Around the Bar

AROUND THE BAR By: Cathy Shuck

East Tennessee Children’s Hospital

CHAIR CHAT

Looking for a new way to get involved this year? The groups featured in this month’s “Chair Chat” may be right for you.1

Wellness Committee

Beth Ford and Hannah Lowe have co-Chaired this committee since its founding in 2022 and shared the following information with DICTA:

Who should join the Wellness Committee?

Anyone who breathes. If you have a body with a heart and a mind, our committee is for you.

What is something that people might not know about your committee, but should?

We are not bound by any strict directives. Creativity and flexibility are the only requirements, along with a desire to be healthy in every way possible. We are committed to finding ways for KBA members to connect and support each other to become a community where lawyers can thrive in all aspects of life and law practice.

If the committee were a household appliance, what would it be and why?

The refrigerator, because you really cannot have a kitchen without one. Like a refrigerator, wellness takes care of the things that we absolutely need and things that are just fun to have.

What events or other projects are in the works?

The KBA recently added a wellness resources page on the KBA website. We plan to add a weekly wellness tip to the weekly KBA emails. In 2023, we will continue our weekly walks at Lakeshore Park (Wednesdays at 6 pm, meet at the top parking lot). The Tennis/Pickleball tournament will return again in summer 2023. The September Wellness Conference will be an annual event, including opportunities to connect with local health vendors at the health fair, to explore the city with local historian Jack Neely, and to hear from speakers on a broad range of wellness topics. We hope to create more opportunities for our members to get together outside and out in the community for hiking, yoga, and other physical fitness activities. We hope to plan other events to address other aspects of wellbeing. If anyone has any ideas, please join us and share!

If the committee could do anything at all, what would it be?

We seek to help and support our members to find whatever tools work for them to allow them to thrive in their life and law practice. Whether it is committing to meditate for 5 minutes every day, to sleep for at least 8 hours every night, to leave the desk and take a walk, to take time to disconnect from email notifications or other electronic distractions, to spend time with family and friends or exploring new hobbies, to schedule the annual doctor visit that often gets sidelined when we do not prioritize our own physical and mental wellbeing, to make a plan for tackling debts and building wealth, to find the courage to make career choices and changes, even small changes can help us to connect with our “why” and find meaning and purpose to allow us to thrive in our life and law practice.

Anything else to add?

The KBA already has a collegial community of lawyers. We are stronger when we join together and connect with each other. We hope you will join us in our commitment to making the KBA a healthy, happy, and thriving Bar.

Professionalism Commmittee

Chancellor John Weaver has helmed the Professionalism Committee since December 2008. James Stovall joined him as co-Chair in 2021.

Who should join the Professionalism Committee?

Attorneys who are interested in careful review and discussion of proposed changes to state and local rules of ethics and procedure.

What is something people might not know about your Committee, but should?

The Professionalism Committee is responsible for making nominations for two awards given by the KBA Board of Governors, the Courage in the Face of Adversity Award and the Don Paine Lawyer Legacy Award. The former recognizes an attorney with “exceptional courage, charity, grace, unselfishness and professionalism in the face of adversity.” The latter recognizes exceptional lawyers who have distinguished themselves in living up to the legacy of Don Paine, by demonstrating, among other things, service to the community, legal scholarship/writing/teaching, and commitment to access to justice.

If the Committee were a household appliance, what would it be and why?

An oven: our discussion of proposed changes can get hot, but the end result is usually nutritious if not tasty.

What events and/or projects are in the works?

The Committee sponsors an annual fall hike. And we are interested in receiving any nominations attorneys may have for the awards.

If the Committee could do anything at all, what would it be?

It’s a tie between unraveling misconceptions about the merger of law and equity, or rehearing Jarndyce v. Jarndyce.

Anything else to add?

We hope our committee models discussion of sometimes difficult or controversial questions with civility and, dare we say it, professionalism. We wouldn’t live up to our name otherwise.

New Lawyers Secton

2022 co-Chairs Sanjay Ramen and Courteney Barnes-Anderson shared the following information2:

Who should join the New Lawyers Section?

Attorneys in their first three years of practice should join the New Lawyers Section. The group fosters community amongst new lawyers who are facing similar experiences at the start of their careers.

How does the New Lawyers Section differ from the Barristers?

The Barristers is open to members of the Knoxville Bar Association under the age of 36 or who have been practicing for fewer than 5 years. The New Lawyers Section is limited to attorneys who are in their first three years of practice. The Barristers is a much larger group and a great resource for new attorneys in addition to the New Lawyers Section.

What is something people might not know about your Section but should?

Our primary focus when planning events is to provide new attorneys with knowledge, tips, and tools that will help them address the complexities that come with being a new attorney. The attorneys who regularly attend our programs are eager to get to know other members of the bar and to gain insight that could help them set the upward trajectory of their legal careers.

If the Section were a household appliance, what would it be and why?

If the Section were a household appliance, it would be the coffee maker. Although somewhat small and seemingly insignificant when compared to other appliances, without the coffee it brews, some people would not and could not make it through the day. It’s the same with our Section. New lawyers may seem insignificant in not providing as much value as their more senior counterparts, but without the work new attorneys do, some offices would move much more slowly and quickly lose their edge.

What type of events and/or projects do you sponsor?

We had an event in November 2022 at Schulz Brau Brewing Co entitled, “Business Coaching for Young Attorneys – Get an Early Leg Up on Your Career.” Attorney and business coach Leigh Cowden has also shared advice on how to achieve career goals and self-advocate in navigating the legal world as young attorneys.

If the Section could do anything at all, what would it be?

The NLS would love to have an event to infuse the members’ excitement into the full bar in a new way. We look forward to finding new ways to have fun in connecting the bar’s newest members to some of the more senior members.

1 Responses from Committee and Section chairs have been edited for length and clarity. 2 The 2023 co-Chairs are Kathryn Haaquist and Nicole Turbinton