This is a pivotal moment in black history, which in reality is our common history. American history. We are a community, a region, and a nation divided by race. But we also are a community united by a shared belief in "equal justice under law."

The recent acknowledgment of injustice and the growing concern for black lives has gained enough salience to make achievable the reforms necessary in our justice system.

On Wednesday, January 30, 2019, The BAMSL delegation of John Simon, Colleen Vetter, Cynthia Garnholz, and Zoe Linza attended the State of the Judiciary address at the Missouri State Capitol. The delegation also visited with Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Zel Fischer, the Governor's General Counsel Chris Limbaugh, Missouri Rep. David Gregory, and Missouri Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman.

St. Louis Attorneys Against Hunger, an initiative of The Bar Association of St. Louis (BAMSL), distributed $75,000 in January to three organizations that help feed the hungry in the metropolitan region.

There is a lot of good news here at BAMSL and membership has increased substantially. Even better, those two things are related. Membership is up because there are so many good reasons to join BAMSL. We now have 6,575 members (as of Dec. 1, 2018), including several hundred new attorney members as well as hundreds of new law student members.

There are many wonderful things about living in modern day America, but it is getting difficult to ignore one of our less appealing trends: the breakdown of public discourse. To a degree we have never seen before, we struggle to talk productively with each other about important issues.

One day at a time. It can be frustrating to go slowly. I have always been told that patience is a virtue, that it will be rewarded. Yet, for all the times being patient has seemingly paid off, I am willing to bet that waiting and being contented has resulted in multiple missed opportunities, continued status quo and unequal results.

I am using this month's President's Column to give some much-deserved attention to The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL) Executive Director Zoe Linza. Presidents come and go but Linza has served BAMSL admirably for 12 years and offers a much-needed historical perspective. Although she has been the name and face we have most often associated with BAMSL over the years, we have rarely had the opportunity to read her own words in either of BAMSL's publications. For these reasons, we sat down with Linza a few weeks ago and "cross-examined" her.

When I became president of BAMSL, I decided to focus on two things: professionalism and pro bono service. This column is about pro bono work, which all lawyers agree to provide when they take their oaths. Our commitment to provide legal services to those who cannot afford attorneys also appears in BAMSL’s Tenets of Professionalism.

Because our clients find themselves overwhelmed, they look to attorneys to reframe complex situations in ways they can understand. When the answer is not immediately clear, we are trained to look for written guidance in the form of relevant rules, statutes and cases.

Isn't this a great time to be a lawyer?

If you have spent the last few hours slogging through a motion to compel interrogatories you might be reluctant to agree, but please hear me out.