I got back yesterday from the MSBA Annual Meeting in Ocean City. Networking, organizing, learning, sun tanning and overeating led to a well-deserved quick nap when I got home. Thinking back over the meeting the thing that stuck out most to me was how great it is to see a fellow solo attorney rise to the level of the Maryland State Bar Association President. Deb Schubert, who has been a solo attorney for the majority of her career, has said that the Bar Association was what helped her be a solo entrepreneur. Like myself, she is solo by choice. She was lucky enough to have a county bar association that supported her and that did not marginalize her. I can only hope that if I work hard that someday I can rise to a similar level. Her presidency and her focus on helping out young lawyers has inspired me to run for Young Lawyers Board of Governors Representative of the Maryland State Bar Association.
I truly believe that I best represent the majority of young lawyers as a solo attorney myself. I also am a good fit because of the amount of public service that I have devoted to the Young Lawyers Section. My relationships with all kinds of people and lawyers, including the Executive Board of the Maryland State Bar Association, the MSBA staff and the American Bar Association YLD Executive Board make me uniquely positioned to advocate for Maryland Young Lawyers. That is why I intend to apply and run (if necessary) for the position of Board of Governors Representative for the MSBA Young Lawyers Section. There is too much at stake in these tough times to allow for a status quo appointment.