deeply unpopular client in a high-profile case. The criticism she faced was intense, but she remained steadfast in her belief that everyone deserves competent representation. Years later, that same dedication to principle continues to inspire me and many others in our profession. 

Public trust in the legal system doesn’t happen automatically — it must be earned through consistent demonstration of fairness, accessibility, and integrity. When citizens believe that courts function independently and lawyers serve as honest advocates, they’re more likely to respect judicial decisions and resolve disputes through legal channels rather than alternative means. This trust forms the foundation upon which our entire justice system rests. 

In our practices across Missouri, we enhance access to justice when we take on pro bono cases or support legal aid organizations. We strengthen the profession when we mentor new lawyers and model ethical behavior. We contribute to public understanding when we speak at community events or write articles explaining legal concepts in accessible terms. These actions may seem small individually but collectively make a profound difference. 

The preamble to Rule 7 of the Missouri Rules of Professional Responsibility, which establishes The Missouri Bar, creates the responsibility of all Missouri lawyers to “strive at all times to uphold the honor and maintain the dignity of the profession and to improve not only the law but the administration of justice.” This responsibility guides us as we seek to serve our clients while also serving the broader interest of justice. From rural and metropolitan areas of Missouri, lawyers put these principles into practice every day. 

Our local bar associations provide valuable forums where we can discuss challenges facing the profession and develop solutions together. Whether through continuing education programs, community outreach initiatives, or collaborative advocacy efforts, these organizations help us work collectively to support our justice system. I’ve found some of my most valuable professional relationships through these associations, and the camaraderie we share strengthens our resolve to uphold these important principles. 

Though we face many challenges in today’s complex world, our commitment to core legal principles remains unwavering. We are living in a particularly challenging time when fundamental democratic values are being tested, when polarization threatens our ability to find common ground, and when the very institutions that provide stability are under scrutiny. 

Yet, these difficult moments are precisely when our dedication to principle matters most. By upholding professional standards, supporting judicial independence, and promoting public understanding of the law, we help ensure that our democratic institutions remain strong for generations to come. 

The work we do matters — not just for our individual clients but for our entire society. Through thoughtful advocacy, ethical practice, and dedicated service, Missouri lawyers continue to play a vital role in preserving the principles that make our system of justice work for everyone. Each time we enter a courtroom, draft a document, or counsel a client, we have the opportunity to strengthen these principles and renew our commitment to the ideals that have guided our profession for generations. 

As I reflect on my years in practice, I’m reminded that being a Missouri lawyer is both a privilege and a responsibility — one that connects us to a proud tradition while challenging us to ensure our system of justice remains vibrant and accessible for all. Together, we can meet that challenge.

Shelly Dreyer is 2024-2025 Missouri Bar president.

Over my career, I’ve witnessed firsthand the toll that practicing law takes on our colleagues’ mental well-being – burnout, anxiety, depression, and substance use concerns. It’s a significant challenge facing our profession. If you’ve read my previous “President’s page” columns in the Journal or heard me speak, you know I frequently address lawyer well-being, because we can’t take care of our clients if we don’t take care of ourselves.

It is time we have an honest conversation about why we must eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health in our profession. The statistics are sobering. Lawyers experience depression, anxiety, and substance issues at rates far higher than the general population. Among lawyers, 28% have experienced symptoms of depression, 19% suffer with anxiety, and 23% suffer with stress. Lawyers also have a higher rate of problematic drinking than any other professionals.¹ The American Bar Association National Task Force for Lawyer Well-Being found that 21-36% of lawyers qualify as problem drinkers and 11% have considered death by suicide.²

It saddens me to see friends and colleagues avoid seeking help due to stigma or fear of their law licenses being affected. Many of the traits that make us effective lawyers – perfectionism, attention to detail, and the ability to anticipate worst-case scenarios – can also make us more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, burnout, or substance misuse. 

Unfortunately, the mental toughness required to be a lawyer often prevents lawyers from prioritizing their mental and emotional health and stops them from seeking help. There’s a persistent misconception that seeking help is a sign of weakness, that it could jeopardize client relationships, or that it might raise concerns with their law license or with the Missouri Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel. These fears can create a dangerous cycle where lawyers hide their struggles until they reach a crisis point. 

As lawyers, we have the opportunity and responsibility to change this narrative. We must normalize conversations about mental health within our firms and legal organizations. When lawyers, especially senior lawyers, openly discuss the importance of a healthy mental state and share their own experiences, it sends a powerful message that seeking help is not just acceptable but encouraged. We must approach mental health concerns with the same openness and seriousness as any other medical condition. 

Law firms can play a crucial role by implementing policies that prioritize mental health. This includes creating reasonable billable hour expectations, encouraging vacation time, and providing robust health insurance that covers mental health treatment. More importantly, firms need to foster an environment where lawyers feel safe discussing their mental health needs without fear of professional consequences. 

For individual lawyers, there are several meaningful steps we can take. Start by checking in on colleagues, especially those who seem to be struggling. Learn to recognize the signs of mental health challenges in yourself and others. Utilize the no-cost, confidential resources available through the bar’s Missouri Lawyers’ Assistance Program. And perhaps most importantly, share your own experiences when you feel comfortable doing so.

Every time a lawyer speaks openly about mental health, it helps chip away at the stigma that keeps others from seeking help. 

The Missouri Bar has long acknowledged the importance of well-being services for lawyers to ensure they can ethically and competently serve their clients. Members of The Missouri Bar, their families, and law students can receive no-cost, confidential counseling from MOLAP. In addition, MOLAP offers crisis intervention, education and prevention, suicide prevention training, and substance use support including peer-to-peer referrals. All interactions with MOLAP are with a licensed clinician and are completely confidential. If a lawyer does not feel comfortable receiving counseling from a MOLAP clinician for any reason, MOLAP will refer them to a contract provider for 12 no-cost counseling sessions over 12 months. 

Call 1-800-688-7859 or visit MoBar.org/MOLAP to connect with MOLAP. Remember, reaching out for help is a sign of strength and hope. 

Building on these efforts, The Missouri Bar has implemented several initiatives to further support lawyer well-being. In September 2022, The Missouri Bar Board of Governors passed a resolution creating the Standing Committee on Well-Being in the Profession, which works hard to reduce the stigma around well-being discussions and seeking help.

One of the new well-being projects I’m excited about is a statewide survey of Missouri Bar members to gather data and better serve lawyers. The Missouri Bar has contracted with the University of Utah and The Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health to conduct this study, which will help The Missouri Bar identify specific issues Missouri lawyers face, enabling further efforts to address them. 

Additionally, the 2024-25 Leadership Academy³ class is working on a service project focused on raising awareness and encouraging participation in the Well-Being Week in Law, May 5-9. The class is planning CLE programs, podcast episodes, videos, and more for the week. Look on page 59 for a gratitude gram from the class as part of its efforts to inspire well-being in the legal profession. 

Remember, taking care of your mental health doesn’t make you a less capable lawyer – it makes you a better one. By breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health, we’re not just helping individual lawyers; we’re strengthening the entire legal profession. 

Let’s make Missouri a leader in lawyer well-being by creating a culture where seeking mental health support is viewed as a sign of professional responsibility rather than weakness. Our colleagues’ lives and careers may depend on it. 

The time for change is now, and it begins with each of us being willing to speak up, reach out, and stand together in support of mental health awareness in the legal profession.

Endnotes 

1 Patrick Krill, et. al, The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys, 10 J. OF ADDICTION MED. 46 (2016). 

2 If you are in an emergency situation, please call 911 or the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. 

3 The Missouri Bar Leadership Academy is a program designed to recruit, train, and retain Missouri lawyers who have been admitted for 10 years or less for leadership positions within The Missouri Bar. The academy seeks diversity in gender, race, area of practice, and region within the state. Leadership Academy participants engage in various activities, including attending The Missouri Bar Annual Meeting, Board of Governors meetings, committee meetings, and workshops specifically designed for leadership development. They also work on a public service project throughout the year and commit to serving The Missouri Bar in an active capacity for two years after completing the program.

Shelly Dreyer is 2024-2025 Missouri Bar president.

When I was a young lawyer, I had never heard the term “imposter syndrome.”

All I knew was I often felt like an imposter, especially around older lawyers. I couldn’t let them see that, though. I tried my best to look like I had it altogether, but inside I was struggling with self-doubt, a lack of confidence, and anxiety. 

Here I am, 27 years later, with many jury trials under my belt and plaques of accomplishments on my wall – my law partner calls the plaque wall my “Shelly shrine.” But I still sometimes struggle with the feeling of not being good enough. 

I felt that way leading up to being sworn in as president of The Missouri Bar. The primary reason I wanted to be bar president was to promote well-being in the profession, so I decided it was time to walk the walk and openly discuss my own struggle with imposter syndrome.

I have realized that filling my wall with plaques was not to impress others, but to try to convince myself that I really am good enough to be a lawyer. 

As I travel around the state speaking to lawyers, I have learned that I am not alone in feeling this way and that imposter syndrome is common for lawyers. Why? Why do lawyers, who have years of education and evidence of high achievement, struggle with such feelings of inadequacy? 

A 2019 study regarding imposter syndrome describes the phenomenon as “high achieving individuals who despite their objective successes, fail to internalize their accomplishments and have persistent self-doubt and fear of being exposed as a fraud or imposter.”¹ According to Valerie Young, with the Imposter Syndrome Institute, there are five main types of imposter syndrome: 

1. the perfectionist – finds it hard to delegate and may obsess over details; 
2. the expert – will not apply for a job unless they meet all the criteria; 
3. the natural genius – used to achieving success without much effort and self-confidence suffers when faced with a setback; 
4. the soloist – feels like they need to accomplish things on their own; and 
5. the superhuman – feels guilty if they take a break.²
Most of us fit into one or more of these categories or know lawyers who do. 

The legal profession is known for its high standards, demanding work environment, and competitive nature. While these attributes often attract driven and high-achieving individuals, they also create fertile ground for imposter syndrome. 

As lawyers, we strive for perfection and never want to appear weak. From law school to practice, we are constantly evaluated through grades, client outcomes, and peer recognition. This environment can lead to the internalization of unrealistic expectations and a persistent feeling of inadequacy. 

I have witnessed myself and other lawyers attribute successes to luck or external factors instead of our own abilities, downplay our accomplishments, or overwork or avoid challenges due to fear of failure. 

The consequences of imposter syndrome can be significant, contributing to burnout, anxiety, and depression, which are 
already prevalent in the legal profession. It can also hinder career progression, as lawyers may shy away from seeking promotions, leadership roles, or high-profile cases. 

It is time we normalize discussions about imposter syndrome in the legal profession. Talking about our own struggles not only helps others realize they are not alone, but it also empowers people to identify and address the feelings associated with imposter syndrome.

Some methods I have used to address and improve my imposter syndrome include practicing self-compassion, finding mentors, celebrating successes and achievements, and building a strong support system. I practice self-compassion by allowing myself to make mistakes without internal criticism. Although I still struggle with imposter syndrome, I found these methods have lessened those feelings.

Lawyers also have access to no-cost, confidential support through the Missouri Lawyers’ Assistance Program, including counseling, peer-to-peer mentoring, and many other wonderful services. Reaching out for help is a sign of strength and hope. 

My wish with this column is that other lawyers, especially young lawyers, realize they are not alone and that they deserve every accolade and compliment they receive. Together we can pull back the curtain of imposter syndrome and build confidence in ourselves and our peers. 

Endnotes 
1 Bravata DM, Watts SA, Keefer AL, Madhusudhan DK, Taylor KT, Clark 
DM, et al. Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Impostor Syndrome: a Systematic Review. 35 J GEN INTERN MED. 1252-75 (2020). 
2 The 5 types of imposter syndrome, IMPOSTER SYNDROME INSTITUTE (2024), 
https://impostorsyndrome.com/articles/5-types-of-impostor-syndrome.

Shelly Dreyer is 2024-2025 Missouri Bar president.

We represent individuals and communities, mediate disputes, and provide legal advice, all of which contribute to a more harmonious and equitable society. By upholding the law and advocating for justice, lawyers are essential 
in creating a stable society where people can trust their rights and interests are protected. 

In the wake of the November elections, emotions are running high and, in some spaces, the division in our communities feels even deeper. 

As lawyers, we have an opportunity to set our own beliefs aside and help facilitate unity and bring people together. We possess a unique skill set that allows us to embrace different opinions and foster environments of differing and diverse viewpoints. We are trained in objectivity and critical thinking. We can examine issues from multiple perspectives, find common ground, and apply principles of fairness. 

These skills are ones we must embrace. As lawyers, we stand as guardians of legal processes and as advocates for fairness and justice. 

This is our opportunity to help bridge divides and reinforce the integrity of the democratic process. This is an opportunity I believe we must take because we play a vital role in guiding society through divisive times. After all, this is something we do daily as lawyers. We zealously advocate for a client’s position in court – maybe that position aligns with our personal beliefs, or maybe we must put our personal beliefs aside to even better serve our client. Similarly, we may disagree with a judge’s ruling or the outcome of a case, but we respect the process and abide by the outcome. 

This is the unity our communities need, one where we can vehemently disagree with each other on issues but still respect each other’s views and respect the rule of law. 

Many of us in the legal profession serve as community leaders, where we participate in or organize discussions that promote understanding across political lines. We can help our communities unite if we lead by example. By promoting respectful dialogue, we can model respectful and constructive debate to encourage others to see opposing viewpoints as part of a healthy democratic process. Active listening and engaging in discussions civilly can set the tone of respect in contentious discussions. 

Lawyers can show we uphold the rule of law by emphasizing the importance of a fair process and accountability, while also showing commitment to democratic principles by defending the rights to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and equal protection under the law. 

During divisive times, mentoring new and future lawyers is also crucial for fostering a legal community grounded in professionalism, integrity, and public service. I have always been a proponent of mentoring, and I am fortunate to have had mentors in my career to help me navigate challenges. By educating young and future lawyers to prioritize ethics, empathy, and civic responsibility, current lawyers can help cultivate a legal community that values unity and justice.

I firmly believe that as a society we have more in common than what divides us. As lawyers, now is the time to use our unique position to help facilitate the unity that our society needs and deserves. Let us serve to unify our community whenever possible and lead our fellow citizens by example toward a more civilized and accepting society where opinions and beliefs are regarded with respect and focus on what brings us together rather than divides us.

Shelly Dreyer is the 2024-2025 Missouri Bar president.

I have wanted to be a lawyer since I was a kid, and I truly love being a lawyer. Not every day is puppies and rainbows, but overall, I love the profession and am extremely proud to be a lawyer.

I heard our colleague, Keith Cutler, once ask the question: In what profession, other than professional athletes, are members directly adversarial to each other? That really made me think. Others may advertise or compete for business, but it is not inherent in their job that they are adversarial to those of their own profession. In the practice of law, unfortunately, I have seen some lawyers take that difference to mean we can treat each other without respect and courtesy. 

I think we can all agree that civility is important. But have we stopped to think about how incivility is affecting us and our profession? 

Let’s face it: The practice of law can be hard and stressful. Regardless of our practice area, there are deadlines, heavy workloads, and a litany of other demands that can create a high-pressure environment. Add the stress of everyday life outside of our careers, and it is not shocking that a nationwide study of 13,000 lawyers indicated that 28% experienced depression, 19% reported anxiety, 21% had alcohol use problems, and 11% struggled with drug use.¹ These statistics sadden me not only for those who are currently practicing law, but for future generations of lawyers. 

We are fortunate to have a bar that unifies all Missouri lawyers and provides resources to help us even better serve our clients and communities, while trying to reduce some of the stress of practicing law. These resources include practice management tools, CLEs about well-being, continuing education and networking opportunities, and the Missouri Lawyers’ Assistance Program. 

But we, the lawyers practicing in Missouri, have an obligation to ourselves and our colleagues to help improve the profession by improving the lives and well-being of lawyers.

