Fear Not: Open Wide Your Eyes and Listen

 Years ago, I raised my hand to be sworn in as a young lawyer in Cincinnati.  Wide-open eyes and well-tuned ears watched four important events over the ensuing years.  I was directly involved in three of the four.

First in 1982, the Cincinnati Bar Association and The Legal Aid Society incorporated the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) to provide legal assistance to those who could not afford a lawyer. 

All the large law firms in the city and many individual lawyers were approached for help. To the surprise of many, the consent of the law firms was unanimous.  Jerry Lawson, then President of The Legal Aid Society, and I successfully enrolled about 15 of the largest firms and many individual lawyers to join in the project. 

During the last 40 years the VLP has provided free legal assistance in an astonishing 75,600 cases. Problems range from simple to complex. Lawyers continue to understand and become involved, because justice should not be restricted only to those who can afford to pay.  Over the last many years Executive Director of Legal Aid Society, Mary Asbury, has ensured continued success. The Volunteer Lawyers for the Year Award granted each year continues to be a great source of pride for its 40+ recipients. 

Second, in the year 1985 the efforts of the Legal Aid Society and the Cincinnati Bar Association led to the Ohio General Assembly putting IOLTA into place, Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts. The morning vote at the Assembly was three shy of passage. I was intimately involved along with others in a persuasion effort that resulted in passage that same afternoon. IOLTA is a key to the continuation of Legal Aid in Ohio.

Third, in 1991 Judges in Hamilton County would not become members of the Cincinnati Bar Association. They concluded their membership would create a conflict of interest. The Bar, where I held the presidency at the time, asked Taft attorney, Robert G. Stachler, and Judge Raymond E. Shannon to convene the first ever local Bench Bar conference which was appropriately titled “Building Bridges.”

Over 200 lawyers and judges attended the conference. They agreed among other things that a conflict did not exist, so several judges joined the Bar and many are members today. John Holschuh, a subsequent President of the Bar Association, carried on the Bench Bar collaboration for many years. The annual Bench-Bar Social carries on this tradition.  

The fourth event I watched from a distance with great respect.  Michael H. Neumark, then President of the Cincinnati Bar Association, created one of the CBA’s most successful programs , CALL, Cincinnati Academy of Leadership for Lawyers.  Its mission is, “To cultivate, empower, and inspire a diverse class of lawyers to realize their leadership potential.” 

Supreme Court of Ohio Justice Patrick F. Fischer was a member of the first graduating class of CALL. Some time ago he cited the 400 or more graduates of the academy for their excellence as lawyer advocates. 

May the Cincinnati Bar Association and its multitude of members continue to “Fear Not” and to “Open wide their eyes and listen.”

Harry Santen was president and/or chairman of the CBA, Legal Aid Society, Volunteer Lawyers Project, and Cincinnati Opera Association. He also created the first Bench-Bar conference.