Leading Roles: Candidates for president-elect, Board of Governors show strong ABA roots
ABA President-Elect Robert Carlson. Photo Courtesy of ABA Communications.
If ABA president-elect candidate Robert M. Carlson looks familiar to House of Delegates members, there’s a good reason for that: He’s been there before.
Carlson, a partner at Corette Black Carlson & Mickelson in Butte, Montana, is seeking the president-elect position three years after ending his stint as chair of the House of Delegates. His ABA involvement goes deep: He’s been part of the House since 1999 and has been involved in many committees. Currently, he serves on the council of the Section of International Law and co-chairs the Section of Litigation’s ABA Resource Committee.
Carlson has practiced law for more than 35 years with the same eight-lawyer firm in Butte, which also is his hometown. He says he’s seen the value that the ABA provides to lawyers concerned about “the nuts and bolts of law practices”—law practice management, practice area updates and legal news. Through his ABA involvement, he says, he’s also seen how “the ABA and our profession make a difference” in wider ways.
“Our message is more relevant than ever,” he says. “Who in our profession does not believe in the work we are doing for our veterans, the work we do to advocate for the rule of law, our tangible support for legal services and access to justice, and the work we do to support human rights?”
Carlson will stand for election as president-elect unopposed at the ABA Annual Meeting in New York City in August. After confirmation, he will become president in August 2018. He would succeed current president-elect Hilarie Bass, who is co-president and a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig in Miami.
Also up for consideration in August are 12 uncontested candidates for members of the Board of Governors. They are running for seats that represent geographic districts, ABA sections or divisions. Each will serve a three-year term.
Robert M. Carlson, President-elect
Robert M. Carlson
Partner at Corette Black Carlson & Mickelson in Butte, Montana, where he’s worked since 1981. Member of the House of Delegates since 1999. Past chair of the House (2012-2014). Currently serves on the council of the Section of International Law and co-chairs the Section of Litigation’s ABA Resource Committee. Past chair of the ABA Day in Washington Planning Committee (2014-2016), the Standing Committee on Meetings and Travel (2008-2010) and the Board of Governors’ Executive Compensation Committee (2003-2004). Sustaining life fellow and former Montana state chair of the American Bar Foundation. Past president of the State Bar of Montana (1993-1994). Current member of the Montana Supreme Court’s Character and Fitness Commission and the Clinical Board of Visitors at the University of Montana School of Law, where he earned his JD in 1979.
Fritz Langrock, District 1
Fritz Langrock
Partner at Langrock Sperry & Wool in Middlebury, Vermont. Past Vermont state delegate to the House of Delegates (2007-2016). Currently serves on the council of the Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division. Member of the Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services. Past chair of the House’s Technology and Communications Committee. Former member of the Standing Committee on Technology and Information Systems. Current Vermont state chair and fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Past president of the Vermont State Amateur Hockey Association. Received his JD from the UCLA School of Law in 1988.
W. Anthony Jenkins, District 2
W. Anthony Jenkins
Member and chief diversity officer of Dickinson Wright in Detroit. Currently serves as vice-chair of the House’s Committee on Issues of Concern to the Legal Profession. Member of the council of the ABA Fund for Justice and Education, the Standing Committee on International Trade in Legal Services, and the Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services. Former member of the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. Received service awards from the ABA Commission on Multi-Jurisdictional Practice and the ABA Committee on Prepaid Legal Services. Sustaining life fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Former president of the State Bar of Michigan and the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association. Received his JD from the New York University School of Law in 1980.
Allen C. Goolsby, District 4
Allen C. Goolsby
Special counsel to Hunton & Williams in Richmond, Virginia. Currently serves on the Board of Governors’ Board Governance Committee and the Nominating Committee’s steering committee. Chairs the ABA AEFC Pension Plan Administration Committee. Served on the Board of Governors (2011-2014). Life fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Past president of the Virginia Bar Association. Received his LLB from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1968.