Incivility can foster a culture that decreases job satisfaction and declines the overall quality of life. I think most of us can remember when a colleague treated us with rude, hateful, or aggressive behavior, and how it made us feel. I certainly can think of times when I received a contentious comment, email, or letter and found myself being angry or upset. And if we are honest, many of us, myself included, can recall a time when we were rude, abrasive, or curt to another lawyer. It may not have even been about the case or the other lawyer but instead about something completely unrelated, like maybe receiving bad news that morning. Each of us is doing the best we can, albeit each day our best may look different.

So how can we take better care of each other? Recognizing the needless stress and destructive impact of incivility on lawyers is an important first step. Whether we are the subject of it or feel ourselves acting in a way that is not professional and courteous, we should stop to ask ourselves what the behavior is really about. If the behavior is stemming from us – whether it’s because we are frustrated with a situation, a person, or an outside source such as fatigue or stress – remember how it made us feel to be on the receiving end of incivility. 

And if we are on the receiving end, let’s not assume the other lawyer is just a jerk, for lack of a better word. Instead, extend empathy and grace. We never know what our colleagues may be experiencing and what a kind word can do. After all, regardless of what area of law we practice or where we practice, we are one profession. 

Together we are members of a noble profession that serves a vital role in maintaining the structure, fairness, and integrity of the legal system. So, let’s continue to help each other through civility.

Megan Phillips is the 2023-2024 Missouri Bar president.

I submit this last column to you with the star-struck humility of a sports fan in the presence of the entire U.S. Olympic team. Having spent the past year traveling across the state to spread the goodwill of The Missouri Bar, visit with you, and understand your work and your worries, my respect and admiration for our bar and its members has expanded exponentially. Through your dedication, excellence, and professionalism, you demonstrate that, in our legal system, YOU are the Olympians. As I enter the final weeks of my term as president of your wildly zealous fan club, I offer this year-end accounting, with a side of earnest sentiment. 

Governance

The Missouri Bar president’s duties generally fall into one of two categories. First, there’s the governance part, and The Missouri Bar did quite a bit this year.¹ The Board of Governors saw the completion of a comprehensive external evaluation of the Missouri Lawyers’ Assistance Program to ensure that we are employing best practices to support lawyers facing substance use or mental health challenges. It also voted to transition the Family Law Section into an open enrollment committee to facilitate greater engagement and participation from this large sector of the profession. 

Other works include an amendment to the bylaws of The Missouri Bar Young Lawyers’ Section that expands eligibility for the increasing population of non-traditional law school graduates entering the profession later in life, as well as revisions to the bar’s executive director performance review process by members of the executive committee. (Riveting, I know.²) 

And board members continued to volunteer their time and talents on numerous committees to appoint lawyers to leadership positions throughout the state, optimize our resources and member benefits, maintain the dynamism of our strategic plan, and serve as a non-partisan resource for lawmakers and other stakeholders. We propelled the Leadership Academy and the judicial internship program to cultivate a profession that reflects the public we serve, with a focus on rural and underrepresented communities. 

As a certified bar nerd, I’ve enjoyed these aspects of my role immensely. Advancing The Missouri Bar’s mission – to improve the legal profession, the administration of justice, and the law on behalf of the public – enables us all to have a positive impact with a lasting ripple effect. This is why so many of us went to law school, right?

And I’ve been privileged to work with brilliant, kind, dedicated people throughout the state who work tirelessly to fulfill our collective charge. To all who supported the bar’s efforts this year in any way, whether big or small, visible or stealth: Thank you. It matters. Your individual dots of paint are essential to our pointillist canvas. 

Gas tank 

The second prong of a president’s duties is the public-facing part as the official spokesperson of The Missouri Bar: the gas tank. I have traversed the state this year to peek into your communities, see the profession through your eyes, thank our public servants, build relationships with lawmakers and local press, engage with students, and share news from the bar world. 

Every gathering has left me inspired, uplifted, and optimistic about our profession and the Third Branch. Wherever and whatever you practice, know that your colleagues everywhere share your commitment to civility, fairness, and each other. You are the subtle heroes and guardians of our democracy. 

I am truly honored and sincerely grateful to have served as your president this bar year. As I pass the gavel into supremely capable hands, I hold onto a profound appreciation for every element that animates The Missouri Bar – our institutional history and Supreme Court of Missouri charge; our exceptional and patient staff; selfless volunteers at all levels of the organization; courageous leaders past and present; and most of all you, the everyday Olympians of our noble profession. 

Greater than the sum of our parts, together we ARE the widest influence for good.

Endnotes 

1 For a fuller description of The Missouri Bar’s services and good works, check out the 2023 Annual Report under the “Publications” tab of MoBar.org. 

2 But don’t be fooled. The Board of Governors had some fun, too. It’s quite possible that my greatest achievement as president was to orchestrate walk-up music for speakers on the May meeting agenda.

Megan Phillips is 2023-2024 president of The Missouri Bar.

Prior to 1944, the Missouri Bar Association was a voluntary organization of local bars and their individual members. In the early 1930s, the association began envisioning a self-governing bar comprising every lawyer in the state “to assure all the benefits of unity and action by all Missouri lawyers.” In 1943, the association adopted a resolution proposing a wholly integrated bar to “marshal the manpower of the whole Bar of Missouri into one organization … to be much more effective in the work that we are trying to do.” 

The Supreme Court of Missouri realized this vision on June 16, 1944, by adopting the predecessor of Rule 7, creating a unified, integrated entity called, simply, The Missouri Bar. Rule 7 states that it is the responsibility of all Missouri lawyers to uphold the honor and maintain the dignity of the profession and to improve the law and the administration of justice. In recognition of our profession’s collective obligation, the Court promulgated by the rule as a “means of organization” that would best aid Missouri lawyers in the discharge of our public duty.

Put simply, the Court recognized that we could do better together.

Eighty years later, we enjoy the strength of 31,000 members. Regardless of our individual differences, we are united in our charge to improve the profession, the law, and the administration of justice for the benefit of the public. Each of you satisfies this charge through your daily heroics, both for your clients and in countless non-billable endeavors. 

If you wonder how, exactly, The Missouri Bar is fulfilling its charge on an institutional level, I encourage you to peruse MoBar.org to explore the myriad ways in which your enrollment fee (only $259 of which stays with the bar) supports lawyers, elevates the profession, serves the public, and strengthens democracy. A few examples:

• The Missouri Bar helps lawyers in their practice by providing continuing legal education and networking opportunities through CLE programs; in-person, virtual, and hybrid conferences and events; and committees and sections. 
   
• The Missouri Bar offers no-cost access to FastCase; practice management resources; MAI-Criminal; dispute resolution/mediation programs; and mental health and wellness programming and confidential counseling through MOLAP. Members can also access an insurance marketplace; a jobs board; and dozens of third-party discounts for a variety of services, including law practice management consulting.
   
• The Missouri Bar serves the public by providing a wide variety of informational guides, disaster resources, pro bono assistance through Missouri.FreeLegalAnswers.org, and community service events. 
   
• The Missouri Bar educates voters about judicial retention elections by distributing information gathered by the independent Judicial Performance Review Committee.
   
• The Missouri Bar improves the law by serving as a non-partisan resource for the Missouri General Assembly, ensuring clarity, uniformity, and consistency in Missouri statutes.
   
• The Missouri Bar tracks national trends and collaborates with the Supreme Court of Missouri and other stakeholders on issues affecting the profession and the courts. 
   
• And, of course, my favorite, The Missouri Bar promotes civic education by providing resources and training to educators; organizing statewide high school competitions to inspire students to think critically and participate in deeper discussions; and maintaining a speakers bureau, sending volunteer lawyers to schools and civic groups to educate citizens about the law and our legal system. 

The list goes on. In short, your return on investment in The Missouri Bar is stratospheric. 

We, as a profession, couldn’t have this wide influence for good in our state without the strength of numbers and unity enshrined in Rule 7. So, thank you, Supreme Court of Missouri, for creating our unified Missouri Bar 80 years ago. And happy birthday, The Missouri Bar. Here’s to many more!

Read more articles about The Missouri Bar's 80th anniversary:

80 years and counting

80 years of lawyers working together

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

Megan Phillips is the 2023-24 Missouri Bar president.

As lawyers, we expect much of ourselves, striving for whatever we perceive as perfection. But let’s be real. We’re in a challenging season. And the winter blues are only a fraction of it.

It’s hard to stay positive in this era of division and global conflict.

The World Justice Project estimates that the rule of law is declining in 82 countries, including the United States.¹ We went to law school to make a difference, to serve our communities, and to advance democracy. So, in today’s climate, it might often feel like your best efforts are tantamount to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. But here’s the thing. We can and do make a difference, collectively, with each good act. 

The Supreme Court of Missouri created The Missouri Bar as a unified bar to unite us in our mission to improve the profession, the law, and the administration of justice on behalf of the public. Today, we enjoy the combined strength of 31,000 members. Together, our potential for good is greater than the sum of our parts. 

Think of a pointillist painting in which each small victory, act of integrity, and gesture of kindness is a tiny individual dot of color. Up close, they may seem like nothing more than random dots. But, stepping back and shifting focus, one can see that your individual daily heroics form a greater, cohesive tableau that elevates the Third Branch and improves the lives of those we serve. In 2023, thousands of you provided pro bono or reduced fee services. Last year, 65 volunteer lawyers answered 2,266 questions through Missouri.FreeLegalAnswers.org. We provided training for high school civics teachers, and we visited classrooms. We helped our clients, served our communities, and uplifted each other in our strategic work and in infinite spontaneous moments. 

So, as we start a new year and trudge through these cold months, I urge you to carry on and seek out connection and collaboration through our bar as a form of perseverance, to paint more dots. News.MoBar.org and the weekly ESQ. e-newsletter contain a wealth of information about opportunities to network, learn, volunteer, and witness your inspirational service to the profession and the public. It feels good to do good, and we exert the widest influence when we do it together. So, grab a paintbrush and pick a color.

Endnotes 

1 “WJP Rule of Law Index,” World Justice Project, 2023 at worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index.

Megan Phillips, Missouri Bar president

Visit any high school classroom and it starts the same way.  

Who here believes in fairness? All hands shoot up. Who is good at arguing? Same. Who likes to solve problems? Hands. Who likes to help people? Hands. Ok, well, so far, you’re all future lawyers. Now, who feels passionate about human rights? Hands. Who likes science and technology? Hands. Who wants to start a business? Work for a business? Protect children? Resolve disputes? Right wrongs? Serve your community?  

Great news! You’re all lawyers! 

Because no matter where your strengths and interests lie, there’s a place for you in the legal profession. Am I right? I mean, how many lawyers do you know whose specialties require skill sets vastly different than your own? We have a big professional tent! But we’re falling short on filling it. Without access to counsel, bad things happen to everyday people, and citizens become disillusioned with the entire system. This is bad for democracy. 

In his speech at The Missouri Bar Annual Meeting and Judicial Conference in 2022, then-Chief Justice Paul Wilson argued that only by expanding the size and composition of our bar can we improve the credibility of our profession, public confidence in the legal system, and respect for the rule of law.  Indeed, nationwide, bar organizations face demographic challenges that hinder access to justice and public trust in the Third Branch.   

On my recent visit to the 9^th Judicial Circuit, lawyers expressed concern about the declining rates of lawyers who practice in rural areas while confirming that there’s a good living to be made in small communities. So why aren’t there more lawyers setting up shop on Main Street?   

The answer came from a high school guidance counsel at our dinner table. The average teenager knows exactly nothing about lawyers or the legal system beyond what they see on TV or experience in their own lives (often traumatically). Many of these students plan to stay and work in their hometowns after graduation, but they might not envision or can’t even conceptualize a career in the law.   

Some of our sister states have piloted loan forgiveness programs to entice new graduates into underserved areas. But, lacking ties to the community, these lawyers rarely stay past the contract term. The alternative is obvious. We must grow our own, right from their roots, starting in high school.  Missouri teenagers need to see their future selves in the successful lawyers and judges in their own communities. 

On another front, our profession is still far less diverse than the public we serve. The Missouri Bar Special Committee on Lawyers of Color recognized that we must actively fill the pipeline by recruiting students of color starting in high school. How can we expect a diverse public to trust a homogenous institution? And we can’t evolve as a profession without more diverse perspectives at the table. 

Judge Wilson urged us to take personal responsibility for recruiting the next generation of lawyers. I join his plea. Countless among you have expressed a desire to increase your involvement in the bar. I submit to you that high school outreach through the bar’s Citizenship Education Program could have the greatest impact within and beyond the profession. This spring, dozens of Missouri teens are expected to gather in Columbia for Show Me the Constitution, an annual competition that asks students to consider challenging constitutional issues and debate them in front of volunteer judges – many of whom are lawyers. This is just one example of how the bar is investing in our youth and how you can be involved in that effort. 

Teenagers give me hope for the future. They are smart, savvy, ambitious, curious, and hilarious. Above all, they want to make a difference. We must engage with these promising young people and show them the potential for self-realization in service to the Third Branch and our democracy. So here is your charge: Contact the nearest high school and offer to visit a social studies class to talk about the legal system and careers in the law. You might inspire a teenager to think about law school. And just by showing up you will dispel misconceptions and instill greater confidence in the legal system. Let’s shape the future. 

Megan Phillips is 2023-24 president of The Missouri Bar.

I’ve always been a joiner. In college, I joined a sorority founded by women who, in 1870, sought equal access to education and the social support of a chosen family. They aspired to challenge themselves intellectually, conduct themselves nobly, and effect the widest influence for good. To be sure, our social shenanigans may have slipped below the nobility standard occasionally, but my college experience among leading women shaped who I am and what I do. It’s my “why” behind my bar service because The Missouri Bar is where I – and more importantly we – can effect the most good.

Within the profession, the bar facilitates our support for each other by providing education, practice resources, and networking opportunities to help us thrive and succeed in our service to clients. The bar strives to be a place where your lived experience is valued and celebrated, your well-being matters, and you can find help without judgment.  

Within our communities, the bar serves as a conduit for public service and civic education. For a high return on investment, I’ve found few things in life are as fun and rewarding as donating your time and expertise to a classroom or civic group. Next time you’re feeling burned out, spend an hour at your nearest school presenting one of the bar’s ready-made lesson plans, or sign in to Missouri.FreeLegalAnswers.org and make someone’s day by answering their question. It feels good to do good. 

Within our society, the law is unlike any other profession. Lawyers are the guardians of democracy and the rule of law. We take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. Our rules of professional conduct require truth, civility, and integrity because these qualities are vital to the public’s confidence in our justice system. The bar collaborates with and serves the judiciary in furtherance of its critical role as the co-equal Third Branch. I cannot fathom a wider influence. 

Every president strives to carry on the tremendous work of our predecessors in executing the bar’s strategic plan and adapting to new challenges facing our profession.  

Unfortunately, disinformation abounds and fuels public distrust, undermining our courts and the rule of law. Lawyers are uniquely positioned to correct misconceptions and defend the principles of a judiciary free from undue influence to make impartial decisions based solely on the law and facts. With the privilege of our profession comes this civic responsibility. 

Advances in technology, including generative artificial intelligence and alternative models for the provision of legal services, are barreling toward us. Courts and bars nationwide are working to identify best practices to utilize new tools for efficiency and access while protecting the public from an unregulated market.  

Our profession is experiencing a major demographic shift. As Baby Boomers approach retirement, Generation X now comprises the largest group of Missouri lawyers, followed closely by Millennials, with Gen Z just joining.  As our membership evolves, the bar seeks to ensure that underserved communities throughout the state have access to legal services.  

And friends, many of us are struggling. We experience alarming rates of depression, anxiety, substance use, and even suicide. Lawyers of color leave the profession at twice the average rate. That’s why the bar will continue its wellness and diversity initiatives and deepen its work at the intersection of the two.  

The Supreme Court of Missouri created our unified Bar almost 80 years ago. Today, we enjoy the collective strength of nearly 31,000 members. Like siblings in a family, we may have our internal differences, but we are unified in our common goal to improve the profession, the law, and the administration of justice on behalf of all Missourians. Here, we set aside our differences, optimize our diverse perspectives, and collaborate to best serve our clients and communities. One of the profound benefits of bar service, for me, has been the genuine and otherwise unlikely friendships with lawyers outside my own bubbles. From our interactions and collective success, I have learned that we really are in this life together. Our civility within and beyond the profession is what makes us noble. Unified, we effect the widest influence for good. 

