By Sarah Motley Stone, MBA President

The Mecklenburg Bar Association is approaching its second birthday! Our second year as an independent, voluntary organization has been marked with both unexpected challenges and exciting engagement. Membership for the 2025-26 year will exceed our projections, with over 2,400 members.  Our Sections remain the heartbeat of our organization: the 15 Sections have collectively held over 85 in-person meetings, including business meetings and socials—and have sponsored over 25 live CLEs.  The December holiday party broke records—over 190 members and guests in attendance at Discovery Place. 

In the midst of these successful stay-the-course activities, the Mecklenburg Bar Association was presented with the same uncertainties and challenges facing so many of our organizations, employers, clients, and colleagues. In a rapidly evolving landscape for diversity, equity, and inclusion, the MBA, like many of your organizations, has felt the pressures of these shifts. We have been grappling with many of the same questions and have undertaken a thorough evaluation of the structure, status, and future of our DE&I Initiatives and their funding. The Board remains committed to eliminating biases, barriers, and prejudices within the legal profession. As the Mecklenburg Bar’s Special Committee on Diversity wrote over 20 years ago: The legal profession can more effectively address societal and individual needs with varied perspectives, experience, knowledge, and understanding by people involved in the practice of law. We are proud to continue our programming, which includes the Mentorship Alliance, Lunch with a Lawyer, the IDLP Conference, the MBA + CPCC Summer Camp: Law Launchpad, and the Charlotte Legal Clerkship Program, which kicks off its 20th year this May. 

Yet these challenges have not stymied the Bar, as we continue to seek opportunities to provide our members with valuable opportunities to Connect, Lead, and Serve. Following the annual courthouse lunch, the MBA and the 26th Judicial District are planning a first-ever Summer School CLE Series: A District Court Primer for Current and Future Trial Lawyers, a series of eight CLEs directed towards District Court practitioners, moderated by our local judges, on topics including Criminal, Juvenile, Family, Civil, the Clerk’s Office, Domestic Violation, Child Support, and Immigration. 

In addition, as noted in my opening speech and newsletter, I have found grounding in our oath of office and the Preamble to the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct, which direct us to “further the public’s understanding of and confidence in the rule of law and the justice system.”  To further our commitment to the rule of law, we are engaging with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library to expand our joint programming and examining the structure of the Lawyer Referral Service to ensure that the community has access to the resources necessary.  On May 1, the Bar was pleased to host a Law Day & Rule of Law Recommitment Ceremony on the lawn of the Federal Courthouse. This special ceremony included brief remarks from Judge Albert Diaz, Judge Carla Archie and the opportunity to renew your oath and commitment to the Constitution and the rule of law.

Serving as President this year has been a true privilege.  We are fortunate to have a small but mighty professional staff who have adeptly navigated the Bar through bifurcation and pivoted to our membership-driven, voluntary model, with all of its uncertainty and opportunity. Please tell them “thank you” next time you see them.  Without Leah, Meghan, Michelle, Shelby, Kaila, Jill, Les, Shannon and recently retired, Lisa, we would not have so much to celebrate. As we approach the summer and the start of a new year for the Bar, please, come join a section, help plan and teach at a CLE, enjoy a social—we are so excited about what lies ahead and how we can continue to provide a meaningful benefit to the lawyers in Mecklenburg County.