May June CBA Report

W elcome to the 2021-2022 membership year of the Cincinnati Bar Association. I am pleased to serve as president of the Association. February 27, 2022 marks 150 years from our first membership meeting in 1872. As we look forward to the next 150 years, I will utilize these President’s Briefs to lay the groundwork for the future. As a health law practitioner, I will also integrate health care examples for analogy and insights. This brief seeks to educate our membership about the Association, molded by our mission. First, a look back. Our mission was developed and has evolved with the leadership of many Association members. In 1980, a meeting of the members was held at the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History, which was then on Gilbert Avenue (a location I remember from my childhood visits there). The list of member attendees at the meeting who adopted the first Articles of Incor- poration includes men and women I have grown to know and admire. The nonprofit corporation was formed to: • Uphold high standards of integrity and honor in the legal profession; • Encourage and assist lawyers in improving their competence so that they can better serve their clients and the public; • Uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Consti- tution of Ohio; • Aid in educating the public with reference to law and the administration of justice; • Improve and facilitate the administration of justice, and to increase the usefulness of members of the Bar in aiding the administration of justice and in promoting legal reform; • Accept and make contributions, and do everything neces- sary for the accomplishment, attainment, or furtherance of, the objectives set forth above (that a nonprofit corporation is permitted to do under applicable law). Since then, we have purchased the Bar Center on Sixth Street, and revised and tinkered with our mission and corresponding activities. We’ve done this through Board meetings and retreats, committee work, community uprising, and global pandemic. But the central focus—the work of justice, the governance of attorneys, and support for our members in their work—remains the same. In a book titled Social Justice , focusing on justice and the moral foundations of public health and health policy, authors Madison Powers and Ruth Faden share their perspective on “the job of justice” in health care, public health, and quality of life. For them, justice is a tool they observe. A means to an end. For us, it is the nature of our work. Through the Association and the Ohio Supreme Court, we govern this essential work. Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor has encouraged us to focus on access to justice issues. To that end, a current Ohio legislative proposal includes a student loan repayment program for lawyers working in indigent defense. I welcome your input on this legislation. Specifically, I encourage your recommendation regarding whether the Association should endorse this legislation. My familiarity with government-funded loan repayment programs in health care is they have assisted in filling gaps in certain physician practice areas. Like determinants of health, the work of the Bar Association can be a determinant of justice. Our mission captures some of the essential dimensions, but we are living in a transformative time. While we look to our members to help us identify and address gaps, I will offer here that lawyers have an immense amount of power in the personal and professional decisions we make every day. From our professional work to our social norms, and through Bar Association activities, we can uphold the rule of law, our democracy, and equal justice. To that end, Chief Justice O’Connor has also asked us to join her in advocating for statewide collection of statistical measures in a criminal justice database. I welcome your input on this proposal as well. I encourage you to remain involved with the Association to help carry out this important work. We have some good-natured fun in our pursuit. One of the many perks of the job. Thank you for your membership and support. Let’s make it a great year. Cooperrider is a partner at Taft and the 2021-2022 CBA president. By Sara Cooperrider President’s Brief The Job of Justice 4 l May/June 2021 CBA REPORT www.CincyBar.org