Welcome to the Young Lawyers Division Website
Division News & Notes
- Mentors Needed
The NCBA is still in search of attorneys to serve as either traditional or situational mentors for newly admitted attorneys. Mentors need to have at least four or more years of practice experience. The mentorship program is designed to (1) allow experienced practitioners to provide guidance to new members of the profession; (2) guide mentees in traversing the realities of practicing law, either in general or as a minority, and (3) communicate the importance of being a citizen lawyer. Serving as a mentor is a great way to strengthen the profession.
The application and more information are available at:
https://www.ncbar.org/about/ncba-mentorship-program/ncba-mentor-application.aspx.
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The North Carolina Bar Association ("NCBA") often refers to its Young Lawyers Division ("YLD") as its "Service Arm". Nothing brings out the energy and enthusiasm of young lawyers more than the many, successful YLD service projects that have provided immeasurable support to the people of North Carolina. But for all of the success of its service projects, the YLD is not a "service" organization in the traditional sense of a Goodwill or Salvation Army. First and foremost, the YLD exists in service of its members. During these tumultuous economic times in which the legal profession in North Carolina is changing profoundly, the YLD's challenge is to remain relevant to the state’s young lawyers.
Since many, recent law school graduates (whether voluntarily or not) are bypassing the traditional route of being employed as a law firm associate immediately after law school, the YLD cannot afford to be viewed erroneously as an organization solely for law firm associates in the state's largest cities. To serve North Carolina young lawyers, the YLD must embrace diversity. Diversity in this sense isn't limited to racial, ethnic and gender inclusivity. It also means having a membership that is inclusive in terms of geography, practice area and employment setting.
A primary focus of the YLD during the 2011-2012 bar year is to increase its membership among those segments of the legal profession in North Carolina that historically have been under-represented within the NCBA. The YLD plans to attract more members from these segments of the legal profession by providing greater access to member services to young lawyers (i) who practice outside of the state's major metropolitan areas, (ii) who work in government and public interest settings, and/or (iii) who are solo or small firm practitioners.
The Task Force on Reimagining Geographic Boundaries (the "Task Force"), established in 2010 to increase the YLD's presence outside of North Carolina’s major cities, has been merged into the YLD’s Membership and Networking Committee. The Membership and Networking Committee will continue the Task Force’s work of organizing networking and social events for young lawyers who practice in judicial districts located outside of the state’s metropolitan areas.
A new task force has been created for the 2011-2012 bar year. This task force has been given the two-pronged mission of investigating why more young government and public interest lawyers are not members of the YLD and what member services the YLD can offer these young lawyers to convince more of them to become active members of the organization. The task force will submit a survey by e-mail to young government and public interest lawyers in an effort to obtain answers to these questions.
To serve young lawyers who are solo practitioners (or are in small firm settings), the New Lawyers in Practice Committee, in conjunction with the GP, Small Firm and Solo Section of the NCBA, will be organizing monthly "Starting Out Solo" events where solo practitioners can gather in person or by teleconference and listen to guest speakers, network, and discuss issues common to those in solo law practices.
While focusing in 2011-2012 on increasing membership inclusivity, the YLD will not turn away from its strong heritage of service to the public. The YLD will continue to serve the people of North Carolina through such successful projects as Wills for Heroes, Project Grace, When Duty Calls, and Ask-a-Lawyer Day, and through new projects, such as Rule of Law conferences for North Carolina high school students, which the YLD intends to organize in at least two locations statewide.
With its long history of service to both its members and the public, I am honored to serve as chair of the YLD for the 2011-2012 bar year. My leadership team and I will be available in person, by phone and by e-mail to discuss with YLD members how we can best serve our membership, which is the future of not only the YLD but also of the legal profession in North Carolina.
To contact me:
Bradford [Brad] A. Williams
e-mail: Bradford.williams@raleighnc.gov
Raleigh City Attorney's Office
PO Box 590
Raleigh, NC 27602
919-831-6560
The Division, with currently
6051 members, sponsors CLE programs and services; provides members with a substantive newsletter; and helps mold the association's legislative agenda for presentation to the N.C. General Assembly. The newsletter, the Adovcate, offers an index of its articles and CLE topics.