Washington Lawyer - July/August 2024 - 42

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Mary Smith ANSWERS CALL TO LEAD
IN TIME OF CHANGE
By John Murph
W
hen Mary Smith assumed
office as president of the
American Bar Association
(ABA) in August 2023, she
jumped right into work.
On day two of her term, she launched the ABA
Task Force for American Democracy to protect
election integrity and to support and defend
our constitutional principles and the rule of law.
Next, she launched the Task Force on Law and
Artificial Intelligence to examine how AI technology
is impacting the practice of law, the legal
profession, and access to justice.
" With every technological transformation, the legal
profession must address complex and challenging
legal and ethical questions, " says Smith,
who made history as the first Native American
woman elected as ABA president. " We need to
ensure that young lawyers are still learning how
to be lawyers [and] not just relying on tools. "
Leading the ABA is the latest in a string of accomplishments
in Smith's long career, which includes
a four-year stint at the White House working
on policy issues and serving as CEO of the
Indian Health Service, an agency within the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services that
provides health care to approximately 2.6 million
American Indians and Alaska Natives.
And yet Smith, who grew up on the south side
of Chicago, did not even think about becoming
a lawyer until after college. " I worked in technology
[as a systems programmer] at Walgreens'
corporate headquarters. What I enjoyed most
about my job with computers was helping people,
but I wanted to provide help in broader
ways. That is when I thought about going to law
school, " says Smith, who holds a bachelor's degree
in mathematics and computer science
from Loyola University Chicago.
After graduating from the University of Chicago
Law School, Smith moved to Washington, D.C.,
42 WASHINGTON LAWYER
* JULY/AUGUST 2024
where she put down
professional roots. On
and off, Smith lived in
the District for over a decade.
" I loved D.C., " says
Smith, who is now based
in Illinois. " Even now,
I consider it my second
home. "
LIFTING OTHERS
Throughout her term,
Smith says she was guided
by her theme of " lifting
our voices, charting
the future, " a fitting
response to a rapidly
changing legal landscape.
Smith recalls a
memorable interaction
with a young Native
American woman attorney
at the 50th anniversary
celebration of the
National Native American
Bar Association
(NNABA) in Albuquerque,
New Mexico. The
attorney told Smith that she did not join the ABA
because she didn't think the organization offered
anything for her.
" Seeing me [as ABA president-elect], she began
to think that just maybe there were things in the
ABA that mattered to her, " says Smith, whose
term ends in August. " I hope that I can send that
message out not just to young Native attorneys,
but [also to] all young people regardless of their
backgrounds - there are so many things that
would help them in their careers at the ABA. "
According to the ABA's " Profile of the Legal Profession
2023, " just over one-half of 1 percent of
all lawyers are Native American. Smith hopes
that her leadership inspires young people to follow
their dreams and break down barriers. " [My
presidency] demonstrates that anything is possible
for those who follow their passion, " says
Smith, an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
In
November 2023, the ABA Commission on
Women in the Profession, in collaboration with
the NNABA, released " Excluded & Alone: Examining
the Experiences of Native American Women
in the Law and a Path Towards Equity. " It was
only the second study to focus on that demographic,
filled with observations and recommendations
from Native American women attorneys
across several generations.
Smith's Native American heritage comes from
her paternal grandmother, Ora Mae (Pallone)
Smith, who grew up in Westville, Oklahoma, as
Courtesy of Mary Smith
Washington Lawyer - July/August 2024

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