Solo, Small Firms and General Practice News
Ed Smith on why he wants
to be OSBA presidentelect
Editors note: The Solo, Small Firms and General Practice Section
asked each candidate their reasons for wanting to be OSBA presidentelect. The following is Ed Smith’s response:
Advancing the profession and the practice of
law: A letter to Ohio’s lawyers
T
hanks to you, my colleagues, for the opportunity to address
you about my life’s work and yours—the practice of law.
I am asking you to support me to be your representative as
president-elect of the Ohio State Bar Association. I want to
advance our profession in challenging times and rededicate our
Association to its Core Purpose. In the most recent issue of
Ohio Lawyer,1 I wrote about my belief that the OSBA should
always keep in focus its Core Purpose—the advancement of
the professional interests of members of the OSBA.2 I believe
that if lawyers do well, our Association will do well. It provides
tremendous value to all of us who give to it and reap its benefits
as well.
In 1990, a renowned lawyer from Dayton invited me to serve on
the OSBA Grievance Committee. That led to 25 years of service
on that committee, which I chaired during the course of my
service. I represented the OSBA in grievances and argued in the
Ohio Supreme Court on its behalf. In 2004, I was honored to
be certified as a specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate
Law and I am a member of that section. I helped draft a statute
clarifying that a lawyer has no duty to third parties who are not
the lawyer’s client. I participated in the implementation of the
Ohio version of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct in
2007. I am also a member of the Ethics Committee. I have been
a member of the Ohio Bar College and an Ohio Bar Liability
Insurance Company policyholder for years. As chair of Catholic
Social Services of the Miami Valley, I have been honored to
participate in the vision for charity and social services over a
broad area of Southwest Ohio. For the past five years, I have
chaired the Dayton Bar Association’s Estate Planning, Trust and
Probate Law Committee.
I am poised to lead the OSBA as president with a vision for the
practice of law for all lawyers, no matter what their area of practice.
4
Why did we become lawyers?
From my youth, the Inaugural Address of JFK resonated with
me: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can
do for your country.” I took that to heart. After undergraduate
and law school at Notre Dame, where I participated in Air Force
ROTC, I entered the Air Force JAG. I prosecuted and defended
courts-martial cases. I was young and loved what I was able to
do. Officers and airmen, my clients, were asking me for advice.
I gave it, trying to serve them well. That’s what we do each time
a client calls on the phone or walks through the door. The law
provides good things—order, commerce, and most precious of
all, freedom and justice. That’s what we are providing every day
by practicing law.
Riding the circuit
For those of us in small and solo practices, we have the historical
personification of our practices in Abraham Lincoln. No doubt,
many of you have read about Lincoln’s law career. During his 24year law practice, which started in 1837, Lincoln was practical,
rode the circuit with other lawyers and judges, tried cases and
argued the law and professed his “reverence” for the law. He
mentored other lawyers. We do the same thing today. While the
practice has changed immensely, ultimately, we serve our clients,
learn every day, meet new people every day, solve problems every
day and help new lawyers make their way. This is what we do.
As one who practices law every day in the same type of practice
as you do, I will endeavor to make the atmosphere for the
practice of law more conducive to the success of all lawyers,
regardless of their type of practice.
The OSBA will, under my leadership, provide all lawyers with
the tools to make the practice of law better, more prosperous and
more enjoyable.
The law is complex
Despite the ever-increasing complexity of the law over time,
there are those who portray the practice of law as easy and too
expensive—that complex legal issues can be resolved by simply
using a form—totally disconnected from a lawyer’s advice and
expertise. This narrative of legal services is, in my opinion,
not only misleading, but it also harms the public. It must be
rejected so that everyone who requires legal assistance is properly
served according to the particular need, with a lawyer, thereby
promoting the public’s confidence in the legal system. A number
of entities are selling drive-through and self-help versions of legal
services to the public without any accountability.
Solo, Small Firms and General Practice News
The OSBA will, under my leadership, do all it can to protect
the public and lawyers from the destructive effects of the
unauthorized practice of law.
Proposals affecting the practice of law
There are recurring proposals to impose a sales tax on services
of lawyers and lobbyists, and a new proposal to amend the
Ohio Constitution to permit the legislative branch to designate
legislative action as “substantive” and override rules promulgated
by the Ohio Supreme Court. Among other things, these
proposals will intrude on the judiciary’s independent governance
of the courts and the practice of law, impede free speech and
limit access to justice. These proposals must be opposed. Under my leadership as president of the OSBA, I will do all
in my power to forcefully articulate the necessity for a free and
independent judiciary which governs the courts, lawyers and the
practice of law.
Access to justice requires access to a lawyer
We cannot forget that access to lawyers is critical to the
preservation of a free and open society. We need to have a
conversation about the funding of legal aid and public defender
organizations. I will address this through a conversation with
the service providers and the membership on how those services
can be provided to benefit the public and the lawyers who work
tirelessly on behalf of the public every day. In addition, Ohio
lawyers provide countless hours of volunteer time to the public
and the profession. But the story of the good the profession does
is not widely known. I will work to change that.
Under my leadership of the OSBA, I will work to portray the
reality of the law and lawyers as servants of the public and push
for the delivery of that message to the public.
Mentoring young lawyers
Several aspiring young lawyers wrote to Lincoln asking to
read the law with him. That, as well as self-education, was the
norm. Today, the formality of law school has taken over that
initial learning process, but we need to let the law schools know
what we expect. Passing the bar is important, but it is just as
important to maintain the highest standards of the most learned
of professions, learn how to “think like a lawyer” and practice
law, and to keep the cost of law school reasonable. The OSBA is
having conversations with the law schools about the expectations
of practicing lawyers. This is important to the success, and
succession, of the bar.
As your president, I will continue the dialogue with the law
schools, press for more effective mentoring, and seek greater law
school engagement with the OSBA, so that the next generation
of lawyers is equipped for success.
Empowering the members of the OSBA
As a lawyer who is engaged in the practice like you are, and who
is, and has been, actively involved in the OSBA for years, I am
intimately familiar with the Association and uniquely prepared
to address the many challenging issues that face our profession
today and which are on the horizon. We value the independence
of our chosen profession and we must attempt to help all of our
colleagues succeed. The Futures Commission, established under
the visionary leadership of OSBA Immediate Past President
John D. Holschuh Jr. will provide guidance, but we need your
voices and assistance to carry out the many challenges we face as
a profession.
The election for OSBA president-elect has changed. It will be
conducted by electronic voting from May 1-5, 2017. There is now
an opportunity for greater participation by all OSBA members.
The general membership will be able to vote and have their voices
heard, not just those who attend the All-Ohio Legal Forum. It is
important that your voice is heard. I urge all of you to vote and, if
you see fit, to vote for me. I respectfully request your support.
I can promise one thing—I will listen to you, my colleagues, the
practicing lawyers of Ohio.
By Ed Smith, Dayton Endnotes
“Fighting for Lawyers:
Advancing the OSBA’s Core
Purpose,” Ohio Lawyer, v. 31,
Jan./Feb. 2017, p. 5.
2
The Core Purpose is
memorialized on a bronze
plaque at the entrance to the
OSBA Headquarters.
1
5