Sadina Montani

Dear Members of the D.C. Bar,

Thank you for considering my candidacy for the position of President-Elect of the D.C. Bar. In this letter, and in person, it is my great honor to be able to engage with you regarding the future leadership of this deeply relevant organization. I hope that this message will help you make a more informed decision during this important election process.

I firmly believe that leadership is not a reward given to someone for years of service. Rather, it is an opportunity to get to work. In this case, should I be elected, it will be an opportunity to work for you, my current colleagues, as well as for the students who are the future of the legal profession. It will be an opportunity to work for improved relations with the courts, whose decisions affect those in our community in addition to our professional lives. Finally, it is an opportunity to work shoulder-to-shoulder with you, for the benefit of the public-interest organizations that provide invaluable services to our local, regional, and national communities.

Throughout my career as an employment lawyer and my voluntary Board service and leadership roles, I have learned that we will always achieve more when we work together. It is as simple and as complex as that—and it is in this spirit of collaboration that I consider the positive impact I hope to have, should I be elected to serve as President-Elect of the D.C. Bar.

Like many—if not most—of you, I continue to find myself focused on the shockwaves the profession is experiencing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Having served as President of the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia (WBADC) at the height of the pandemic (June 2020 – May 2021), I confess it is hard for me not to see Bar service through this lens. I believe that we ignore the lessons learned—and the creativity we demonstrated in finding solutions—at our peril. 

This is particularly true when it comes to our early-career colleagues. The adaptations that enabled us to continue practicing law and serving clients affected early-career lawyers in different ways than those with established practices and professional relationships. The traditional apprenticeship model and (once) tried-and-true approaches to management, training, and learning were disrupted.

Today, junior lawyers who began practicing in a largely remote atmosphere understandably question the pressure to return to pre‐pandemic routines and systems. Many have priorities that already differed from those of their more seasoned colleagues, but have been further sharpened through the lens of the pandemic.

I have also seen how deeply impactful these changes have been and continue to be for women lawyers, lawyers in and from underrepresented communities, and in the pro bono space. The legal profession as a whole is struggling to establish a new normal in how we relate to our clients, the courts, and each other.

To be sure, these changes and challenges are not unique to the practice of law—but in my view (informed by the vantage point I have across industries as an employment lawyer), these challenges are particularly acute in our profession.

It is here that I would like to emphasize an important point: While I obviously don’t see the state of the legal profession through rose-colored glasses, I am most definitely not looking at our current challenges through doom-and-gloom lenses. Transitions can be difficult, but it is precisely at times like these that we have the opportunity to have the greatest, most positive impacts. By thinking critically and honestly about the post‐pandemic practice of law, we will be better positioned to support those most in need of critical legal services and will set up for success a broader and more diverse population of lawyers.

As a mid‐career lawyer—one who is both seeking to mentor and teach, while continuing to be mentored and taught—I look forward to this necessary dialogue. I look forward to bringing thought leadership to, and building consensus around, best practices for preserving the best of pre‐pandemic, apprenticeship‐style legal training while recognizing the fundamental shifts created during the remote-work era. Should I be given the opportunity to serve as D.C. Bar President‐Elect, I cannot wait to engage our large, diverse, and wide‐reaching membership as the epicenter for these hard but necessary discussions.

Thank you for your consideration of my candidacy.

Sincerely,

Sadina Montani