Lee DeHihns III, District 6
Lee DeHhihns III
Retired from Alston & Bird in Atlanta. Currently special adviser to the ABA representative to the United Nations. Member of the House’s Committee on Drafting Policies and Procedures. Former chair of the ABA Sustainable Development Task Force. Delegate to the House’s executive committee of the Section of Environment, Energy and Resources. Past chair of the ABA Section Officers Conference. Received his JD from the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law in 1974.
Randall D. Noel, District 12
Randall D. Noel
Attorney at Butler Snow in Memphis. Currently a member of the House’s Technology and Communications Committee and the Nominating Committee. Served on the councils of the Section of Litigation and the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. Past president of the Tennessee Bar Association and the Southern Conference of Bar Presidents. Life fellow and past Tennessee state chair of the American Bar Foundation. Received his JD from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1978.
David L. Brown, District 10
David L. Brown
Partner at Hansen, McClintock & Riley in Des Moines, Iowa. Member of the House of Delegates since 1997. Currently serves on the Standing Committee on the American Judicial System. Served on the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary (2010-2013). Current Iowa state chair and life fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Received the Iowa State Bar Association’s Award of Merit in 1999, the President’s Award in 2005 and the Keeper of the Flame Award in 2014. Received his JD from Drake University Law School in 1975.
Lynne B. Barr, Business Law Section
Lynne B. Barr
Of counsel at Goodwin Procter in Boston. Currently a member of the ABA Task Force on Gatekeeper Regulation and the Profession. Past chair of the Business Law Section and former member of the section’s council. Former editor-in-chief of the section’s quarterly publication, The Business Lawyer. Former member of the ABA Task Force on Financial Markets Regulatory Reform. Life fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Received the section’s Jean Allard Glass Cutter Award in 2005. Received her JD from George Washington University Law School in 1975.
Michael H. Byowitz, Section of International Law
Michael H. Byowitz
Of counsel at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York City. Currently a member of the Standing Committee on Membership. Elected this year to the Board of Governors’ 2017 Annual Meeting Committee. Former chair of the Section of International Law. Received the section’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Life leadership fellow and former New York state co-chair of the American Bar Foundation. Received the Outstanding State Co-Chair Award from the ABF Fellows in 2012. Received his JD from the New York University School of Law in 1976.
C. Edward Rawl Jr., Young Lawyers Division
C. Edward Rawl Jr.
Senior counsel at the Boeing Co. in Charleston, South Carolina. Currently on the council of the Young Lawyers Division and former director of membership. Served as the YLD’s District 10 representative for South Carolina and the U.S. Virgin Islands (2011-2013). Received a Compleat Lawyer Award in 2016 from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he earned his JD in 2007.
Tom Bolt, Law Practice Division
Tom Bolt
Shareholder and managing attorney at BoltNagi in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Member of the House of Delegates since 1989. Currently on the councils of the Law Practice Division and the ABA Fund for Justice and Education, and the advisory board of the Law Student Division. Former chair of the Law Practice Division. Current U.S. Virgin Islands state chair and life fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Member and former president of the Virgin Islands Bar Association. Served on the executive council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents (2004-2007). Received his JD from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1982.
Eileen Kato, Goal III Woman Member-at-Large
Eileen Kato
Retired in 2016 as a judge on the King County District Court in Seattle. Member of the Standing Committee on Meetings and Travel. Current Washington state co-chair and life fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Former chair of the ABA Judicial Division’s National Conference of Specialized Court Judges. Former member of the ABA Justice Kennedy Commission on Sentencing. Former president of the District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association. Received her JD from the Santa Clara University School of Law in 1980.
Myles V. Lynk, Goal III Minority Member-at-Large
Myles V. Lynk
Professor at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Current chair of the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. Former chair of the Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice (then Individual Rights and Responsibilities) and the Standing Committee on Professional Discipline. Former national chair of fellows of the American Bar Foundation. Former president of the District of Columbia Bar. Received his JD from Harvard Law School in 1976.
This article originally appeared in the May 2017 issue of the ABA Journal with this headline: "Leading Roles: Candidates for president-elect, Board of Governors show strong ABA roots."
