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she retired. To better facilitate the exchange of information,Taze limited the number of active participants to 20 individuals selected from a list of bar members who either volunteered or were invited. Those not selected to participate mayattend as observers and are also given a chance to share theirthoughts. Participants fill out worksheets and the sessions arerecorded so that data can be collected, analyzed and eventually compiled into a report. it is important to me to attend thesessions so i can hear what our members are saying.We have been pleased with each of the sessions. We havereceived many informative and candid comments fromthose in attendance. differing and opposing viewpointshave been respectfully presented. you may be surprised tolearn that participants are not just complaining; they areearnestly expressing interest in helping improve the alabama state bar. This valuable input will enable us to determine what we are doing right and what needs to bechanged. We will take the information received at each ofthe focus sessions and use that information to determinehow the bar can better serve its members.This is just one of the new initiatives we started this year. Wealso created a Pro bono innovation Task Force which bringstogether representatives of major stakeholders in the probono field, both grant-givers, such as the alabama law Foundation, and service-providers, such as the Volunteer lawyersProgram and legal services corporation. This task force willenable these entities to work together along with the bar todevelop and coordinate new pro bono programs, collaborations and innovative solutions for improving the delivery ofpro bono legal services to low-income alabamians.Please let me or any member of the executive councilknow if you have an interest in serving the bar through committee work or task force participation. There are 19 committees covering a wide range of interests–everything from TheAlabama Lawyer to the unauthorized Practice of law–andalso 27 active task forces. They are listed on the bar’s es/). Thesecommittees and task forces have been a topic of discussionat the focus sessions. you and other bar members are encouraged to weigh in on which issues the state bar should be addressing.Thanks to Mobile lawyer Mary Margaret Bailey for her assistancein preparing this article.a Fond Farewell to ed Patterson400-plus forum alumni.” according to longtime bar commissioner billy bedsole of mobile, “ed has always mixedan excellent sense of humor with a commitment to service to the bar and its membership; he will be missed.” –President sam irbyed, we will miss you. you and yourleadership have made our bar a better bar.Alabama LawyerEd and Beverly Patterson enjoying some down time withfamily at one of the numerous state bar annual meetingsthat Ed coordinatedTheThe alabama state bar will soon lose a tremendous servant-leader when assistant executive director ed Pattersonretires. ed started out serving the bar as disciplinary counsel in the office of general counsel from 1976 to 1980. hewas awarded the alabama state bar award of merit in1980. after leaving to work in private practice the next 14years, ed returned in 1994 to work at the bar.although much of his work has been behind the scenesand not readily visible to the general membership, he hasleft an indelible mark on the next generation of lawyersthrough his work with the alabama state bar leadershipForum, of which he has served as director since its establishment in 2005. When an award was created in 2012 tohonor outstanding forum alumni, it was named the edward m. Patterson servant leadership award.“Those of us blessed to work with ed quickly realize hisgenuine joy and excitement about the legal profession,and especially our young leadership Forum graduates,”says mary Frances garner, who has served as an administrative assistant in ed’s office for the past seven years. “heis passionate about his work and cares for each of thewww.alabar.org 9

e x e c u T i V ePhillip W. McCallumphillip.mccallum@alabar.orgd i r e c T o r ’ sr e P o r TTheAlabama Lawyersay “yes” to the unexpected!10 January 2019life is about learning. This is what weare told from the moment we can comprehend the word “learn.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “learn” this way:to gain knowledge or understanding ofskill by study, instruction or experience.over the last 18 months, i have spentmy time learning about you, our members, and have come to further appreciate the uniqueness of our membership.Though i am still in the legal profession,i changed careers last year. i went frombeing a full-time lawyer to being an administrator. both come with their own setof unique challenges and require different facets of my skill-set and personality. ivalue my time practicing law because ittaught me to work hard, perseverethrough times of trouble, accept helpwhen needed and always remember thatprofessionalism is paramount. i wouldn’tbe the same without those lessons.i decided to throw my name in the hatfor this job because i care about lawyers.This is a way for me to continue servingthe profession i love. after my term as barpresident ended i felt a void–i ran for president because i loved the bar and wantedto be engaged at a new level. once myterm ended, i had a couple of years where iwas not as involved and, after some time, imissed it greatly. becoming executive director was just the challenge i needed atthis point in my career.Though i have had a stake in the barfor years, being executive director, tome, means continued, consistent investment in the people who make this organization run. That’s everyone from barleadership to all 18,200 members tostaff here in montgomery.during this time, i have made it a personal mission to get out in the field andvisit with members who may not haveheard from the bar in a while. Theresponse has been tremendous. The stateof the bar tour, beginning with Presidentaugusta dowd and continuing with President sam irby, has operated as a source ofinformation and outreach for the thousands of members who have heard usspeak. by the time you read this, i will havevisited nearly every county bar in ourstate. With that said, i have learned a lot sofar and look forward to interacting withmore lawyers each year.

