The ABA Standing Committee on Professionalism awarded the Genesee County Bar Association with one of this year's E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Awards. The Genesee Bar was chosen for its Joint Program on Attorney Ethics and Professionalism.

"This award is truly an honor because the Genesee County Bar takes great pride in our commitment to these two key elements in the practice of law: ethics and professionalism," said Genesee County Bar Association President Francine Cullari.

Cullari accepted the award on behalf of the Genesee Bar during the ABA's Annual Meeting in New York in July. The Genesee County Bar Association and the Centennial American Inn of Court have undertaken many programs to educate local lawyers on professional standards and ethics. This year, the two organizations undertook a joint effort to have an Inn program team present a live reenactment of a program examining how to deal with the emotionally difficult client in the context of domestic relations actions. Following the program, the two organizations realized that the Inn could reach a much larger audience if it videotaped its programs and provided them to the Bar for use during its "Lunch and Learn" series or by airing them on a local cable television station. The program selected for the initial videotape program is an hour-long skit involving analysis of lawyer advertising standards.

The project is aimed primarily at younger lawyers to expose them to ethical problems and to encourage them to be aware of, and implement in their practices, the highest standards of legal, civility and professionalism.

The annual E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Awards recognize projects that enhance professionalism among lawyers. Law schools bar associations, law firms and not-for-profit law-related organizations are eligible for the awards. The award is named for E. Smythe Gambrell, who served simultaneously as president of the ABA and the American Bar Foundation in 1955-56. Gambrell founded the Legal Aid Society in Atlanta, where he practiced law from 1922 until his death in 1986.

(Left to right) Presenting attorney Richard M. Barron, Father Robert F. Drinan and
Genesee County Bar Association President Francine Cullari.