Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 6


FROM OUR PRESIDENT

OUR HISTORY OF

Questions
or comments?
asteward@dcbar.org
to reach
Annamaria

STRONG

LEADERSHIP
As we begin the new year with a new United States president, it is
appropriate to reflect on the impact and importance of leadership
- D.C. Bar leadership. E. Barrett Prettyman Jr., the first president of
the D.C. Bar, was elected in 1972. At the time, the Bar Association
of the District of Columbia (BADC) was 101 years old.

The BADC, the oldest bar association in the District
and one of the oldest in the country, was the largest
of several voluntary bars in D.C., but as noted by past
D.C. Bar president Brigida Benitez in a 2014 column,
"there was a desire by many to create a unified bar
- one that would join all lawyers under one tent and
organize the profession in Washington, D.C." Ask any
of the Bar members at that time and you will learn
that creating our Bar was no easy feat and confusion
with the BADC was constant.
During his tenure, Prettyman (shown seated above,
with former Bar president Robert L. Weinberg) worked
with the Bar's first Board of Governors and "began
plans for office space, an executive director,
committees, a disciplinary board and relations with
judges." He also "spent a good deal of time studying
other mandatory bars, because [the Board was] not
sure what [its] duties and responsibilities were "
Prettyman recalled in a 1997 interview marking the
Bar's 25th anniversary. Ultimately, he and the Board
laid the first brick in the strong foundation of the Bar.
Over the past 44 years we have experienced
tremendous growth. Bar membership has grown
from nearly 16,000 to over 100,000 members. We have
created nationally recognized programs, including the
D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, the Continuing Legal
Education Program, and law practice management

courses and seminars. We have 20 practice
area-focused sections, provided extensive support for
lawyers and law students dealing with substance
abuse and mental health issues, and implemented
strong attorney-client arbitration and support
programs.
Additionally, we have created a free, confidential, and
extensively used legal ethics hotline and designed
and continue to administer a Mandatory Course on
D.C. law and ethics for all new Bar members. The Bar
holds bi-annual conferences with the D.C. Courts and
has changed from an advocacy organization (where it
could and did file amicus briefs) to one that, by
referendum, requires the approval of a majority of
active members voting before taking public positions.
Our history illustrates that we have always been
committed to helping the less fortunate, to
supporting and evaluating the judicial system, and to
educating and disciplining lawyers. Sadly, Prettyman
passed away at the end of 2016, but I think it's fitting
that the last D.C. Bar event he attended was the
groundbreaking celebration for our new headquarters
- the beginning of a new foundation for the Bar.
Our first president established the Bar's leadership
standard, and every president thereafter has carried
the torch. To maintain the strength of the Bar's
leadership at every level, past president Kim M.

Keenan established the Leadership Development
Committee, which designed the Leadership Academy,
named after the Bar's 30th president, John Payton. In
its nearly four years of existence, the Academy has
been extremely successful in inspiring and educating
active and dedicated leaders: of the 66 graduates, 17
currently serve on a D.C. Bar committee, task force, or
working group; 7 are on the Board of Governors; 1
served as Sections Council chair last year; 5 are on
section steering committees; and 15 serve or have
served on the boards of voluntary bar associations.
The Bar's current general counsel is a product of the
Leadership Academy.
As the D.C. Bar's role in leading the profession and the
community expands, I am regularly reminded of a
quote from business management practices guru
Tom Peters: "Leaders don't create followers, they
create more leaders."
Thank you, Mr. Prettyman, for your leadership and
inspiration. You set the course for this great bar
association and you will be greatly missed.

Annamaria Steward
D.C. Bar President
Check out our tribute to E. Barrett Prettyman
at dcbar.org.

6

WASHINGTON LAWYER * JANUARY 2017 *
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Lawyer - January 2017
