My BarStory - 51 Thankful Edition with Kari Burns, Chavone Nash, Mary Groth and Caitlin Peterson

What a year! In this week's My BarStory, we chose Thanksgiving weekend to give thanks for all of the love and generosity our Bar is experiencing because of our donors! We just launched our $150 for 150 campaign, raising money to fund the Cleveland Legal Collaborative (CLC). Listen as Team CMBA members Kari Burns, Mary Groth, Chavone Nash and Caitlin Peterson review Legacy150, look forward to the CLC, and to the many other ways we are building a better community!

Transcript

Kari Burns (00:05):
Welcome everyone to this thankful edition of my bar story with the CMBA podcasts featuring team CMBA. I'm Kari Burns, chief Strategy Officer here at the Bar Association.

Caitlin Peterson (00:17):
And I'm Caitlin Peterson, board Relations and Special Events manager.

Chavone Nash (00:21):
I'm Chavone Nash Community and pro Bono programs manager.

Mary Groth (00:25):
And I'm Mary Groth Director of Member and Donor Engagement.

Kari Burns (00:28):
This time of year, everyone's reflecting on the year and what they're thankful for and giving gratitude. Mary, let's start with you. What was something you were thankful for for this year?

Mary Groth (00:40):
So, really thankful. I've been very involved, obviously in the Legacy one 50 campaign and the historical information that we've circulated in many different forms For Legacy one 50, I am a history major, so the history was especially important to me. I'm very thankful for all the authors who volunteered to, to do special featured articles in the Bar Journal From January through December, we had a number of articles that really talked about the history of the bar, the CBA, the CCBA, the foundation and all of the programs and interesting things that the Bar Association has done through the years from 1873 to to now. It was a great group. They were very excited to be involved and, and I thought they did a really great job of looking at stories that interested them and that were interesting to our members. And we have gotten a lot of really positive feedback about those special articles.

Kari Burns (01:34):
I thought they were so fantastic. Yeah. And as someone who didn't grow up in the Cleveland legal community, such a great lesson and it really made me proud of being a member of the bar and working for the bar for everything that we've done over the past 150 years. So I, they were fantastic. I loved them. Yeah.

Caitlin Peterson (01:51):
Very entertaining. And then also on top of that, we were doing podcasts like this, my bar story podcasts from members. I learned so much listening to all of those such great stories throughout the different, the different podcasts that we've done all year. Yeah.

Kari Burns (02:07):
And then we did those CLEs, we were calling them Cheers to 150 years because I was trying to do them in breweries, <laugh>. And some really cool programs came out of that too. I, top of mind for me is the desegregation of the Cleveland Public Schools, just listening to all the different players who played a part in that case on different sides of the aisle, but they're still great friends and had really good memories and jokes and yeah, they, that was a fantastic program. Yeah,

Chavone Nash (02:35):
That was a really good one. I got a chance to go to that one. And I think that sitting in the three arms realm and then having an opportunity to listen to that CLE gave me different perspective. So I appreciated that. And I really loved the podcast 'cause it was a great opportunity for me to just learn human experience and just listen to people talk about themselves, which was fun for me. 'cause I don't know everyone, so I really enjoyed the podcast.

Kari Burns (03:01):
Yeah. They were like mini interviews if you couldn't, you know, meet the person face to face Yeah. You got to know about them. Yeah,

Mary Groth (03:06):
Yeah. Yeah. It was fun. I was, I had the great fortune of being able to host a number of the podcasts, do the interviews, and from Warren Rossman our, our first author to Judges Adrian and Oliver. They were fun. We had fellows, foundation folks, and past presidents as well, who gave their time. And really, I think in all of them, I could have sat and talked for hours and hours and hours. <Laugh> I guess maybe being the senior member of our staff. I've known a lot of these folks for a long time, but they were really happy to come in and share their stories. And they're representative of, of the fantastic lawyers that we have in our organization. And again, shining a light on our history, looking all the way back to our first president back in 1873. Incredible leaders, incredible. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> Civic leaders as well as leaders within the legal field. And they've really contributed to where our bar is now, which I see at the national level, going to national association meetings. We really are the envy of our peer bars. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> we have an elite bar association. We

