Bar Leadership During a Time of Crisis

Monte E. Frank, co-chair of Pullman & Comley’s Litigation practice, co-wrote an article published in American Bar Association's GPSolo Magazine on bar leadership during a time of crisis. During these challenging times, strong leadership is needed, and the authors note that bar presidents are uniquely qualified to fill this role, especially when they utilize certain tools.

"In the best of times, bar leaders strive to ensure that the courts, the legislature, and the bar are aligned in their thinking on critical matters -- or at least not at odds with one another," they said. "In times of crisis, bar leaders must stay on top of trends and issues impacting members and the larger community and take on a prominent and needed leadership role."

Monte and his co-authors, all who have served as presidents of bar associations with members ranging from 10,000, to 110,000, summarized lessons they learned in 2020:

• Listen first by developing a relationship with the executive director of the association to keep the lines of communication open with them, the members, past presidents, and community members;
• Provide information to your governing body as soon as you can;
• Find creative ways to keep your members informed such as social media;
• Have the hard conversations and make the tough decisions;
• Take care of yourself by unplugging and unwinding on a regular basis so you can be better equipped to respond to the association's needs;
• Be creative and think outside the box.

This article was first published on the American Bar Association's website and can be found here.