Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Fall 2020 - 5

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Opening Statement

A Whole New

(And Pretty Crappy)

World

"There's some other stupid thing in the article about "bandwidth" and how New York is over because
everybody will "remote everything." Guess what: Everyone hates to do this. Everyone. Hates. You
know why? There's no energy. Energy, attitude and personality cannot be "remoted" through even the
best fiber optic lines." - Jerry Seinfeld, New York Times Opinion Page, August 24, 2020

reating and maintaining
energy. Reinforcing the
value of membership
in an organization that thrives
on bringing people together
for committee and section meetings over lunch, professional
development seminars, and social events. Communicating and
keeping members informed amid one of the most chaotic, and
at times terrifying, periods in our lifetimes. All while striving
to protect the health and safety of our members, staff, and the
clients we all serve. These are just a sample of the challenges we
have encountered at the Berks County Bar Association over the
past several months amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
These challenges have been met and, for the most part, overcome.
Our Executive Director Kori Walter and the entire Board of
Directors have embraced new approaches to delivering programs
and engaging our members during the pandemic. Our staff has
adapted and demonstrated tremendous dedication and ingenuity.
The staff has been responsive to members even while working
remotely for more than two months, and our members have been
exceedingly patient and flexible at a time when clients are even
more demanding and learning new technology to practice in this
new virtual landscape adds new pressures.

Last month, we overcame yet another challenge. Organizing,
producing, and delivering our first Virtual Bench-Bar Conference
and Spring Meeting. As comedian Jerry Seinfeld noted in the
New York Times op-ed quoted above, some events and experiences
simply cannot be replicated on a computer screen. Many of our
members look forward to the Bench-Bar Conference to reconnect
with colleagues and create new personal and professional
connections. Though we could not fully recreate the energy and
collegial vibe of past Bench-Bar conferences, we still delivered
the very best professional seminars with exceptional panels and
presenters. Some of our members urged me to scrap the BenchBar Conference this year with the hope that we will be able to
resume the in-person format in the spring of 2021. Despite the
technical challenges, we proceeded with the Virtual Bench-Bar
Conference. I thought it extremely important that we connect as
an Association, even if virtually. A great many of our members
depend on the Bench-Bar seminars to fulfill their annual CLE
credit requirements, and once again our members delivered with
numerous lively and informative sessions. In addition to the

heroic efforts of Kori and the BCBA staff, our historic Bench-Bar
Conference was possible because of the tireless work and diligent
preparation of our committee and section chairs, including BenchBar Committee Co-Chairs Jill Scheidt and Allen Shollenberger.
On a positive note, holding this year's Bench-Bar Conference
online saved our members time, gas, and the aggravation of
navigating the never-ending construction zone obstacles that
seem to multiply by the minute in downtown Reading. And so
we made the best of remoting through our fiber optic lines. I truly
appreciate your patience, and in some cases, good humor, while
we worked through some technical difficulties, and at the end
of the day, I believe the Conference was an outstanding success.
And we'll look forward to better times when we can all gather for
the meetings, seminars and social events that create the "energy,
attitude, and personality" that make membership in the Berks
County Bar Association invaluable.
I will probably go down in Bar Association history as the most
obscure President ever. I actually feel like that loser Commanderin-Chief who is hustled into the bunker by the Secret Service
agents while the real heroes go out and save humanity. Just to
make myself, and hopefully all of you, feel a little better, here are
just a few highlights of some of the initiatives, accomplishments
and even a few memories of Bar Association life before the
coronavirus.
Distance Learning Accreditation

In June, the Bar Association earned distance learning
accreditation status from the Pennsylvania CLE Board after
successfully completing five (5) online seminars. Obtaining
distance learning accreditation allows the Bar Association to
conduct seminars via Zoom or other online platforms. This is
essential given Pennsylvania's current coronavirus restrictions,
which require social distancing and limit attendance at events to
25 people. We simply could not provide CLE seminars without
this accreditation. Plus, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has
allowed attorneys to obtain all 12 of their CLE credits via distance
learning courses through December 31, 2020.
During the accreditation process, our members were able to
earn three (3) CLE credits at NO COST. Nearly 180 of our
members benefitted from these free CLE Courses offered in May.

Continued on next page
Fall 2020 | 5

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Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Fall 2020

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