Over the past year, I have enjoyed the privilege of joining numerous Missouri Bar members as they’ve come together – both physically and virtually. But even with all the travel and events I have been able to attend, I experienced only a fraction of the myriad ways our members are connecting each day. Whether at Missouri Bar conferences, committee meetings, regional gatherings, CLEs, social events, volunteer activities, service projects, walks, runs, and even blood drives – our members have made time to connect with one another and their communities. We are all better for it.

These gatherings, whether they are focused on increasing our collective knowledge about our profession, serving the community, improving our well-being, or just enjoying one another’s company, enrich our lives in a way I truly only began to appreciate during the pandemic. When we connect with each other, we can help each other share ideas, get exposed to new viewpoints, make better decisions, build better relationships, feel less lonely, and even have fun while we’re doing it.

Your fellow Missouri lawyers are innovators, creative problem solvers, mentors, mentees, teachers, leaders, caregivers, and performers – and each opportunity we have to engage with one another is a chance to improve our practice, serve our clients and communities, and bring joy to our lives. Your Missouri Bar works hard to provide us all with many opportunities to connect with one another.

My favorite Missouri Bar event has always been Annual Meeting. Each year, this gathering provides three days of learning, socializing, networking and the opportunity to build upon our professional and personal relationships. These activities are essential to strengthening our profession and justice system. This meeting in particular provides a unique opportunity to connect with fellow lawyers and judges from all over our great state.

This year’s Annual Meeting is Sept. 13-15, 2023, at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City. The planning committee has really outdone itself putting together meaningful and pertinent plenary sessions focused on exploring wellness and the future of the profession. The first plenary centers on creating a life of balance, happiness and fulfillment in a demanding profession. The second plenary will look at innovations such as artificial intelligence and how they may affect the legal profession, as well as other tools to potentially provide greater access to justice. Your participation in these important conversations is incredibly valuable to all of us in attendance. In addition, each of the four CLE tracks offers our members valuable substantive education in areas relevant to their particular practices.

Beyond the opportunities to learn, our Annual Meeting will have fantastic social events.  During the Foundation and Public Service Awards Luncheon, we will recognize deserving members of the bench and bar. At the Opening Luncheon, we will hear from Chief Justice Mary R. Russell, who will provide an update on issues facing the bench and the bar, and we will recognize this year’s class of Senior Counselors. I hope also to see you at the President’s and Chief Justice’s Opening Night Reception and look forward to learning and playing together at the Best of Missouri Reception at Science City in Union Station. I know the Young Lawyers’ Section, affinity bars and law school alumni groups also look forward to seeing you at their various events.

I hope you can join us in Kansas City, if only so I can personally express my gratitude for your contributions to our profession and society. But also, I hope you will attend because we are better together, and we are best when everyone is included. I know life is busy, however, and that it may not be possible for all to attend in person. If you are not able to join us in Kansas City, you can register to enjoy the CLE programs virtually. Please visit MoBar.org/am2023 for the details and registration information.

Whether in person or virtually, please join me and your fellow Missouri Bar members at Annual Meeting. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for the privilege of serving as your president this year. It has been the honor of my life.

The grass was green, the sun was shining, and the February bar passers and their families were all smiles and excited about the bright future ahead of them. During the enrollment ceremony, Supreme Court of Missouri Chief Justice Paul C. Wilson encouraged each of our new members to take a moment to thank their families and friends who supported them through law school and the bar exam. It was a fitting ask – they began their legal careers with gratitude and recognition of the communities who helped them achieve this goal.

Missouri Bar members had several recent opportunities to show gratitude to the communities who help our justice system operate every day. We celebrated Court Staff Appreciation Week in April, when we encouraged Missouri lawyers to thank circuit clerks, deputy clerks, bailiffs, and other court support personnel who are the heart of the judicial system. In addition, members of The Missouri Bar Board of Governors and Young Lawyers’ Section Council sent hand-written thank you notes to court clerks, and the Board of Governors provided doughnuts to staff at the Office of the State Courts Administrator.

The opportunities to give thanks continued through the first week of May with Juror Appreciation Week. The Missouri Bar provided a poster for courts to display that thanked jurors and encouraged Missouri lawyers and the public to join in the celebration on social media using #ThankAJuror. The week is a great annual reminder of how important the public’s role is in our justice system.

This practice of gratitude not only benefits those we are thanking – it helps each of us as well. Numerous studies have found that gratitude reduces stress and improves physical and mental health.¹ It was timely that we began May with this practice, as the first week of May is also Well-being Week in Law.

During Well-being Week in Law, The Missouri Bar’s Standing Committee on Well-being in the Profession offered programming and events focused on improving our emotional, intellectual, physical, social, and spiritual well-being. I am so grateful to the members of the standing committee, our Missouri Lawyers’ Assistance Program, our Missouri Bar staff, and those who volunteer their time to help Missouri lawyers improve their well-being each day. Thank you. You make our lives better, and as a result, we are better able to serve our clients and communities.

I am also appreciative of the many individuals who continue to help prepare us for the increased remote public access to court documents in Case.net beginning July 1. If you have not already, please visit MoBar.org/RemotePublicAccess to access numerous resources like redaction applications, how-to videos, and the rule changes.

As our Supreme Court aptly advised our newest members during Enrollment Ceremonies, The Missouri Bar is a special community. Each of you is a valued member for whom I am profoundly grateful. I hope you will join me in practicing gratitude beyond these celebratory weeks, continue to prioritize your health and well-being, and support and encourage others in doing so also. With thanks and appreciation for each other, together we thrive.

I’m reminded of that especially around this time, in light of Black History Month in February and Women’s History Month in March. Many Black lawyers, women lawyers, and Black women lawyers helped pave the way for our profession today, and continue to do so. Did you know …

• In 1870, Lemma Barkeloo became the first woman to pass the bar exam in Missouri.¹ Barkeloo was only the second women lawyer in the nation, and she later became the first woman lawyer in the United States to try a case in court.²
   
• John H. Johnson, Missouri’s first Black lawyer, was admitted to the St. Louis Bar in 1871.³
   
• Though Missouri was one of the first states to allow women and Black men to practice law, it wasn’t until 1942 when Dorothy L. Freeman became the first Black woman admitted to practice in our state.⁴
   
• Interestingly, the first female circuit judge in Missouri may not have been a lawyer. Frances Hopkins was appointed probate judge in December 1914 in Clay County after her father died.⁵ There is no record confirming she was a lawyer, however.⁶
   
• Nearly 85 years after the first Black man was admitted to practice law in Missouri, Hon. Theodore McMillian became Missouri’s first Black circuit judge.⁷ And Missouri did not get its first Black female judge until 1983, when Hon. Evelyn Baker was appointed by then-Gov. Christopher “Kit” Bond.⁸
   
• The Supreme Court of Missouri gained its first female judge, Hon. Ann Covington, in 1988⁹, and Hon. Ronnie L. White became the first Black Supreme Court judge in Missouri in 1995.¹⁰ Just two years ago in 2021, Hon. Robin Ransom made history when she was sworn in as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court of Missouri.¹¹

These important milestones are but a few of the positive advancements toward a bench and bar which reflect the demographic makeup of the communities it serves. Based on 2023 enrollment data, one in three licensed Missouri lawyers is a woman. Nearly 12% of licensed Missouri lawyers report racial and ethnic diversity, including 5% who self-report as Black lawyers. Our profession benefits from the voice of these communities through the bar’s Women in the Profession Committee with 745 members, and the Committee on Diversity with 345 members. The Missouri Bar unites all our diverse members toward the common goal of improving the profession, the law, and the administration of justice on behalf of the public. These gains make me feel inspired and hopeful about the future of our profession.

I’m also inspired each year by the State of the Judiciary, most recently given by Chief Justice Paul Wilson. I love visiting the Capitol on the day it is presented. It is fantastic to watch the legislative branch welcome the judicial branch in a joint session to listen to the chief justice report on behalf of our Missouri courts. As children, we are taught the importance of separation of powers and checks and balances to the proper function of our democracy. As a result, it may be easy to forget that all three branches of our government are united in the common goal of serving and improving the lives of all Missourians.

This event reminds me how important it is for us to communicate with one another. Like our bar, the Capitol is full of people with varied experiences and perspectives who are nonetheless united in their desire to serve the public. Missouri Bar officers had the privilege of meeting with numerous elected officials while at the Capitol, and we listened to each person’s priorities this session. We reminded our elected officials that you – Missouri lawyers – are a valuable resource for information as they craft the laws that you may be asked to enforce, defend, interpret, or challenge.

 Whether in working with other lawyers, elected officials, or the more than 3,000 Court personnel, it is important to remember we are all united in our shared goal to serve the public. It is through that sense of community, we flourish. Thank for what you do each and every day to improve the lives of all Missourians.

 Endnotes

1 https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1447&context=law_journal_law_policy

2 Id.

3 Willie J. Epps Jr., Black Lawyers of Missouri: 150 Years of Progress and Promise, 86 Mo. L. Rev. (2021). Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/mlr/vol86/iss1/5

4 Willie J. Epps Jr., Black Lawyers of Missouri: 150 Years of Progress and Promise, 86 Mo. L. Rev. (2021). Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/mlr/vol86/iss1/5

5 https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=174560#:~:text=For%20much%20of%20its%20history,her%20father%20the%20day%20before.

6 Id.

7 https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=174542#:~:text=Courts%201820%20~%202020-,1956%20~%20Theodore%20McMillian%20becomes%20Missouri's%20first%20Black%20circuit%20judge,African%20American%20state%20court%20judge.

8 https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=174556#:~:text=Several%20other%20Black%20men%20became,Governor%20Christopher%20%22Kit%22%20Bond.

9 https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=89981

10 https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=60263#:~:text=At%20the%20highest%20level%20of,the%20Supreme%20Court%20of%20Missouri.

11 https://www.kfvs12.com/2022/05/17/robin-ransom-becomes-first-black-woman-sworn-missouris-supreme-court/

Elizabeth Fax is 2022-23 Young Lawyers' Section chair. 

“We can do hard things.”

This is a quote I posted on my office door as a daily reminder to myself and my team. It was a quote that came to my mind when I was sworn in as chair of The Missouri Bar Young Lawyers’ Section Council last September. I think it is safe to assume that all lawyers experience self-doubt, especially when starting your first job out of law school, preparing for your first hearing, or submitting an important brief for your supervisor to review. I was certainly experiencing it when the gavel was passed to me to head the YLS Council. However, as I looked around the room, I thought, “We can do hard things.”

I thought about the amazing work the YLS Council was already doing, like the service projects we organize for every meeting. In 2022, we volunteered at the Ozark Food Harvest, coordinated a professional clothing drive, answered questions on Missouri.FreeLegalAnswers.org, wrote welcome letters to newly admitted lawyers, and prepared meals for residents at the Kansas City Ronald McDonald House.

I thought about lawyers all over the state who go into schools and teach students about the government for Constitution Day, and those who give their time welcoming new lawyers at the spring and fall enrollment ceremonies.

I thought about the YLS Council’s Diversity Committee led by Whitney Fay and Kamillia Scott, who continue to do incredible work spreading the message of Milly Sawyer to different parts of the state. “The Milly Project” is now a film adaptation of a play that details the true story of an enslaved woman, Milly Sawyers, who fought for and legally won her freedom in Springfield before the Civil War. The Diversity Committee coordinated continuing legal education programs last year in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Hannibal wherein they showed the film and hosted a panel discussion afterward.

I thought about all these initiatives and decided to amend my quote. We can do hard things … together.

Young lawyers across Missouri are already jumping headfirst into challenging situations and working together to make a difference and promote change. One of the things I love most about the YLS Council is that it brings together lawyers of varying backgrounds, practice areas, and experiences. Together, we make an incredible team.

Now that I have started my term as chair, I would be lying if I said that I never experience feelings of self-doubt. On the days I do, I remind myself that we can do hard things together. I hope you remember that, too.

I am honored to serve as chair of this wonderful, dynamic council. If you are a lawyer who is young or new to the profession and want to know how you can get involved, please reach out to me or anyone on the YLS Council. You can also visit MoBar.org/YLS for more information about the section, to learn how to contact your YLS Council representative, and to access the “New Lawyer Survival Guide.”

I look forward to all the great things we will do together.
 

The concept of kinship among lawyers is not new. Indeed, throughout the history of the legal profession, there has always been a strong focus on community.¹ From the Inns of Court in England to the apprenticeship model in the early days of our republic to the establishment of formal legal training in law schools, bar associations, and other affinity groups — lawyers have always benefited from connection with one another.

This remains true today. It is easy to be disheartened when we hear or read about the lack of civility; prevalence of mental health challenges; and ongoing struggle to improve the diversity, equity, and inclusion of the legal profession. But one of the simplest and most powerful ways we can combat each of these issues is through connection.

It is easy to be kind and considerate to someone we know and care about. By developing relationships with our opposing counsel and those who do not see the world the same way we do, we gain empathy and are far more likely to be civil.

Similarly, we can have a positive impact on each other’s mental well-being through community.² United, we can help each other feel a sense of belonging, support, and purpose. And by connecting with, mentoring, and sponsoring lawyers who are underrepresented in our profession, we can improve diversity, equity, and inclusion — which benefits us all.³

Missouri lawyers thrive in community with each other, and The Missouri Bar provides myriad opportunities for us to come together. Through connect.MOBAR, we can find others who share our professional passions and build a network of support. Through continuing legal education programs and conferences, we can make friends, network, and find mentors and sponsors to help us grow professionally and personally. Through volunteering and pro bono work, we can find a sense of purpose together and give back to our communities. Together, connected, we flourish. Visit MoBar.org to find more ways to connect.
 

 
Endnotes

1 See, e.g., Susan Katcher, Legal Training in the United States: A Brief History, 24 Wisc. Int’l L. J. 335 (2006), https://wilj.law.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1270/2012/02/katcher.pdf.

2 See, e.g., Stephanie Gilbert, The Importance of Community and Mental Health, National Alliance of Mental Illness, Nov. 18, 2019, https://nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/November-2019/The-Importance-of-Community-and-Mental-Health.

3 See, e.g., Erik Larson, New Research: Diversity + Inclusion = Better Decision Making At Work, Forbes, Sept. 21, 2017, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriklarson/2017/09/21/new-research-diversity-inclusion-better-decision-making-at-work/?sh=33bfd3464cbf.

In August, I had the pleasure of spending several days in Chicago with leaders of various bar organizations from across our great nation. It was one of the first occasions many of us were able to be together in person in several years, and I was grateful to hear various viewpoints shared openly and collaboratively. We did what lawyers do best: we critically analyzed the issues, debated the significance of problems, proposed and challenged solutions, and advocated strenuously for our various positions. Then we broke bread together and got to know one another as human beings, not simply spokespeople for a particular viewpoint or agenda.

This is one of the things I love most about serving in leadership of The Missouri Bar. We are a robust body of more than 30,000 members – each with individual backstories, practices, and perspectives. Our Board of Governors is comprised of 45 lawyers with widely varying experiences and ideas. We serve all our members, and we value each other’s unique contributions as we work toward our unified goal of helping Missouri lawyers even better serve their clients and communities, while also improving the law and the administration of justice.

The pandemic has made many things clear: we are all connected, we need each other, we can accomplish difficult tasks, and we are at our best when we work together toward a common goal. The rapidity with which the COVID-19 Omicron variant spread from South Africa to small towns in Missouri demonstrates how incredibly connected our society is. And quarantine highlighted how deeply we need that human connection. We suffer greatly when we are lonely and experience miscommunication when we cannot connect face-to-face. Now that we have more opportunities to gather safely, we are reminded how valuable it is to have many voices contributing toward a collective goal.

Missouri lawyers are part of a special community. We are uniquely qualified to help others. We ensure access to justice. We help people avoid disagreements or resolve them. We help businesses grow and help protect consumers from unfair or unsafe practices. We help Missourians understand how our justice system works and empower them to participate in it. In doing this, we are further bonded by our code of professional conduct and the social contract we entered when we took our oath.

