Since pivoting to remote work and services in mid-March, we have continued to offer a multitude of educational programs, networking events, helpful resources, and informative publications. This seems to have struck a chord, as we have welcomed more than 3,200 members to events since January 2020—that is 1,000 more members than attended events in all of 2019! And we promise there is additional unique, relevant, and targeted programming and information coming your way.
In the recent issue of San Diego Lawyer Magazine, in my President’s Column entitled The Road Ahead—Together, I wrote about how our Board and senior Staff came together in January at a planning retreat to map out a new three-year strategic plan and craft our new mission statement. You’ll find a one-page summary of all our guiding principles: Mission, Vision, Core Values, and Strategic Goals for 2020-2022, here.
To continue building on that work and to address challenges we all are facing in 2020, our Board and senior Staff got together again on August 22—this time virtually—for our mid-year check-in retreat. We worked on continuing to build up the strong partnership between our Board and Staff, and discussed challenges and opportunities that have arisen in 2020. The overarching theme that emerged from our discussions was finding creative ways to virtually connect our members in this ongoing time of remote work. Indeed, connection is at the very heart of our newly-adopted mission statement: To connect lawyers and support their success and fulfillment.
In order to craft content and programs designed with you in mind, we’d like to hear directly from you, so today we’ve launched a “suggestion box” on our website. This builds on the Member Survey we conducted in March/April, where hundreds of our members provided vital feedback on what you need from the SDCBA and offered your expertise and ideas for programs you wanted to see (dozens of which we have offered or are in the works). Please drop a note in our suggestion box with feedback, ideas for programs, events, or content, and offers to share your expertise as a speaker or author. You’ll find the suggestion box on our homepage.
As a final reminder to the students in your life, this Friday, September 4 is the deadline for our Law Week Poster & Video Contest—all entries can be submitted on that page. This year’s contest theme is “Your Vote, Your Voice, Our Democracy: The 19th Amendment at 100.” There are cash prizes and the winning entries will be on display at the local federal courthouse. And, the winners will be announced at our Annual Awards Ceremony & Celebration of Community Service event on September 30 at 12:00 p.m. For that special event honoring our 2020 Service Awards honorees, register here »
We have a range of other terrific programs coming up, so be sure to check the “Look Ahead” and Events sections below. One specific program I’d like to highlight, the San Diego County Bar Foundation’s Distinguished Lawyer Memorial (DLM), will take place on October 14 at 5:30 p.m. This virtual event will honor the 2020 DLM inductees who demonstrated meaningful service to the community, superior legal skills, and high ethical standards. Register now »
In observance of Labor Day, the SDCBA will close at 1 p.m. on Friday, September 4, and reopen on Tuesday, September 7 at 8:30 a.m.
We wish you a terrific week. Take good care.
Johanna Schiavoni
2020 SDCBA President