PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

By MICHAEL CONNELLY Connelly • Baker • Wotring • Jackson LLP

What Is All the Celebration About?

We are dedicating this issue of The Houston Lawyer magazine to recognizing the 40th anniversary of that publication. But, this is far more than a “recognition”; it is a “celebration” for one of the finest bar association periodicals in the country.
It is part of human social tradition to celebrate special events. It is for those much more deeply versed in sociology and psychology to opine about the reasons we are led to celebrate special events. However, for whatever reason, we all enjoy a good celebration. To celebrate means: 1) to perform a ritual publicly and formally; 2) to commemorate with ceremony and festivity; and 3) to honor or praise publicly. We do all of those in this anniversary issue to recognize part of the history of the HBA, and to honor and praise The Houston Lawyer magazine, in particular. The HBA does not throw a party each time a milestone is reached, but it does try to bring attention to those milestones which give satisfaction to its members, recognition to the HBA and honor to the profession. The 40th anniversary of The Houston Lawyer magazine is such an event.
To help celebrate this event, we have reprinted and provided you with a special souvenir: a copy of the original The Houston Lawyer magazine that was published in November 1963. That issue, in size, style and substance, is much different than The Houston Lawyer of today. When the original issue is put beside the current issue, the changes in format, display and substantive content are apparent. Some may think that the comparison makes the original issue look sub-standard. Yet, we have provided the reprint for several reasons: 1) we want our members to have a meaningful souvenir from the history of our profession; 2) we want to show how far the HBA’s publication has come, thanks to a long line of wonderful presidents, editors in chief, contributing editors, The Houston Lawyer editorial board members and article contributors; and 3) we want to celebrate the professional interest, commitment and dedication that HBA members have always demonstrated.
The demographics of the HBA were substantially different in 1963 than they are today. In 1963, the HBA had 3,008 members, of which only 28 were female. What is worse, the HBA Constitution in 1963 limited membership to “whites,” so there was no ethnic diversity. A ticket to the 1963-64 annual meeting cost $7.50 ($2.00 for cocktails and $5.50 for dinner). Today, the HBA has about 11,500 members. Of that number, 29 percent are women and 13 percent are minorities. Of the committee chairs, 34 percent are women and 23 percent are minorities. And, a ticket to this year’s annual meeting cost about $80. The difference in demographics notwithstanding, it was a milestone for the HBA to start publication of a legal periodical.
The HBA has been fortunate to have many milestones that have justified celebrations. Last year, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of both the IDEA program and the Adopt-A-School program. This year, we will also celebrate the 5th anniversary of Online CLE, the 10th anniversary of Lawyers in Public Schools, the 15th anniversary of the Campaign for the Homeless and the 50th anniversary of the Speakers Bureau. In 2004, the HBA will join other bar associations and civic groups in recognizing and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. So, we have a lot to celebrate, and we want those celebrations to honor and praise the HBA members, the legal profession and the community we serve.
It is common to the human experience that the older we get, the more important anniversaries and celebrations become. But, regardless of your age, whether you are a new lawyer or an experienced lawyer, recognizing and celebrating the history of The Houston Lawyer magazine is worth our time. It gives us a sense of where we have come from; and it helps us get where we are going.

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