While our backgrounds, practices, and experiences vary widely – which is one of our greatest strengths – we are united in our ability and commitment to justice, civic education, and service. And we can make the most change and achieve the best results by working together. United, we flourish. Our bar helps us do that by providing us and our communities with resources, points of connection, support, and education. 

I am honored to serve as president of this wonderful organization, and I look forward to all the good we can and will continue to do together.

In the 50 years since that time, this perception has been affirmed time and time again. That has been no less true during this past year. From Maryville to Holcomb, Brookfield to Springfield, and many places in between, I have had the opportunity to meet many outstanding lawyers in every part of the state.

The common denominator among the lawyers I’ve met at local bar association meetings? A genuine affection for their colleagues.

Occasionally, however, I hear “older” lawyers – those who seem to be closer to my age now – nostalgically suggest that lawyers don’t treat each other as well as they used to. While that may be true in some instances, I have not witnessed this being a widespread problem.

Those of us who have been practicing for a while need to set an example for newer lawyers. It’s easy to be friendly and professional to those with whom we’ve been practicing for 20 years or more. But it is equally important to be courteous, patient, and kind to newer lawyers.

My firm belief is that lawyers treat each other better when they take time to know their colleagues. This means leaving the office on occasion and meeting with other lawyers. Take the time to get involved in The Missouri Bar and other legal organizations. Make phone calls and personal visits instead of relying so much on email or text messages to communicate.

One fantastic option for meeting other lawyers and judges is coming up soon at the Annual Meeting of The Missouri Bar, which will be held Sept. 14-16 in Springfield. Nationally known speakers, more than 14 hours of continuing legal education programming, and great social events will be available. Detailed information can be found at MoBar.org.

Many of us have discussed some of the “lessons learned” from the pandemic, including the ability to productively work away from the traditional office, as well as the time and cost savings by attending meetings and other events virtually. To be sure, The Missouri Bar has used those lessons to guide its member engagement and increase CLE offerings beyond what had been previously possible.

Still, my view is that we do not develop the personal relationships through video and telephone conferencing that can be critical to a successful law practice.

I hope to see you in Springfield this September. It has been my honor to serve as president of The Missouri Bar this past year. I look forward to seeing and working with lawyers from around the state in the years to come.

As I write this column, we are about a month into the 2022 baseball season. My favorite team, the St. Louis Cardinals, are near the top of the National League Central division. My second favorite team, the Kansas City Royals, are near the bottom of the American League Central division.

As a native of Southeast Missouri, I have always been a Cardinals fan, but I did not attend a lot of baseball games as a kid. That changed when I moved to Kansas City for law school in 1984. It was a great time to watch the Royals, with dominating players such as George Brett at third base and Bret Saberhagen on the mound. As I recall, bleacher seats cost less than $10, a price even law students could afford on occasion.

My friends on the western side of the state don’t need to remind me about the outcome of the World Series in 1985. Nor do we need to re-hash the equities of Game 6. While I was disappointed the Cardinals lost, at least they were beat by a team I really liked. After graduating from law school in 1987, I moved to St. Louis and watched the Cardinals compete in another World Series. The following spring, I found some friends to share season tickets, and we’ve had them ever since.

The start of baseball season tells us that summer is right around the corner. Hopefully, summer allows each of us to take some extra time off work. Perhaps you will go to a ball game, go to the lake, or take a vacation. Regardless, spending time away from the rigors of law practice is vitally important to our well-being and emotional health. And don’t forget, Missouri lawyers benefit from access to a variety of travel discounts through the bar.

For many, baseball evokes memories of time spent with families. You may have played youth baseball, coached your daughter’s softball team, or sat in the stands watching your grandchild. Even though these activities can sometimes be grueling, the quality family time that comes with it can never be replaced.

By the time this column is published, Mother’s Day will have passed, but Father’s Day will be just around the corner. I urge you to take a few extra minutes to think about your own special memories with family members. If your parents are still living, maybe you’ll have a chance to pay them a visit or talk by phone. Alternatively, consider contacting someone who may live alone or who doesn’t have family nearby. I assure you it will be worth your while.

I’m also excited about baseball season because it reminds me of The Missouri Bar’s Annual Meeting Sept. 14-16 in Springfield. Why? Because in addition to quality speakers and CLE programs, there will be some outstanding social opportunities. In particular, the Best of Missouri reception will be held at Hammons Field, home of the Cardinals’ AA affiliate. This event always receives high marks from attendees, and I am confident this year will be no exception. Registration for Annual Meeting will open within a few weeks.

Finally, baseball season means hope. Hope for a winning record for our Missouri teams. Hope for the playoffs. Perhaps even hope for another World Series win. And hope you will join us at Annual Meeting!

The 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence might be considered our country’s original public servants. Nearly half of the group, 25 to be exact, were lawyers. But there were also physicians, merchants, plantation owners, and ministers who signed this historic document in the summer of 1776.

In the 246 years since, our country has been blessed to have countless men and women from all walks of life who have devoted their time and talents to benefit the public, and they’ve done so in a range of ways.

Throughout my professional career, I have been fortunate to have met many such public servants. That has been especially true during the past few years while serving as an officer of The Missouri Bar, in which I have made a special effort to connect with members of the General Assembly to discuss matters that are of interest to Missouri lawyers. Without question, we owe a debt of gratitude to the 197 members of the legislature – including 26 lawyers – who spend vast amounts of time away from their families and professions to serve Missouri citizens.

While serving in the General Assembly is an outstanding accomplishment, it is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to service opportunities. For example, the governor appoints thousands of citizens to serve on roughly 200 boards and commissions. And there are tens of thousands of opportunities to serve on the local level. Missouri has 944 municipal governmental bodies, all of which need citizens to serve on the city council or board of alderman. Each of those cities and townships need volunteers for the park board, library board, or planning and zoning commission. School boards, volunteer fire departments, and water districts provide even more opportunities for service.

As lawyers, we have the knowledge, understanding, and critical thinking to provide valuable guidance and advice to all types of organizations. Without question, many of our colleagues have volunteered their time and talents to public service. In fact, a 2018 survey found that nearly nine in 10 Missouri lawyers volunteer in their communities. For those of you who are part of or have been part of boards or commissions, thank you. For those of you who work in our court system as judges, prosecutors, or public defenders, I appreciate your service. And for those of you who have provided pro bono legal work without expectation of renumeration, your contributions are invaluable.   

But I believe we can do even more. Most of us have the ability to devote two or three extra hours a month to something beyond our regular work obligations. I encourage you to do so.

I want to particularly challenge newer lawyers to consider the ways in which you can serve your communities. I understand that some of you may be hesitant to get involved because of the level of commitment or financial sacrifice. Without question, establishing a new law practice is time consuming, and many of you are also building families. Still, I have no doubt that the personal enrichment from taking on a new role will be worth every shared minute. Time and time again, I have heard volunteers share that they get more out of their work than those they are assisting. Based on my own experiences, I believe that to be true.

If you need ideas for how to help, talk with your colleagues. I think you will find countless examples of work that others have done and places where your services are desperately needed.

Your service truly makes a difference. Thank you for considering my request.

Finally, know that The Missouri Bar is excited to learn about your personal and firm efforts in the community. Please don’t hesitate to reach out and tell us about your work – you can even notify us on social media by using #MOLawyersHelp.

Sometimes, though, kids ask seemingly simple questions that can be fairly difficult to answer. One such question: “What’s it like to be a lawyer?” 

Those reading this column probably have a lot of different ways to answer that question, and I am interested in your thoughts. Here are some of mine:

First, being a good lawyer is about helping people. Prosecuting attorneys seek to help victims of crime achieve justice and hold those who commit crimes accountable for their actions. Real estate lawyers work to help their clients buy or sell property. Lawyers who are involved in public finance help advance economic development opportunities around the state or help schools finance building projects. Personal injury lawyers help those hurt through the fault of others seek compensation for their losses. Whatever their area of practice, lawyers have the common goal of helping their clients. 

Second, I believe the best lawyers are good listeners. Sometimes I hear parents say their child will make a great lawyer because the child “loves to argue.” Although I understand why a parent might have that idea, I have to restrain myself from disputing that a child who “loves to argue” will make a great lawyer. Some say that God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. I think that’s true. Really good lawyers, in my view, listen first and speak second. (Apologies to my wife and children who think I need to follow this advice more often at home.)

Third, I believe good lawyers are empathetic. In many cases, we are seeing people when they are going through difficult, stressful situations. We should always try to keep in mind that, although the situation may be commonplace for the lawyers in the room, the clients may be having their first encounter with the legal system. Lawyers and judges should strive to ensure that the clients (whether our own or those represented by opposing counsel) walk away believing that the legal system works for all parties, even if the outcome of a particular matter is not perfect.

Finally, being a good lawyer takes hard work. There are many jobs that require long hours and dealing with challenging situations, and this is true for most lawyers I know. We prepare for that somewhat in law school. But while many of us believed the hard work would lessen somewhat after obtaining a Juris Doctorate, I believe most lawyers would agree that is not generally true.

Lawyers provide extremely valuable services to the public, and it is important to help people know and understand what lawyers do. If you are asked to speak to your child’s class, your Rotary Club, or some other organization, please consider doing so. The Missouri Bar has sample presentations to help guide you if desired. And if you’re willing to take it a step further, you can sign up for The Missouri Bar’s Speakers’ Bureau. 

If you’re interested in sharing with me your thoughts on this or any other issue, please feel free to contact me at MoBarPresident@MoBar.org. Thanks for all you do to improve our profession.

John Grimm
John Grimm, 2021-22 Missouri Bar president, practices with The Limbaugh Firm in Cape Girardeau.

The outdoor event was a departure for many of us who took our oaths of admission inside the Supreme Court of Missouri. For most, it was our first time visiting the building. In the beautiful confines of the building, which we entered by pushing open huge, extraordinarily heavy wooden doors, we walked up the wide, marble steps to the second floor. Our group was taken to the Division 1 courtroom, with its tall ceilings and ornate furnishings. Even more impressive, seven judges and several lawyers were taking a day of their lives to speak to and celebrate with several hundred new lawyers, welcoming us with open arms and great encouragement as colleagues in this 30,000-member community.

For me, it was very daunting to be seated in the Division 1 courtroom, with my brother by my side, my mom seated in the back of the room, and my dad seated with the Court – a long-standing tradition for judges whose children have passed the bar exam. While our ceremony took place, the next group got ready in the Division 2 courtroom. The Court and other speakers went back and forth between the two courtrooms eight to 10 times until all new lawyers had been sworn in.

I remember then-Chief Justice William Billings, then-Missouri Bar President David McMahon, and then-Board of Law Examiners President David Macoubrie speaking to us new lawyers. Even though I don’t recall specifically what anyone said, I have a very clear recollection of the experience itself. And then it came time for the Oath of Admission, in which we swore that we would:

• Maintain the respect due courts of justice, judicial officers, and members of our profession;
• Conduct ourselves with dignity;
• Never mislead a judge or jury;
• Conduct ourselves in accordance with the Rules of Professional Responsibility; and
• Practice law to the best of our knowledge and abilities and with consideration for the defenseless and oppressed.

The same oath that I took in 1987 was administered by Chief Justice Paul Wilson to our newest colleagues in 2021. Fundamentally, these obligations are simple: Follow the Golden Rule (treat others as you would like to be treated), tell the truth, and do your best.

Unfortunately, the demands of client satisfaction, attracting new business, and making money may result in some lawyers bending – if not breaking – these rules from time to time. Still, I find most lawyers treat each other respectfully and appropriately, and they do a great job representing their clients.

Over the years, I have been fortunate to have been involved in quite a few cases with lawyers from other states. It is not uncommon for the out-of-state lawyers to comment on the civility and professionalism of Missouri’s lawyers. Those type of comments, as well as my own observations, reaffirm my faith in our colleagues.

I believe that will continue to be the case. Following the enrollment ceremony, I met several of our state’s newest lawyers. They were polite, enthusiastic, and excited to enter the profession. They were ready to go to work. I have every confidence that they will continue to uphold the finest traditions of professionalism and civility. 

Regardless of whether one has been practicing law for 30 days or 30 years, the oath we all took binds us together throughout our careers. I welcome all our new Missouri lawyers, and I look forward to seeing the amazing work and dedication you bring to your clients and our profession.

John Grimm
John Grimm, 2021-22 Missouri Bar president, practices with The Limbaugh Firm in Cape Girardeau.

Like me, many others in my class were traditional students who had gone directly from undergraduate to law school. We all worked hard in law school, but without the pressures that some other students had. Some classmates were married and had small children; others had full-time jobs and were working by night and going to school by day. The dedication of these students was amazing. The fact that they could honor their other obligations and at the same time keep up with the demands of law school was extremely impressive. Looking back, I have real admiration for those students.

In the 34 years since graduating from law school, my admiration and appreciation for my fellow lawyers has only grown. 

That’s because numerous studies recognize how lawyers are among the top-ranked professions for giving back to their communities. From volunteering for charitable organizations to serving on school boards or city council, lawyers have always answered the call for service. Lawyers have the understanding, knowledge, and critical thinking needed to provide valuable advice and counsel for all kinds of organizations in our state. 

In addition to community work, lawyers provide thousands of hours of pro bono legal services every year. Hundreds of thousands of Missourians annually depend on us to provide free or reduced-fee services, without which access to justice would be impossible. Service has always been, and hopefully will continue to be, a fundamental part of our profession. Thank you for giving back.

In the past 18 months, we have faced obstacles that most never anticipated. With very little to no notice, lawyers had to figure out new ways to meet the legal needs of clients. Remote execution of documents, virtual court appearances, and Zoom meetings all became commonplace last year. Some of these changes will become permanent, providing increased efficiencies for lawyers and clients.

I admire lawyers, and our bar organizations, who adapt as necessary to even better serve their clients and members.

And I admire and appreciate professionalism among my colleagues. I have been very fortunate to have some great role models in my career. I’ve found it helpful to occasionally review our oath of admission. Among other promises, we agree to “maintain the respect due courts of justice, judicial officers and members of my profession.” We serve our clients best when we fulfill this oath.

Just as you work to best serve others, at The Missouri Bar, we will also continue to look for even better ways to serve you. We have roughly 50 committees working on behalf of our 30,000 lawyers. To all who take the time to serve on these committees, thank you. Your work is critical to the bar’s mission. 

As we embark on another bar year which will require lawyers to continue to adapt both as individuals and through our bar organizations, I welcome your input. I look forward to visiting with lawyers throughout the state, either through virtual or in-person Missouri Bar events or at your local, specialty, or affinity bar organizations. If you would like me to attend or speak at a meeting or presentation, complete the form at MoBar.org/request-missouri-bar-president.

The small boy who knew he wanted to be lawyer when he grew up never imagined serving as president of The Missouri Bar. I could not be prouder to represent those who serve their clients and communities so well. Thank you.

To request a meeting or event with Missouri Bar President John Grimm, go to MoBar.org/request-missouri-bar-president.

John Gunn

John Gunn practices with Gunn Law Firm PC in St. Louis. This message was adapted from his address to members of the 2021 graduating class at Saint Louis University School of Law.

Between local and state bar meetings, as well as regional and national bar conferences, the president usually gets to see the entirety of our gorgeous state and country. Over the past 11 months, however, my travel has been restricted to four visits to our state capital. The social aspects of the office may have experienced a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the work did not. While adapting during the pandemic, your bar has been working hard to help you even better serve your clients.

Over the past year, The Missouri Bar convened five different special committees that focused on lawyer well-being, diversity in the profession, COVID-19 responses, and legislative procedure. The special committees have a total of 90 committee members. These committees compliment the standing committees that do the regular and significant work that keeps our bar consistently healthy.

While holding our meetings virtually was certainly not ideal, we seized on the opportunity presented by this development. Our special committees are comprised of prominent and incredibly dedicated (read: busy) lawyers whose availability to contribute to our efforts increased substantially thanks to reduction in the need to travel for our meetings. The commodity of time during the pandemic assumed a considerably different construct for us all. Newly found time contributed in great measure to our ability to address weighty issues. Some such issues arose recently while others have festered throughout history. Our COVID-19 Response Task Force, empaneled in 2020 by Immediate Past President Tom Bender, developed meaningful means of addressing technological and practical issues to ensure the efficient and equitable administration of justice during the pandemic. At the same time, our Lawyers Living Well Special Committee and the Special Committee on Lawyers of Color are each set to dissect and address issues that have historically plagued our profession, even more acutely than society at large. While many aspects of our lives were put on hold since March 2020, the work of The Missouri Bar was not.

