Veterans Bar Association going strong in 2nd year
Current and former members of the military who are looking to enter the civilian legal community now have a place to go for advice.
San Diego’s Veterans Bar Association — the first of its kind in the country — provides networking and mentorship opportunities to service members and civilians alike. And the group has been growing in number and stature since launching more than a year ago.
“Despite high hopes, I didn’t end up disappointed,” said Walter Scott, an associate with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and a former Navy SEAL who founded the organization in September 2009.
Today, the group is holding its second annual Veterans Day event, which is hopes will become a signature event on the San Diego County Bar Association’s legal calendar.
The event, which is being hosted by local law firm Higgs Fletcher & Mack from 7:30-9 a.m., will feature Congressman Duncan D. Hunter and state Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher discussing the role of veterans in public service.
“I hope over the next few years we see more vets consider public service, either pursuing public office or working with elected officials because I think vets bring a spirit of service,” Fletcher said. “I think they understand the team concept. Political life is like being part of a team. You have to organize a coalition and bring people together for a mission.”
The VBA has approximately 30 members, ranging from law students to federal judges. Its goal is to help military veterans identify and connect with other veterans in the San Diego legal community.
“The military justice system is its own separate entity,” said Gary Barthel, a partner at Higgs Fletcher & Mack and a VBA board member. “So a lot of lawyers leaving the military have no idea what it takes regarding marketing, networking and other possibilities that are out there. The VBA gives them the opportunity to connect with other vets to help them through that transition.”
Barthel, who joined Higgs in 2003 after a 20-year career in the military, said the group has helped him after feeling like the “new guy on the block” in the civilian world.
“It’s given me an opportunity to meet other attorneys in the San Diego area that I now know that I didn’t know a year and half ago,” he said.
Membership in the VBA is not limited to service members or veterans. The group welcomes civilian attorneys, who can lend their knowledge of the private sector.
The VBA provides continuing legal education (CLE) programs throughout the year as well as networking events. “I’ve seen a lot of different faces over the last year from the people that gathered in September of 2009,” Scott said. “I’d encourage the wider legal community to participate in anything we have going on.”
The VBA founder hopes to put together a formal mentorship program within the next year. He also hopes to increase the group’s profile and make the Veterans Day program a signature event in San Diego. Additionally, Scott would like to open VBA chapters in Los Angeles and San Francisco within the next 12 months. There have already been discussions with group in St. Louis about opening a chapter there.
“We got other groups that want to open other chapters in other cities across the U.S.,” Barthel said. “That’s indicative of the good progress and success we’ve had.”
Fletcher thinks the VBA is a great idea. “The transition is not always easy when you come out of the military into civilian life,” he said. “When you have a group of people you can spend time with, both socially and professionally, and they understand the military culture
and mindset, it’s a tremendous comfort and help.”
