President’s Column by Ronald C. Jessamy, Sr.

Term limits are beneficial.  For the Washington Bar Association, the limit of two, one-year terms for the president is dictated by our bylaws. In an organization such as ours, it is a good way to guarantee that the organization is infused with new and fresh ideas for addressing challenges and opportunities.  It also provides us with the chance to look to new leadership for direction, guidance and inspiration. Term limits also open the door for different styles of leadership which can help prevent an organization from becoming staid.

It has been an honor, and a humbling experience, to have served as President of one of the premier local voluntary bar associations in the country for the past two years.  The enormous support we received from so many individuals, firms and organizations during that time has helped to maintain the vibrancy, relevancy and stature of the organization as we continue the fight for equal justice in the Twenty-First Century.

The Washington Bar Association has no paid staff. We get our work done through the volunteer efforts of our officers, directors and members.  We have no funding source other than the payment of dues by the membership.  Although we sponsor a number of events throughout the year, just a few of them are supported by a charge for admission. Having an active and engaged Judicial Council Division has helped tremendously in boosting the stature and prestige of the organization over the past ten years. Year in and year out, the activities engaged in by members of our Young Lawyers Division help to make the organization relevant to early career attorneys and the community.  I want to thank the officers, directors and members of the WBA and its divisions for the work you all have done to help make the past two years personally rewarding for me and successful for the Association.  Now, we look forward to new leadership as we try to live up to the legacy left to us by our founders in 1925, and the many men and women who came after them, of being on the front lines in the endeavor to help ensure that our society provides “Equal Justice for All”.