Experiencing a deadly pandemic is not something any of us hoped for, and I’m confident we all would like to see it come to a discernable end. The experience of time spent alone (or nearly alone) has become ubiquitous. Isolation can be stifling. The past year and a half provided us each unique experiences, providing a glimpse into the difficulty seclusion can present. However, the experience also reminds us of our fundamental connection to each other. While appreciated uniquely by most, there can be no dispute that we have all been impacted markedly by a common experience. It is the commonality that binds us. Every shared experience compliments our individual humanity by reminding us that we matter to each other. In fact, such experiences are integral to the development of that humanity. To share such an experience with the entirety of human population is significant.

As we also know, isolation can be very ugly. The most tragic manifestation of human isolation is the self-imposed end of existence itself. A suicide in the U.S. occurs nearly every 11 minutes, resulting in more than 47,500 deaths per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 12 million adults who have seriously considered suicide, 1.4 million have attempted it. These statistics represent an unfathomable amount of pain. Our profession’s experience of anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders at rates exceeding those of the general public highlight the severe risk to the lives of lawyers during such time of prolonged aggravation. September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in the U.S. Suicide and the stigma that prevents those who need help from seeking it are weighty topics, but ignoring them does not help the suffering. I suspect any member of our bar who has practiced just a handful of years knows of at least one lawyer who died by suicide. Many of us know of a dozen or more. Each life lost in such a manner is a preventable tragedy and I implore you to listen to those around you and help how you can. There is always someone to speak to on the Suicide Prevention Awareness Month lifeline (800-273-8255), and you can find resources for suicide prevention at americanbar.org/groups/lawyer_assistance/resources/suicide/. It is imperative that we pay attention to those around us and heed even the quietest requests for help.

While we may not be completely free of the restraints inflicted upon us by the pandemic, we’re getting there. Thank you for your commitment to our profession during such a unique period in our history, to the clients we serve, and to the fundamental ideas to which we adhere. It has been my pleasure to serve as your president, and it is my hope that you each find calm and balance in every aspect of your life. Be good to yourselves, and each other.

John Gunn

John Gunn practices with Gunn Law Firm PC in St. Louis. This message was adapted from his address to members of the 2021 graduating class at Saint Louis University School of Law.

Most of us who have been lawyers for any length of time (20 years for me; 50 for my dad; about two for our associates) would agree this focus doesn’t — and perhaps shouldn’t — subside. Every lawyer with whom we have interacted — whether in an office, a courtroom, or a classroom — is still working out what it means to be a lawyer. We research, watch, read, talk, listen, and travel all while searching for the elusive solution.

The imposter syndrome felt by lawyers, in this ivory tower of a profession with icons residing at the top, never goes away. It may subside, but the truth is I’m not sure it should. We are lousy with examples of how to act in challenging circumstances, how to deal with difficult adversaries, or how to navigate complex and piercingly important topics. There is also no scarcity of observable behaviors that present a contrast to who we aspire to be as lawyers and as people. Learning is a lifelong process. Cliché? Yes, but for a reason. As a profession, we simply do not stop learning. There is no “set it and forget it” in the law. Each set of facts is unique. The law and its application are constantly in flux. So are we. 

So, what does it mean to be a lawyer? 

There is no objective answer to this question. It doesn’t exist. Conscientious and competent representation of clients, civic engagement, general leadership, and mentoring are all completely legitimate considerations in searching for the conclusion, and they are attributes I hope we can agree should be included in the process. But no one in the profession can dictate to you the part those factors play in the final analysis. 

What does it mean to be a lawyer?

I submit the base material for the amalgam that is the answer is … you. Your experiences, your observations, your decisions, and, ultimately, your humanity. We spend our careers hearing about the responsibility that comes with being a lawyer and the import that our profession plays in society. We even join groups of lawyers whose purpose is to just be lawyers and do what lawyers do. But the concept of what we do is such a small part of the story. How we do it is perhaps of far greater consequence. 

Our clients’ goals are isolated as something to which our duties are bound, but the humanity available to us in determining the best way to reach them is abundant. We don’t need to be difficult in litigation. We don’t need to chastise someone who gets the law wrong in a contract negotiation. If a colleague asks a question to which we believe he or she should know the answer, it doesn’t help to castigate that person. 

Empathy and humanity are not something to which much time is dedicated during the legal education process. This is not an indictment on any institution of legal learning. Law school taught us to be of tough mind, focused, and resourceful in arguably stilted ways. We have been taught how to think like lawyers. That training serves a purpose, to be sure. But do any of us really want to live permanently in that state of mind? Our existence as emotional beings simply cannot be set aside. Compartmentalization of humanity is impossible. The sooner we surrender that notion, the sooner we can proceed toward expressions of empathy that can heal not just us, but those in our orbit. And, yes, that healing can occur in even the most difficult disagreements. It exists in the simplest expressions of kindness — understanding that a human we are opposing in the legal system is worthy of not just acknowledgement, but true consideration. It is not easy sometimes, and we’ll never be perfect at seeing everyone all the time. But like with what it means to be a lawyer, we learn, we progress, and we can control the direction in which we evolve.    

We all have innumerable opportunities to hone our humanity, as well as what it means to be a lawyer. I submit those concepts are inextricable from one another. When we work on one, we are working on the other. Consider the common use of the word “counselor.” That is what we are, and we ought to embrace that title in all its meanings because we will embody it to just about everyone we encounter.

John Gunn

John Gunn practices with Gunn Law Firm PC in St. Louis.

Of all the notes, scales, rhythms, and melodies available to any composer, some fixed combination is conjured and established to form music. Sometimes soothing, sometimes energetic, sometimes angry, sometimes even remaining chaotic – good music always evokes emotion. Music and emotion are inextricably linked. Not only is music a means of emotional journey or escape, the process by which it is made is deeply parallel to our emotional existence.

Cacophony of images, thoughts, sounds, and other clatter is not unique to lawyers, but if recent studies have shown us anything, it is that we lawyers experience such lack of emotional clarity at a rate far exceeding what the general public experiences. Perhaps worse, we attempt to mitigate that experience through self-medication at a similar and alarmingly disparate rate.

The well-being of members of our bar is something to which little direct attention has been paid historically. The Missouri Lawyers’ Assistance Program has been in place, in one iteration or another, for decades. However, its utilization is far below what the objective numbers suggest. Fortunately for those working in the justice system, there has been a national movement toward an increased focus on the well-being of lawyers and others with whom we regularly work. It has been The Missouri Bar’s good fortune to enter this discussion with consensus, dedication, and guidance from a national expert in the field. Bree Buchanan, president of the Institute for Well-Being in Law (formerly the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being), not only presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of The Missouri Bar, but served as facilitator for a Roundtable on Lawyer Well-Being I had the honor of co-hosting with Chief Justice George W. Draper III in October 2020. This roundtable, attended by stakeholders from throughout the profession, discussed issues impacting well-being in law and how those issues can be best addressed by The Missouri Bar. A report generated by the roundtable includes several recommendations, the consideration and implementation of which is the charge of a newly created Lawyers Living Well Special Committee. Chaired by Athena Dickson, of Kansas City, and vice-chaired by Erica Mynarich, of Springfield, and Whittney Dunn, of St. Louis, the Lawyers Living Well Special Committee first convened in late February and established three working groups to consider unique ways to address wellness within the purviews of stigma, education, and policy. My pride in announcing this special committee is in part because it constitutes the true beginning of my passion project as president of The Missouri Bar, but the majority of the pride is in the striking personal commitment of the members of the special committee.

The first meeting of the special committee was not only moving, as members shared their personal reasons for involvement in the effort, but also remarkably inspiring. Lawyers are often quick to find competition in what we do. This is residual to how we were trained and also a large contributing factor to our collective difficulty when it comes to well-being. But in this space specifically, there is no ownership of ideas or jockeying for attention. Pure, selfless collaboration may seem unattainable, but if it can be found anywhere it is in the communal effort to address issues that result in the literal loss of life among our colleagues. The judges and lawyers involved in this project are engaged for the best of reasons: solely to help others. But the reach of this special committee will certainly not be limited to its members. It is our hope that the fruits of work done will reach all corners of our state and beyond.

Our profession may have fallen behind in taking care of ourselves, but whether individually or in groups such as our special committee, there are myriad symphonies yet to be written. Your assistance in advancing these efforts would be enormously appreciated, but for now, as we approach May's Well-Being Week in Law, I ask that you: accept that we all fall short personally and professionally; appreciate there are others who genuinely care about you, many of whom you may never meet; know you are valued; trust difficulty is not permanent; and always maintain an open mind.

John Gunn

John Gunn practices with Gunn Law Firm PC in St. Louis.

Perhaps two related questions drive closer to the heart of the matter. How does the rule of law work? As lawyers, what role do we play in making it work? Shouldn’t we already know the answers to these questions? 

An alarming number do not know “how it works.” According to a 2019 Annenberg survey, only two in five American adults (39%) could correctly name the three branches of the federal government. This was the highest number in 13 years. According to the same survey, more than one-fifth of respondents could not name ANY branch of the government. In 2020, more than half of American adults (51%) surveyed could name the three branches of government – most likely as a result of impeachment inquiries, judicial confirmation battles, a contentious presidential election, and other events.² 

Nature abhors a vacuum. In the absence of information, misinformation has free rein. This is a crisis. It is not new, and it did not happen overnight. 

This crisis impacts every American, whether they are aware or unaware of it. The right to vote is our most tangible form of engagement. It is where the rubber meets the road. It is also where the rule of law matters most. We are a country of laws – a free society governed by the rule of law, which depends on faith in the law and legal institutions and faithfulness to the rule of law. Nescience about how our system works undermines that faith. It blows a hole in the hull of American constitutional democracy, allowing in the rushing waters of disorder. It rips apart the fabric of our nation. 

Let’s return to the second question. As lawyers, what role do we play in making the rule of law work? In the same manner as every elected official, each of us swore an oath to “support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Missouri.”³ The Rules of Professional Conduct direct us to “further the public’s understanding of and confidence in the rule of law and the justice system because legal institutions in a constitutional democracy depend on popular participation and support to maintain their authority.”⁴ 

The staff of The Missouri Bar and volunteers – members of The Missouri Bar and members of the public – commit considerable time and resources to civics education and celebrating those who work to improve civics education and understanding in our state. The resources provided by our Citizenship Education Program include extensive support for classroom learning about the state and federal constitutions, the law, the legal system, and the courts. We develop and publish suggested lesson plans, put on teacher workshops, and provide an in-service program on how to effectively prepare students for tests in American Government. 

With more than 30,000 lawyers dedicated to supporting our constitutions and building public understanding of and confidence in the rule of law, there is no corner of this state we cannot reach. Individually and collectively, we must strive not merely to fill the void but to eliminate it.  

Speak everywhere – at your children’s schools, to Rotary or other civic groups, in neighborhood bridge groups, on text threads with college friends, to church councils or prayer groups. Seize chances to discuss these weighty issues with your family, no matter their ages. Do something at every conceivable opportunity. 

The President’s Message often includes a call to action. This time, I am making a heartfelt plea. Our system of self-government is sick and ailing; it requires aid. As the largest community in this state pledged to support the constitutions of the United States and the State of Missouri, you are our first responders.  

Answer the call.

Endnotes

1 John Gunn practices with Gunn Law Firm PC in St. Louis.

2 Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, Annenberg Civics Knowledge Survey (2020), https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/pandemic-protests-2020-civics-survey-americans-know-much-more-about-their-rights/.

3 Rule 8.15(b).

4 Rule 4 Preamble [6].

John Gunn

John Gunn practices with Gunn Law Firm PC in St. Louis.

Perhaps I ought to take some of my own self-care advice and put my phone down. But I can’t do that. I’m involved. We are ALL involved. As citizens, what occurs in our country impacts us. But as lawyers? We shape culture through our daily work, but more directly through our collective leadership at all levels of government, business, non-profit, volunteer, education, health, etc. We are credible, knowledgeable, discerning, and active members of society. The sidelines simply are not somewhere we are allowed to stay. A simple “what if…” question from a neighbor is a call to engage. Any response (even none) sends a message with gravity.

Recall the surge of importance you felt when learning you were accepted to law school. Remember the pride you experienced upon first realizing that society’s leaders disproportionately had law degrees. Consider your sense of purpose when recollecting the heroes you learned about throughout your education and how many were lawyers.

Ours is not a profession that operates as a part of society, but rather one that plays an integral role in its continued function and innovation. Something I have been hearing a good deal lately is the saying that “culture eats policy for breakfast.”

What, exactly, is our culture? The beauty of this question is that we can choose. This is not a burden. It is an ongoing opportunity to be embraced, and one we were made aware of the instant we set foot in law school.

We lead.

Lawyers are often viewed as immoral, greedy, self-serving, unsympathetic, and callous. Of course, those views are without much merit, but how do we shed them? We lead. We approach those interactions with neighbors, opposing counsel, or judges the same as we should any other person or group – with compassion and understanding. Even if an opposing party is being insufferable, we lead by taking the high road and focusing on allowing law and procedure to direct the interaction. When a board meeting takes a turn toward chaos, we lead by stepping in and restoring decorum by referencing Robert’s Rules. Leadership. When there are large societal needs impacting members of the bar or the practice of law, we DO come together as lawyers to address them. We create programming for members and the public, and we come together as a board to discuss and establish policy. We lead by collaborating and learning from each other, irrespective of our background or political ideology. We lead our way to defining our culture by standing in the way of those who would define it for us. This is where our civics lie, in embracing our prominent role in society and being – above all else – civil.

John Gunn

John Gunn practices with Gunn Law Firm PC in St. Louis.

You may have heard that we, as a country, vote Nov. 3. Ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was finalized only 100 years ago last month, granting women – roughly one-half of the otherwise eligible population – the right to vote. The fact that this occurred so recently in the context of American society is jarring. However, we continue to fight for that most fundamental right of a healthy republic: to vote – to have a voice in how we are governed and by whom. This is a right that was always worth fighting for, and that has never changed. Any presidential election cycle carries unique weight with respect to how we view ourselves as a country. I suspect many of you feel that weight is amplified this year.

We have a unique set of skills to assist with the exercise of the right to vote by those eligible. I encourage each of you to find a way to support and enable voting this November: phone banks, poll workers, election supervisors, election observers, voter registration assistance, driving voters to the polls, etc. There is no lack of opportunity to facilitate this feature unique to the American experiment and foundational to its continued success. Please do what you can to protect voting and facilitate participation in the process.

The world is simply a different place than it was two summers ago. COVID-19 changed the trajectory of all our lives; race-relation issues in our country reclaimed the attention they deserve; and political division is about as severe as has been experienced in my lifetime. The Missouri Bar adjusted and responded wonderfully, in my view, with the creation of a COVID-19 Response Task Force, the convening of our Special Committee on Lawyers of Color, and our continued efforts to better the lives of our members through a focus on wellness. These are all efforts our Immediate Past President Tom Bender instituted and managed mindfully, for which we should all be grateful. I know I am.

These endeavors will continue. The COVID-19 Response Task Force, made up of prominent members of our bench and bar who have magnanimously given enormous swaths of their time, will go on to provide research, insight, and tools to assist us in navigating the pandemic. While largely unseen, the work of this task force is indispensable to the continued administration of justice by our courts until our judiciary can fully and safely resume in-person operations.

Our Special Committee on Lawyers of Color is consistent with our shared hope that we do see color and appreciate and embrace our differences. We owe it to our profession – and society – to understand unique circumstances and experiences so that we can all be better and do better. As lawyers, we are trained to anticipate arguments so that we might better articulate a response. This is the opposite of empathy. While this tendency is often helpful to us professionally, it is of little use outside an adversarial context. Part of the charge of this special committee is to shift our emphasis to listening. It is important that each constituency and individual member of the bar has an opportunity to be heard. The Missouri Bar is listening and will continue to seek out the active participation of members who might otherwise be less inclined to be involved.

