Originally posted on 1/7/2020 (reformatted).

During the ABA Annual Meeting held in San Francisco, lawyers from around the country gathered in usual course for a variety of governance meetings, CLEs, and receptions — it is also the traditional time to transition leadership roles, thus, a litany of gavels are passed.  Beyond the formulaic rituals and bit of pomp and circumstance, a monumental resolution swiftly moved its way through the Young Lawyers Division’s (“YLD”) Assembly.  

For quick background, the control and administration of the ABA is vested in the House of Delegates (the “HOD”), the policy-making body of the association (consisting of nearly 600 members).  The HOD’s primary function is essentially to draft, debate and vote on resolutions; “resolutions” are actions the ABA plans to take (whether to urge, oppose, endorse, etc.). Via this process, the HOD determines what the profession — the ABA — will say to the courts, Congress, governments and bar associations.  YLD, as facilitated through its Speaker and the Assembly process, has the ability to create and otherwise approve resolutions that would ultimately go to the HOD for final vetting and voting. 

At the 2019 Annual Assembly, the marquee item on the agenda was YLD Resolution 19-YL.  After months of collaboration among YLD leadership and multiple state bar young lawyers sections, the Assembly voted and approved this resolution.  The discourse was intense over this hotly debated issue. And without recapping the various iterations of the resolution that were put up for consideration, in the end, it was actually an amended version from the floor that passed (by only a few votes).  Subsequent to YLD’s approval of this resolution, the HOD ratified the decision and made it official. In short, the cemented YLD Resolution 19-YL amends the definition of a young lawyer as follows: a lawyer who has been admitted to practice in their first bar year within the past ten (10) yearsorwho is less than thirty-six (36) years old.  For context, the prior longstanding rule was a lawyer within their first five years of practice or under thirty-six years old.

So what does all of this mean?  First, this resolution is a step in the direction of balancing a myriad of competing interests, including, but not limited to: the average age of law students consistently increasing; desire for advanced bar leadership roles from “non-traditional” lawyers with less time in the Division; hope to preserve the concept of a “young lawyer”; and so on and so forth.  Second, because the ABA has officially approved this resolution (expected to take effect in a little over a year) and given its considerable influence on the profession as a whole, we can anticipate that many state bars will either follow suit or make similar changes. To that end, the SBM Young Lawyers Section has routinely adhered to whatever precedent the ABA sets for defining a young lawyer.

That said, this sea change comes at a time when local young lawyers sections and divisions are evaluating their own meaning.  Basically, there is a seesaw effect between expanding inclusivity and honing in on true target constituents. Indeed, many groups are considering whether they should be called “New Lawyers” rather than “Young Lawyers”; of course, however, this notion begs several questions at the heart of the discussion.  Is it really a young lawyers group if people can join within their early years of practice even though they are of a more advanced age?  Are new lawyers necessarily young lawyers?  And if a new lawyermovement is underway, at what point is one no longer deemed “new” to the practice?

A multitude of inquiries abound.  The picture of a “young lawyer” is presently somewhat hazy; and it may continue to evolve over time.  We cannot clearly predict what this definition will be in 10, 20, or 30 years — or if there will be one at all.  Yet it is safe to say that engaging in thoughtful, intentional, and meaningful conversation in an open-minded forum is key to developing a well-balanced approach, as appropriate at both the local and national levels.

Jerome Crawford

Horizon Global Corporation

Novi, MI