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Montgomery, Alabama, January 9, 2013 – The Alabama State Bar has announced the 30 lawyers selected for Class IX of its Leadership Forum who will be trained as future leaders.
   
State Bar President Phillip W. McCallum of Birmingham (McCallum Methvin & Terrell, PC) said, “The Leadership Forum is an innovative leadership-training program providing participants with a rigorous education and training that includes leadership, ethics, and career development. It includes sessions that prepare participants for interaction and relationship building with members of the legal, judicial, and legislative sectors as well as diverse organizations and communities in the state.”
   
This year, the state bar received 58 applications from private practitioners, government and corporate lawyers throughout the state. These applicants included practitioners in small, medium and large-size firms as well as sole practitioners.
   
After a detailed selection process, nine women and 21 men were selected. While there is no age requirement, participants must have practiced law for not less than five nor more than 15 years. Candidates are selected based on demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities and service to their communities.
   
McCallum noted that lawyers naturally gravitate toward positions of leadership because those positions call into play their creativity and critical thinking skills. “Leaders need to have good problem-solving skills and be able to think critically. As opposed to the traditional law practice setting, which fosters competition, leadership is a collaborative process,” he said.
   
Many of the 232 previous forum graduates have gone on to hold leadership positions in the state Legislature, within their firms, in the state Bar and other statewide service organizations.

In order to graduate from the Leadership Forum, participants are required to attend five separate training sessions including a three-day orientation program. They will spend approximately 60 hours in meetings and workshops learning from professional facilitators and prominent speakers from various disciplines who inform participants about leadership principles and techniques, instill the importance of effective leadership in organizations in order to maximize efficiency, and demonstrate the challenges and rewards of leadership in action.
   
Birmingham attorney Andrew Nix (Maynard Cooper & Gale PC) chaired this year’s Leadership Forum Planning Committee.
   
The 17,300-member Alabama State Bar is dedicated to promoting the professional responsibility, competence and satisfaction of its members; improving the administration of justice, and, increasing public understanding and respect for the law.

Members of the Leadership Forum Class of 2013

The 17,000-member Alabama State Bar is dedicated to promoting the professional responsibility, competence and satisfaction of its members, improving the administration of justice and increasing public understanding and respect for the law.