New SMBA president lays out priorities

Shortly after being installed as the new president of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, Mark McQueary laid out his priorities.

The professional networking group of nearly 1,000 attorneys swore in McQueary, a partner with Neale & Newman LLP, during the 42nd annual SMBA Banquet and Installation of Officers on Jan. 23. McQueary follows 2014 President Dwayne Fulk, a partner with Lathrop & Gage LLP.

“I come from a family that values community involvement, so when I was asked to join the SMBA Board of Directors, I was excited by the opportunity,” McQueary said.

McQueary wasted no time addressing his goals for the year during his installment speech. In his first duty as president, McQueary announced a project he’d been working on for some time – an anniversary celebration.

“2015 is the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. This is the seminal document from which the precepts of rule of law and due process under the law are derived,” he said.

At his request, the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Foundation applied to host the American Bar Association exhibit, Magna Carta, Enduring Legacy 1215-2015, and it was accepted. The only host location in Missouri so far, the exhibit will run Oct. 12-23 in Missouri State University’s Meyer Library.

McQueary said the SMBF will partner with MSU, Springfield Public School Systems, Springfield-Greene County Public Library, Springfield Art Museum, Springfield Catholic High School and Moxie Cinema to bring the exhibit to the community through various events.

“It is time the SMBA step up and take a seat at the community table,” he said during his installation speech. “This is our chance to shine and burnish the image of lawyers. We are here not just to serve lawyers, but to serve the public.”

McQueary’s goals also include recruiting more millennials.

“These young lawyers, these millennials, are different from the rest of us,” he said. “They are not lawyers with briefcases, they are lawyers with backpacks, and they practice utilizing all that modern technology has placed in their hands.”

The SMBA plans to work with MSU’s student senate to develop a student legal services office and has opened conversations with Community Foundation of the Ozarks to develop resources allowing young attorneys to become more involved with charities.

Looking within to address the needs of association members, McQueary said local representatives have been asked to participate in the Lawyers Helping Lawyers Task Force, expanding the mission of the Missouri Lawyers Assistance Program to equip lawyers to handle the stress and pressure inherent to the profession.

“Recent local tragedy as well as an alarming spike in lawyer suicides nationwide has led the task force to realize that our outreach and education efforts must go further and begin earlier than had perhaps been previously thought,” he told the group. “We must acknowledge a deeply-rooted professional culture which looks at this differently, and consciously strive to change it.

“We are all in this life together.”[[In-content Ad]]