Favorite Time of Year

My favorite time of year

Above and right: MCBA representation at a recent health fair at Kelly Ingram Park. Below: MCBA presented “Courtroom Etiquette 101: Welcome to the Basics,” a free CLE geared toward newly admitted attorneys.

MCBA, community come together for annual scholarship banquet for students

By President Sidney Jackson

It’s that time again!

It is my favorite time of the year — not only because of the fall season with its beautiful weather and colorful leaves, but because it is the time that the Magic City Bar Association begins preparations for its annual scholarship banquet.

Each year the MCBA solicits scholarship applications from law students who are enrolled at each of the five law schools within Alabama. With the help of our generous sponsors, the MCBA is able to award thousands of dollars in scholarship money to deserving law students every year.

It is my favorite time of the year because I truly see the community come together to help make the scholarship banquet a success for our students. Indeed, everyone from major corporations to solo practitioners come together by chipping in to guarantee we are able to provide generous scholarship awards.

It is my favorite time of the year because I am able to see the look on the recipients’ faces when they are awarded the scholarships. I see smiles, tears, and eyes filled with gratitude and hope.

I see the future of our profession.

Often, we do not know what someone is going through. Being able to provide scholarships is not something we take lightly. A scholarship can mean the difference between continuing a legal education or dropping out due to financial pressures that may be related to law school or life in general.

In fact, just the other day, I was told by a young man who recently passed

the Bar exam that the MCBA scholarship he received came at a time when he was experiencing depression and strong doubts of being able to continue with law school. However, the scholarship money he received not only helped him purchase books needed for school but was also enough to pay his living expenses for a couple of months! The reduced stress allowed him to focus all of his attention on school with a renewed vigor.

I am sure there are many other stories to tell of how scholarship money positively impacted the lives of the recipients. That is why I love this time of the year. We come together for a greater good that implements positive change.

I am proud to serve as President of the MCBA. I am even prouder to be a part of a community that comes together to make our annual scholarship banquet possible. On behalf of the MCBA, I sincerely thank each of our sponsors, colleagues, and friends.

Let’s continue to move “Onward. Upward. Together.”

If you are not already a member, we encourage you to join the MCBA. In addition to our annual scholarship banquet, we conduct free CLEs for our members throughout the year; hold mixers and social gatherings to promote networking, partnerships and camaraderie; and provide pro bono legal services to our community at various clinics, health fairs and events. Just recently, we were honored to participate in a community health fair that took place at Kelly Ingram Park. We provided free legal advice, wills, and powers of attorney while health professionals were on hand to administer free COVID-19 vaccinations. Additionally, we were thrilled to conduct a free CLE that featured five of our best state court judges who provided invaluable advice on courtroom etiquette to our newly admitted colleagues who recently passed the Bar exam. I look forward to these remaining months of 2021 and the good we can do, together, as we close out this year.

Sidney Jackson is the 2021 President of the Magic City Bar Association

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