Superb Saturday Showcases Volunteer Spirit of NCBA Members
While the first day of this month is often accompanied by assorted acts of foolishness, the serious business of volunteer service was evident throughout the North Carolina Bar Association on Saturday, April 1, as NCBA members from across the state participated in numerous events.
The North Carolina Bar Foundation presented the latest installment of the NCBF Wills for Heroes program at Campbell Law School in downtown Raleigh, while the N.C. Bar Center in Cary provided the setting for the quarterly meeting of the Young Lawyers Division and ¡Adelante! | Moving Forward! 2023, presented by the NCBA Minorities in the Profession Committee.
Many of the members, presenters and participants drove several hours to attend these events, while others attended remotely. Josephine M. (Jo) Bahn of Washington, D.C., who currently serves as chair of the ABA Young Lawyers Division, attended the YLD meeting in person.
And at least one young lawyer attended Wills for Heroes in person and Zoomed in to take part in the YLD meeting!
The collective impact of participation in these events, no doubt, is amplified by the recent isolation of the pandemic; it’s wonderful when the so-called new normal greatly resembles the old normal.
It’s wonderful, as more than one attendee remarked, to see people again, especially when good work is being done on all fronts:
- The Wills for Heroes volunteers were drafting simple wills, health care power of attorney and financial power of attorney documents at no charge for first responders and their families.
- The Minorities in the Profession Committee, co-chaired by Jane Paksoy and Geneva Yourse, was conducting a longstanding program designed to empower minority law students and recent graduates navigate law school and enter the legal profession.
- The Young Lawyers Division, chaired by Lisa Williford, has multiple irons in the fire, not the least of which was the recently completed 2023 Legal Feeding Frenzy which benefits Feeding the Carolinas food banks.
For everyone involved, it was a Saturday well spent.
No foolin’!
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Pictured above are scenes from ¡Adelante! | Moving Forward! 2023 (top photo) and Wills for Heroes (bottom photo) along with (middle photo) ABA YLD Chair Josephine M. (Jo) Bahn. Access ¡Adelante! Facebook photo album here and Wills for Heroes Facebook photo album here.