Washington Lawyer - January/February 2022 - 1

You Built This Bar
In 1997, when asked what he thought of the D.C. Bar more
than two decades after its founding, civil rights attorney
and former Bar president Charles T. Duncan said the
organization had grown so much it was hard for him to
believe it was the same Bar he once led.
Indeed, much has changed in the last 50 years since the
Bar was established by the D.C. Court of Appeals. We
began with 15,000 members in 1972, and today we are
the nation's largest unified bar - a global community
of 111,000 members in all 50 states and more than 80
countries and territories.
Fifty years ago the D.C. Bar was founded to advance
professional standards, promote a more effective
attorney discipline system, support the voluntary bars,
and help bridge the racial divide within the District's
legal community. The Bar has consistently delivered on
this promise and then some. Through the years we have
expanded on our mission by empowering lawyers to
achieve excellence through educational programs and
other resources and by assisting the courts in improving
the administration of justice.
We may have grown in size and in the services we provide,
but the Bar of old is still at the heart of the Bar you know
today. Our commitment to access to justice, part of the
Bar's identity since its founding, continues to inspire more
than a thousand of our members to volunteer for pro
bono work every year. The Bar's early years were forged
by diverse voices, and that spirit of diversity remains a
cornerstone of our purpose and values.
The past 50 years have been a testament to our resilience
as an organization. Each decade ushered in unique
challenges for the Bar and the legal profession, and we
are who we are today because of the collective strength
of our members and the visionary leadership of those
who helped us navigate the changing tides. From the
challenge of forming a cohesive organization in 1972 to
the unprecedented shift to fully virtual operations in 2020,
the Bar not only survived but came out better and stronger
for it.
This year - our golden anniversary - is an opportunity
to not only celebrate our history and reflect on our
achievements but also to envision our future. As the legal
profession continues to transform to meet the public's
evolving needs, so will our Bar and our membership. In
the age of globalization and innovation, the Bar's role as a
thought leader in the legal industry is more important than
ever.
Throughout the year we will be celebrating what makes
us proud of our Bar - our best-in-class continuing
legal education programs, opportunities for enriching
connections across our Communities, legal ethics guidance
and practice management services to foster integrity
and competence among our members, and unparalleled
commitment to pro bono service. Our anniversary
programming will speak to our high ideals: integrity,
diversity and inclusion, global influence and innovation,
leadership, community, and service.
I invite you to visit our 50th anniversary website,
50years.dcbar.org, to honor our past, commemorate
our trailblazing accomplishments, hear from fellow Bar
members, and help define the Bar's future as we continue
to set the gold standard for legal excellence.
On our anniversary, we celebrate you and your
contributions to the Bar. The story of the D.C. Bar is, after
all, the story of our membership.
Here's to 50 more years!
Robert J. Spagnoletti
D.C. Bar Chief Executive Officer
http://50years.dcbar.org
Washington Lawyer - January/February 2022

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