President's Message
Craig E. Ellis
It is my honor to serve you as the 2022-2023 YLC President. Over the course of this year, I look forward to working with the young lawyers of this Commonwealth to further our efforts in the broad areas of service to the public and service to the bar. As we transition into what can hopefully be deemed a post-COVID world, the YLC is not only poised to vigorously emerge with programs and initiatives that have served the citizens of Virginia and our bar members for years, but we will also take account of our past success, failures and goals for the future as we map out our five-year plan. I encourage our membership to help chart our future course this year and participate actively to ensure we can set a path that will serve to better the YLC for years to come.
As young lawyers, we must remember that the work we put in today is an act of foundation building for the rest of our careers. As an organization that serves lawyers in this beginning phase, we must resolve to assist our membership with this building project. That means curating programming that fosters sound legal, business and wellness practices for those in our membership. We will do this through our Professional Development Series, mentorship opportunities, health initiatives and more. In this term, I also want to focus on students in our communities that have yet to enter the practice of law but seek to do so. It is in this group that we can build even more effective and prepared young lawyers by reaching them early in their process. Programs such as our Minority Pre-Law Conferences and Rule of Law Day have set us on a path toward this goal. I plan to work with the membership to advance these efforts for the next generation and the betterment of this noble profession.
I want to thank our Immediate Past President, Kris McClellan, the YLC Board, our volunteers and the VSB staff for all their hard work this past year. This Conference has been made better because of their individual acts and accomplishments. Their efforts are invaluable. I trust that they will continue to work hard for the YLC in the coming year and hope that if you have not yet volunteered your time and expertise, this will be your year of foundation building with us.