Rebuilding Our YLD Community
The Annual Meeting has come and gone, the gavel has officially been passed, and the YLD is ready to start a new bar year! It was such a pleasure to meet – in person, of all things – and reconnect after too much time apart. As I noted in my speech during our lunch meeting, the YLD will focus this year on rebuilding our community, and I wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know how we plan to achieve that.
Any good community begins with its foundation and the leadership that brings people together. I know that I’m biased, but I think our leadership team this year is extraordinary. I’d like to introduce all of you to the many familiar faces who will partner with me in leading our organization this year.
Lisa Williford accepts the chair’s gavel from Will Quick.
Our officer team consists of Jonathan Bogues (chair-elect), Collins Saint (secretary), Sheila Spence (administrative division director), and Will Quick (past chair). Our ABA representatives will be Kayla Britt (ABA delegate) and Taylor Newberry (District 9 Rep). And our Division Directors are Kayla Britt (Law Student Division), Samantha Gordon (civic engagement and pro bono), Michele Livingstone (community outreach), and Denaa Griffin (bar outreach).
We also have a number of committee chairs, too many to list here, who have committed to lead within the four divisions. And last but certainly not least, I have to acknowledge Cheyenne Merrigan, the NCBA’s Director of Communities, who keeps all of us moving in the right direction.
After you build your foundation, then you need a strategy to engage people to join and serve in the community. During our April 2022 quarterly meeting, our leadership team brainstormed about what we would like to see for the next bar year. Our ideas can be summarized in three pillars: (1) mentorship, (2) career development, and (3) wellness:
1. Mentorship
As someone who has greatly benefitted from mentorship throughout my career, I view mentorship as a pivotal asset to any young lawyer. Mentorship is intentional, a commitment to building a relationship with someone and helping them navigate the challenges of this job. And mentorship is not limited to just one person. Most young lawyers can think back to many mentors who have guided them along the way. We want to be a place where young lawyers can mentor young lawyers, and other members of the NCBA can mentor young lawyers. So if you’re reading this and thinking to yourself, I could be a mentor, then we want to hear from you. While we already have some programs established to encourage mentorship – like our wildly successful Grab-a-Coffee program – we will be planning some mentorship specific events this year, and we would love the broader NCBA’s support (or the Big Bar as we call it) in participating in those events.
2. Career Development
Young lawyers need to learn all of the things that you don’t learn in law school, which include things like business development, networking, and the business side of the legal profession. We want to offer events that help young lawyers figure out what business development means and how to incorporate those skills into a law practice. We also recognize that these opportunities can be more difficult for those underrepresented in our profession, so we want to help bridge that gap through continuing programming for our diverse young attorney populations. Events like our Career Development Resources for Historically Excluded Attorneys from this past spring, which was actually recognized through the ABA Awards of Achievement program, will continue next year.
3. Wellness
While wellness is a popular topic in our profession, it’s something that cannot get enough airtime, in my opinion. Our profession is a demanding one, and it affects all of us in various ways. The statistics around burnout, addiction, and other negative health effects in our profession are striking, and it’s no surprise that the onset of COVID has increased those impacts. And the common thread in all of these impacts is mental health and wellness. I think it’s vital that mental health resources are available to young attorneys and not stigmatized. In response, we will aim to meet young lawyers where they are and provide events that not only discuss mental health but provide access to resources for young attorneys.
Now that we have developed our strategy, the last piece to rebuilding our community, and the most important piece, is our young lawyers. If you are a young lawyer reading this article, we want to see you at an event this year, either virtually or in person. Our hope is that our ability to now have in-person events again will encourage people to come join us and network without a computer screen! We will have many opportunities for our young lawyers to connect.
We also hope that our new change to our bylaws, which defines young lawyers as those lawyers who are 36 years of age or younger AND those who are within the first 10 years of practice, encompasses a broader range of attorneys in their first stages of practice.
So to the law students, newly admitted attorneys, young lawyers who are new to the NCBA and YLD, young lawyers who are already involved with the YLD, and maybe even some of you who are hearing about us for the first time, we would love to see you! If you are new and want someone to help introduce you to the YLD or you would like more information about our group, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at [email protected].
I’m truly grateful to be leading this organization this year. As I’ll be taking over this column for the next year, I will focus most of my commentary on the young lawyers who make all of our events possible. But I did want to share a few things about myself and how I got here. I’m originally from High Point, North Carolina. I went to UNC for undergrad and law school (a proud double Tar Heel), and then I landed in Greensboro where I practice employment and civil defense litigation as a partner for Fox Rothschild.
Bar service has been one of the highlights of my career thus far, and I’ve served in various leadership roles throughout the YLD and the Greensboro Bar Association. And based on my commitment to mentorship, I think it’s important to acknowledge my mentors – Clark Smith, who got me into bar service, and Bruce Ashley, who taught me how to practice law (and is still teaching). If I’m not working or engaged in bar service, I’m usually running on the greenway in Greensboro, hanging out with my family or amazing group of friends, or taking care of my 24-pound cat Vine (yes you read that correctly) and his brother Burch.
So with all of that, here’s to a great year, to rebuilding our community, and to more togetherness! I’m looking forward to a great year.
Lisa Williford is 2022-23 chair of the North Carolina Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.
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