 |
|
||
| |
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
It’s Not Just a Party One of the things I value in my friends in our profession is their candor. While I appreciate comments like “you looked really goofy in that Bar Bulletin photo” a bit less, I recognize the importance of knowing how our members view things. Recent comments from a couple of attorneys raised a concern I would like to address here. The attorneys I spoke with said things along the following lines: “I don’t really feel a strong compulsion to give to the Harvest Party. It’s really just an excuse for lawyers who like to schmooze to get together.” First, let me acknowledge that I enjoy the schmoozing aspect of the event. In my almost 20 years of practice, I have seen a marked decline in the number of opportunities for attorneys, judges and those in related fields to gather and talk in an informal setting. Our profession tends to attract interesting, engaged people, and I miss the opportunity to shoot the bull with many of them as frequently as I used to. For those who haven’t been, the Harvest Party is a great evening, with lots of good food and camaraderie, often with folks you haven’t seen in quite awhile. This year will mark the 60th anniversary of this HBA institution. But even if the event itself were nothing more than standing around eating and listening to the latest war stories, it would still be the most important thing lawyers in our community could support all year. The Harvest Party is far and away the most important fundraising event for our Houston Bar Foundation. Each year, 100 percent of the net contributions to the Harvest Party go to the Foundation. The Foundation is the means through which our bar funds the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program. The HVLP is helping more Houstonians than ever, but those numbers cannot increase—and may fall—without the necessary financial support. As many of you will recall, the Federal Reserve’s reduction in interest rates in late 2008 dramatically reduced the amount of interest on lawyer’s trust accounts, (“IOLTA”), which is a critical source of funding for legal services for the poor in Texas. Add in the local devastation of Hurricane Ike and the severe recession, and you have a perfect storm that put legal services to the poor in great jeopardy. The result is that the ranks of the poor and low income in our community are growing. At the same time, Houston attorneys are understandably anxious about the negative effects the recession has had on our profession. All of this makes the 2009 Harvest Party one of the most important we’ve ever had. Lawyers and judges throughout the state have stepped forward to address the crisis. The Texas Access to Justice Commission and the Texas Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson and Justice Harriet O’Neill, succeeded in bringing the Legislature’s attention to the problem and obtaining an increase in state funding. This will help, but it won’t be enough without members stepping forward like never before. The HVLP relies on the Houston Bar Foundation for 40 percent of its budget. There’s no doubt that these are tough times, but history shows that Houstonians are at their best in times like these. For those who have already given, thank you very much for your generosity. If you have not, please consider it today. I look forward to schmoozing with you at the party. |