Kari Burns (04:09):
Really do. And that's something I think that I am, I'm thankful for as well. You know, I haven't been here as long as you Mary <laugh>, but I did start out here in law school. I was a law clerk for Bar Council and even just what the Bar Association looked like then when we were over across the street in the Galleria to what we do today. I mean, it's, we're we're light years ahead of other bar associations and, and even what we we used to do. So it's just so exciting and I'm so thankful that we have members and volunteers who allow us to do that and, you know, follow us along in some of our, our crazy plans, <laugh>. And it, it, it's, you know, always worked out for us. So that's great. A lot

Caitlin Peterson (04:45):
Of the podcasts that we did featured past presidents, as you mentioned, Mary and this year I feel like we really got another chance to connect with those past presidents from, from all of the past bar associations, from the Cleveland Bar and then the county. And it was nice to get all those people back into the same room. Now that we have this emeritus council that they're very engaged in and they're helping us go on, on road shows and, and putting the word out about the great things that the Legacy one 50 campaign is raising funds for. So that was just one thing I I wanted to mention that I'm thankful for this year too to get to reconnect with those past leaders who really made a difference and then still want to today.

Mary Groth (05:28):
And I would say they're still leaders that Emeritus Council and our past presidents conducted a mini campaign to raise funds for Legacy one 50, and they've come in, in a such a strong and positive way right now. We have over half of our living past presidents and engaged as fundraisers and Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> we're hoping to close that gap very soon. And they've raised over $200,000 through their commitment. So it's been a great group to work with. They're excited about where we've been, but, but really excited about where we're going, going as an organization and, and have really committed to helping. It shows you the level of leadership the level of commitment that there is, you know, in in that group. They, they've been extraordinary.

Caitlin Peterson (06:09):
Yeah. And we had that past President's brunch back in April. Wow. That was a lot of fun. <Laugh>. I know. It felt like so long ago. But yeah, it really has. We got to hear a lot of fun stories during that, during that program too.

Kari Burns (06:20):
Oh, yeah. Well, and to continue on with that, I, I am really thankful that everyone has come to support and help grow the Cleveland Legal Collaborative, which is, you know, the signature project of Legacy one 50. And really what we're raising a lot of money for, and people have come from everywhere, all walks of life, past presidents, you know, people, solo practitioners who just wanna help because we all see this huge need in the Cleveland community of individuals who can't afford legal services, who don't qualify for Legal aid because they make too much. And, and the lawyers are stepping up. The lawyers are saying, we wanna help tell us where we can help. And so it started, you know, gosh, probably what, 18 months ago when we said, Hey, we're thinking about doing this and we need your help. And the list, Shavan and I were just looking at it today of peoples

Chavone Nash (07:10):
Growing, growing,

Kari Burns (07:10):
Growing. Yeah. Who said yes, and how can I help? And here's my expertise. It's awesome. And it's been so much fun to connect with them and, and build something from the ground up with them. It's really been a great time.

Chavone Nash (07:22):
Yeah. Truly a premier program will be a premier program. Really excited about it. I think that's a great segue to my thankful highlight, which is, are all of the volunteers that commit their time and talent to making sure that the programs are operational. So we have like this myriad of programs that the Bar Association hosts, but really without the support of the volunteers, the members to put action to the thoughts and the concepts that come out, the boardroom that we, that we want to do in the programs is really impossible without the volunteers. And so you think about three Rs VLA reach out, I started naming committees, somebody's gonna get mad 'cause I didn't name their committee, so I won't do that. But just thinking about all those programs, like it's impossible to do it without volunteers. And the huge commitment from the legal community in Cleveland to give back is, is incomparable. Like, it's, it's, it's a phenomenal feat to do and watch every year. So I really appreciate the volunteers to committing their time without me having to ask more than like three or four times. Sometimes <laugh>, but you come up and you come through every time.

Caitlin Peterson (08:28):
Yes. Thanks volunteers. And also shout out board members Yes. For for coming up with some of these ideas in the boardroom, but obviously the volunteers who are driving the efforts too. But the, the board has been super engaged and getting ideas for fundraising for Legacy one 50, getting out there, getting the word out, attending all of our special events that are also fundraisers for Legacy one 50 throughout the year. But those events have

Kari Burns (08:54):
Been a lot of fun too. Yeah. You know, get some good CLE ideas from board members too, which is fun. Yeah.

