A Different Kind of Bar Year

BY D. TODD SMITH, SMITH LAW GROUP

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Austin Bar Association presidents often use their last column of the bar year to recap their presidency and all the great things the Austin Bar has accomplished since they took office. I could follow that formula, but that wouldn’t leave space for the list of things I really want to highlight, all of which involve a view to the future.

HILGERS HOUSE

The year began with a sense of excitement about our new home, Hilgers House. We celebrated a successful capital campaign, which positioned us to complete some necessary improvements to the property in a financially responsible way. Although we were able to use the house for events, we looked forward to completing our transition into using the space full time.

Obtaining the necessary permits and approvals after rezoning proved more challenging than we could have imagined. Every time we thought we were getting close, the goal line would move. On March 16, we checked off the last requirement when the City of Austin issued our certificate of occupancy. By then, however, the COVID-19 pandemic had taken hold, and moving became impossible. It was clear we’d have to wait a while longer.

As I write this column, some COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, and the move is now scheduled for the first week of June. With any luck, by the time the next Austin Lawyer is published, we will officially call Hilgers House home.

LAWYER WELL-BEING COMMITTEE

This new committee hit the ground running by co-sponsoring a Sober Tailgate with the Texas Lawyers Assistance Program and has offered regular programming throughout the year. Committee events featured presentations from Erica Grigg, Amber Anderson Mostyn, Nik Sallie, and Sanieh Morgan. The committee also sponsored a Veloway bike ride, after which Claude Ducloux gave one of his famous ethics CLE talks.

May we all make the most of the opportunities we’ve been given to better ourselves, enhance our profession, and fulfill our role of assisting those in need.

The committee’s work also included a regular “Be Well” column in Austin Lawyer, kicked off by co-chair Danielle Ahlrich. Topics included compassion fatigue, self-care as an ethical responsibility, dealing with depression, judicial mental health, and practices for increasing the quality of one’s professional life. Eileen Lawrence wrote an especially powerful piece about depression and suicide.

Openness and support for lawyer well-being has taken root in our association’s culture. With the uncertainty we all face going forward, well-being in our profession is more important than ever.

COVID-19 RESPONSE

We made sure our staff was set up to work remotely before remote work became mandatory. Our business has carried on successfully as a result.

We created a COVID-19 updates page on our website shortly after news about the pandemic broke. New information—including links to the latest emergency court orders—is added to the page regularly. The page also connects lawyers with pro bono opportunities, contains links helpful to law practices, provides well-being resources, and lists COVID-19-related CLE programs and webinars. CLICK HERE to view the page.

We have successfully adopted Zoom videoconferencing as a way to stay connected and bring programming to our members. A great team effort has resulted in expanded CLE offerings being made available for free to members and nonmembers alike.

We can expect an increased need for pro bono services relating to domestic violence, foreclosure, landlord-tenant issues, estate planning, and bankruptcy, among other areas. Special CLE programs are focusing on these issues so lawyers are better prepared to address them when the world starts to open and the need becomes more pronounced.

I’m reminded of how the Austin Bar responded to the 2011 Bastrop fires. Among other things, we quickly mobilized a response team and regularly sent volunteer attorneys to meet with local residents in a clinic-like setting. The biggest difference between the two crises is that the pandemic has no ground zero. We can’t meet people where they are and offer pro bono services right then and there. But we can prepare ourselves for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

This has been a different kind of bar year. It started like many before it, but it’s ending like no other. May we all make the most of the opportunities we’ve been given to better ourselves, enhance our profession, and fulfill our role of assisting those in need. And may we rise to meet the challenges the future brings. AL