Writing Effective President Pages: Resource Page

Crafting an effective president page is one of the most trying tasks of a bar president's year. This collection of past president pages seeks to highlight the great written works of past presidents and to inspire the next generation of bar leaders. If the information you need is not covered on one of the resource pages, please feel free to contact the Division for Bar Services' Information Coordinator with regard to your question.

Introducing Yourself: The First Column

Are You Willing to Commit? Wichita Bar Association (July 2008)
"My Apologies to Groucho Marx" Nashville Bar Association (February 2004)
"First, Let's Bless All the Lawyers Rendering Service and Exercising Responsibility" Washington State Bar Association(October 2004)
"You Mean I Actually Have to Write This?" Bar Association of Erie County (Summer 2005)
"There’s No Place Like Home" New York State Bar Association (June 2007)

The Importance of Bar Associations & Foundations

"How Does the TBA Stack Up or What's the Rest of the World Doing Anyway?" Toledo Bar Association (March 2006)
"Securing our Legacy as the Voice of the New York Lawyer" New York State Bar Association (September 2007)
"Don’t Hang Up!" Erie County Bar Association (November 2005)
"We're on our Way to Doing Something About That" Louisiana State Bar Association (October/November 2006)

Thoughts Regarding the Profession

"The 'Lawyer' Who Shot Liberty Valance Illinois State Bar Association (May 2008)
"A Day in the Life" Indianapolis Bar Association (November 2007)
"Balance: It Doesn't Mean Pleasing Everybody all the Time" San Diego County Bar Association (March/April 2007)
"The Lawyer's Paradox: Marketing the Profession" St. Petersburg Bar Association (September 2004)
"Pitbulls, Pikes, and Pitchforks: Rendering the Service of Practicing Professionalism" Washington State Bar Association (February 2005)
"A Great Day to be a Lawyer" Minnesota State Bar Association (July 2005)
"A Refresher Course in CPR" Cincinnati Bar Association (September 2005)
"The Conduct of One Hour" Chicago Bar Association (November 2005)
"Our Profession is Worth the Investment" Louisiana State Bar Association (August 2006)
"What Makes Some Lawyers Role Models?" The District of Columbia Bar (September 2006)
"Myth of Self-Regulation" Louisiana State Bar Association (December 2006)

Taking a Stand

Lawyers in Black Suits State Bar of Texas (December 2007)
"Women Lawyers Continue to Opt Out" Palm Beach County Bar Association (November 2007)
"Fifteen Who Stepped Up" State Bar of Michigan (May 2008)
"Upcoming Presidential Elections: Let's Talk About Issues" Nashville Bar Association (August 2004)
"Things You're Not Supposed to Say"Cleveland Bar Association (October 2004)
"MCLE... The Debate Continues"Connecticut Bar Association (May 2005)

The Least Understood Branch: The Judiciary

President Message on Judicial Independence New York State Bar Association (February 1997)
"Judicial Evaluations & the Spirit of Volunteerism" Illinois State Bar Association (September 2003)
"It's Time to Rally Against Court Funding Cuts" Federal Bar Association (May 2004)
"Safeguarding Judicial Independence" Kansas Bar Association (July/August 2005)
"The Need to Preserve and Protect Judicial Independence" Orange County Bar Association (July 2005)
"Confidence in Jury System Declining: What Hath Scopes Wrought? Tennessee Bar Association (August 2005)

Pro Bono

"Pro Bono; For the Public Good"State Bar of Wisconsin (March 2005)
"It's Not Broccoli...It's Dessert!" Tennessee Bar Association (January 2006)

Diversity

Integrating the American Legal Profession: A Look Back & Welcome Cincinnati Bar Association (September 2006)
"Warming: Broken Pipeline A Call to Action" Cleveland Bar Association (April 2007)
"Diversity Needed to Achieve Liberty, Justice for All" North Carolina State Bar (November 2000)
"What Color is Santa Claus Anyway?"Hennepin County Bar Association (December 2005)

Outreach to Law Students & Young Lawyers

"When Law Firms Span Generations" State Bar of Montana (March 2007)
"Are New Lawyers Ready to Practice Law?" Ohio State Bar Association (May 2005)
"President's Page" State Bar of South Dakota (September 2005)
Describes a recent visit to the University of South Dakota's Law School
"The Law Students are Coming! The Law Students are Coming!" San Diego County Bar Association (November 2006)

Unique & Interesting Topics

"Lawyers Helping our Students"Orange County Bar Association (CA) (February 2007) Recruiting volunteers for a program on Teenage Legal Survival Skills
"Balance: It Doesn't Mean Pleasing Everyone All of the Time" San Diego County Bar Association (March/April 2007) Practical advice about achieving a work/life balance
"Encourging Mentoring Enhancing Professionalism, Delivering Service" The District of Columbia Bar (April 2006)
"A Few Good Mentors" Illinois State Bar Association (August 2003)
The importance of mentoring
"Reaching Out With Honesty & Compassion" Kansas Bar Association (January 2005)
The importance of the bar's lawyer assistance program
"We're Not All B*stards" Erie County Bar Association (November 2005)
Reaching out to the medical profession
"The First Husband's Follies" Atlanta Bar Association (January 2006)
A column written by the bar president's spouse

The Final Column

Tipping Points & Tugs of War Minnesota State Bar Association (May 2009)
Opportunity & Obligation: My Year in Bar Leadership New Hampshire Bar Association (June 2007)
"You Had to Be There" Nebraska State Bar Association (October 2007)
"I’m Gonna Walk Before They Make Me Run" Ann Arundel Bar Association (July 2007)
"President's Page"Contra Costa Bar Association (no date)
"The Value Of Being Chancellor? Service"Philadelphia Bar Association (December 2003)
"Seizing Every Opportunity" New York State Bar Association (May 2005)

Helpful Articles & Presentations

"The Graceful Good-bye: How to Write your Final President’s Page" Bar Leader (September/October 2004)
"Burden or Blessing? Making President’s Pages More Fun and Less Work" Bar Leader (November/December 2004)
"They Don't Write Themselves: Planning Your Presidents Columns" Handout from 2000 Bar Leadership Institute workshop with eleven quick tips from Michael P. Gunn, Past President of the Missouri Bar.
"Message in A Bottle: Writing Memorable President Pages" Handout from 2004 Bar Leadership Institute workshop with advice from Raymond (Tom) Elligett, Jr., Past President of the Hillsborough County Bar Association

Advice from Bar Communications Staff

Members of the NABE Communication Section offer the following suggestions:

Develop a personal theme in line with the bar's ongoing activities. Given this, the president's page is best used to reinforce the individual's focus and to connect that focus to the bar's long-term goals.
Think of the president's page as a yearlong ongoing "conversation" between the president and the bar members.
Ask for a list of theme issues and tailor remarks to the theme for that month.
Start thinking early! Begin compiling ideas for articles when you become president-elect.
Drawing upon personal experiences makes for an interesting column.
Write for one page only - jumping an article to another page loses readers.
Don't get hung up on perfection. Better to get a rough draft to staff and let them work collaboratively to edit.

General Writing Resources

Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases
Internet Public Library: Quotations Links to resources to help find interesting quotations.
The OWL at Purdue The English Department of Purdue University maintains this site that offers online handouts on writing,
research, grammar, and MLA and APA style.

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