not all alabama lawyers live in birmingham, montgomery,mobile or huntsville. They live in Florence, demopolis, unionsprings and Fort Payne, too. i’ve met solo practitioners, bigfirm partners and everyone in between. Though lawyers acrossthe spectrum of practice areas, firm sizes and geography aredifferent, we all share a common thread: the desire to live a lifeof learning. Whatever your calling in this profession, rememberto never stop learning or taking on new challenges. you’ll rarely be sorry for saying “yes” to the unexpected.ed Patterson: retiring butnever slowing downAlways willing to provide musicalentertainment at ASB staff cookouts andChristmas parties are Robert Thornhill,Dolan Trout and Ed Patterson.excellence, integrity and service tothe legal profession, the state barand the community at large.ed may be retiring from the statebar, but it is doubtful he will slowdown much at all, with his love offamily, music and volunteer work tokeep him busier than ever.Thank you, ed, for your leadership,creativity and sense of humor!s–Phillip mccallumAlabama Lawyerbeen implemented at the state bar,including the leadership Forum,begun in 2005. Through the forum,hundreds of outstanding and accomplished mid-career-level lawyers havereceived extensive training to serveas leaders in the legal profession andin their communities. The leadershipForum received the 2013 e. smythegambrell Professionalism award fromthe american bar association committee on Professionalism, which isthe highest professionalism awardgiven to bar or law school leadership/professionalism programs.in addition, the edward m. Patterson servant leadership award wasestablished in 2012 by the lF sectionto recognize a member of the section and alumnus of the forumwho demonstrates professionalTheWhen ed Patterson retires onJanuary 31 as the assistantexecutive director of thealabama state bar, he will have devoted almost 29 years of service tothe bar in a career that included twoterms of employment.he first came to the state bar in1976 as an assistant general counsel, aposition he held for five years. duringthe next 14 years, he worked in private practice in montgomery, beforereturning to the asb in 1994.ed graduated from the universityof alabama and the university of alabama school of law. he thenserved as a law clerk to assistant Justice hugh maddox (ret.) on the alabama supreme court.under ed’s leadership, a number ofinnovative programs and ideas havewww.alabar.org 11

i m P o r T a n T notice, supreme Court ofalabama alabama lawyers Hall of fame Judicial award of merit local Bar award of achievement J. anthony “Tony” mclainProfessionalism award William d. “Bill” scruggs, Jr.service to the Bar award asB Women’s section–request for nominationsTheAlabama Lawyer notice of Election andElectronic Balloting12 January 2019n o T i c e snotice, supreme court of alabamaall members of the alabama state bar are hereby notified that the supremecourt of alabama has abolished its standing Committee on alabama PatternJury instructions–Civil and its standing Committee on rules for Collaborative law Practice.additionally, all members of the alabama state bar–judges and attorneys–are hereby notified that the alabama Pattern Jury instructions committee–civil is an alabama nonprofit corporation independent of the supreme courtof alabama and that committee is solely responsible for the form and contentof its publication. The supreme court of alabama does not review or approvethe alabama Pattern Jury instructions (civil) before their publication.alabama lawyers hall of Famemay is traditionally the month when new members are inducted into the alabamalawyers hall of Fame, which is located at the state Judicial building. The idea for a hallof fame first appeared in 2000 when montgomery attorney Terry brown wrote statebar President sam rumore with a proposal that the former supreme court building,adjacent to the state bar building and vacant at that time, should be turned into amuseum memorializing the many great lawyers in the history of alabama.The implementation of the idea of an alabama lawyers hall of Fame originatedduring the term of state bar President Fred gray. he appointed a task force to studythe concept, set up guidelines and then provide a recommendation to the board ofbar commissioners. The committee report was approved in 2003 and the first induction took place for the year 2004.a 12-member selection committee consisting of the immediate past-president ofthe alabama state bar, a member appointed by the chief justice, one member appointed by each of the three presiding federal district court judges of alabama, fourmembers appointed by the board of bar commissioners, the director of the alabamadepartment of archives and history, the chair of the alabama bench and bar historical society and the executive secretary of the alabama state bar meets annually toconsider the nominees and to make selections for induction.inductees to the alabama lawyers hall of Fame must have had a distinguished careerin the law. This could be demonstrated through many different forms of achievement–leadership, service, mentorship, political courage or professional success. each inducteemust have been deceased at least two years at the time of their selection. also, for eachyear, at least one of the inductees must have been deceased a minimum of 100 years to

