A Welcome Message From the Chair
Good afternoon and welcome to each of you, as we begin the NCBA 2024-2025 year!
Regardless of your title or representation affiliation, I hope you will agree that now is an exciting and dynamic time to be a Labor and/or Employment Lawyer; or striving to be a Labor and Employment Lawyer, as we have many student members in our section.
I am pleased to welcome our existing members, new section members, council members, committee chairs and committee members, who always bring new ideas and energy to our organization. Our first council meeting is scheduled for September 5, 2024, at 3:30 p.m. (EST), so mark your calendars!
After the initial meeting of the officers of the Council, we hope to share more about this year’s program agenda and to hear from more of you with regards to the work that is already being done by our CLE Committee, general industry updates and additional ideas.
Let us have the collective goal of striving to become acquainted with members of our section, as we plan social events for this year. I also encourage each of you to network informally with each other.
I had the privilege of attending the 2024 NCBA Annual Meeting held in Charlotte on June 20-22, where the agenda was most enjoyable and informative. Personally, I was re-energized by the efforts of the NCBA to reassure the members that NCBA is on the right trajectory as an organization to fulfill its mission, “to serve the public and the legal profession by promoting the administration of justice and encouraging the highest standards of integrity, competence, civility and well-being of all members of the profession.” This mission is being reinforced by the theme, “You belong at NCBA.” I met some new faces and reconnected with some old.
As we move into this new fiscal year, I hope you will take advantage of the opportunities to engage in a way that is most rewarding and meaningful for you, including but not limited to volunteering, participating in volunteer projects, and serving on committees. Minimally, I hope you will attend the events sponsored by the section, join the meetings and give us feedback and ideas.
The list of the Executive Team (Council Officers), Council Members, and Committee Chairs is below:
Executive Team (Council Officers):
Bartina Edwards – Chair
Nicole Patino – Vice-Chair
Jennifer Bills – Secretary
Leann Walsh – Treasurer
Council Members:
2025 Bill Barrett
Bella Book
Kristen Finlon
Sarah Negus
Leann Walsh
2026 Angela Carmon *pending confirmation at September meeting
Murphy Fletcher
Dalton Green
Meredith Hamilton
Britney Weaver
2027 Jill Cramer
Marc Gustafson
Christine Rodriguez
Tina Samuel-Priestley
Lawrence Wooden
Committee Chairs & Section Liaisons:
Awards – Open (tbd)
CLE – Co-Chairs: Jennifer Bills, Nicole Patino, Cullen Stafford
Communications – Joseph Hjelt
Ethics – Richard Klein
Legislative – Haseeb Fatmi
Membership – Nicole Haynes
Nominations – Joe Murray
Pro Bono – Valerie Bateman
EEOC Liaison – Elizabeth (Betsy) Rader
Law School Liaison – Open (tbd)
Legal Aid Liaison – Richard Klein
Paralegal Liaison Division (PLD) – Alice Johnson
Young Lawyers Division (YLD) – Jeremy Locklear
As shown, we have one open committee chair position for the Awards Committee, and one open liaison position, Law School Liaison. The Law School Liaison does not have to be a law school employee, but someone who is affiliated with a law school in some capacity, a teaching adjunct, a law school volunteer, or is interested in being involved with and responsible for strengthening the section’s relationship with the law schools. Historically, this has been a law school professor or employee of a law school, but if we have the opportunity to expand this role to extend beyond law school faculty members who are interested in serving in this role, we aim to fill this role in a meaningful way.
If you are interested or know of other section members who may be interested in serving in these two roles or serving on any of the committees, please let us know.
Please feel free to contact me or any member of the executive committee with copy to Kyle Ballantine, our section’s NCBA Communities Manager, if you have questions, suggestions or feedback to help make our section that much better in meeting the needs of its members.
Again, welcome, and I look forward to seeing the section’s officers, council members, committee chairs, and liaisons on Zoom for our first council meeting on September 5, 2024. Be well!
Best Regards,
Bartina L. Edwards
Labor & Employment Law Council Chair