President's Message

I am truly honored to serve as President of your Montgomery Bar Association.  When I was elected as Secretary of the MBA in 2020, I could never have imagined what the next four years would bring.  Almost immediately, we began searching for a new Executive Director and then were confronted with the COVID pandemic, the effects of which will leave a lasting imprint on all of us.  Yet, we learned how to adapt and pivot with new and innovative ways to stay connected and still practice law.  I am in awe at the resiliency of our members and the MBA team. 

I am very excited to lead our MBA for the next year.  Already I get one extra day as President, with 2024 being a leap year.  We have lots of events planned and I am especially excited to bring everyone to Annapolis in September.  Annapolis holds very special memories for me, so it seemed like a great place to bring our members and our Bench together.  I hope to build upon all the great work of my predecessors with a focus on service and giving back to our community.  It seems very apropos that my incoming message is in our Giving Issue.  Community involvement and pro bono service have always been very important to me, so I love to see all the good charitable work of our members.  My parents instilled in me and my sisters, the importance of helping others in our community.  We often helped my mom at volunteer events and shopped at Christmas for less fortunate families. I believe we have a responsibility to pay it forward.  No matter the path each of us has taken to make our way to this career and this point in our lives, we are all in position to share our skills, gifts, time and talents.  To echo the words of Nelson Mandella, “We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in our hands to make a difference.”  The accomplishments of this Bar Association are already evident.  The Access to Justice Summit held in October 2023 brought together community organizations and leaders in our legal community to identify areas of need, ways to bridge the gaps and offer ways that we can help.  One big takeaway was the need for more volunteers.  Organizations have seen a decline in volunteers, particularly since 2020.  With Nancy Walsh’s help and others in our focus group, we want to work together to counter this trend.  I intend to work closely with our Sections and Committees, and in particular the Pro Bono, Access to Justice and Community Service Committee, in order to offer numerous opportunities for everyone to get involved. In addition, we want to recognize all members who have provided service, particularly our military veterans, and those who volunteer their time, whether for pro bono legal services, community activities and outreach, or just to help a friend or neighbor.  This past year, the Pro Bono Committee created an annual award to recognize attorneys who have provided 50 or more pro bono hours during the year.  In the first year, there were 20 recipients.  I would love to see that number double this coming year.  In addition, the MBA is now registered to be a provider of The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizing all volunteer service.  More information on this program will be forthcoming shortly.  Of course, all of this hard work aligns with our mission and the work of our charitable arm, the Montgomery Bar Foundation. We have a full year ahead and am eager to get to work.  With the help of my very capable officers, our Board of Directors, our Executive Director, Denise Vicario, the hardworking MBA Team and the guidance of many, I look forward to a wonderful 2024.