In 1999, the same year I graduated from law school, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor published an article in the Oregon Law Review. The title of the article was simply “Professionalism.”

In it, she proffered that we, as lawyers, engage in a profession. While we are often running businesses in conjunction with our practices, the practice of law remains, first and foremost, a profession. She acknowledged that times have changed for lawyers since the inception of our profession, but she argued that our exercise of professionalism should not yield to evolution, notwithstanding the era in which you find yourself engaging in the profession:

Certainly, life as a lawyer is a bit more complex today than it was a century ago. The ever-increasing pressures of the legal marketplace, the need to bill hours, to market to clients, and to attend to the bottom line, have made fulfilling the responsibilities of community service quite difficult. But public service marks the difference between a business and a profession. While a business can afford to focus solely on profits, a profession cannot. It must devote itself first to the community it is responsible to serve. I can imagine no greater duty than fulfilling this obligation. And I can imagine no greater pleasure.¹

The TBA Board of Governors and several TBA staff members visited The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.

We are professionals, entrusted and responsible for protecting the profession which binds us and providing service to those in need. In other words, just because I have affectionately referred to lawyers as my “wolfpack,” it doesn’t mean we should actually behave like wolves.

In a recent meeting, a colleague posed a thought-provoking question: “What would happen if there were no bar associations?” With her permission, I’m including that query here for each of us to ponder.

Mind you, the Tennessee Bar Association has been around since 1881. To give you a bit of context, 1881 is the year in U.S. history in which Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur each served as president. It’s also the year Clara Barton established the American Red Cross, Billy the Kid was shot and killed in a gunfight outside Fort Sumner, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra performed its inaugural concert.

In other words, the instinct to gather and associate has been a strong one and, thankfully, remains a strong one. Perhaps my characterization of lawyers as my “wolfpack” hasn’t been too far off base after all. We are stronger together, when we organize and when we speak with one voice, jointly advocating for our constituents and for the rule of law.

Cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead once marveled at the ability of a determined group to effectuate change: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

But what if that were not the case? Who would be the voice of our profession? Someone would advocate for the voiceless, for the underserved and for the profession itself, right?

Thankfully, the TBA takes seriously its role of advocating for lawyers, the community and the legal system. The stated purpose of our association, according to our bylaws, is to foster legal education, to maintain the honor, dignity and wellbeing of the members of the legal profession, to enhance the performance of the legal profession, to cultivate professional ethics and fellowship among our members, and to promote responsible relationships between the legal profession and the public.

Over the course of this past year, the missions of the association have been in the hands of a capable Board of Governors, an active House of Delegates, countless leaders of sections and committees and divisions, CLE producers and speakers, authors, the dedicated TBA staff, and, as the late great John Ward would have said, “a host of Volunteers.” I’m grateful to each and every person who plays a role in advancing the mission of the TBA.

After more than two decades of membership, most of it actively engaged membership, I thought I knew fairly well the association’s level of involvement and the dedication to the mission. But after serving in the capacity of president, I’ve learned that the service goes even deeper than I had ever fully realized. We are so well served as a profession by this association. I stand in awe of my wolfpack.

So, what would happen without the TBA? I hope we never need to know.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your president. It’s been an honor. |||

TASHA C. BLAKNEY is a partner in the law firm of Eldridge & Blakney PC and is the president of the Tennessee Bar Association. She is engaged in criminal defense and general civil litigation on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, primarily in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, workers’ compensation, medical malpractice, contract disputes, employment law and business litigation.

NOTE

1. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. “Professionalism.” 78 Or. L. Rev. 385, 391 (1999).