This past December I had the privilege attending the swearing in ceremony for our newest members of the bar. The ceremony took place in the courtroom of the historic Court of Appeal building across from the Capitol. It was a magnificent location for the ceremony. As one of the oldest courtrooms in the State, the mahogany walls that surround you seem to breath the traditions and history of the law all around you.

It was quite a bit different than my own swearing in ceremony, which took place many years ago at the old convention center. In thinking back to that time, I remembered a few of the words of wisdom imparted to us by the justices on that day. Interestingly, one of the other speakers I remember was someone from the Sacramento County Bar Association. Although I can no longer remember who it was, I remember him telling us that as young lawyers we would have many choices and many demands on our time, but we could make no better decision than to become members of the County Bar. In my own case that has certainly been very true.

A friend of mine says that you can often tell by watching a young attorney who they trained under. There is quite a bit of truth in that observation. Law school prepares us to be attorneys, but we learn the practice of law from those around us. Consequently, it is not only who an attorney trains under but who he or she associates with that is equally important. It has been my privilege in the past seven years to work alongside some of the best and brightest talent in our legal community as a member of the Sacramento County Bar. Equally important to me is the sense of community that being a member of the Sacramento County Bar provides.

While the growth of our community in the past few years has been remarkable, Sacramento still in many ways has the feel of a small community. There is still a closeness and professionalism within the legal community that feels lacking in some of the bigger metropolitan areas. The strength of our County Bar is part of the reason that occurs. One of the most important lessons for a you attorney is to learn that you can provide a zealous representation of your client while maintaining courtesy and professionalism with your opponent. That to me is what truly makes the practice of law enjoyable.

There has been a remarkable development in the past few years with the County Bar. Our numbers haven't gone up, but our revenue has. The explanation for this is that the age of our members has been increasing. Our dues structure is such that younger members pay less and as our membership has aged, our revenues have increased. But this should also serve as a wake-up call to our organization. Somehow we are missing an opportunity to attract new members, particularly young members who can really benefit from being a member.

One of the challenges that always faces a voluntary bar association is to increase membership. We now face an opportunity to increase our membership, but we need to reach out to the young attorneys and educate them as to the value and importance of being members of the County Bar. I hope to make this a priority in the coming year.

January / February 2005