From PCBA President Steve Eckley . . .
PCBA President Steve Eckley
Over 1,000 of your fellow Polk County attorneys belong to the PCBA! We are proud of our broad- based membership and of the valuable services and benefits that PCBA provides to the Bar, Bench and Community.
The cost of a PCBA membership is easily recouped by attending just one of our two annual CLE programs. Attendance at both earns enough CLE credits to satisfy all requirements to keep your license in good standing in both state and federal court. Several hundred lawyers attended last month’s fall CLE. Our CLE programs are free to members!
Membership in the PCBA provides other advantages. Members are invited to frequent networking events, such as the annual Bench-Bar golf outing, an evening at an I-Cubs game, a Drake basketball game, receptions for judges, Civic Center events (members get access to premium seats at discounted prices); not to mention our monthly member luncheons and occasional evening social gatherings. Members also receive our newsletter and have privileged access to our website, pcbaonline.org. The website includes articles and links to important information that can be helpful in your practice. Click here to read more.
Annual Law Day celebration is now underway
The 2012 Law Day Competition is underway with the theme, No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom, which is designed to underscore the importance of the courts and their role in ensuring access to justice for all Americans.
President Eisenhower in 1958 established May 1st as Law Day, an annual event to celebrate and strengthen the American heritage of liberty, justice and equality under the law. Each year, the Polk County Bar Association sponsors a competition for 6th through 12th grade students in the Polk County area in the categories of visual arts, music and performing arts, essay, and poetry. Winning students, along with their teachers and parents, will be honored at the PCBA Annual Meeting luncheon in May. Click here for more information and to download the packet with complete details about the competition.
Get your Fall CLE materials here!
Some 300 PCBA members gathered at the Downtown Des Moines Marriott on November 18 to network and sharpen their skills at the Fall CLE seminar. As always, the CLE provided a full day of diverse and interesting presentations covering a wide array of topics pertinent to the practice of law in Iowa. The program, which was offered FREE to members, provided 7.5 hours of CLE, including 2.5 ethics and 2 hours of federal CLE. The PCBA thanks the planning committee and all of the speakers for making this event such a huge success. Click here to download the presentations (member login required).
Here’s one New Year’s resolution you’ll want to keep
As the new year approaches, one of the best things you can do for your career is to renew your PCBA membership. Your membership entitles you to FREE CLE seminars to sharpen your skills, monthly luncheons to explore current issues, access to the court-sponsored mediation program, news and information you can’t get anywhere else, discounts on programs and services, and much, much more. Click here to learn more and to download the renewal form. If you have questions about your membership, contact PCBA Executive Director Carol Burdette.
Mark your calendar now for our April 10 luncheon
Ambassdor Kenneth Quinn
You won’t want to miss our April 10 PCBA luncheon featuring Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation. Dr. Quinn, a former U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, assumed the leadership of the World Food Prize Foundation on January 1, 2000, following his retirement from the State Department after a 32-year career in the Foreign Service. Inspired by the vision of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, the founder of the World Food Prize, Ambassador Quinn has endeavored to build this annual $250,000 award into “the Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture.” Held each October in Des Moines on or around World Food Day (October 16), the World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony, “Borlaug Dialogue” international symposium and Global Youth Institute have grown in size and stature under his direction. Click here for details.
PCBA members honored for pro bono work
The American Bar Association designated October as Pro Bono month and the Polk County Bar Association initiated a number of activities to help celebrate including: Encouraging Polk County attorneys to take on volunteer cases, asking the Iowa Supreme Court to recognize volunteers, recognizing attorneys in the 5th Judicial District who have provided at least 50 hours of pro bono service through the PCBA’s Volunteer Lawyers Project, and honoring three individuals for donating more than 200 hours of service. Click here for complete details.
