Atlanta Injury Lawyer Blog
I am proud to announce my candidacy for the office of Secretary of the State Bar of Georgia. This is an important election because it will determine the direction the State Bar takes in the next few years. I believe my experience working with the Georgia General Assembly as President of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and in the years since then, will greatly help the State Bar’s effectiveness with the Legislature, which I believe will be crucial in the coming years.
Below is my letter announcing that I am running for Secretary that I sent to the Executive Committee of the State Bar and to the Board of Governors:
Dear Friends:
After considerable thought and prayer, I have decided to run for Secretary of this great State Bar in 2010. I am running because I believe at this critical time when the State’s budget is being drastically cut and threats are constantly being made against the Judicial Branch and our profession, the State Bar needs known and respected leadership representing it at the General Assembly. The gravity of the situation confronting us has caused me to cast comfort and comity aside and answer the call to service that many of our fellow Board of Governors members have asked me to answer.
Among the most essential attributes of a leader of the State Bar is the ability to put forward a “face of the Bar” that is both respected and trusted by the leadership of the Judiciary and the Legislature. This is especially true when some among the Legislature are anything but interested in meeting the needs of the Judiciary, of the legal profession or of those Georgians who are so dependent upon the ability of the judicial system to meet their needs. Simply put, as officers of the court, we owe it to our fellow members of the Bar, and to our respective clients, to elect in each of our leadership positions only those persons who have spent years building bridges with the Legislature and developing productive relationships with those among that branch of government who hold in their hands the fate of our profession and that of our fellow Georgians whom we are privileged to represent. I believe the State Bar needs and deserves a leader who is respected by members of the Legislature, who has a proven track record of working successfully with members from both sides of the aisle to find win-win solutions to very difficult problems. I believe the State Bar of Georgia deserves a leader who knows and understands when it is time to negotiate and when it is time to stand your ground. I believe the State Bar deserves a leader who knows the problems Everyday Georgians are facing daily. I am that person.
I humbly submit that I have the attributes and skills necessary to lead this Bar during this difficult time. I have developed over the years strong relationships with numerous State Senators and State Representatives that help me work from a position of trust and respect with them. This trust and respect will be crucial for the State Bar in the coming years as it must necessarily work with the Georgia General Assembly to protect funding for the Judicial Branch and for all of the programs promoted by the State Bar.
I ask for your support. I ask for your thoughts and suggestions. Also, I ask for your prayers as we go forward together through this election process. I expect this to be a contested race and I welcome a robust and frank discussion of the issues that our State Bar faces and of who should lead our State Bar. Finally, in May I will proudly ask for your vote and the vote of your colleagues for Secretary of the State Bar of Georgia.
Blessings,
Robin Frazer Clark
