President’s Perspective: A Wise Investment

Investing in the professional development of the next generation of attorneys is one of the best investments our members can ever make.

Any organization is only as strong as its next generation of participants. A robust and viable pipeline is therefore the key to the North Carolina Bar Association continuing to advance its initiatives and in the North Carolina Bar Foundation continuing its vigorous and impactful programming.

Year after year, the law schools in this state both admit and graduate top-notch law students who are more and more choosing to call North Carolina home. That is simply wonderful and a testament to everything this great state has to offer.

When it comes to our law students, one overall aspiration of our Association is to make available to the law schools practitioners from all backgrounds, practice areas and experiences so those law students can all see a reflection of themselves in someone they encounter from the Association.

With regard to new practitioners, the Association should continue making their transition from law school to practice a successful, rewarding and gratifying transition – because well-settled new attorneys will do their part to pay it forward by mentoring or coaching the next wave of new attorneys.

YLD Chair Elect Jonathan Bogues sits with President Clayton Morgan and Sheila Spence at the front of a large auditorium.

Greeting the “next generation of attorneys” at a recent law school orientation program are, from left, Jonathan Bogues (YLD Chair Elect), President Clayton Morgan and Sheila Spence (YLD Administrative Division Director).

It is this recognition (that the strong future of our Association rests in our zeal to engage our law schools and new practitioners) which keeps the NCBA always searching for new and exciting ways to engage our future practitioners – all while remaining faithful to our core mission and values. Staying engaged with our law students and new law graduates therefore helps ensure our Association will do all it can to keep the pipeline primed with eager, qualified new attorneys.

So, just how are we doing in these areas? Our very well run and organized Young Lawyers Division steps up to welcome new law students into our profession and graciously helps provide new attorneys with the necessary tools required for career success.

In addition, once the YLD and Membership Committee visit the law schools (and ask the law students to avail themselves of our complimentary membership), our sections, committees and divisions then step up to find ways to actively include those law students into their respective goals and objectives for that Bar year.

One such committee (The Minorities In The Profession Committee) offers dedicated programming for diverse law students and new attorneys – designed to help provide them with the social and professional tools to successfully traverse the legal profession and enjoy long-term success. Our Women In The Profession Committee and our Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Committee are also involved in helping law students and new attorneys feel the outpouring of support from our membership. As your President, I look forward to working with all of our sections, committees and divisions in creating their unique impression upon our law students and new attorneys.

The short- and long-term dividends from our wise investment are numerous:

  • We’re helping develop our future Bar leaders and innovators;
  • We’re tapping into their creativity and technological savvy and marrying it with measured practical skills refinement and reinforcement;
  • With more satisfied attorneys comes more settled practitioners who not only continuously raise the legal acumen for us all, but who also want to give back in the form of pro bono, volunteering, mentoring and in new ways which they will undoubtedly create;
  • These new attorneys will be more devoted to the profession and see it as the principled and honorable profession that it is; and not as just a “job” or another means of making a living; and
  • Because of their love for the profession, the new attorneys will be continuous advocates for a strong work-life balance; which will do wonders for healing the lawyer burnout and stress in our profession today.
Clayton Morgan, Lisa Williford, NCCU Law Student Rep Tamia Glover, and Sheila Spence stand together.

Attendees representing the NCBA at the NCCU School of Law 1L reception included, from left, President Clayton Morgan, YLD Chair Lisa Williford, NCCU Law Student Rep Tamia Glover and YLD Division Director Sheila Spence.

Let’s make law students never question the value of belonging to our Association; rather we want them all to begin thinking of it as a natural extension of who they are and how they can individually fit in to help shape our profession for future inclusive growth and outreach.

Through our renewed commitment to in-person experiences, let’s counter the trend towards predominant online engagement. While online engagement certainly has its advantages, I think we can all agree that there is simply no substitute for physically meeting and interacting with the local, regional and statewide legal professionals in this state. In short, through our person-to-person outreach, let’s begin to show our new attorneys the camaraderie, feeling of solidarity and friendship development that all come from good old-fashioned in-person experiences.

So, as law firms and corporations begin to assess their future needs for our ever-changing legal landscape and issues, I challenge us all to take a step back and consider the professional development “long game.” By that, I mean to keep encouraging your associates, partners and in-house counsel to step up and reach out to our law schools and students whenever our Association has an event with them; and to take the initiative to suggest future programming which you feel will benefit our next generation of lawyers.

Let’s continue to get creative on that front and think outside of the box so that our law students not only get contacts and future practice-related information from their experiences with us, but they also come away with career optimism – which we veterans vividly recall made us all much better attorneys.

We want all of our members to take an interest in ensuring our law students and new attorneys continue to get all that the NCBA has to offer so they will continue to make North Carolina home and will enjoy practicing in our state and serving our citizenry. By continuing to do so, we are creating a hospitable environment for new entrants and helping to lay the foundation for their healthy and successful legal career. This is one wise investment we cannot afford to ignore.

Clayton Morgan serves as president of the North Carolina Bar Association and the North Carolina Bar Foundation.