Earlier this month, I participated in the American Bar Association’s Midyear Meeting in New Orleans. Aside from the obvious benefit of being in a great location I’ve never been to before, the meeting was a perfect example of some of the benefits of being active in the bar.

Of course, there were excellent CLEs and panel discussions. Not only did I attend an educational event put on by the ABA Criminal Justice Section, but I also participated in one at Tulane Law School.

There, I had the honor of discussing careers in criminal justice alongside a sitting U.S. District Court judge and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, which gave me an opportunity to learn and to hopefully impart something helpful to a room full of law students.

The ABA meetings are also an opportunity to recognize those attorneys and judges who are doing great things nationally and back in their home states. A member of Maryland’s delegation was awarded as a finalist for the ABA National Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. Recognitions such as these are important not only for the recipient but also for those in attendance as inspiration to do better in our profession and communities.

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To say that I am active in bar associations would be an understatement. I’m a bar junkie. I know it.

I enjoy going to bar association meetings. I like meeting other attorneys (especially when they are not opposing counsel to a case). I have fun at the MSBA Annual Meeting and look forward to a couple of days in Ocean City every June. Aside from personal satisfaction, however, what are the benefits of membership?

Some benefits come in the form of discounts and programming. For example, as a member of the MSBA and the Baltimore County Bar Association, I am able to obtain discounts on shipping to insurance to legal software.

But, for me, the true benefit of bar membership stems the opportunity to meet colleagues and develop a network of referral sources (and friendships). The true benefit of membership is networking.

All private practitioners must be cognizant of developing business. As a young lawyer, it is easy to perform work and bill hours at the direction of a partner or senior associate. One of the hardest aspects to master in the business of law is to bring in clients. This is where the bar associations can help.

Meeting other attorneys in other practice areas may lead to referrals. I handle only a certain segment of cases as a business and construction law attorney. So, if a family law or criminal law matter arises, these cases are referred out. Conversely, referrals on business and construction law matters are sent to me by colleagues that only do family or criminal law.

In the past three weeks, I have gotten three referrals through attorneys I have met as part of the state and Baltimore County bar associations. While merely attending a bar function will not result in immediate referrals, being committed to an organization will. It does take time, but it’s worth it.

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The word “solo” means “alone.” The definition itself can be good reason for a lawyer to avoid it — it implies all of those things that humans as social animals try to avoid.  From the primitive need for security in larger numbers to the modern need for a ridiculously high number of Facebook friends, we are designed to seek out others.

Done right, going solo should be more communal than working in a big law firm. Modern technology gives us the benefit of email, listservs, instant chat and video chat. Networking lunches are more important for solos, who rely on others for business referrals. Bar association CLE classes and meetings provide a lifeline to similarly-situated lawyers. Family and friends boost us up and make the solo dream a reality.

And the best reason for going solo? Autonomy. The chance to create something, to apply life’s lessons to your firm, to set your own priorities. That’s why I’m striking it out “on my own.” As any solo will tell you, the work ranges from the mundane (filing articles of organization and opening an IOLTA account) to the exciting (starting a website and that first meeting with a potential client).

Coming on the heels of Michael Siri’s post Friday detailing the disappointing lack of donated food to the Maryland Food Bank this holiday season, my first official priority is to help turn that around. For every “Like” my new Facebook business page gets between now and Dec. 31, I will donate $1 to the Maryland Food Bank.  I’d be pleased if other lawyers or local law firms make the same offer — let us know in the comments section below.

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The Maryland Court of Appeals’ Ideals of Professionalism calls on attorneys to “willingly take on the responsibility of promoting the image of the legal profession by educating each client and the public regarding the principles underlying the justice system.”

On Thursday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer puts this to practice in Baltimore by promoting his book, “Making Democracy Work: A Judge’s View,“ which seeks to explain the power of the court and why the public has and should accept the opinions of an unelected institution.

Justice Breyer believes that the more the public understands the court, the more it will accept its authority — even if it makes decisions that may be widely unpopular.