Before he was elected president of the United States, John Adams got it right when he embraced his duty to the law and defended British soldiers following the Boston Massacre. He accepted the ridicule and disdain that often comes with doing the right thing and defending those who are without the wherewithal to defend themselves. The right thing, in this regard, was incorporated into the very fabric of our republic in the form of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing the assistance of counsel in criminal matters. In the case of Strickland v. Washington, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor delivered the majority opinion of the United States Supreme Court, clarifying that the assistance of counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment must be “effective.” It has been consistently reported that the Missouri Public Defender System ranks second to last – 49th out of the 50 states – with respect to funding deficiencies. Lawyers who have dedicated their lives to fulfilling the promise made by the framers in the Sixth Amendment are being called before the Supreme Court of Missouri on ethics charges because they simply cannot keep up with the volume of work. Something must change. The Missouri State Public Defender system has for years now been accepting the assistance of outside counsel to help with the volume of cases assigned to it. We will be highlighting those efforts, and our Board of Governors will be hearing consistently from the State Public Defender and other stakeholders within the criminal justice system with the hope that we might continue to protect the efficacy of all citizens’ right to counsel, as well as the lawyers who have committed their careers to the same.

The legal profession is not well, and may not ever have been.

A study commissioned by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and the American Bar Association found lawyers are three times more likely to experience anxiety/depression and two times more likely to be hazardous consumers of alcohol. Our heads have been buried in the sand for too long.

It is the very nature of the practice of law that we are uniquely exposed to difficult situations. As humans, we absorb the emotions experienced by our clients, but our duty of confidentiality restricts us from discussing difficult professional experiences with those with whom we are closest. Our duties isolate us, leaving us largely to work through difficult circumstances on our own.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of an increased focus on the wellness of lawyers. We are suffering – and all too frequently dying – due in a significant degree to a culture where happiness and fulfillment are defined by conventional notions of success.

As lawyers, we are not trained to be empathetic. It just hasn’t been considered an element of good lawyering. But it is an absolute necessity to being a good person, which must come first. It is not enough that we simply broaden the discussion around lawyer well-being, it is time to do the work.

Supreme Court of Missouri Chief Justice George Draper and I will be convening a group of stakeholders in the legal community for a roundtable discussion of issues impacting the well-being of those in our community, and to consider how those issues might be remedied. The roundtable will inform the creation and charge of a task force, which will further identify where help can be provided and develop programs to address the identified need. This is a big undertaking and may require the undoing of decades of culture.

Our world is changing, and that may be an understatement. Change can be difficult. We must be available for each other in ways that may not feel normal. Doing so enables us to better serve our clients and society.

I am energized to be assuming the role of president of The Missouri Bar at this moment in history, but I will certainly need the help of every member of our bar to accomplish these goals.

Be good to each other. And let us all be willing to put in the work – not only to improve the lives of our clients and communities – but to improve ourselves and the support of one another.

Tom Bender

Thomas V. Bender is a member of the firm of Horn Aylward & Bandy, LLC in Kansas City.

For about a week, we seemed on the brink of war as Iran launched missiles at our bases, and talks of a new draft were rumbling across the country. John Bolton teased that he might testify in the impeachment trial, but then he wouldn’t, and then he might … but decided it is better to let us read about it later for $34.99. And there was this novel thing in China. Lockdowns began, but not before an unfortunate visit to the state of Washington. Kobe and his daughter died in a tragic crash; the European Union lost an important member; and Prince Harry and Megan reminded us there is never a normal.

It can’t get more chaotic than this … we thought.

February started a little better. The impeachment trial was finally over, with the process taking about as long as the Speaker took to rip up the State of the Union speech. It was unsettling, but democracy is still strong, as shown by the Iowa caucus results … well, maybe not so much, as that also had a few issues. The strange-looking virus then got an official name from the WHO, COVID-19, causing questions about what happened with the other 18, and Harvey Weinstein got a new name: criminal. Then the stock market crashed and sent a signal that all of this may be taking a toll on our economy. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson caught the virus, which meant any of us could. 

In March, like watching an uphill marathon, we saw all the candidates running … and then faltering and falling out (more than I can remember, but here’s a start: Warren, Bloomberg, Gabbard, Klobuchar, Buttigieg, and about 20 more). Italy locked down the whole country, after which we had a pandemic declared across the world and a state of emergency in the United States. The Dow tumbled, along with spring break plans, as the world changed dramatically. While some students ignored the virus – along with the cardinal rule of avoiding interviews about the coronavirus after too many Coronas – most returned home unexpectedly to discover they had to once again talk to their parents and come home on time. The Summer Olympics were postponed, as were most summer work and vacation options. Mount Everest was closed to climbers (even though that is the ultimate outside activity), and Russia and Saudi Arabia got into a price war over oil as gas prices dropped, eventually reaching a negative value. And we began to wonder what is the new normal.

April starts with more than one million coronavirus cases worldwide. New York is devastated by the illness. Ebola let us know it is still around and Bernie lets us know he’s not, at least not as a candidate. And the U.S. suspends funding of the WHO. An asteroid comes close to Earth and the Pentagon releases three videos of unidentified aerial phenomena (as though aliens would want to come here now). With offices shut down, the talk centers on what shows to watch, and even “Tiger King” finds viewers. The month ends with more than three million global cases of coronavirus and not a roll of toilet paper or hand sanitizer on the shelves.

May has more reports of the spreading virus, with Brazil beating Russia out for number two in the world (but trying harder), and the U.S. recording more deaths than were killed in the Vietnam and Korean wars combined. All sporting events are cancelled, and people are left with the uncomfortable option of exercising instead of watching other people play. We were told to go outside, but with the warning to watch out for killer hornets. A bright spot appears when we resume crewed space flights, but then a great darkness falls on Memorial Day with the killing of George Floyd. The month ends with unrest, bringing people to the streets in protests, but keeping people from otherwise gathering as cases of coronavirus exceed 10 million worldwide.

June is more of the same. No more business as usual, but maybe the unusual is now the new usual. Late night TV hosts broadcast from their homes and courts conduct hearings from their chambers. States shut down and open up like jack-in-the-boxes, and health care decisions are made with one eye on scientists and the other on politics, creating a cross-eyed effect that never results in a clear vision. Throughout the month, voices for change continue to be heard, and the message begins to be heard. And then Sahara dust shows up, just to make the year even weirder.

So, what have we learned from this first six months?

As a bar, we have learned to take the game plan we had for this year, shelve it, and realize it will likely not be used again for some time, if at all. Just like you and your firms, we are doing our jobs virtually and readjusting the types of services we deliver and how we deliver them. We are reworking our contracts, redesigning our conferences, and working to figure out what our members need and what help we can provide to the public. New problems appear daily, and we work to address them even as we figure out what is the new normal. We have set up new task forces to address the economic challenges faced by our members, the safety challenges for reopening of the courts, and how to address diversity and inclusion issues in the legal profession.

As lawyers, I hope we have learned how much we need each other and how our society works best when we help each other. But we can’t work together if we are afraid of each other. When events become uncomfortable, too many employ stereotypes rather than understanding. We have all witnessed those rushes to stereotypes and the unwillingness of some to explore why others feel the way they do – especially when it is different from their own beliefs.We need to have the courage to not only examine our own views, but to help others explore theirs. We are the profession that defends people’s rights to be heard. We have always been such defenders … of all people. Those in bondage. Those disenfranchised. Those with no money. Those with no power. Those who are unpopular … especially those who are unpopular. We do not shout others down. We shout for the right to be heard. And that with that right comes the obligation to listen to each other – especially when it is hard to do so.

As we approach the remainder of this year, we all need to find that courage in ourselves and to help others find ways to come together and make needed changes. Missouri lawyers have a rich history of being problem solvers, and we need to help by working to heal wounds rather than inflict new ones. Let us live up to our pledge, as an organization, to promote the fair administration of justice. Let us live up to our oaths, as lawyers, to seek improvement of the law and to employ our knowledge to reform the law as needed to accomplish these ends.

And let’s hope the remainder of the year is healthier for us all. Stay safe and be well.

Tom Bender

Thomas V. Bender is a member of the firm of Horn Aylward & Bandy, LLC in Kansas City.



 

We have words that rise and fall in our daily lexicon. Akin to grammatical carbon dating, we can identify words or phrases that are symbolic of a certain period: workaholic (1970s); preppy (1980s); “my bad” (1990s). Merriam-Webster keeps track of words that people look up and name the word of the year or century. “Synergy” was the big word in the 1990s; “austerity” became the word most used after 2008. And now you see certain words or phrases appear repeatedly in briefs, such as the need to “put in place legal guardrails.” This year is clearly the year of the P: pandemic is the sad event that will be remembered, along with the associated PPEs, PCRs, and the PPP. But the word that has come into its own in describing reactions to an event is “pivot.”

We have pivoted, both as a Bar and as a profession, as we try to find the right direction to travel. But as we pivot our strategies, our primary goals remain the same – to help lawyers even better serve their clients and to improve the law and administration of justice for all Missourians.

We started off the year with what we thought was a major pivot when we selected a new executive director of the Bar. That is usually the big event of a bar year, but not this year. Even before Mischa Buford Epps could move into her office, the pandemic took everyone out of their work areas. All of us had to rethink how we could do our work in a different way, and we had to do so immediately.

We had also worked on new ways to see how we could get lawyers together in person and how to make those experiences as rewarding and memorable as possible. We had events planned throughout the year, including several conferences culminating in our annual meeting in Kansas City. The planning for those events takes months, and our committees were hard at work to come up with innovative ways to educate our members and have fun in the process. On February 1, a group of judges and bar leaders met in Kansas City to talk about speakers and topics for the annual meeting in September. In an eerily prescient vote, the top choice for a plenary topic for that meeting was “Public Health Crisis and the Law,” to focus on what might happen in the event of a pandemic. It turns out we were a year too late for that topic.

The Bar immediately pivoted internally to keep our members and staff safe and to do our work remotely. We also pivoted from our focus of getting members together to instead supporting them when we are apart. We provided a financial resource center, developed and are offering free CLE programs, co-hosted a town hall with the Kansas Bar Association to provide information on PPP benefits, and tried to find ways to keep our members connected to help their well-being. When it became known that changes were immediately needed to allow remote notarizations to take place, we worked with the executive branch to obtain changes so that needed wills and other important documents could be safely executed. We moved to help the community by increasing the numbers of volunteers providing free legal answers online and working with other bars in their efforts to provide volunteer estate planners for health care providers.

Many of our efforts during the year focus on our educational and business conferences: Family Law, Solo and Small Firm, Probate and Estate Planning, Edelman DWI Law & Science, and the Annual Meeting. Public health considerations required a pivot on those events too, making us retool how and when those could be held, all with the core focus on protecting the safety and well-being of our members, staff, and families. During this process we also learned about how pandemics fit, or do not fit, within certain contractual or insurance clauses.

As a profession, the changes were even more dramatic. Courts remained open, but barely. The Supreme Court of Missouri asked for our help in identifying problems our lawyers and the public are experiencing in connection with the timely delivery of legal services and to help fashion solutions for those problems. Retired Judges Lisa Van Amburg and James Welsh volunteered to lead a task force to address those issues, and that group has been hard at work trying to give real-time input to the Court on how to safely proceed with in-person proceedings, including jury trials. Subcommittees of experienced attorneys have spent hundreds of hours in this effort, and we cannot thank them enough for volunteering their time during this chaotic period in their own practices.

Our new lawyers have had their own pivoting to do. The Bar worked with the Board of Law Examiners to host the first virtual enrollment ceremony, in which the new enrollees appeared for the first time before our Supreme Court judges and heard the inspiring comments of Chief Justice Draper. But now they face the challenges of finding or keeping jobs in these uncertain times, and we need to make sure we help them as they begin their legal careers during this unprecedented moment.

We no doubt have more pivoting to do in the future as this public health event takes us in new directions and phases. But these experiences helped us identify some changes we are now working to implement to avoid future problems. Legislative changes will be sought to give the Supreme Court of Missouri the ability to suspend limitations periods in time of public health crises. The task force is identifying best practices to be implemented for ongoing or future public health situations. And The Missouri Bar is continuing to explore new ways to even better serve the needs of our members. We will continue to explore ways to adapt to the new times, but in doing so we will be mindful that not all pivots are necessary or even good. While the word pivot can suggest nimbleness in response, it can also be a disguise for moving away from the bedrocks of our profession. Rights to a speedy trial, to confront witnesses, and to have ways to fairly present evidence to a jury of our peers will always be considered in this balancing act of rights versus public safety. Immunity laws to shield those who protect us need to be balanced against the rights of individuals and be nuanced to prevent unintended consequences. One thing I do recall from my basketball coach was not to move that pivot foot, and we will remain vigilant in our efforts to make sure all fouls are prevented.

Stay safe, be well, and let us know how we can best help you through these challenging times.

Tom Bender

Thomas V. Bender is a member of the firm of Horn Aylward & Bandy, LLC in Kansas City.
 

These are certainly challenging times. This issue of the Journal goes to publication on the heels of a pandemic declared by the World Health Organization and a state of emergency declared in Kansas City. Beloved sporting events are now non-events, with uncertainty over classes, work, court appearances, and the like invading every hour of our daily lives. We are changing how and where we meet, and givens are no longer givens. Whatever has happened in the intervening days until this issue hits your disinfected desk, I hope that it finds you and your family safe and healthy.

Challenging times call for strong leadership, and I am pleased to report that we are in good hands with The Missouri Bar’s new executive director, Mischa Buford Epps. Before I tell you a little bit about her, let me explain a bit about the process we went through to find the best person for this job and use that opportunity to thank those involved in this very comprehensive and time-intensive effort.

I have had the honor of hiring three bar executive directors during my combined stints as president of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association and now at The Missouri Bar. It is an honor because of getting to meet so many highly qualified candidates who care about the law and the lawyers they want to serve. Each time I walk away from interviewing these stellar individuals, I feel even better about our profession and the lawyers of Missouri. We received a wealth of good applicants from a wide variety of backgrounds, which made the selection process even more difficult. I therefore asked for help, and formed a search committee consisting of some great lawyers who I respect and who also represented a wide and diverse swath of our profession. That committee included the current officers, a sitting rural associate circuit judge, a federal court law clerk, small town and big firm attorneys, and the sitting Missouri NAACP president. I also asked a former Missouri Bar president to oversee the process.

The committee initially vetted all candidates using all public sources, including social media searches, Case.net and Pacer, as well a review of any disciplinary records and the like. We then moved on to phone interviews, background checks, credit checks, and then in-person interviews. Teams were created and assigned candidates as applications were received to ensure impartiality in the process, and all information received by any team was shared with the whole committee. We had several meetings in which we reviewed all applicants, and the process continued until one candidate received the endorsement of the committee.

After the committee made its recommendation, the Executive Committee then reviewed the process and made its recommendation to the 45-member Board of Governors. The Board of Governors then conducted its review and vote, after which an offer was extended.

In short, this was a very methodical and comprehensive process, and it worked well due to the excellent work of the search committee chair, Morry Cole, and the dedicated efforts of the rest of the search committee and Executive Committee members: John Gunn, John Grimm, Lauren Tucker-McCubbin, Athena Dickson, Mira Mdivani, Judge Doug Thomson, Nimrod Chapel, Megan Phillips, Scott Robbins, and Amanda Ketchum. They took many hours away from their work to help make sure this process worked well, and we are indebted to them for their efforts. Thank you all for guiding us to our new executive director.

Our bar has more than 30,000 members. We have a very lean staff for a bar our size, but there are still 45 hard-working staff members, and an annual budget of $11 million per year to oversee and to make sure that our lawyers and the public are well-served. It takes a wide range of skill sets to do the executive director’s job well. You have to be a lawyer and understand the challenges lawyers face in their profession; you have to understand finance and budgets; you need a basic sense of fairness to understand there are two sides to many stories and to have the openness to consider both of those sides as we attempt to find solutions to legal issues facing our state; and you have to have a sense of humor and find a little bit of fun to inspire our great staff and volunteers. We selected Mischa because she has a great balance of all those skills.

