President ’ s Column |
tant to have a hook to get people to pay attention I think , why not have fun with legal ethics . So , that ’ s part of the goal with all of the pop culture stuff . Plus , if I ’ m going to spend all my time writing it , I want to enjoy it , too .
TC : You ’ ve mastered making it engaging , because everybody looks forward to your ethics presentations ; I don ’ t know that any other state bar counsel can make that claim ! To switch gears a bit , when did you become interested in serving on the VBA Board ?
MK : I never really thought , oh , I want to be on the VBA Board someday . I do remember Liz Miller calling me one day . She was on the Board at the time and called to ask me if I would consider running for a seat . I talked to Joan Wing about it , who at the time was the Chair of the Professional Responsibility Board . Joan , as you know , was former President and was really active in the VBA . She didn ’ t even hesitate . She said “ Do it , it will be the best experience of your career .” I always put a lot of stock into any advice that Joan gave me , and so eventually I just did it . And Joan was right , it has been fantastic .
TC : And you have an extended leadership term under the circumstances , with Jennifer having become the Communication and Education Direction midway through her term as President . I didn ’ t know if you knew that you ’ re the 137th President of the VBA Board . You just may be the longest-serving president before your term ends in September .
MK : Yes , there are times when it feels like it !
TC : Up to this point , what would you say has been the most satisfying part about serving on the Board ?
MK : The best part about serving on the Board for me , without a doubt , is the people I have been able to meet . That includes both fellow board members I ’ ve served with , and other lawyers who are not on the Board but whom I ’ ve gotten to meet through the VBA role . In my previous job as Disciplinary Counsel , no one really wanted to be friends with Disciplinary Counsel .
TC : No one wants to see your name on their phone .
MK : Exactly . Besides that , when I was the Disciplinary Prosecutor , I didn ’ t really have many contacts outside my day job because my close friends were all basketball coaches . Serving on the Board has enabled me to meet a lot of other lawyers . Some of the friendships and associations that I ‘ ve made through that are invaluable , and I ’ m so thankful for that . I wouldn ’ t even know you if I hadn ’ t done that .
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TC : Just think how empty your life would be ! MK : ( Laughing ) It ’ s been great .
TC : I wanted to also ask you , what are some of your favorite things to do when you ’ re not working , or doing VBA things ?
MK : Basically , my favorite things to do revolve around sports . Around the same time that I got on the Board , I got into running , so right now I love running , and running marathons in particular . I ’ m also a huge basketball fan , because I ’ ve spent most of my life coaching it .
TC : I heard that you once ran back to back marathons ?
MK : I did . There ’ s a club called the “ Marathon Maniacs ,” and I decided that I wanted to join . The criteria are challenging , so I picked out the one that I felt was the most doable and that was to run marathons on consecutive days in different states .
TC : Two consecutive days but in different states ?
MK : Correct . So last October , I ran one in Hartford , CT on a Saturday , and one in Albany , NY on a Sunday . Believe it or not Teri , the 2nd marathon was probably the most enjoyable marathon that I ’ ve ever had , which really took me by surprise , because I thought it was going to be the worst . You just want to finish , so you can sort of enjoy the scenery and chat with other runners . It was great .
TC : Would you ever do consecutive ones again ?
MK : Well , they have another club called the “ 50 State Club ,” which is running a marathon in each of the states . Another group called “ Mainly Marathons ” will put together five or six marathons in the course of a week , each in different states , but they are all drivable from each other . So I ’ ve thought of doing something like that . That being said , I haven ’ t yet signed up , so take from that what you will .
TC : We ’ ll have to do another article after you ’ ve run one in each state ! Mike , I know the number of law school applicants has been going down recently , mainly as a result of increased costs and the job market . It seems like law schools are sort of turning the corner now , but I wondered what advice you would offer for persons wanting to enter the practice of law today .
MK : I would encourage it . I don ’ t think it ’ s a decision you can make lightly , because of the debt load . But it ’ s been a great career for me . I would also encourage people to not pay too much attention to those who might profess gloom and doom for our profession . I ’ ve been very encouraged by the young lawyers that we have in Ver-
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mont . It ’ s been a great profession for thousands of us , and I think it will continue to be . We need good lawyers , and I think we will always need good lawyers . It can be a very rewarding profession for many reasons .
TC : Any advice for your successor , Dan Maguire , now that you ’ ve reconnected again after 20 years ?
MK : Yeah , it ’ s so funny that we did . I remembered going to the Bar Leadership Institute in Chicago as President-Elect , and the ABA said you don ’ t understand how busy you ’ re going to be as President . They were right ! I guess my advice to Dan is , get ready for that .
TC : Good advice ! Is there anything in particular that you ’ d like to be remembered for as the 137th President of the Vermont Bar Association ?
MK : I hope it ’ s that ‘ he was there when they underwent a big change and things came out just fine .’ If I ’ m remembered for that , I ’ m going to owe it all to you and the VBA staff because you ’ re part of that change , and you ’ ve all made my role so much easier .
TC : Well , I speak for everybody when I tell you how much we enjoy having you as VBA President , and how much we appreciate you for all the different hats that you ’ ve worn so well throughout your career . You have come to symbolize all that is good and noble in the bar . You ’ re also somebody that we know that we can always turn to , and somebody that we know will always give us excellent advice .
MK : Thank you very much .
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