Incoming ABA President Bill Bay calls on legal profession to 'stand together'
“We face a new set of challenges that require a different approach,” incoming ABA President Bill Bay said at the passing of the gavel ceremony. (Photo by Mitch Higgins/ABA Media Relations)
The Olympics may be more than 4,000 miles away, but it wasn’t far from the association’s mind Monday afternoon during the 2024 ABA Annual Meeting.
Derek Redmond was helped to the finish line of the men’s 400-meter semifinal by his father, Jim, at the 1992 Olympics. (Photo by Sankei Archive via Getty Images)Incoming ABA President William R. “Bill” Bay recalled the iconic story of Derek Redmond, an English runner who competed in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Considered to be a medal favorite, he tore his hamstring halfway through the 400-meter race but stood back up and began limping on one leg toward the finish. His father pushed his way onto the track to support his injured son, and they walked together to the finish line.
Bay compared this gesture to the emotional support that he’s received from his friends and colleagues at the ABA since the death of his wife, Angie, in November. Their three children and several of their grandchildren were present in the audience to witness the passing of the gavel from outgoing ABA President Mary Smith to Bay, who will officially begin his term at the close of the annual meeting Tuesday.
But in a larger way, this attitude also has to be replicated by the ABA, Bay explained.
“Individually, we have shortcomings and weaknesses,” he said. “But we are strongest when we stand together, when we lift each other up, when we put aside the differences, which the world tells us should divide us.”
Smith led the association to focus on democracy and artificial intelligence, creating a strategic plan for the future. But there’s more work ahead in the coming year, Bay told the House of Delegates after taking his oath of office for his ABA presidential tenure.
Outgoing ABA President Mary Smith will complete her term at the close of the annual meeting Tuesday, when Bill Bay’s term as ABA president will officially begin. (Photo by Mitch Higgins/ABA Media Relations)“We face a new set of challenges that require a different approach,” he said, after thanking Smith for her work and complimenting other prior leaders. “There will be new structures, new processes and new leaders.”
He recognized that lawyers overall tend to stick with what’s familiar, but choosing change was the focal point for Bay. He says the ABA has to focus on member engagement and member experience by simplifying the process to understand the association.
“Sometimes it feels like you need a decoder ring to understand our organization,” Bay said, as delegates chuckled. “Or using a Star Wars analogy, we need our favorite droid, R2-D2, to plug in and interpret the imperial network. We can do better.”
Bay suggested simplifying and unifying the dues, so new members and young lawyers can receive all that the association has to offer for one price. When members are engaged, the ABA can become a powerful force.
At the Board of Governors level, he said, the focus should be on strategy. In public-interest work, for example, the ABA invests $2.65 million but receives upwards of $40 million in grants plus support from members and law firms. This grant money enables the ABA to provide direct legal services to unaccompanied minors and families seeking asylum.
Follow along with the ABA Journal’s coverage of the 2024 ABA Annual Meeting here.
“We change lives,” Bay said. “We help people.”
To continue their work, Bay said, the sections, divisions and forums within the ABA have to work as one force—which is why member engagement is so important.
The primary focuses this year will be democracy, AI innovation, judicial independence and diversity—and the ABA’s voice is vital, Bay said.
He suggested that ABA members make an effort to learn about other areas of the association that they may not have encountered in the past. Bay was involved in the ABA Litigation Section, the Young Lawyers Division and public-interest work. But, he said, “We are more than the sum of our parts.”
