President's MessageThe Constancy of ChangeIwrite my first President's Column for the <strong>Sacramento</strong> beLawyer following the election of <strong>Bar</strong>ack Obama asPresident of the United States. For the past year or more,our country has been consumed with one of the mostimportant elections of our lives, if not our history.Certainly, the word that captured the essence of that election,as well as President-elect Obama's campaign, was“change.” Voters across the country decided that changewas needed and in the process we made history by electingthe first President of African-American heritage. This year'sLaw Day theme is “A Legacy of Liberty - CelebratingLincoln's Bicentennial.” How fitting that President Obamawill be sworn in exactly 200 years after the birth ofPresident Abraham Lincoln.What really has escaped all of us throughout thesemomentous events, however, is that change is constant -sometimes, it is hoped for change; other times, change canBUSINESS PORTRAIT SPECIALISTSPROJECT THE PROFESSIONAL IMAGE YOU DESERVE•Instant selection - 48 hr. service•Retouching of blemishes, scars,and wrinkles on selected pose.•Photos for reproduction toexact specifications.Impressive office setting inour studio or in your ownoffice.We care about your image -and it shows!•Disk transfers available fordigital use.•Professional finishing fromyour negative or disk.•Photo business cards.The Professional Studio for ProfessionalsBy Mike Millsunplanned. My goal as President of the SCBA in <strong>2009</strong>will be to put policies in place to manage the changes our<strong>Association</strong> is facing in the wake of the ever evolving practiceof law, as well as to prepare for changes that the SCBAwill undoubtedly need to confront at some point in thefuture. In the coming year, I intend to focus my energies onthree priorities: (1) a long-term strategy to maintain theSCBA's administrative functions by preparing a successionplan for our Executive Director, Carol Prosser, for the timewhen she decides to retire; (2) increasing and maintainingour membership, especially among newer and youngerattorneys, to renew and maintain the health and longevityof the SCBA; and (3) keeping our <strong>Association</strong> competitiveas a source for information, education, and ideas in a fiercelydemanding world of internet access, unlimited informationresources, on-line mediums, and a multitude of otherprofessional organizations and companies, both for-profitand non-profit.As a partner in the law firm of Downey Brand LLP,<strong>Sacramento</strong>'s largest law firm, I also hope to awaken in ourcommunity's larger law firms the important of the SCBA toour profession and demonstrate the vital functions theSCBA provides and administers to <strong>Sacramento</strong> <strong>County</strong>,including the Indigent Defense Panel, Operation Protectand Defend, the <strong>Sacramento</strong> Law Foundation, theVoluntary Legal Services Program, and the DiversityFellowship and Hiring Program, among others. All of thesefunctions of the SCBA are critical to our community andwithout support from our members - new and current -these programs will not be able to continue. The last partnerfrom Downey Brand to serve as President of the SCBAwas the late Garth Scallon in 1975. I was three years oldthen. He served as role model to many in our communitythrough his dedication to the SCBA, his profession and<strong>Sacramento</strong> in general. I imagine he would be proud thatsome 34 years later and in the face of changing times, thenext generation is stepping up to follow his lead, for, as Isaid, “change is constant.”Member:Asian-American Chamber of CommerceProf. Photographers of America (Past Pres.)(www.sirlin.com)Sirlin2020 I Street<strong>Sacramento</strong>444-8464Free ParkingSince 1947SirlinPHOTOGRAPHERS6 SACRAMENTO LAWYER ■ JANUARY/FEBRUARY <strong>2009</strong>