The Bench & Bar magazine is published to provide members of the KBA with information that will increase their knowledge of the law, improve the practice of law, and assist in improving the quality of legal services for the citizenry.
Issue link: https://kentuckybenchandbar.epubxp.com/i/546018
My work with these houses has introduced me to 19th century members of my family, and for that I am deeply grateful. I have always loved history, and I have developed a real appreciation for architectural history. President George H. W. Bush famously talked about "the vision thing." What is your vision for the Kentucky Bar. Our first job is to meet our basic obligations. The Board provides oversight to the various KBA departments that I mentioned earlier including Bar Counsel, Continuing Education, and others. The Board's hands-on involvement is largely in the discipline process. Once we believe we have those areas in good shape, we can turn our attention outward. We have embarked on two paths that we feel strongly about: providing support to our members who are in the military and to veterans and promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. In 2014, then KBA President Bill Johnson encouraged the Board to create a Military Committee charged with the goal of pro- viding support to members of the military and to our veterans. The Committee is in place, and its efforts are getting underway. The endeavor holds great promise. For more than a decade, the KBA's leader- ship has been working to promote diversity and inclusion in the profession. We want each of our 18,000 members to feel that they are valued regardless of geography, area of practice, gender, age, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identification, or political outlook. We are doing our best to send the message that none of us needs to feel marginalized because of where we practice or who we are. Toward this end, we have accomplished three things in the past two years. First, we supported the effort in the legislature to restore funding for KLEO, the Kentucky Legal Education Opportunity project. KLEO offers 15 incoming diverse law students – five students from each of the Common- wealth's three law schools – a two week summer residential training experience to prepare them for the rigors of law school. The students also receive a $15,000 stipend, $5,000 during each of their three years in law school. The program was founded in 2002. With the financial crisis in 2008, funding evaporated. In 2013, Repre- sentative Jesse Crenshaw and Senator Bob Leeper led the way in restoring funding for KLEO. I should note that between 2008 and 2013, the program survived, but fund- ing for the stipends was limited. Second, in 2014, the Kentucky Bar Founda- tion created a Diversity Fund. To date, the fund has raised approximately $25,000, and we anticipate that donations will add about $20,000 to the Fund each year. In early 2015, the KBF Board awarded three mini-grants of $1,000 to each of our law schools. The grants will be used by the deans to support their ongoing diversity efforts. The new Diversity Fund will supple- ment the Bar Foundation's years-long generous support of diversity in the legal profession. Third, our Diversity Committee and others organized a Diversity and Inclusion Summit. The Summit took place in April 2015 in Louisville. The Louisville Bar Association and the Brandeis School of Law co-spon- sored this successful and meaningful event. Our Supreme Court's commitment to diversity and inclusion was underscored by the presence of six of the Court's seven justices (the seventh was on a spring break trip with family). One gay lawyer who is in his sixties sent an email to me after the Summit stating, "I just cannot express how wonderful the Diversity and Inclusion Summit was for me…. [I]t is so remarkable to feel years of invisibility and inferiority fading!" The day before the Summit, a dedicated group led a "pipeline" project at the Brandeis School of Law. We recruited high school and undergraduate students from diverse populations, and introduced them to law school and to the practice of law. These young people may not have ever met a lawyer. As I mentioned previously, my dad and my grandfather were both lawyers. So, for me, enrolling in law school was something that seemed attainable. That is not necessarily the case for many in our so- ciety. I am gratified by the strides we have made and that we are making in supporting the members of our military and our veterans and in supporting underrepresented popu- lations, and I am dedicated to continuing our efforts on both fronts. James P. Dady is an associ- ate with Gerner & Kearns, a creditor's rights firm with several offices in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. He litigates throughout Kentucky and Ohio in state and federal courts. Dady has been a member of the Kentucky Bar Association's Communications and Publica- tions Committee for many years, and its chair- man since 2013. He is the editor of the Bench & Bar and a frequent contributor. He is also chairman of the Planning & Zoning Commission for the City of Bellevue. 8 B&B; • 7.15 FA R N S L E Y Q & A