Young Lawyers Division 2000-2001
The AFFILIATE
November/December 2000
Spotlight on YLD Leaders: Jonathan Cole
By Chris Glembocki
Juggling a career as a trial lawyer and a family man, Jonathan Cole is a model YLD leader. I had the opportunity to talk with Jonathan during the YLD's Fall Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.
New to the legal profession? Looking for an outlet greater than your nine-to-five job? Seeking a way to help others through the skills you've acquired from being a lawyer? Jonathan suggests the first step is easy -join your bar association!
Your local, state and national bar associations provide lots of ways to get involved and become a leader in those organizations. Follow the leadership path of Jonathan Cole, this year's Affiliate Outreach Director of the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association.
Jonathan graduated from law school in 1994 and started working for Baker, Donelson, Bearman & Caldwell in Nashville, Tennessee. Within a year of joining the firm, he became involved with his local bar association, the Nashville Bar Association YLD. There, he chaired various committees including the Fellows Committee and Teen Court, a program that introduces teens to the workings of the legal system and provides them the opportunity to have a jury of their peers determine appropriate punishments for real crimes and violations.
While becoming involved in his local bar association, Jonathan and his wife Lisa, another young lawyer, started working with the state bar association. Jonathan served on the publications committee and represented Nashville as a district representative on the Tennessee YLD Board of Directors. Next, he led the VoTennessee Committee as chair and as the Middle Tennessee Governor of the Tennessee YLD.
Complementing his bar work at the local and state levels, Jonathan has served in various capacities in the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association, including the Affiliate Outreach Project National Conferences Team and on the Executive Council and Cabinet.
Of all his activities, Jonathan highlights his work as co-coordinator for last year's Special Project on Domestic Violence. Through this leadership position, he and Tiffani Lee coordinated the promotion of several domestic violence projects across the country, including the First 100 Women Dinner in Las Vegas which raised funds for Safe Nest, a domestic violence shelter, and the 2000 Domestic Violence Institute in Washington, D.C.
Jonathan offers the following five points that all young lawyers should remember when looking to get involved in bar association activities.
1. Public Service. Lawyers serve others. While one can quickly lose sight of the human side of the law, lawyers must remember lawyers can and do make a difference in their communities. Bar associations (local, state, and national) provide opportunities to perform public service as well as learn how to work with others to serve the public. "As a collective group, we can make real and long- standing differences."
2. Relevance. Find an association that meets your needs. Do not blindly become involved with an association because others have. Rather, find an association that helps you connect with the greater community of lawyers. Find an association that helps you grow as an individual.
3. Leadership Development. Become involved in an association that encourages and promotes excellence. Look for an association that wants your input now, not only after a decade of involvement.
4. Promotion of Professionalism. Lawyers graduate from law school with little knowledge on how to be a professional. Find an association that expects excellence and civility from all its members, all the time. If you do not have a mentor (as most new lawyers do not), seek out an association that provides substantive programs on how to be a professional.
5. Get involved. Life is short. Make a difference now.
