By Jennifer A. Grieco
Oakland County Bar President
On June 3, 2010, I had the privilege of being sworn in as the Oakland County Bar Assocaition's 78th president. It was a wonderful evening with family members, friends and colleagues in attendance. However, there was someone very important to me who could not be there that evening: my brother, SSG Kevin Grieco. As many of you know, my brother was killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan on October 27, 2008 - two days after his 35th birthday.
The loss that our family feels without Kevin is profound because Kevin was such a genuinely good person.
Kevin had a great laugh, was always positive, polite and treated everyone with respect. He cared deeply about his family and friends and was a devoted father. Kevin was also very proud to be a soldier. He had a tremendous sense of duty from an early age, joining the Navy right out of high school. Kevin remained a volunteer in the service for the next 15 years. In 2008, he actually transferred from the Navy Reserves to the Illinois National Guard because he wanted to do more for his country. His unit was immediately called up but Kevin did not complain. He felt that he was called to serve not only to keep the fight over there and our homeland safe but also because he worried about a draft being instituted. If he, as a trained soldier, did not volunteer, who would?
Kevin's attitude and approach to answering the call to serve is not unlike the many men and women who make up this country's voluntary armed services. For Kevin, being a soldier was what he was meant to do, what he was trained to do, and therefore, in a time of need, what he was called to do. Kevin's call to duty and his extreme sacrifice inspires me every day and I can only hope that Kevin will inspire you.
I know that many of us feel that being a lawyer is our calling. I knew at age 13 that I wanted to be an attorney and I am very proud to be a member of this noble profession. However, our profession is in a time of need.
The number of new lawyers coming out of law school without jobs is one of the greatest challenges that we face today not only in Michigan but across the country because they are the future of our profession.
We are all accomplished lawyers because of the training, mentoring or even just shadowing that we received at the side of the experienced lawyers with whom we worked. Today, the law school graduate rarely has those opportunities afforded to her. The new lawyer now competes for employment in an impossible market.
Thus, a large number of new lawyers are "hanging up their own shingle," and with today's technology are able to do so out of their home, learning how to practice law all on their own without guidance, mentoring or feedback. As young lawyers, we craved feedback because we all wanted to be better lawyers. Who is there to provide that feedback to the solo new lawyer?
OCBA's Inns of Court program provides this type of feedback to the associates who participate in the mock cases. However, there is an opportunity to provide feedback and training to new lawyers in real cases as well -- pro bono cases.
One of the other great challenges facing the legal system today is the large percentage of citizens who cannot afford a lawyer in this economy and are therefore without recourse in the civil system. Legal Services Corporation lawyers and IOLTA-funded legal assistance together meet the needs of only 20 percent of those individuals who are at or below the poverty level. The remaining 80 percent are left to represent themselves or are simply locked out of the legal system.
The solution stares us in the face -- match new lawyers who need real life experience, training and feedback with cases that need lawyers. But also, we experienced lawyers can add value to this relationship by simply giving a few hours to mentor a new lawyer who accepts a pro bono case. It takes very little time to provide feedback, review a brief, or answer questions on strategy or how to deal with opposing counsel or a judge. All we need to merge these two groups and accomplish these goals are the experienced mentors who are willing to answer the call and offer a few hours of their time. As the new OCBA president, I make this call for service, in honor of my brother, but also because it is the right thing to do. It is our duty and responsibility to our noble profession. Who else can train the new lawyers to become true professionals but lawyers? Who else can assist the poor with their legal issues but lawyers? It's the duty of a bar association to provide the means and support for our members to answer this call for service.
I know that each of us appreciates the awesome responsibility and opportunity that is afforded us by the privilege to practice law in this free country, this beautiful state and in this wealthy county. This privilege and our training provide us with the unique opportunity to make a difference for the benefit of our profession and the less fortunate, and this will be my personal focus as OCBA president. I thank OCBA members for providing me with this opportunity to serve as their president, to give back and to do so in honor of my hero, my brother Kevin. I am honored and humbled by this opportunity and your confidence and I look forward to serving OCBA members this year.
Jennifer A. Grieco, a partner with Neuman Anderson PC, is the 78th president of the Oakland County Bar Association.
