I would like to introduce myself to all of you who might not know me. I am Eugene Butler, President of the Lynchburg Bar Association (“LBA”). I am very honored to have been selected by the LBA Board to represent all of you as association President.
At our recent annual LBA meeting in May, where former President Davies graciously passed the gavel to me, I quoted one line from a 1963 speech by John F. Kennedy, written by speechwriter Ted Sorensen, in stating my belief that the LBA can be that “rising tide” that “lifts all boats.”
Under the leadership of former President Davies and a “working” Board, our past year has had great luncheons, fabulous speakers, as well as sponsoring further education courses for our surrounding legal community. Not being satisfied with just assisting those in the legal field, the LBA reaches out to the public at large who might not be able to afford legal services by encouraging pro bono representation. Last year the LBA collaborated with Habitat for Humanity to assist a local build, which had various lawyers and judges coming together to give back the community we all call “home.”
My own plans as President are not just to continue the good work of my predecessor, but to build upon the foundation he left behind. I spoke at the annual meeting about the changing perspective of the legal field by what the LBA does locally. It is my belief that “perspective” can be shaped by this organization doing two things, Building Bridges and being Inclusive.
In Building Bridges, my goal is to find more ways of expanding the LBA’s exposure by its usage of technology, like our growing website spearheaded by Attorney Brandon Osterbind, so that our organization will not only be a bridge to the public regarding who we are, but also a bridge to the legal community regarding addressing concerns.
Building Bridges also includes my role as the recently elected Bar Council for the 24th Judicial Circuit, which includes Lynchburg City, Campbell County, Bedford County, Amherst County, and Nelson County. I would like to utilize my role as Bar Council (a member of the governing body of the Virginia State Bar) to not only address concerns of the Judicial Circuit I now represent but to also bring to our area speakers in other parts of the state to address issues that affect our surrounding community.
Lastly, I would like to reach out to other bar associations in the 24th judicial circuit and the professional medical community to develop a symposium on issues that affects our large senior community, that includes, but not limited to harassing “robo-calls,” misleading health insurance sellers, and senior abuse.
In my goal of being inclusive, I plan to reach out to our ever-growing new attorneys to show them the benefits of mentorship and joining the LBA. I stated at our annual meeting how much I benefited from mentorship, it is my hope to find ways of showing the new attorneys the benefits I gained.
Please do keep me in your prayers and thoughts in this endeavor to lead an already great organization to even greater things.