| In this new State Bar year, we have one overriding goal: to reach out to
our members, listen to them and respond to their concerns. With our appointment by the
president to lead the Communications & Member Relations committee, Jim Otto and I,
co-chairs of the committee, are committed to listening to our members and working to
achieve common goals.  As longtime members of the bar, Mr. Otto, a partner in the Los Angeles firm of
Kroll, Rubin & Fiorella, and myself, a sole practitioner from Sacramento, understand
the concerns of our fellow members. Jim and I share a common theme, which is to reach out
to the members of the bar and to listen and communicate more efficiently with them.
 The Committee on
Communications & Member Relations is designed to focus on the following areas of the
State Bar:
 Communications through the California Bar Journal;
The access to the profession committees (which
include the Ethnic Minorities Relations Committee, Committe on Women in the Law, Committee
on Legal Professionals with Disabilities and Committee on Sexual Orientation
Discrimination);
California Young Lawyers Association;
Commission to Study MCLE;
Outreach to members;
Competence/Ethics Hotline; and
Midyear Meeting 2000.
When we ran for the board of governors in 1998, both Jim and I were concerned with the
level of efficient communications between:
The State Bar and its members;
The State Bar and the public;
The State Bar and the elected officials in
Sacramento;
The State Bar and the courts.
Communication is a vital lifeline in any organization. It becomes more significant when
that organization, our State Bar, leads the nation in the practice of law. Our diverse
membership provides our strength to meet the ever-changing environment we face as lawyers.
Jim and I will use our strengths to succeed in building better and stronger lines of
communication and relations with all of our members as well as all others who come in
contact with the State Bar. Our dedication requires your participation.
Some of our ideas for the coming year may look ambitious. However, they are built on
simple principles. Jim and I are dedicated to the idea of using every efficient manner of
communication to inform our members what the State Bar is doing.
This includes the Internet, radio, television, print publications, forums and
telephones. We are committed to actively reaching out statewide into the local legal
communities. Local legal forums, held alone or in conjunction with local luncheons or
meetings, provide an excellent vehicle to enhance our avenues of communication.
We are committed to working statewide with radio, television and newspapers in order to
further enhance our level of communication and better our relations with the public, the
elected officials in Sacramento and the courts.
Jim and I are mindful that our communication extends to this broader base of
individuals. It is from listening to all points of view that we intend to improve what the
State Bar does for all of us, both on a daily basis, but also far beyond.
Collectively, as a State Bar, we are the guardians of the legal system. With that
responsibility comes the duty to be active in educating ourselves, as well as others,
about whom we are and what we do as a State Bar.
We know we cannot do it alone. To improve the profession’s standing with the
public, to improve our level of communication with elected officials and the courts, we
need your help.
Please give us your help by actively participating in the process.
You can reach Jay Greiner by e-mail at jaygreiner@midtown.net. |
