MY NAME IS JIM CARROLL
AND I AM HERE TO RECRUIT YOU!!

With a nod to Harvey Milk for use of his campaign slogan, I chose the title of this, my first quarterly President’s Message, with care. Obviously, the vast majority of people reading this are already members of the Bay Area Chapter of the ACC and thus do not need to be recruited for membership. But I want to recruit you in a different way. I want to reach out to all of our existing members who do not participate in any (or enough) of the many events and programs we present throughout the year.

I recognize that people are busy and likely do not want to spend more time with other lawyers than is absolutely necessary, but if you don’t come out to meetings and events, you truly do not know what you are missing. I am proud of the leadership of this Chapter for making SFBA the largest chapter in the worldwide organization, and now we are setting our focus not so much on recruiting more members but on expanding the base of those existing members that participate and take advantage of all that our Chapter and ACC National have to offer.

There are good and practical reasons for participating in Chapter events. First, there is the obvious benefit of getting your (or your company’s) money’s worth for the annual fee you pony up each year for the privilege of membership. Then there is the ability to satisfy all of your bi-annual CLE requirements for FREE by attending the requisite number of monthly, committee or special programs put on by our sponsors. Speaking of sponsors, an attendant benefit of your participation is to thrill our sponsors with great turnouts and opportunities to meet and impress our members - - this will keep them coming back each year to support all of our Chapter’s work.

I cannot over emphasize the networking aspect of attendance at Chapter meetings. The more programs you attend, the more of your in-house colleagues you will meet and get to know. These contacts will prove invaluable going forward, particularly in these precarious economic times. Indeed, the ability to reach out to in-house colleagues can prove every bit as valuable as a top-notch pedigree when looking for a new position in our Bay Area legal community.

Lastly, attending our programs and events will give you exposure to your Chapter leadership and allow your voice to be heard regarding future programs, social events and the direction your Chapter takes. So let’s see you out there at an event real soon! Take a look at the Chapter calendar [insert link] and select an event that interests you. I promise that you won’t be disappointed.

Our Board’s effort to get more of our current members to attend meetings in 2009 includes several new ideas. This year, for the first time, members who have belonged to the Chapter but have not attended an event in twelve months are welcome to attend one of our “New Member Lunches”. We think that the opportunity to dine in an excellent local restaurant and network with your fellow in-house counsel will prove to be the carrot that gets you to attend more meetings. In addition, our Chapter will be holding the second annual “Day at the Ballpark” CLE event in August which will feature long-time rivals the Giants and the Dodgers at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Finally, we will be presenting our fourth annual Mini-MBA Day as well as a planned golf outing this autumn. Surely there is an event in this mix (together with our monthly CLE presentations and frequent committee meetings) that will convince you to get out of the office and meet other members.

Now, a quick word about attendance at Chapter programs. I know from personal experience that we all have signed up for a professional event only to find out that attendance is impossible because of some unexpected work or personal matter. PLEASE remember to cancel your registration for any event that you cannot attend AS SOON as you realize you can’t make it. This courtesy has several advantages for all of our members: 1) it will allow another member from the waiting list to attend; 2) it will avoid wasting food that the Chapter pays for when the event is not overbooked; 3) it will allow for better and smoother planning for handouts, seating and venue setup; and, 4) it will allow your Chapter to continue offering for free to our members some of the best CLE events in the country.

Thank you for reading my ramblings. Look for my column next quarter in which I will give a nod to Slum Dog Millionaire.

Jim Carroll
ACC SFBA Chapter President

Renew your membership or update your member record online at http://records.acc.com.