WVBA: Lawyers Serving Lawyers Since 1886—Joint Regional Event With State Bar

WVBA: LAWYERS SERVING LAWYERS SINCE 1886—JOINT REGIONAL EVENT WITH STATE BAR

It was on July 8, 1886, in Grafton that the West Virginia Bar Association was formed—the third oldest state bar association in the nation.  Since that time, the WVBA and its leaders have been in the primary position of initiating, supporting, and collaborating with every other bar organization and bar related entity in our state, as well as working with bar associations in other states and with the American Bar Association.

As stated so well by beloved WVU College of Law Professor Emeritus and WV Bar Association Past President, Forest J. (Jack) Bowman, in his Prologue to “Raising The Bar—A History of the West Virginia Bar Association” (2007):

“In a real sense, law is what America is all about. In no other system of government do the law and the courts—and lawyers—play so large a role.”

“The lawyers who created The West Virginia Bar Association were, obviously, moved by these sentiments and their understanding of the lawyer’s role in our society. The organization to which they gave birth on that July day in 1886 has been at the forefront of the struggle for justice in this state since the very beginning. Among other things, this organization led the fight for decent judicial salaries, for mandatory legal education as a prerequisite to admission to practice law, and for the adoption of an enforceable Code of Ethics for lawyers.”

Throughout its long history, the WVBA has constantly endeavored to cooperate and collaborate with all other law-related groups to improve the administration of justice for West Virginia’s citizens. Some recent examples include:

• WV Judiciary—Statewide meeting with Supreme Court Justices and Circuit Court Judges
• WV State Bar—Jointly sponsored Estate Planning seminar
• WV State Bar/Mountain State Bar Association/WV Association for Justice/Defense Trial Counsel of WV/ WV Women Lawyers Association—Jointly sponsored Reception for WV Judges and WV Legislature
• WVU College of Law—Jointly sponsored events for law students, faculty, and staff
• WV Public Defenders—Jointly sponsored planned seminar for lawyers serving as indigent criminal defense counsel
• WV Bar Foundation-Jointly sponsored meeting for Fellows of the American Bar Association and of the WV Bar Foundation

Our State of West Virginia is unique as being one of only three states (North Carolina and Virginia are the others) with both a statewide voluntary bar organization (WV Bar Association) and a statewide mandatory bar organization (WV State Bar) since the last century. In fact, it was the WVBA leaders who petitioned the Supreme Court of Appeals of WV to propose a law to implement a mandatory bar group as an administrative agency of the Court. The law was approved by the WV Legislature, and the mandatory State Bar came into existence in 1947.

Since then, the WVBA has continued to fulfill its mission. and the WVSB has continued its regulatory responsibilities with there being opportunities for coordinated and cooperative activities for the benefit of all WV lawyers. It is my great honor to be among a handful of lawyers (and the first woman) to have served both as President of the WVSB (2009-10) and as President of the WVBA, serving as the WVBA President this year. The other current WVBA Executive Council members are:

                                Robert D. Fisher of Ripley, President-Elect

                               Paul J. Prunty of Huntington, Secretary-Treasurer

                                Rebecca M. Tinder of Charleston

                                Mark H. Hayes of Huntington

                                Joseph A. (Jay) Ford of Charleston

                                H. Hampton Rose, IV, of Charleston

                                Tracey Eberling, Immediate Past President, of Martinsburg                            

Every couple of decades, a very special event occurs in West Virginia and for which the WVBA and the WVSB leadership teams are joint sponsors and coordinators: our State’s turn to have the distinct responsibility of hosting the Annual Meeting of the Southern Conference of Bar Presidents. The Southern Conference of Bar Presidents is a regional organization that, in addition to the broader/national forum, i.e., the National Conference of Bar Presidents of which I had the honor of serving on its Executive Council, provides the opportunity for bar leaders to develop and to hone their skills; all states have been placed in one region or another, and ours includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, as well as the most recent addition—the Virgin Islands!

For many years, West Virginia has been engaged in these meetings which provide opportunities for longstanding and deep friendships in addition to the trainings and idea exchanges that are of great interest.  Various past and current West Virginia bar officers can relate countless calls and emails to and from other bar counterparts for guidance on all sorts of issues.

Back to the point, this year’s SCBP meeting “rotates to” West Virginia, and, of course, that means a return to The Greenbrier in October.  It is an opportunity to show sister states some of our state’s finest so that wonderful memories are made and old and new friendships are nurtured.  In preparing for this event, we are led by WVBA President-Elect Rob Fisher and Chris Frost who recently assumed the Presidency for the State Bar. 

The team of leaders from both organizations work together for decision-making including to develop the budget, the sponsorships, the activities, and the program.  Interestingly, it is a remarkable coincidence of great fortune for the team that when the SCBP last met in West Virginia 18 years that Rob Fisher was then the State Bar President.  Rob is one of a handful of bar leaders for both of the organizations, and he brings that wealth of experience forward in what seems a déjà vu moment in time.  Rob is a lover of bar service, and he has a unique talent of igniting that same fire in others, recognizing what the profession has “done for you” and what you can “do for it” and passing all of this forward. 

The WV Bar Association will keep pursuing its mission and continuing its collaboration as the statewide voluntary organization of  “Lawyers Serving Lawyers Since 1886”!