Mary Groth (09:00):
Thanks guys. I would say too, too, and I, I wanna give a special shout out to our foundation fellows, our Bar Foundation fellows. We have over 600 fellows that have made a commitment. Many of them have paid their pledges in full and are now pledging to Legacy one 50, which we're excited about. But their contributions have really allowed us to build our endowment fund from really nothing to over $3 million since we started back in 2014, really digging in with the endowment. So a shout out and a thank you to all of those fellows who are, who, who really are year in, year out, the backbone of support for our foundation and, and our programs that get grants from the foundation Mm-Hmm. That Shavon talked about, that are doing great work in our schools and in our community. So thank you fellows. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>

Kari Burns (09:48):
Leaving a legacy. We, Mary and I just started a three Rs team again after you and I hadn't done one for a while. And it's work, it's fun. Yeah. It's fun. But man, to have a full law practice and then be in the classroom once a month, it was a lot of fun. The kids are awesome, but you are up there teaching a class. Yeah. It was cool. <Laugh>, how did you feel, Carrie? I didn't get to talk to you about anyway. This is great. It was awesome. We have a good class. We have a really good teacher. Yeah. They were engaged. There were a couple in there that said they wanted to be lawyers, which was very exciting. Yeah. They had questions. We didn't even get through everything. We had so many questions and so much fun. And it was a good time. I'm glad we're doing it again. Yay.

Mary Groth (10:29):
Yeah. It's great to be back in the classroom. During COVI, we went virtual with the three Rs and after Covid, you know, we're working our way back in, but there's limits in terms of the number of volunteers that can go to the class. But yeah, it worked out well. We're at Collinwood this year. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> it's a great high school with a great tradition. There are 150,000 trophies in the main hall <laugh>

Mary Groth (10:51):
That we pass by. So the opportunity to, to go into the classroom in that program is wonderful. The feeling hasn't changed since it started. And, and I even did the preview you, we tested at the Old South High school Oh, okay. Before we launched. So we did a test session with the South high kids back in 20 2005. Like, it's hard to believe, but the, the feeling is the same. I mean, to go into the classroom, you, you have the opportunity to really engage and listen to what the students are thinking about, what you know about what's going on. And, and I think, you know, in this day and age of such conflict and the divide between this side and that side, to be able to go into a classroom and talk about civics and the constitution Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> and listen to what our future generation of leaders has to say. I think it's very heartening. They're very thoughtful and they do keep up with current events. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Yes. And they do have opinions. And as somebody in my generation, it's great to hear them. And it's great to see their thoughtfulness as they kind of move through their school experience. So I can say, I think I really feel good about the future of Cleveland with, with the kids that we met on Friday at Collinwood. They're, they were wonderful.

Kari Burns (12:02):
Absolutely. Yay.

Chavone Nash (12:03):
Glad to hear that. Yep.

Caitlin Peterson (12:04):
The next generation is strong. I was thinking as you were saying that the young lawyers in the young lawyers section and just these younger people that are really stepping up and, and putting a lot of work into what, what we're, what we're gonna do in the future. We were talking about three Rs and I had just talked to a brand new attorney a couple weeks ago who's really excited because she signed up for three Rs. And I was just laughing 'cause I'm like, you're gonna be doing three Rs for a long time. <Laugh>. Once the, once they do it, they're like, that was so fun. And again and again, I don't know. I'm like, we got one hooked already. And and she's brand new. Yeah. The younger folks are really stepping up, so That's great.

Mary Groth (12:44):
One thing I wanted to say too, give a shout out to Carrie and the CLE program. From my perspective, a lot of my contemporaries in the more seasoned veteran lawyer group Right. Really enjoyed the walking tour programs. The opportunity with their bar one memberships to get out there. So easy to register, so easy to just jump in. And they jumped in and pretty big numbers Oh yeah. Throughout the walking tours this summer. So Carrie, why don't you talk a little bit about those, because I think that those have really become something to look forward to. And the generational span in the audience was there, but our senior lawyers really do like that. Oh yeah. And they enjoy the, the opportunity to get together and see each other.

Kari Burns (13:24):
Oh yeah. We had a, a loyal following in the walking tours this year. We have regulars. Yeah. It's awesome. I love it. People I had never met before in, you know, all my time here at the Bar Association and now, you know, we're, we're walking buddies. We did some great ones this year. Our downtown walking tour was pretty cool. We found a space that I had never even known existed. The, the, what was it called? Worthington

Chavone Nash (13:46):
Court.