(Perhaps the justice’s book tour comes at a good time: a recent Gallup poll shows the Supreme Court’s approval rating at only 46 percent, near the all-time low of 42 percent in 2005.)

The book is born out of Breyer’s concern that too much cynicism about the court endangers our system of government because the public may not accept unpopular opinions. Therefore, he argues that for the court to be perceived as legitimate and earn the public’s confidence, we have to dispel that cynicism by educating the public about how the court works and the basis of its power.

Breyer further contends that the court should reject  originalism and view “the Constitution as containing unwavering values that must be applied flexibly to ever-changing circumstances” and that the court should “take account of the role of other governmental institutions and the relationships among them.”

I think the book is well worth the read for anyone interested in learning more about the court and those interested in Constitutional theory. However, I think it unfortunate that Breyer does not apply the pragmatic, progressive approach he has of the Constitution to the way in which the court goes about its work.

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As we approach the end of summer, so begins the bar year. State and local bar associations are gearing up for the upcoming season of activities, including networking events, CLEs and pro bono activities.

As a young lawyer fresh out of law school, I didn’t know where or how to begin getting active in the organized bar. Sometimes it can be hard to even find out what’s out there without paying expensive dues. A listing of local and specialty bars and their websites can be found on the MSBA’s website.

But then, once you know what’s available, it can be information overload. How does one make a choice with so many state, local and specialty bar organizations? You might think about which area of practice you focus on, where you appear in court the most or where the attorneys you respect appear to be most active.

The good thing about being a law student or a young lawyer is that, in most cases, membership to a bar association is either free or very cheap. In exchange for membership, a whole new world can open up for one’s personal and professional life. Many of my very best friends and mentors have come through my involvement in the organized bar. And the bar has helped me become a better attorney.

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Two weeks ago, I spent some time in Ocean City — a portion of it focused solely on relaxing and the other half attending the MSBA Annual Meeting. Specifically, the first few days were with the family, spending time at Trimper’s Rides and Amusement, eating Fisher’s Popcorn, and making a trip up to Rehoboth Breach for fine dining and beers at Dogfish Brewery.

The back-end of the week was spent at the MSBA Annual Meeting, with hundreds of practitioners and jurists, learning about Green Building and other related construction law topics at a CLE and walking through the expo learning about the latest in litigation technology. And while the MSBA Annual Meeting may be considered work, I will not insult your intelligence by claiming that spending three days attending programing, meetings, and bar functions (literally and figuratively) can compare to the difficulty of the practice of law.

In all honesty, the week falls in the “fun” category for me. From time with the family, to The Daily Record Young Lawyer’s Happy Hour at Liquid Assets, to the champagne served at President’s Reception, I thoroughly enjoyed my week away. Unfortunately, I always seem to suffer a vacation hangover upon my return to work.

Gone are the days of sleeping in, making my own schedule and consumption of tasty food and beverages without concern for caloric or fat intake. I return to my dual screen computer, an overflowing electronic inbox, instant messages, voice mails, court deadlines, motions practice, trial preparation and any repercussions of being out of the office for a week.

I have often joked that a vacation for an attorney is not really a “vacation” but merely procrastination from the work that needs to be completed and hours that need to be billed (this may be a discussion for another blog). The worst part of returning to work, however, is the vacation hangover.

When I am working five (or six, or seven) days a week, I feel like I have momentum as I practice law. Essentially, the routine of work (and life) makes it easier to get going quickly and efficiently at the beginning of each day. But after a week away, when I have had time to feel the warm sun on my face and sand between my toes, I lose that momentum. So I struggled a bit last week with getting the wheels of litigation out of third gear.

I feel refreshed and ready to go, but, as I look out my window, with a view of downtown Towson (including a KFC and a lighting store), I reminisce about vacation and my view of ocean and beaches. This feeling will go away and before you know it, I will be cranking out the work product with ease and efficiency. In the meantime, I will hold on to my vacation (or memory thereof) for a little bit longer.

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