President's MesSSAGE

Welcome to our new year!

First and foremost, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to read this, as I know your time is valuable. I won’t take much of your time, but I would like to share with you my main goal that I, as President, have for this upcoming year.

Just like every President who came before me, I have doomed the LBA to be impacted by my tyrannical reign. In such tyranny, I am hoping to see a year that breaks down barriers among the various voluntary bar associations (did you know that there’s more than just us?) and creates stronger bonds both among our members and with others in our profession.

My experience has been this: when I have had a real-life, non-case-specific conversation with opposing counsel, that case tends to be a much more enjoyable experience for me. Basically, if I have a pre-existing relationship with whomsoever I’m fighting against, I’m having a better time. I know that I am not alone in this. I am incredibly grateful to the LBA for affording me the opportunity to know each of you as fellow members, significantly increasing my ability to enjoy the work that I do.

I’ve also found that both counsels, not just me, are much more effective in advocating for our clients when we know each other. Maybe it’s a matter of trust. Maybe it’s a matter of being able (and perhaps willing) to have an easy telephone call. Or maybe it's just a matter of side-stepping the dreaded “I have to out-attorney this guy” pit of despair. Whatever it is, I know it works.

But I don’t have to tell you this—you know it already, and it is likely a large contributing factor to why you are a member of the Lakeland Bar Association, whether this is your first year with us or you have been a member for the entire 112 years of our existence. So why am I saying all of this if you already know it? Well, let me (finally) get to how the LBA is going to help me, help all of us, meet my main goal for this year.

One of the things that you’ll notice is that the Res Integra, this very publication, will be a source of information for what other voluntary bar associations are doing. This will include events, socials, speakers, philanthropy, whatever is important to them. I admit that I am often woefully unaware of what others in our profession are even doing, let alone when and where. I hope that this increase in available information will allow our members (yes, I mean you) to enjoy events with like-minded attorneys and forge new relationships both within and outside of the LBA. I encourage you to keep an eye out for upcoming events (can you find a few in this issue?) and attend them.

Another is that we will be extending our own invitations to other voluntary bar associations to attend our events. We had a blast at the paint social last year. We will be inviting not only our members this year, but also the members of PAWL, HBA, PCTLA, Virgil Hawkins, Willson Inn of Court, and others, all in the hopes of creating new connections throughout the legal community.

I am sure you see the Achilles heel of this goal—neither I nor the LBA board can do it alone. You have to make the decision to attend an event hosted by another organization. You have to invite those of another organization (or *gasp* no organization???) to join us. Quite frankly, you have to want to be a part of this.

So maybe my reign is not so tyrannical. Maybe I need the help of each of you. I cannot make you make connections with people. I cannot make you sacrifice a random Thursday night, one that otherwise might be a quiet night in front of the TV, to go to an event with people you may or may not know. But wouldn’t it be nice to have more acquaintances—or dare I say eventual friends—across the table? I know I would not mind my job, my profession, being a little more enjoyable every now and again.

Now, y’all might be dreading my presidency, but I know I am very much looking forward to it. I hope that the LBA continues to be everything you have always loved about it and maybe just a little bit more. But I admit, I have already taken more of your time than I meant to…

All the best,

Jillian T. Spangler

President