The Chapter/The "Elevator Speech"
Those in marketing often talk about the elevator speech: What you could say to another person who asked you to tell him or her about your firm/company/organization during the short ride to another floor. My elevator speech about our Chapter is:
The Chapter is the bar association for those who practice in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, which includes Cleveland, Toledo, Akron, Youngstown and Canton. Our Chapter is one of the FBAs largest (just shy of 500 members) and most active. We work closely with the Northern District judges and court personnel, many of whom are Chapter and Board of Director members, to provide a wide range of CLEs and other programs that assist attorneys in effectively practicing in the District Court. The Chapter's Web site (www.fba-ndohio.org) has more information about the Chapter and its upcoming programs and events.
Chapters Unique Asset
The elevator speech makes reference to the fact that the Chapter works closely with the Northern Districts judges and court personnel. That relationship is quite unique for FBA Chapters and is one our Chapter truly appreciates. Northern District Judges Baxter, Pearson, Polster and White, are board members as is the District's Clerk of Court, Geri Smith, and law clerk, Catherine Garcia-Feehan. They and others with the District Court are active participants in our many CLEs, Brown Bag lunches and other events. Chief Judge James Carr is very supportive of our Chapter's activities and freely gives of his time by participating in the Chapter's State of the Court Luncheon, the annual swearing-in of the Chapter's board and officers, and many other Chapter programs. We also permit all District Court law clerks to attend all Chapter CLEs for free. Finally, our Chapter is the beneficiary of financial support from the Northern District's Attorney Admission Fund, and we are continually grateful for that support.
E-Newsletter
Our Chapter is pleased to be able to provide our award winning Chapter newsletter, Inter Alia, to you free in electronic format as a public service to all attorneys admitted to practice in the Northern District of Ohio. This is the first issue available in electronic format only, which is very "green."
Please feel free to offer suggestions on how we can improve our newsletter, whether in content or format. We also welcome submission of articles as well as any professional news about you that you would like to be included in the newsletter. Click here for information about submission of articles or professional news items.
Chapter Events/Benefits of Membership
As noted in this edition of Inter Alia, our recent events were well received and attended. I thank all that took part in them as coordinators, speakers and attendees. The evaluations turned in for the CLEs were very positive. Feel free to suggest new programs, and of course, we welcome anyone that would like to participate.
FBA members receive significant Chapter CLE discounts and attend our "members only" events, our quarterly networking breakfasts and summer social at Severance Hallfor FREE. They also can attend the Chapters Ethics, Professionalism & Substance Abuse CLE for FREE. Click here for additional information about membership.
Northern District of Ohio - A Great Place to Practice Law
I had the privilege of representing our Chapter in speaking to some two dozen new federal court law clerks that are with the Sixth Circuit and Northern District who were in Cleveland as part of their orientation. In addition to discussing our Chapter, I urged them to consider spending the remainder of their legal careers in the Northern District because it is a great place to practice law and live. It has all the advantages of being in the Midwest (reasonable cost of living and legal services, friendly people, ease of travel, urban/rural mix, etc.) in the context of extremely professional legal community, which is reflected not only in the high quality of our federal judges and clerks but also in those that are in the private and public practice of law. It is no wonder that so many attorneys that have a choice of where to file a federal case, do so in the Northern District. Our District's large MDL docket is but one illustration of that fact.
Speaking of MDLs, in addition to Judge Carr's discussion of them in his Judge's Corner article, future editions of Inter Alia will also include articles about our District's MDL practice, and the Chapter's Advance Federal Practice CLE has and will continue to include MDL practice as an intergral component of the program.
Chapter Coaching Garrett Morgan HS Mock Trial Team
It is important to increase understanding of our legal system as well as encourage more students to consider law as a career, particularly those presently underrepresented in the profession.
One of my initiatives as Chapter president is to increase our level of participation by providing attorneys for the Cleveland Municipal School District's Garrett Morgan High School so it can compete in the 2010 Cleveland Mock Trial Competition on May 7, 2010. The school's Street Law teacher told me his students were absolutely delighted that they would be able to participate for the first time in the competition with the assistance of our Chapter's attorneys as their coaches. Tom Baker, a Tucker Ellis & West partner, will coordinate the Garrett Morgan Mock Trial Team program.
Our Chapter is a strong supporter of programs that help urban students learn about the law. In 2008 our Chapter received a Chapter Activity Presidential Citation Award for its level of participation in the award winning Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association's 3Rs program, which places some 500 attorneys in Cleveland Municipal School District 10th grade U.S. History classes, where they teach monthly lessons regarding Constitutional Rights, Responsibilities and Realities (the 3Rs). Two lessons focus entirely on career counseling. I had the privilege of serving as the CMBAs 3Rs Committee Chair for two of its first three years of existence, overseeing major changes in its curriculum.
Sincerely,
Carter E. Strang
FBA-NDOC President
Partner
Tucker, Ellis & West LLP