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By: Paul W. McCartney
2024 OACTA President
Hello, everyone.
There are so many signs we are in the dog days of summer. The weather is hot, humid and hazy and will be here for the near future. Vacations have taken a toll on traffic during my morning and afternoon commutes, leaving the parking garage in my building less than full. Email traffic is down. Finding someone working on a Friday afternoon is a lost cause.
OACTA seemingly has its dog days, too, beginning after our annual meeting in November. As I began writing this message, my intent was to highlight how OACTA is coming out of its hibernation with activities galore now that the calendar is close to turning to August. Afterall, August begins with the Personal Injury Seminar on August 2nd.
However, upon reflection, I am amazed at what OACTA has accomplished over the last eight months since our annual meeting:
- We have had three Friday morning Coffee Chats.
- Our sponsors have put on six one hour webinars providing free CLE for our members.
- We have published three editions of The Quarterly and now four editions of The Update.
- We put on the Insurance Coverage Seminar and the Regional Women in the Law Summit in April.
- We have submitted four amicus briefs (with a fifth amicus brief coming soon).
- The first Young Lawyers Happy Hour in Cleveland and a WIL Wind Down in Cincinnati.
We have been busy behind the scenes, too. Our Annual Meeting Program Chair, Christine Duraney, and Moderator, Mitch Tobias, have been busy planning the Annual Meeting. We have had two Board meetings (one in person) and two Officer meetings.
The next few months have a more events besides the aforementioned Personal Injury Seminar:
- The second WIL Wind Down on August 1st at the Columbus Art Museum.
- The last two Young Lawyers Happy Hour Series on July 25th in Cleveland and on August 29th in Cincinnati.
- Webinars on July 17th, August 21st, September 18th and October 9th.
- The annual Golf Outing on September 3, 2024 at Pinnacle Golf Club in Grove City.
There is also the behind the scenes work by our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee in recommending candidates for the Hilary S. Taylor Student Scholarships. The Awards Committee will be meeting to decide award recipients.
The Officers are working on several items led by initiatives to recruit new members and to monetarize the value of an OACTA membership.
Finally, I recently met with the President of OAJ, Nathan “Nate” Stuckey of the Stuckey Law Firm in Springfield. We discussed ways in which OAJ and OACTA can collaborate on issues and open the lines of communication as was done at the beginning of the pandemic. Nate and I promised to continue our discussions with a home and home series of golf for the Presidents.
In my last Message in the Update, I spoke about the incredible quality of the legal offerings we provide to our members. In drafting this Message, I am amazed at the incredible quantity of things we offer our members.
Have a safe and happy rest of the summer.
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