By Peter H. Glade, MBA President
Most of you recently received a letter from me urging you to renew your MBA membership. If you have not, please let me know, and I will get one to you right away. My letter stressed the many benefits MBA members receive in return for the dues they pay, particularly when one considers that the MBA’s dues are the second lowest of all voluntary bar associations of our size (across the country). Those dues enable us to provide a wonderful staff to serve the membership and keep things running smoothly. There are ample economic reasons to be a member of the association. However, I would like to spend a little space here focusing on the service we provide to the community and the profession, because I believe that service is the best reason to support this organization.
In keeping with long tradition, I have spent a fair amount of time this fall attending MBA committee meetings, meeting the members, thanking them for volunteering and listening to them conduct their business. As all board members do, I have served as a committee member and as the board liaison to a number of committees in the past. But the process of visiting with each of the committees has given me a much greater appreciation for the size and scope of their collective activities. This, in turn, has led me to a more comprehensive understanding of the dimension of the MBA as a whole.
So, three months into my term as president, I have finally gained perspective on the organization I am privileged to lead. I suppose that might sound odd coming from someone who has been a board member for three years, but, for me, the time spent in board meetings had left me with a kind of two-dimensional picture of the MBA. It is one thing to approve committee charges, receive annual reports from the committee chairs, discuss committee activities with the staff and to review the rosters of committee membership. It is another to observe them all in person. Attending those meetings has brought greater life to my perception of the whole organization, and that vitality reinforces my belief in the good works this organization does.
The commitment and seriousness our volunteers bring to their service is impressive. As a result, the MBA serves the community and the profession on many fronts. Our committees educate lawyers, promote equality, screen judicial candidates, tend to the relationship between bench and bar, spread principles of professionalism, manage our insurance benefits and even set up golf tournaments. The Young Lawyers Section infuses its activities with boundless energy and with a special commitment to pro bono services. On top of all that, we have raised substantial sums for CourtCare and our newly established Multnomah Bar Foundation. All of these ongoing programs and activities have been enabled and advanced by the hard work of volunteers.
I stand in awe of the effort that goes into the MBA’s regular activities, but I am truly astonished by the willingness of our leaders and membership to go the extra mile when confronted with new challenges. This fall, we have mobilized to combat the well-financed and largely out-of-state groups seeking to politicize our appellate courts through Constitutional Amendment 40 on the November ballot. The MBA board has resolved to defeat this dangerous measure, and we are now part of a coalition raising funds and campaigning against it. This will require lots of time and money, and so the MBA turns to its membership for both. Many have come through, and that encourages those of us working on the campaign. I urge all of our members to join in the fight to preserve the independence of our appellate courts. You can make donations and learn about other ways to make a difference at the campaign’s website: www.ProtectOregonCourts.com.
This will not be the last challenge the justice system faces in the year ahead. The election is close at hand, but we cannot forget the urgent need to replace our dangerous and crowded courthouse. The MBA will continue to work with the county government and community leaders to move forward with plans to site, design and fund long-overdue new court facilities downtown and in East County. And, of course, we will work with the legislature to make sure the justice system is adequately funded: from appropriate compensation for our judges and courthouse staff to funding for indigent defense sufficient to pay a decent fee to the dedicated lawyers who provide that service to the community.
Our members make this possible. And through your membership, you add force to the MBA’s actions. So, renew your membership and be part of the team.
This column appeared in the October 2006 issue of Multnomah Lawyer, the monthly newsletter of the Multnomah Bar Association. Peter Glade was president of the association from 2006 to 2007. View this article on the MBA's Web site at http://www.mbabar.org/docs/newsletters/ml_oct2006.pdf.
