July 1st heralds the dawn of a new era – the first day of the Mecklenburg Bar Association, our new voluntary bar organization, as well the 26th Judicial District Bar, which will continue fulfilling the statutory functions of our local mandatory bar
Conversely, June 30th will mark another historic milestone – the last day of the entity we know as Mecklenburg County Bar. The MCB, which currently performs both mandatory and non-mandatory bar functions, will cease to exist as of midnight on June 30 when we formally bifurcate to create the MBA and the 26th Judicial District Bar. That means you are reading the last issue of the Mecklenburg Bar News under the MCB banner – dare I say, without a trace of sarcasm, a commemorative edition!
In all seriousness, such moments naturally lead us to look back in time, to history, to memories, to those who came before and shaped us – both as a professional community and as individual lawyers. In thinking about the Bar’s history for this final MCB President’s Column, I retrieved from my office bookcase a copy of An Independent Profession: A Centennial History of the Mecklenburg County Bar, published in 2012 to commemorate the first 100 years of an organized Bar in Mecklenburg County. I turned first to Ozzie Ayscue’s elegant Forward, then flipped through the chapters, each covering significant eras, events, trials, pro bono initiatives, and the influential figures who played leading roles in those moments.
We have a rich, remarkable history. Mecklenburg lawyers have done great things, stepped up time and again to lead the community through challenging periods, helped make this a better, more just community that is well-positioned for progress and prosperity in the years ahead.
Over these last two months of the MCB, I encourage all of you to take a few moments to reflect, in the spirit of gratitude, upon your personal history here in the Mecklenburg Bar community. Who helped make you a better lawyer? What professional experiences hold the most meaning for you? What professional relationships do you truly treasure? How have you made a difference?
We now begin to write our next chapter, stronger and wiser because of our past.