Fall 2024 President’s Message

President’s Message published in the Fall 2024 issue of The Federal Lawyer magazine

It is my pleasure to be writing my very first President’s Message for The Federal Lawyer.  My ability to write this message is the culmination of numerous friends and family lending their support for well over a decade, for which I am grateful.  At the risk of sounding overly sentimental, the FBA and its leadership really are a family. Indeed, they are MY family! When one member needs advice or guidance, another member is quick to lend support. When referrals are needed across the country, time and time again, our FBA membership never falters. When constituencies within our membership need protection, our FBA membership will unwaveringly answer the call.

I have witnessed this dynamic firsthand in my FBA career and I am confident this this level of support is not unique to simply our leadership. It exists in each and every chapter across our organization.  In that vein, I am committed to making sure that your FBA membership enriches you personally and professionally. In support of that commitment, I want to highlight several programs and initiatives in the upcoming year that are excellent opportunities for you to get the most out of your FBA membership.

Law Firm Memberships

Due to popular demand, we have developed law firm membership opportunities.  For those of you in multi-attorney law firms (small and large), you can maximize your buying power in a way that affords FBA membership to a greater number of your attorneys. There is truly something for everyone in the FBA, and law firm memberships underscore this fact. Learn more about this opportunity at www.fedbar.org/firm-memberships.

Leadership Summit & Capitol Hill Day

Mark your calendars for March 26-29, 2025, to participate in the FBA’s annual Leadership Summit and Capitol Hill Day. These programs are what makes the FBA great!  I hope to see you at Leadership Summit, where you can learn the latest and greatest from some of the leading voices of the FBA.  How can we improve our chapter member experience?  How can we recruit law students and younger attorneys?  How do we cultivate better relationships with our local federal courts?  Leadership Summit provides you with ideas to answer these questions and more!

Capitol Hill Day is where the proverbial “rubber meets the road” in relation to the FBA’s advocacy on behalf of our members and the third branch of government.  Years of evaluation and planning help the FBA’s Government Relations Committee establish a non-partisan issues agenda, a significant portion of which supports our judiciary.  With this issues agenda, FBA volunteers from every corner of our country descend upon Capitol Hill where we liaise with our legislators toward the furtherance of these issues. 

Judicial Security & Civility

There can be no mistake, the results of our advocacy efforts are tangible. For example, the FBA played an irreplaceable role in Congress’ 2022 passage of the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act. This act shields the personally identifiable information of federal judges and their immediate families from public dissemination via online databases and data brokers.   We fought to protect and increase the safety of our federal judiciary and their families.  WE DID THAT!  We are also continuing the fight by actively supporting appropriations for this important legislation.

The very fact that we must pass legislation of this nature is directly related to another disturbing trend: our profession’s dwindling civility towards its members. But there is cause to be optimistic!  Why, you say?  Well, the FBA is leading the country in its renewed pledge toward civility programming at every level of our membership structure. We have all heard the truism, “It costs nothing to be nice.”  So let’s take the “cheap” route and be good to one another.

It is my great honor to be your next FBA President.  I am grateful for those incredible judges and attorneys who have served in this role before me.  In particular, I am grateful for the service of Immediate Past National President Jonathan Hafen.  I enjoyed the honor of serving in FBA leadership with Jonathan for nearly a decade.  He served as national president with distinction and I can affirmatively state that the FBA’s incredible trajectory is due, in large part, to Jonathan’s steady hand.  Thank you, Jon! In closing, I look forward to working with you—the members of our great organization. We are going to work hard; we are going to make a difference; and we are going to have fun!

Glen McMurry is a litigation partner in the Dayton, Ohio office of the law firm of Taft, Stetinius & Hollister. He has nearly 20 years of experience serving diverse corporations and individuals resolving a wide variety of issues, including complex commercial disputes and compliance with local, state, and federal laws. McMurry also focuses his practice on employment issues, construction claims, insurance claims/defense, and litigation stemming from mergers and acquisitions.