Guest Column
Building Lawyers as Leaders — Why You Should Consider Running for the SDCBA Board, Now or Later
2021 President Renée Stackhouse invited me to write this week’s President’s Message as an opportunity to encourage you — our members — to think about running for the SDCBA Board of Directors.
One of my great honors as the SDCBA’s Immediate Past President is to serve this year as Chair of our Leadership Outreach Committee — or the “LOC,” as we affectionately call it! The LOC works to recruit potential candidates to run for the Board of Directors and New Lawyer Division Executive Board.
Because running for the Board is done by self-nomination, our goal is to encourage you to see yourself as the leader you are, and help you finds ways to step into leadership roles. Indeed, one of the SDCBA’s strategic priorities for 2020-2022 is to “Build Lawyers as Leaders,” and that includes building lawyers as leaders within our Association. You can read more about that Strategic Plan, in addition to our Mission, Vision, and Core Values, here.
Recruitment often is a multi-year process, and our LOC works hard year-over-year to bring new lawyers into the fold. We would love for you to consider Board service.
Eligibility requirements. To be eligible to run for the Board, you must (a) be an active SDCBA Attorney Member for at least 3 of the last 5 years, (b) have been licensed to practice law at least 7 years, and (c) have demonstrated leadership experience, which may be achieved by: (i) serving as chair of a Section or Committee in the SDCBA, (ii) serving as a member of another non-profit organization’s Board (law-related or community), or (iii) similar experience as determined by the LOC and ratified by the Board before the self-nomination deadline. (For more on the eligibility criteria, see the SDCBA’s Bylaws.)
Learn more at our Info Sessions. This coming Wednesday, May 26, from 5:30-6:15 p.m., we’ll host a virtual Info Session about How to Run for the SDCBA Board and Why Serve. I’ll be joined by Past President (2013) and Superior Court Judge Marcella McLaughlin, and current SDCBA Directors Warren Den and Kimberly Swierenga. They’ll provide insights about why they decided to run for the Board, some key aspects of service on the Board, and lessons they learned along the way. We’ll host another Info Session on June 22 at 12:00 p.m. too. To join us this Wednesday evening, register here.
Key dates. For this year’s Board election, here are the important dates to keep in mind:
- Self-nomination deadline: 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 2, 2021
- Notice to candidates: Tuesday, August 3, 2021
- Deadline to withdraw: 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 31, 2021
- Deadline for all candidate materials: 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 31, 2021
- Voting period: October 13 – November 12, 2021
- Notification period: November 12 – 14, 2021
For more details about the election and to check out our catalog of video interviews with past Board members, click here.
The LOC itself is made up of a diverse cross-section of former SDCBA Board members and non-Board members who have a broad reach into all corners of our legal community, through our affinity and specialty bar associations and other organizations. It is vital to the future of the SDCBA that we continue to bring in a diverse set of committed and talented lawyers to lead the Association for decades to come. We hope you will consider joining us — now, or in a future year.
If you have any questions or want to learn more, please feel welcome to reach out to me directly at johanna.schiavoni@calapplaw.com.
Wishing you a terrific week,
Johanna Schiavoni
2020 SDCBA President
Carrying on Renee’s new tradition from this year, I’ll share:
What I’m reading:
- Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott
What I’m listening to:
- Music: By the Way, I Forgive You by Brandi Carlile
- Podcast: Let’s Be Honest Before We Start Pretending hosted by Coach Kelly Mobeck
What are you reading or listening to? Tag us #sdlaw #sdcba