Kari Burns (13:46):
Worthington, yeah. Yeah. This beautiful courtyard in downtown Cleveland. And being able to sit there and, and learn a little bit of the history about downtown, the Metro Parks walking tour we did around Merwin's Wharf and some of the Pathways. It was quite a long walk that one <laugh> leave it to the Metro parks to take us on a full hike. But people loved it and people met us. You know, we met them where they were. If they didn't wanna go all the way to the top of the hill, they stayed down there. And then we, you know, did some of our programming. They're so much fun. And I love engaging with the different neighborhoods and the different CDCs to learn about such a rich history in Cleveland and all the diversity. It's been so much fun. And I look forward to planning those every year because there's so much we still haven't tapped, and we've been doing them for three years now and we probably do about 10 a summer. Yeah. So there's more to come. I

Chavone Nash (14:36):
Enjoy going on the Walking tours when it fits my schedule. I get zero CLE credit from it. But <laugh>. But it is just fun to learn about the communities in a different way. Because, you know, most people from Cleveland though, either you're on the east side of Cleveland Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> or you're on the west side of Cleveland. And the way the the Walking Tours are designed, it gets you across that bridge and to the other side, <laugh> and just seeing the spaces and I'm sort of a foodie to a certain extent. Sometimes it gives me new restaurant ideas. Yeah. So I really like it. I really like it.

Caitlin Peterson (15:07):
You're not the only one not getting CLE credit for it. There's a lot of attorneys that are coming who already have all of their credit for the year <laugh>

Mary Groth (15:14):
Sign up. Yeah. They look at it just a great, a educational and social. And it's great to see people again after Covid. It's great to see people gathering again in person and enjoying that connection to each other that, that you see at those programs.

Kari Burns (15:26):
Yeah. I think looking back on a year, that was this 2023, that's probably a highlight of mine is just seeing, seeing more people, seeing more people at the bar, seeing more people at events. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, I really felt like this, this year. We, we really came back and we came back with a bang. You know, we were having things here, we were having things offsite, talk about the different restaurants and things that we have visited over the months for CLEs for different one 50 events. And it was always different people. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> and people excited to see everyone new and old friends. That was something I really enjoyed about this year.

Mary Groth (16:03):
The other thing too, I think about is, and I know you wrote the article, Carrie, so think about those institutes Oh yeah. That go on and on the annual institutes. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> and the Tax Institute in person. Right. Yeah. Yeah. The, the Gathering again of practitioners in those areas for the institute. So those have really, again, come back in a very strong way. And those are Hallmark programs. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> that, that go back into the fifties. I think some of them are Yeah. As old as me Tax Institute. Mm-Hmm.

Kari Burns (16:29):
<Affirmative> <laugh>. I think you with the Tax Institute, Mary,

Mary Groth (16:32):
You guess my age up there. <Laugh>. But we go back. But yeah, those traditional programs have been strong and the sections and the groups that put those on every year really do a great job at pulling together people and, and coming up with topics. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> and speakers that are of interest. And it is fun to see them gather as a group and they're excited about getting, again, getting back together.

Kari Burns (16:54):
Yeah. I was at doing registration, I think, for the Tax Institute and someone came in and says, I haven't been anywhere in years and I'm coming back and I can't wait to see everyone. And he was just high fiving and hugging <laugh>. And it was just so good to see, you know, that's what we're here for and that's what we're, we're doing is bringing people together. Really just being a place for people to gather and, and see friends and have some com camaraderie in the legal profession. Yeah. Yeah.

Chavone Nash (17:21):
I think going back to the next generation part, one of my highlights for this year was the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Summer Legal Adventure. And so that was very fun for me as well as the students. Like I really enjoyed it. So it looked a lot different than it has in the past. And we were able to travel to different law schools this summer. Did a lot here at the Bar Association. I find myself connected with the students. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And they still continue to email me now and ask for different things and letters and all kinds of stuff. But it was a great experience for them. A lot of them their first time being exposed to a traditional setting and career in the career field of the, of law. But I think one of the most out things that's most memorable, memorable for me is at the graduation ceremony, someone's grandmother was there and she was just talking about how she was so thankful for the CNBA and hosting this program. This is the first time that her granddaughter had an opportunity to kind of engage in something that she'd always been talking about. And so she was really inspired by Judge Ronald Adrian's speech at graduation. So she came up to me and we had a long conversation, things like that, like organic conversations, just genuine cheerfulness about the programs that we do. That was one of my highlights for this year. It was really fun. I think the kids got a, the students got a lot out of it. That's

Kari Burns (18:41):
Awesome. Yeah. That's really

Mary Groth (18:42):
Cool. I would say too, with that, a shout out to our law schools. Yes,

Chavone Nash (18:45):
For sure.