The deadline for submission is march 1.Judicial award of meritThe alabama state bar board of bar commissioners willPhillip W. mccallumboard of bar commissionersP.o. box 671montgomery, al 36101-0671The Judicial award of merit was established in 1987. Theaward is not necessarily an annual award. it must be presented to a judge who is not retired, whether state or federalcourt, trial or appellate, who is determined to have contributed significantly to the administration of justice in alabama. The recipient is presented with a crystal gavel bearingthe state bar seal and the year of presentation. The award willbe presented during the alabama state bar’s annual meeting.nominations are considered by a three-member committee appointed by the president of the state bar, which thenmakes a recommendation to the board of bar commissioners with respect to a nominee or whether the award shouldbe presented in any given year.nominations should include a detailed biographical profile of the nominee and a narrative outlining the significantcontribution(s) the nominee has made to the administrationof justice. nominations may be supported with letters ofendorsement.Alabama Lawyersam rumorealabama lawyers hall of FameP.o. box 671montgomery, al 36101-0671receive nominations for the state bar’s Judicial award ofmerit through march 15. nominations should be mailed to:Thegive due recognition to historic figures as well as the more recent lawyers of the state.The selection committee actively solicits suggestions frommembers of the bar and the general public for the nominationof inductees. We need nominations of historic figures as well aspresent-day lawyers for consideration. great lawyers cannot bechosen if they have not been nominated. nominations can bemade throughout the year by downloading the nominationform from the bar’s website and submitting the requested information. Plaques commemorating the inductees are locatedin the lower rotunda of the Judicial building and profiles of allinductees are found at www.alabar.org.download an application form at ers-Hall-of-Fame-NominationForm-Fillable.pdf and mail the completed form to:www.alabar.org 13

i m P o r T a n Tn o T i c e s(Continued from page 13)local bar award ofachievementThe local bar award of achievement recognizes local barsfor their outstanding contributions to their communities.awards will be presented during the alabama state bar’sannual meeting.local bar associations compete for these awards based ontheir size–large, medium or small.The following criteria are used to judge the applications: The degree of participation by the individual bar inadvancing programs to benefit the community; The quality and extent of the impact of the bar’sparticipation on the citizens in that community; and The degree of enhancements to the bar’s image in thecommunity.To be considered for this award, local bar associationsmust complete and submit an application by June 1. applications may be downloaded from www.alabar.org or obtained by contacting ashley Penhale at (334) 269-1515 orashley.penhale@alabar.org.J. anthony “Tony”mclain ProfessionalismawardTheAlabama LawyerThe Board of Bar Commissioners of the alabama stateBar will receive nominations for the J. anthony “Tony”mclain Professionalism award through april 15.nominations should be prepared on the appropriate nomination form available at www.alabar.org and mailed to:Phillip W. mccallumexecutive directoralabama state barP.o. box 671montgomery, al 36101-0671The purpose of the J. anthony “Tony” mclain Professionalismaward is to honor the leadership of Tony mclain and to encourage the emulation of his deep devotion to professionalism andservice to the alabama state bar by recognizing outstanding,14 January 2019long-term and distinguished service in the advancement ofprofessionalism by living members of the alabama state bar.nominations are considered by a five-member committeewhich makes a recommendation to the board of bar commissioners with respec

Baxter, Tuscaloosa Joseph K. Beach,Atlanta Jennifer M. Bedsole, Birmingham D. Edgar Black, Muscle Shoals Henry L. Cassady, J r .( M ax) ,Ev e g n W Ll oyd Cp b iT hstf m AH D G B Dettling, Hoover Christie Lyman Dowling, Birmingham Jesse P. Evans, III, Birmingham Kira Y. Fonteneau, Birmingham Sara