Mischa was raised in Oklahoma, the oldest of three children. Her parents worked in the petroleum industry, her father as an accountant and her mother in the computer information systems side of the business. While Mischa was in elementary school, her father took law school classes at night; however, a work promotion relocated the family away from any nearby law school, preventing him from finishing a law degree. Nevertheless, his efforts planted the bug in Mischa, who decided in the seventh grade that she wanted to be a lawyer. She went to high school in Tulsa, where she graduated first in her class. She graduated from Washington University with honors and from the University of Texas Law School.

Shook Hardy & Bacon interviewed her while she was still in law school, and after graduation she began work in the firm’s Kansas City office, where she became a partner and worked for more than 20 years. She excelled both as a corporate lawyer and as an involved member of the legal profession and the community. She has received honors and awards from a wide variety of organizations, including Best Lawyers in America, while also receiving recognition for her work in the profession and the community. And it was as a result of connections at a Missouri Bar Fall Committee Meeting that she started dating her husband-to- be, Willie Epps, Jr. – now U.S. magistrate judge for the Western District of Missouri.

Mischa has achieved a variety of professional and personal accomplishments, but what caught the attention of search committee members were the reports of her ability to build consensus, to look ahead, and provide a vision for what we can be. She has proven that she is a leader.

Rosalynn Carter said, “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” We look forward to Mischa’s leadership, not only for where we want to go, but where we need to go, as we face the challenges ahead. Whether we are facing a pandemic, a technological dilemma, or challenges in the delivery of legal services, we are comfortable that she will provide us the leadership we need.

Stay safe … and keep those hands away from your face.

Tom Bender

Thomas V. Bender is a member of the firm of Horn Aylward & Bandy, LLC in Kansas City.
 

For example, I might be a little premature in anointing the Kansas City Chiefs as the new Super Bowl champions. As of this submission, they are awaiting a January 12 playoff game; by the time of publication, I am hoping that the road to Miami was successful. But I have had similar hopes for cases which also went south (though without as much reward). So while hope springs eternal, I realize the difficulty in predicting the future.

That being said, it isn’t too much to predict that some shiny New Year’s resolutions have already become a little tarnished. My high school friend and I call each other on New Year’s Day and talk about our goals; he told me he was going to quit his poor eating habits, but then remembered that nobody likes a quitter. Every portion of life can be in the bullseye of resolutions: eating, exercising, saving, communicating, keeping in touch … all are saved up to the end of the year where, with a deep breath and a flinty look of commitment, we begin the race to do better in the year to come. Some stride ahead, confident and committed. Others slow down, stumble, and maybe head backwards to where they started or even beyond.

But what the heck, at least we try.

So let’s try again. This Journal should be hitting your desks around February 10, so the New Year resolution scorecards are in for the first month. For those who have made and kept their resolutions, congratulations. You are in rarified air in keeping to the task. Your willpower and focus are admirable and, frankly, likely a little annoying to your friends. But for the rest of us, as Mark Twain said, our past resolutions can be used to “begin paving hell with them.” So let’s throw those out — and make some new ones. And to be successful this time, make them manageable.

Please consider picking one of the manageable resolutions from each category below:

Professional:  
1. For one week, return every phone call and email within a business day.
2. Write one thank you note or email to a lawyer who helped make your practice better.
3. Go to coffee or lunch with someone whom you can mentor or who can mentor you.

Family/Friends:
1. Bring someone in the family to your office and then go to lunch with them.
2. Send a handwritten note to someone you love or admire.
3. Show kindness and patience to one person who you know is struggling.

Health:
1. Schedule a physical.
2. Schedule a physical.
3. Schedule a physical.

Social:
1. Send one letter to the editor or to an elected representative about something that matters to you.
2. Dial back your time online.
3. Have the courage to stand and share your thoughts with others about the issues that matter most.

Except for the last one (and maybe the most important in these times), the rest of the resolutions are manageable. And maybe in their accomplishment, you can start some new practices or habits that enrich your practices or prolong your lives. Resolve away — but whatever the resolutions, always first resolve to take care of yourself.

Your Missouri Bar is making its own resolutions to help better serve you and the citizens of our state. We have some larger tasks ahead of us, some of which are difficult to manage; but, like you, we too are also focusing on all the bite-size resolutions we can fulfill to make your bar better. As we move forward to accomplish this, we look forward to your continued input and suggestions for ways for us to do an even better job.

Good luck to you, and I look forward to hearing about your successes and sharing ours with you.

September - October Issue, Journal of The Missouri Bar

There’s nothing like the simultaneous excitement and terror of embarking on something new. Every parent knows that feeling: getting their child ready for the first day of school or college, knowing that their child has taken that first step toward a bright future while at the same time worrying about the real or imagined dangers lurking around the corner.

But the parents get through it, maybe texting or calling their own parents or other family members to ostensibly share pictures, but they call to also get the comfort and support that family offers.

We have all been there in one situation or another: starting law school and awaiting that first Socratic challenge; getting engaged; beginning that first job; picking a jury or starting a trial; or, if I may invoke a little personal privilege, assuming the leadership of an organization. It is an honor to have the privilege of serving this tremendous organization, but I am all too aware of the carcasses that litter the roadways of public speaking because of one or two verbal missteps. And, while I am excited about the ways we are trying to make the practice of law even better for our lawyers, there are those who seek to inhibit our continued progress and to attack the rule of law. I hope to be up to the task of quelling those unfriendly winds. So, like those parents who feel both happy and uneasy in their calls to their families, I am calling upon my family both to share that excitement and to provide comfort in their support. That family is you.

Missouri lawyers are a family. And what a family we have: 30,000 members living in 45 judicial districts in our state (plus all 49 other states and 10 foreign countries), with more than 400 judges and commissioners. Our members come in all shapes and sizes (and in my more than 40 years as an attorney I have had all shapes and sizes, too), with varied backgrounds and practices. We have a rich family history, especially if you count the Founding Fathers, our distant cousins, who helped with our governing documents.

We share a lot in common. First, we share that something in our nature or background that made people suggest you should go to law school. Maybe it was the way you argued; maybe it was the way you helped others solve problems; maybe it was the way you couldn’t figure out what else to do. And after we followed that advice to enter law school, most of us shared that trilogy of being scared to death, worked to death, and bored to death for those three years. But you made it – we all did – and we share that unique experience of a legal education and the stories that go with it.

We also share the commonality of trying to make a living after law school. Depending on the year you graduated, you might have carried more debt than others and had a harder time getting started than others, and you share the challenge of mastering the business component of this noble profession.

There is a shared understanding of the difficulties of the deadlines and of the demands for your time and excellence that can be so challenging … and sometimes more than challenging. Most of our family at some point or another have experienced and share those challenges and struggles.

If you attended our family reunion in Branson last month, you no doubt saw what a diverse group of members we have. Like every family reunion, there is a goofy uncle or two, and since it is family, the polite talk prohibitions against speaking about politics and religion go out the window. But it is our diversity that makes us so strong, and it is the mix of all these different styles that makes our family so fascinating. Lawyers have some of the best stories anywhere, and in our midst are recording artists, mountain climbers, artists, inventors, politicians, livestock experts, cruise directors, founders of institutions, and all shapes and sizes of heroes in their personal lives and in their communities.

Most of our family are true professionals who ascribe to the highest of principles. We believe in equality; we believe in justice; we believe in bettering our communities through the even-handed application of fair laws. And what a generous bunch, with more than 30,000 hours of legal work donated each year to help those who can’t afford legal services. As our Immediate Past President Ray Williams uncovered, 90% of our family serve their communities as members of boards and organizations. We should be proud of our family and what it has done and continues to do.

It is with this strong family in mind that I turn to you for support. We have some challenges ahead of us as an organization and, as the initial gatekeepers of justice, all need to help. We need to help our rural communities to obtain new lawyers. We need to help those communities have affordable access to services. In addition, we need to continue with our efforts to address any implicit bias in our profession and legal system that deny our citizens a legal playing field.

And we have challenges in our own family. Too many of our family have been overwhelmed by the stresses that sometimes come with life but get amplified by the demands of our practice. We have unfortunately seen that despair in law school before they join our family or prevent them from joining our family. These burdens follow them as they enter the practice.

These and other challenges we face require your help, and we will be calling on you throughout the year to help address them.

We have a tremendous family, including the group of professionals at the Missouri Bar Center who day in and day out dedicate themselves to making improvements to everything we do and to provide to all of us the very best services, programs, and opportunities. And we have a great group of those who have served before, including our immediate past presidents Ray Williams and Morry Cole, who have tirelessly sacrificed their time (and bodies) on behalf of us all. John Gunn and John Grimm are incoming officers who already have brought dynamic leadership to our Bar and, combined with the selfless service of the 45 members of our Board of Governors, will lead the way in helping our family address those challenges.

If there is one thing I know about this family, it is that it can do whatever it wants when it puts its minds and its hearts to a task. Thank you for letting me be the nominal head of our family for this year (no, that doesn’t mean you can borrow money or expect birthday presents like you can in other families). But it does mean that all of us will be working hard to help our family, and our community of families, to improve the lives of all Missourians. Thank you for that honor.

Endnote

1 Thomas V. Bender is a member of the firm of Horn Aylward & Bandy, LLC in Kansas City.

Due to publication schedules, I take up my last President’s Page as Missouri Bar president near the time when we celebrate our country’s independence.[3] Twenty-five of the 56 signers of our nation’s Declaration of Independence were lawyers, and we have spent this past bar year celebrating that tradition of lawyer involvement and service by recognizing Missouri lawyers and their overwhelming commitment to serving their communities and clients.While contemplating the content of this “farewell” message, I spent time reviewing the final Journal messages of many of my predecessors. By and large, it has become customary to offer farewell remarks, and to take stock of the past bar year, while sharing insights gained traveling around our state visiting with lawyers, judges, and Missouri citizens. More often than not, these presidents’ words have highlighted the ongoing need for professionalism and civility among Missouri lawyers.

One of the highlights for officers of The Missouri Bar each June is to join judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri in a roundtable conversation with law students attending the Solo and Small Firm Conference. I find these conversations particu­larly refreshing, as we share our experiences with those embark­ing on their legal careers. During this year’s conversation, Judge Paul Wilson offered advice worthy of sharing here when he explained “clients have opponents, but lawyers have colleagues.”

Past Missouri Bar president Maurice Graham, a model of professionalism for us all, once shared with me that when the best lawyers go to trial, the courtroom is a remarkably quiet place to be. There is no need for loud voices, and there is no need for argumentative and speaking objections. Good lawyers respect one another as colleagues, present the evidence, and make compelling arguments – all without the need for posturing, shouting, or ill-advised behavior. I am fond of quoting our remarkably wise friend and past Missouri Bar president Dana Tippin Cutler, who said “we should be the ones showing that you can have an argument without being hateful. You can disagree without being disagreeable.” “Whether we think each other right or wrong in our views on the issues of the day, we owe each other our respect.”[4]

This is the essence of civility and professionalism. As lawyers, we are charged with serving as the guardians of the rule of law. In a world of ever-increasing politicizing, polarization, and tribalism, we can accomplish this mission only by continuing to work together with our professional colleagues to bring justice for our clients and real solutions for the people of Missouri.

Good fortune has allowed me to serve as The Missouri Bar president during the year of the 75th anniversary of our unified bar. I have witnessed the magnitude of what Missouri lawyers, working together, have accomplished in this time.[5]

As a personal example of what lawyers can do working together, one of my first opportunities after joining the Board of Governors in 2008 was to serve on the Committee to Assist Lawyers in a Changing Economy, a special committee formed shortly after the start of the economic recession in our state and country. Since the formation of that special committee, The Missouri Bar has enhanced its focus on providing meaningful member benefits and practice management tools to Mis­souri lawyers. I am very proud of the work that has been done to quickly deliver useful programs and services to Missouri Bar members during the past decade, and I hope that many Missouri lawyers will agree these tools have helped them even better serve their clients.

I believe that our Missouri Bar will continue to serve Missouri lawyers in an efficient and effective way in the future. By establishing a dynamic strategic planning process, with ongoing review of each and every program and activity, our bar is focused on assisting Missouri lawyers in their practices and improving the lives of our fellow Missourians.

As I near the end of my final column, I return to where we began in my first column. Thank you for the incredible commitment to, and your involvement in, your communities and the organizations that remain close to your hearts. Because of the opportunity to serve as your president, I have been able to befriend some of the most amazing lawyers and people across our state and country. I remain awestruck by their dedication to our profession, their talents in the practice of law, and their continuing belief in a better tomorrow. These lawyer-leaders inspire me, even on the days when the hours run thin and the tasks run long.

One such example is the energetic group of local and specialty bar leaders from across Missouri I met at the new Missouri Bar Leadership Institute held in April. This program is just the beginning of bringing bar leaders together to share ideas and bar leadership techniques. I’m excited for the future of this new program and what it means for lawyers and those they serve across Missouri.[6] Through innovative programs such as MO BLI, The Missouri Bar is well-positioned to remain one of the strongest and most effectively run unified bars in the nation.

The practice of law can be a stressful and taxing profession, and presidents-to-be are already focused on addressing the lawyer well-being issues that arise therefrom. However, on even our toughest days, may we all remember the words of lawyer-legislator Jay Barnes, when during his farewell speech on the floor of the Missouri House, he summarized his service with the following advice: “Smile and have fun – even in the most stressful days.” I would add, if you have the chance, take a break and come relax with us in the beautiful Missouri Ozarks.

As a solo, small-town lawyer, serving our Missouri Bar and the lawyers it represents has been one of the greatest honors and experiences I can imagine. I thank you for the opportunity to serve as president of our Missouri Bar.

Endnotes

[1] Raymond E. Williams is an attorney with Williams Law Offices, LLC in West Plains.

[2] Mr. Thompson is the retired clerk of the Supreme Court of Missouri, and offered this thought during his remarks at the Missouri Bar Fall Committee Meetings in 2016.

[3] When this issue is published, we will be near the time for passing the gavel to our next president during the 2019 Missouri Bar Annual Meeting in Branson. I’m excited to host the Annual Meeting for the first time ever in Branson, and we hope you will join us at this fantastic venue on the Branson Landing.

[4] John McCain and Mark Salter, The RestlessWave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations (Simon & Schuster) (2018).

[5] See missourilawyershelp.org/events/mobar75/ for a timeline highlighting some of the many accomplishments of The Missouri Bar during the past 75 years.

[6] There are many opportunities to be involved in The Missouri Bar, including civics education activities and The Missouri Bar Speakers’ Bureau. A quick list with information about these programs and activities can be found on the Missouri Bar website at www.mobar.org/get-involved.htm.

[1]

May - June Issue, Journal of The Missouri Bar

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” – Henry Ford

June 16, 2019, marks the 75th anniversary of The Missouri Bar. Working together, Missouri lawyers have achieved remarkable successes since that June day in 1944, and I welcome this opportunity to recognize some of those accomplishments.

In October 1943, Missouri lawyers gathered and approved a resolution seeking integration of the practice of law in Missouri.[2] In response, the Supreme Court of Missouri created the Committee on the Integration of the Bar. After Missouri lawyers voted overwhelmingly in favor of the committee’s recommendation and plan for integration, the Supreme Court of Missouri issued a court rule on June 16, 1944, giving birth to The Missouri Bar.[3] In the ensuing 75 years, The Missouri Bar has grown from a few thousand to more than 30,000 members across the 114 counties (plus the City of St. Louis) and 46 circuits of our state, and this diverse group of lawyers disposed of nearly 1.6 million cases during fiscal year 2018 in the appellate, circuit, and municipal divisions of our state’s courts.[4]

Such efficiencies arise as the result of Missouri’s unified court system with common rules, jurisdiction, and procedures across the courts of our state. This unified court system is the product of a complete revision of Article V of the Missouri Constitution in 1976, a process that began with the appointment of The Missouri Bar’s Special Study Commission on Judicial Revision in November 1964.[5] The leadership of members of The Missouri Bar led to the efficiencies and uniformity in our courts that we enjoy today, and those efforts continue to improve our courts, with modern case management and electronic filing enhancements being integrated across Missouri courts.

