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Leaders in Legal Business
Future: Bar and Professional Associations Robert Young1
Law Practice Division
Chair ABA
Bar Organizations: Join, Be Active, and Benefit
In August of 1978, I was 13 years old and getting ready to enter my first year of high school. My
dad and I were driving home from playing golf when he gave me some great advice that I will never forget.
He told me, “You are and will always be who you hang out with.” That great advice carried through high
school, college, law school, and eventually into the practice of law.
Upon graduating from law school, I had to make that first professional decision about where I
wanted to start my legal career. During law school, I spent two years clerking for my current firm, English,
Lucas, Priest & Owsley in Bowling Green, Kentucky, before joining the firm as an associate in 1990. Part
of what drove me to my firm stemmed from the reputation it had garnered throughout the city, state, and
the law community nationwide. Most of this respect came from the activities many of our partners and
attorneys spent in various legal organizations, including the local, state, and national bar associations. These
activities carry on today, as our firm is deeply committed to bettering the profession of law and sharpening
our own skills as we work with other attorneys from around the country.
Several of my partners have served as presidents of our
local and state bar associations; many have also served in various
leadership roles in national law organizations such as the
American Bar Association. I currently have the pleasure of serving
as the Chair of the Law Practice Division of the ABA. These
leadership roles benefited us as individual lawyers in promoting
our practices; I also quickly learned that the most benefit comes
from being surrounded by top-notch lawyers and consultants in
my area of expertise.
This chapter will address ways to become a better attorney, and
also how to develop and keep business through bar associations.
I’ll address four key advantages every active lawyer can have through bar memberships: mentors,
networking, leadership experience, and technology education.
Solo or Small Firm Practitioners Need Mentors
When I began practicing law 25 years ago, I would frequent the doors of the partners and older
associates in the firm. My questions ranged from legal topics to how to get involved in the community to
1 Robert Young is chair of the Law Practice Division of the American Bar Association for the 2014-15 term.
Young is a partner at the Bowling Green, Ky., firm of English Lucas Priest & Owsley LLP. His law practice focuses on medical malpractice,
pharmaceutical and medical device litigation.
Young previously served as vice chair of Law Practice Division and chair of the Law Practice Management Strategy and Planning Committee.
He also was chair of the Diversity Committee of the Law Practice Division for three years, from 2009 to 2011, leading the group through a major
reorganization. His group’s work helped lead the ABA to hire a chief diversity officer to assist law firms wanting to create more opportunities for
female attorneys; attorneys from diverse cultural backgrounds; attorneys who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender; and attorneys who
have disabilities.
Young is a member of the Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association, American Association for Justice, Kentucky Justice Association,
Kentucky Bar Association, and American Bar Association. He received a B.A. from Western Kentucky University in 1986 and a J.D. from the
University of Louisville School of Law in 1990. Besides the Kentucky and Tennessee bars, his bar admissions include the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Sixth Circuit and the U.S. District Courts for Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky.
152
Future: Bar and Professional Associations Robert Young1
Law Practice Division
Chair ABA
Bar Organizations: Join, Be Active, and Benefit
In August of 1978, I was 13 years old and getting ready to enter my first year of high school. My
dad and I were driving home from playing golf when he gave me some great advice that I will never forget.
He told me, “You are and will always be who you hang out with.” That great advice carried through high
school, college, law school, and eventually into the practice of law.
Upon graduating from law school, I had to make that first professional decision about where I
wanted to start my legal career. During law school, I spent two years clerking for my current firm, English,
Lucas, Priest & Owsley in Bowling Green, Kentucky, before joining the firm as an associate in 1990. Part
of what drove me to my firm stemmed from the reputation it had garnered throughout the city, state, and
the law community nationwide. Most of this respect came from the activities many of our partners and
attorneys spent in various legal organizations, including the local, state, and national bar associations. These
activities carry on today, as our firm is deeply committed to bettering the profession of law and sharpening
our own skills as we work with other attorneys from around the country.
Several of my partners have served as presidents of our
local and state bar associations; many have also served in various
leadership roles in national law organizations such as the
American Bar Association. I currently have the pleasure of serving
as the Chair of the Law Practice Division of the ABA. These
leadership roles benefited us as individual lawyers in promoting
our practices; I also quickly learned that the most benefit comes
from being surrounded by top-notch lawyers and consultants in
my area of expertise.
This chapter will address ways to become a better attorney, and
also how to develop and keep business through bar associations.
I’ll address four key advantages every active lawyer can have through bar memberships: mentors,
networking, leadership experience, and technology education.
Solo or Small Firm Practitioners Need Mentors
When I began practicing law 25 years ago, I would frequent the doors of the partners and older
associates in the firm. My questions ranged from legal topics to how to get involved in the community to
1 Robert Young is chair of the Law Practice Division of the American Bar Association for the 2014-15 term.
Young is a partner at the Bowling Green, Ky., firm of English Lucas Priest & Owsley LLP. His law practice focuses on medical malpractice,
pharmaceutical and medical device litigation.
Young previously served as vice chair of Law Practice Division and chair of the Law Practice Management Strategy and Planning Committee.
He also was chair of the Diversity Committee of the Law Practice Division for three years, from 2009 to 2011, leading the group through a major
reorganization. His group’s work helped lead the ABA to hire a chief diversity officer to assist law firms wanting to create more opportunities for
female attorneys; attorneys from diverse cultural backgrounds; attorneys who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender; and attorneys who
have disabilities.
Young is a member of the Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association, American Association for Justice, Kentucky Justice Association,
Kentucky Bar Association, and American Bar Association. He received a B.A. from Western Kentucky University in 1986 and a J.D. from the
University of Louisville School of Law in 1990. Besides the Kentucky and Tennessee bars, his bar admissions include the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Sixth Circuit and the U.S. District Courts for Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky.
152
