Young Lawyers

YoungLawyers
Emily M. Ruzic
Emily M. Ruzic Committee Chair Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP Birmingham, AL

About the Committee

The Young Lawyers Committee is unique within DRI because its membership is made up of lawyers practicing across every substantive area within the defense bar. As a Committee member you can participate in the Committee up to 10 years past your first bar admission date. The Committee's mission remains the same each year-providing its members the best professional development, quality CLE programs and networking opportunities of any legal organization.

The cornerstone of the Young Lawyers Committee's achievement is the excellent annual seminar it sponsors each June, bringing together top litigators from across the country and in-house counsel from corporations throughout the world. The Seminar provides these lawyers the opportunity to forge professional networking relationships with other attorneys at their practice level across the country. Beyond this, the cutting edge programming is designed to teach associates and young partners how to refine their legal skills and take their practice to a higher level.

The Young Lawyers Committee is dedicated to providing its members with opportunities to network and get involved. With 24 active subcommittees and liaisons to every DRI substantive committee and SLDO, there is an opportunity for everyone. Our members also have numerous writing and speaking opportunities. Young Lawyers are published regularly in For the Defense, in The Whisper, and in various DRI compendiums. Committee members speak each year at the Young Lawyers Seminar as well as at break-out sessions at substantive programs, at the Annual Meeting, and at Webconferences.

In addition, the Young Lawyers also are the cutting edge of DRI Committees in expanding the reach of the organization beyond that of traditional bar organizations. The Young Lawyers were the first group to take on public service projects, blogging and networking through social networking sites. In conjunction with other groups, the Committee is also developing women's mentoring relationships, encouraging law school memberships, and creating a transition program for those young lawyers "graduating" out of the Young Lawyer ranks.

Check out our Linked In Group, our Facebook page, and our blog. And then become active yourself to get the most out of your DRI membership!