The effort to standardize Missouri’s jury instructions began with a request by The Missouri Bar to the Supreme Court of Missouri in 1961. On January 1, 1965, the Court issued its order establishing uniform jury instructions for civil cases in our state.[6] We now have Missouri Approved Instructions for both civil and criminal cases. In addition, through a joint effort with the Court, The Missouri Bar makes the Missouri Approved Instructions – Criminal and the Missouri Approved Charges – Criminal available online to members.The efforts of Missouri lawyers to improve the law, our courts, and the administration of justice in our state have been expansive during the past 75 years. The Missouri Bar has always worked to assist Missouri lawyers with the means to be well-informed about developments in the law. Shortly after its inception, The Missouri Bar began focusing on providing quality continuing legal education programs to Missouri lawyers. Now, our Bar provides more than 300 CLE programs annually, certifies programs for CLE credit, and tracks each Missouri lawyer’s CLE compliance.

The Missouri Bar has frequently convened groups of lawyers, judges, and interested stakeholders to improve the quality of Missouri’s laws. Just a few of these significant efforts include: the adoption and revisions of the probate and guardianship code; adoption of the Missouri Administrative Procedures Act; revisions to the Missouri Business Corporations Act; the adoption of various articles of the Uniform Commercial Code; the adoption of the Marriage Dissolution Act; the revision of the Missouri Trust Code; multiple revisions of the Missouri Criminal Code; and the adoption of several uniform laws.

Throughout its history, The Missouri Bar has focused on access to the legal system, the administration of justice, and the quality of legal services rendered to the citizens of Missouri. With the help of our Bar’s numerous member benefits programs, Missouri lawyers are able to even better serve their clients.[7] Access to justice has remained a hallmark of our Bar’s 75-year history. The Missouri.FreeLegalAnswers.org program and pro bono enrollment fee waiver rule are the most recent examples of ongoing efforts stretching back to 1965 and before to improve access to legal services. An efficient and effective justice system requires attention to civil and criminal representation, funding, and infrastructure, and our Bar has repeatedly convened stakeholders to address these recurring issues. Undoubtedly, similarly important efforts will continue in the future as we address the financial and other challenges facing our justice system.

Great programs do not happen without great leadership, and it is appropriate to honor and reflect upon the leadership of every lawyer responsible for bringing the works of The Missouri Bar to fruition. Further, we must recognize the often long-serving and efficient staff of The Missouri Bar for assisting and supporting Missouri’s lawyers throughout the past 75 years. Harry Rooks was the first executive director, and served admirably throughout the war years from the original offices of The Missouri Bar on High Street in Jefferson City. Wade Baker became the next executive director on September 26, 1957, and he led the relocation to the new Missouri Bar Center, which opened on May 1, 1965.[8] Since Wade Baker retired in 1985, only two others have filled the role of executive director – Keith Birkes and our current executive director, Sebrina Barrett. We thank them for their leadership.

Our unified Bar has fostered 75 years of amazing service and accomplishment for our members and the citizens of Missouri. I am privileged to lead our Bar during this milestone year as we celebrate our rich history, and we look forward to what can yet be done for our lawyers, for our citizens, and for our state in the future. First published in this Journal nearly 40 years ago, these words of past president Forrest Hemker about the future of The Missouri Bar bear repeating today: “It can be forecast with assurance that it will keep its organizational structure adequate and efficient; service its members to maintain them in an appropriate level of competence; work in harmony with the Court and the legislature in every way possible; and endeavor to make legal services available to all.”[9] By continuing to work together, I sincerely believe that the forecast for the future of Missouri’s lawyers and our Missouri Bar remains as bright and promising today as when Mr. Hemker penned these words. I hope you experience the sense of pride I do as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of The Missouri Bar and honor the past and present achievements of Missouri lawyers working together.

Endnote

1 Raymond E. Williams is an attorney with Williams Law Offices, LLC in West Plains.

2 Forrest M. Hemker, The Story of the Missouri Bar 1880-1980, 35 J.Mo.B. 361, 363 (1979).

3 Id.

4 See Annual Judicial and Statistical Reports, Judicial Caseload Summary, FY 2018, available at https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=137394.

5 Hemker, 35 J. Mo. B. at 365-66.

6 Hemker, 35 J. Mo. B. at 370.

7 See www.mobar.org/memberbenefits for a description of many of the current member benefit programs.

8 Hemker, 35 J. Mo. B. at 364.

9 Hemker, 35 J. Mo. B. at 373.

Missouri lawyers have achieved remarkable successes since that June day in 1944, and I welcome this opportunity to recognize some of those accomplishments. At the heart of many of those successes are the Missouri Bar committees that we celebrate here today.

The Missouri Bar does an amazing job of convening folks from all views and positions to improve Missouri’s laws. Working together through our committees, we’ve done some pretty awesome things:

• Working together through our committees, we’ve helped ensure every citizen has a fair day in every Missouri court by establishing a consistent statewide court system with common rules, jurisdiction, and procedures across the courts of our state. This unified court system is the product of a complete revision of Article V of the Missouri Constitution in 1976, a process that began with the appointment of The Missouri Bar’s committee on Judicial Revision in November 1964.
• Working together through our committees, with prosecutors and defense lawyers, side-by-side, we’ve better protected the people of Missouri by developing a comprehensive Criminal Code - twice.
• Working together through our committees, we’ve kept pace with our clients’ changing lives and technology by repeatedly updating our probate and trust laws.
• Working together through our committees, we’ve helped Missouri businesses thrive, thanks to commercial law improvements, such as the Uniform Commercial Code.
• Working together through our committees, we’ve kept up with changes in society and technology by spearheading the adoption of a Uniform Digital Assets law, so family members now have a way to administer a loved one’s social media and online photos, such as Facebook and Twitter, after the loss of that loved one.
• Working together through our committees, we have improved the quality of Missouri law - one major law after another:
  • Major revisions to Missouri’s Business Corporations Act
  • Creation of Marriage Dissolution Act
  • Since 1961, Missouri Bar committees have been involved in creating Missouri Approved Jury Instructions
  • Our committees have repeatedly been involved in protecting Missouri Citizens’ constitutional right to counsel, and an effective criminal justice system, since at least 1964.
  • 1976 we worked to create the small claims courts
  • 1978 Court Reform and Revision Act adopted the associate divisions of our circuit courts
  • 1982 Guardianship Code Revision
  • 1983 Trust Law Revision
  • 1983 Durable Power of Attorney Act
  • 2016 Missouri Commercial Receivership Act

These are just some of the ways that the work of your committees help you even better serve your clients and improve the law to benefit the lives of all Missourians.

Our unified bar has fostered 75 years of amazing service and accomplishment for our members and the citizens of Missouri.

The first president of The Missouri Bar was Charles Carr. And this morning we visited with Senior Judge Stephen Limbaugh, who was the 1982-83 president of The Missouri Bar. His father Rush Limbaugh was president of our bar in 1955, and was active in the formation of our unified bar. Judge Limbaugh knew Mr. Carr and talked about Mr. Carr’s leadership in forming the unified bar and all of the reasons that Missouri lawyers worked together to request the Supreme Court of Missouri to establish our unified bar. At the other end of the spectrum, two weeks ago I was honored to participate in the enrollment of Missouri’s newest lawyers at the Supreme Court of Missouri. I just received this note from one of those lawyers saying he hopes to make our profession proud by his service, and I’m certain that our newest lawyers will continue the work of the last 75 years.

These words of past president Forrest Hemker about the future of The Missouri Bar bear repeating today: “It can be forecast with assurance that it will keep its organizational structure adequate and efficient; service its members to maintain them in an appropriate level of competence; work in harmony with the Court and the legislature in every way possible; and endeavor to make legal services available to all.”

By continuing the work of your committees, I sincerely believe that the forecast for the future of Missouri’s lawyers and our Missouri Bar remain as bright and promising today as when Mr. Hemker penned these words. So today, we celebrate the committees of The Missouri Bar. We thank you for your service.

March - April Issue, Journal of The Missouri Bar

“[The] advancement & diffusion of Knowledge . . . is the only Guardian of true liberty.”James Madison [2]

As we approach the 75th anniversary of The Missouri Bar this June, it is worthwhile to acknowledge and reflect upon our unified bar’s important role in civics education during those 75 years. Civics education remains an important component of The Missouri Bar’s long-range strategic plan, and there are more than a dozen Missouri Bar programs offering citizenship education.[3]

“[O]rdinary citizens must know – and be able to understand – the law of the land.”[4] A lack of civic knowledge undermines “this bedrock feature of the rule of law.”[5] As Thomas Jefferson noted, “wherever the people are well informed they can be trusted with their own government; . . . whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.”[6]

Throughout its history, The Missouri Bar has worked to provide civics education tools to the educators of Missouri. The Summer Institute brings Missouri teachers together and provides them with tools and strategies for more effective civics education in our local classrooms. In addition, newly created regional meetings across Missouri draw teachers together in groups to exchange ideas and learn about civics education strategies. Through participation in this program, 200 teachers per year will be better equipped to educate thousands of students in our local communities.

In addition, The Missouri Bar directly reaches the citizens of Missouri with such programs as the Speakers’ Bureau, which is available to provide law-related programs to civic groups across the state. The new “Is it Legal to . . .” podcast series offers the public a better understanding of our judicial system and basic legal matters, such as divorce, auto accidents, and the operation of Missouri courts. For many years, The Missouri Bar has distributed information brochures covering a variety of legal topics, including probate law, business law, family law, and consumer law, to the public statewide through law offices, courthouses, and public libraries. All these materials are now available directly to the public at MissouriLawyersHelp.org.

The Show Me the Constitution project allows students from across Missouri to hone their communications skills while developing an understanding of essential constitutional concepts in the context of mock congressional hearings. More than 100 students participated in the 2018 competition, and the program continues to grow in popularity.

All these important programs share one overarching goal: an even better-educated citizenry with a better understanding of our government, courts, and the rule of law. “[I]f citizens do not grasp how the judicial system works, a great many court decisions will seem arbitrary, opaque, and unfair.”[7] Many American citizens reportedly can neither name the three branches of government nor describe their inter-relationship and operation.[8] “Just as citizens must understand that the judiciary is empowered to `say what the law is,’ they must also understand how state and federal lawmakers enact laws in the first place.”[9]

While it remains axiomatic that the legislature makes the law, the executive enforces the law, and the judiciary interprets the law, a democratic society requires a knowledgeable citizenry as its foundation. “To protect against government caprice, we must understand our Constitution, our government, and our laws.”[10] “Civic education is thus deeply rooted in the history and culture of America.”[11]

The Missouri Bar remains steadfastly committed to providing civics education opportunities to all our fellow citizens and supplying educational opportunities to the teachers of our state, as “[t]he reward of esteem, respect and gratitude [is] due to those who devote their time and efforts to render the youths of every successive age fit governors for the next.”[12]

Endnotes

1 Raymond E. Williams is an attorney with Williams Law Offices, LLC in West Plains.

2 Letter from James Madison to George Thomson (June 30, 1825) (from the collection of James Madison Papers, 1723 to 1859, Library of Congress.

3 See Missouri Bar Strategic Direction. Goal 2 provides that “[a]ll Missourians have access to ongoing civics education.”

4 Sandra Day O’Connor, Forward: The Rule of Law and Civic Education, 67 SMU L. Rev. 693, 694 (2014).

5 Id.

6 Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Richard Price (Jan. 8, 1789), https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-14-02-0196).

7 O’Connor, 67 SMU L. Rev. at 696.

8 Id.

9 Id. at 697.

10 Id. at 699.

11 Id.

12 Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Hugh L. White, et al. (1810), in 12 The Writings of Thomas Jefferson 388 (Andrew A. Lipscomb & Albert Ellery Bergh, eds, Memorial ed.).

January - February Issue, Journal of The Missouri Bar

Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much. Helen Keller[2]

The 100th Missouri General Assembly recently gathered to begin the 2019 regular session. Across our state and country, important issues of the day are being addressed by seemingly more-and-more polarized groups of stakeholders. In this column, I focus on the role that we – the lawyers of The Missouri Bar – can serve in bringing together stakeholders in important policy discussions to produce solutions that improve the lives of our fellow Missourians. This is the role of convener.

A convener brings together a diverse group of stakeholders to resolve a problem collaboratively. Conveners are effective in fostering resolutions when multiple groups of stakeholders must respond to solve a problem effectively. A neutral convener is especially effective when multiple groups advocating a desired position or outcome are involved or when the history between the parties has been difficult.[3]

The Missouri Bar is particularly well-suited to serve as a convener, bringing together those with varying positions for problem-solving. The most important criteria for an effective convener is a “reputation for serving the public interest, with no particular ax to grind or perspective to push on the issue at hand.”[4] Successful conveners develop an environment where the participants believe the process is important and worthwhile.

The Missouri Bar Center provides a centrally-located, neutral venue for bringing together interested stakeholders. Given the diverse nature of Missouri Bar members across our state, the expertise of Missouri lawyers on legal issues, and the credibility and reputation of Missouri lawyers and The Missouri Bar, perhaps no group is better positioned to bring individuals and groups together to facilitate meaningful conversation – if not consensus – on difficult issues.

Great results flow from bringing together the appropriate stakeholders in an environment conducive to effective problem-solving. Key criteria for successful collaboration include:

(1) a process inclusive of all interested stakeholders;

(2) a neutral, comfortable meeting location;

(3) an impartial convener;

(4) participatory discussion;

(5) effective, organized meetings;

(6) addressing and overcoming barriers to resolution;

(7) commitment to reaching a resolution; and

(8) a demonstrable outcome within the allotted timeframe.[5]

In addition, it is often beneficial to utilize co-conveners from opposite groups to ensure impartiality in the process.[6] The Missouri Bar has seen success in serving as convener in the criminal justice system area. The Revised Criminal Code was the result of bringing together essential stakeholders in the criminal justice system to develop a comprehensive re-write of Missouri’s criminal law. Similarly, The Missouri Bar, often working through its substantive law committees, has convened stakeholders to address issues of indigent defense, commercial law, real property, and most recently, Missouri’s new digital assets law.

Many bars are successful in convening groups of experts to address important public policy issues.[7] The Missouri Bar is no stranger to this important role, having provided impartial, neutral forums for convening conversations among experts with many points of view about such relevant and important topics as dark money, gun violence, and gerrymandering.

Convening Missouri lawyers with other key individuals and groups, such as the Missouri Press-Bar Commission and the Judicial Performance Review Committee, provides Missouri citizens with useful and timely information. Working with civics education stakeholders across the state allows The Missouri Bar to develop and share citizenship education materials to a wider number of Missourians.

By convening groups of Missouri lawyers and judges, The Missouri Bar has developed a number of proposed rule changes later adopted by the Supreme Court of Missouri. These committees create synergy, and the concentrated desire for problem-solving flowing from these groups accelerates the process of rule change.

A true virtue of The Missouri Bar is the wonderful breadth of expertise and the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints of Missouri’s lawyers. The Missouri Bar is uniquely positioned to bring these leaders together to facilitate conversations and to aid in problem-solving. Whether by simply providing a space and coordinating a schedule, or by identifying and bringing together substantive experts, practitioners, academics, community members, elected officials, or other interested stakeholders, Missouri lawyers are positioned and able to help others work together to address today’s problems in a productive and collaborative way. I invite you to join your Missouri Bar in fostering these important conversations to improve our profession, the law, and the lives of our fellow Missourians.

Endnotes

1 Raymond E. Williams is an attorney with Williams Law Offices, LLC in West Plains.

2 See Joseph P. Lash, Helen and Teacher: The Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy (Radcliffe 1980).

3 See The Role of the Convenor, National Policy Consensus Center. http://filepickup.wrd.state.or.us/files/Publications/Place_Based_IWRS/The_Convener_Role.pdf

4 Id.

5 Id.

6 Id.

7 See, e.g., Dan Kittay, Bringing People Together: The Bar’s Role as Convener, Bar Leader, Jan.-Feb. 2018.