Virginia State Bar

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Young Lawyers Conference

A Conference of the Virginia State Bar.

Long Range Plan

Adopted: June 21, 1996
Effective: July 1, 1996

I.OVERVIEW

Of the approximately 27,000 lawyers in the Virginia State Bar (the "Bar"), the Young Lawyers Conference (the "YLC") represents approximately 8,000 lawyers who are under age 36 or have been practicing law for fewer than three years. Historically, the YLC has served as the work force for implementing many of the goals, objectives and programs initiated by the Bar. The YLC also has implemented many of its own programs and activities designed to benefit members of the profession (specically, but not exclusively, young lawyers), and members of the public. Programs designed to benefit the public help to improve access to legal services and to educate the public about the legal profession, its membership, the judicial system, and how to integrate the public into that system.

Article I, Section 2 of the YLC Bylaws recites the organization's purpose:

Purpose - The purpose of this organization shall be: to serve as a vehicle through which the younger members of the Virginia State Bar can exert a more direct influence upon the activities of the Virginia State Bar to engage in activities designed to respond to discernible needs among the younger members of the Bar in particular and the members of the legal profession in general; to promote, uphold, and elevate the standards of honor, integrity, and competence in the legal profession; and to assist the Council of the Virginia State Bar in discharging its duty to improve the legal system and the responsiveness of the profession to the members of the public, for whose benefit the profession exists.

Because the first five years of practice are perhaps the most difficult and demanding years a lawyer will face during his or her career, young lawyers experience needs, concerns and demands on their time that are not necessarily shared by all members of the Bar. Young lawyers often experience uncertainty and difficulty in their attempts to become involved in Bar activities. Therefore, relatively few young lawyers have become actively involved in the Bar's projects, activities and committees during their first years of practice.

The Bar is vested with authority by statute and by certain Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Section 54.1-3909 of the Virginia Code permits the Supreme Court to promulgate rules and regulations dening the practice of law, and prescribing a code of ethics and procedures for disciplining, suspending and disbarring attorneys. Section 54.1-3910 permits the Supreme Court to promulgate rules and regulations organizing and governing the Bar. The Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, Part 6, Section W, Paragraph 9, give certain powers to Bar Council, including the necessary powers (a) to promote reforms in judicial procedure and the judicial system that are intended to improve the quality and fairness of the system; (b) to improve the quality of the legal services made available to the people of Virginia; and (c) to uphold and elevate the standards of honor, integrity and courtesy in the legal profession.

The YLC is currently faced with the task of reevaluating its efforts and activities, and this Long Range Plan is the first step in accomplishing this purpose. In completing this Long Range Plan, the YLC is mindful of the need to keep its efforts closely aligned with the mission of the Bar.

A. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

The YLC has never been active in any of the functions of the Bar in regulating and disciplining lawyers. Historically, the YLC has developed its programs in the areas of service to the bar and service to the public, with an eye toward improving access to justice, the quality of the judicial system and the legal profession.

B. ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT

The purposes of the YLC, as stated in its Bylaws, are: 1) to serve as a vehicle through which the younger members of the Bar can exert a more direct influence upon the activities of the Bar; 2) to engage in activities designed to respond to discernible needs among the younger members of the Bar in particular and the members of the legal profession in general; 3) to promote, uphold, and elevate the standards of honor, integrity, and competence in the legal profession; and 4) to assist Bar Council in discharging its duty to improve the legal system and the responsiveness of the profession to the members of the public, for whose benefit the profession exists.

Each member of the Bar who is under age 36 or who has been practicing law for fewer than three years is automatically a member of the YLC. The YLC is governed by a fteen member Board of Governors (the "Board"), which is comprised of one member from each of 10 regional districts and ve at-large members. The Board acts through the YLC ofcers (President, President-Elect and Secretary), the YLC's circuit representatives in each of the state's judicial circuits, and its committees and subcommittees. The YLC's Bylaws require that the members of the Board and the President-Elect be chosen by election by the general YLC membership at the Bar's Annual Meeting. The YLC committees are organized into three sections:

1. Service to the Bar:
Admission and Orientation Ceremony
Annual Meeting/Athletics
Annual Meeting/Programs
National Trial Advocacy Competition
Publications and Films
Newsletter/Docket Call
Films
Senior Citizens Handbook
Practice and the Profession
Professionalism
Career Issues
Publicity
Women and Minorities in the Profession

2. Service to the Public:
Access to Legal Services
Emergency Legal Assistance
No Bills Night
Pro Bono
Children and the Law
Students' Day in Court (formerly Docent)
Community Law Week
Public Education

3. Internal Operating Committees:
Award of Achievement
Circuit Representatives
Membership Involvement
Nominating Committee
Budget and Finance

Although each of these committees can be shown to fit within the YLC's purposes, the overall committee structure has been changed each year by succeeding Presidents. New committees and new projects have been added without clear direction on how those programs fit with existing programs. Other projects and committees have been allowed to continue without a thorough analysis of the continuing need for the committee structure, and without any real planning for the phase-out or revitalization of existing projects. Moreover, while the YLC has the largest section membership of the Bar, it routinely experiences difculty in recruiting volunteers in the proper numbers and with the proper skills and experience necessary to serve as Circuit Representatives or committee members. The Nominating Committee has a standing Membership Involvement Committee, yet the YLC does not have in place a plan to promote and encourage young lawyers to participate in YLC activities and committees.

The YLC has determined that it needs to develop a long-range plan designed to promote and encourage young lawyers to participate in YLC activities and committees, to ensure that the task of nominating candidates for its Board of Governors and to serve as its President-Elect is given the importance it requires and is conducted in a timely fashion each year, and to recommend organizational changes necessary to streamline its organization to ensure that the YLC projects and activities fall within the statutes and rules governing the Bar.