Mary Groth (18:46):
Cleveland State Case Law School and also Akron Akron's been our partner. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> for a number of years. And to have the opportunity. And I know they traveled down to the Akron Law School as well. Yeah. It was great. But in the minority clerkship and our other programs, those law schools have really played a key role. And we are so excited about the students that we meet that are coming up through our programs that include law students from the Minority Clerkship program to law students volunteering for pretty much all of our community outreach from three Rs to mock trial, to doing work with us in our pro bono programs. Helping, sitting, sitting in interviews and brief advice sessions and helping lawyers with those. So a shout out to, to the law schools and our law students.

Kari Burns (19:28):
All right, ladies, so we've just talked about everything that we're thankful for and things that we've really enjoyed over the past year. But what are we looking forward to? You know, the year's almost over. We're gonna be in 2024, which is crazy to think about. But what are, what are we hopeful for and what are we looking forward to as the new bar year progresses?

Caitlin Peterson (19:49):
Well, right now, I mean, I, all I'm thinking about is the next rock, the foundation. 'cause That's coming up in February. Yay. I loved, loved, loved having the Rock the Bar event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. But I am excited to go back to the Music Bucks Supper Club. I am excited about our Pogue Award honorees, the Code Deans of the Case Law school. Yeah. As we just talked about having such a great relationship with our law schools. So I'm just Yeah. Looking forward to that. It's gonna be a really fun event and lots of magical surprises in store. Ooh, <laugh>.

Chavone Nash (20:24):
Right. So mystical. I'm very excited. I think I am looking forward to, 'cause it's also right on my horizons, the mock trial season. Yeah. everything that kind of goes into mock trial, it's so busy and so much that goes into planning it. But I really enjoy watching the students like bring these pieces of paper to life and getting in full character. Oh, that's awesome. And going, right. It's so much fun to watch. And it's so fun to watch them as they learn and not just have fun with it. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. So it's both. And so again, nice call him. Looking forward to our volunteer support <laugh> in that regard. But definitely looking forward to mock trial season, both Ohio Mock trial and the Cleveland Mock trial. Both fun, very fun events for students. Mm-Hmm.

Mary Groth (21:07):
<Affirmative> also a shout out our one of our teams won the state competition last year. Oh yes. You know, so we'll see if they can Two, Pete, the title <laugh> two, St. Edward St. Edwards, Edward Uhhuh. I would say I, I'm looking forward to the launch of the Cleveland Legal Collaborative. We've been so involved in putting this together and there have been so many volunteers and so many pieces kind of assembled the cause is so important. And I have to say that because I'm so involved with the fundraising aspect of our Legacy one 50 campaign and it's reaching our financial goals. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, we have a lot of people who have donated. We have a lot of outside grant requests that are submitted and pending and will be submitted. But we're really encouraging every member of our bar to make a commitment. Right now, we're in the middle of our giving season, our holiday season, and we have a special challenge for our members to give $150 to the Legacy one 50 campaign.

Mary Groth (22:02):
If we can get 2000 lawyers, we have a big audacious goal, but we'd love 2000 of our members to give $150. It will go such a long way towards achieving our goals and launching the clc Yeah. Next year. And so that's what I'm looking forward to. I just, I can't wait to do the, to do the jump and the Happy dance ring the bell. Oh, yeah. You know, when we hit our, when we hit our goal. So encourage all of you to think, to think about that gift. And we are coming up on Giving Tuesday on the 28th of, of November. We are gonna be pushing Legacy one 50 on Giving Tuesday. Please think about us as a place for you to give your funds to this holiday season. It will make a huge difference. And our program really is a program that only lawyers can provide. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. So it's a great program for lawyers to contribute to and support. So thank you for that in advance. Can't

Chavone Nash (22:52):
Say it better than Mary <laugh>. Thank

Caitlin Peterson (22:56):
You everyone. Yeah. For everything you've done all year long.

Chavone Nash (22:59):
Great talk. Happy holidays. Happy holidays. Happy holidays.

Mary Groth (23:02):
Thank you very much. We appreciate you.