President’s Message
It’s Your Turn to Lead By PAUL C. TROY, ESQ., MBA President
I
’ve seen a lot of lawyers enjoying the practice of law this year. On September 11th, I saw it at our Annual Clambake. I saw lawyers who compete against each other every day not only getting along, but having a really good time. I watched our Assistant District Attorneys and Public Defenders play softball against each other. They competed like they do every day. However, they also got a chance to laugh about it over dinner and drinks afterwards at the Clambake. That doesn’t happen every day.
At our Bench Bar Conference in Annapolis two weeks later, MBA Members and their families got together for
a wonderful weekend away. Twenty of our Judges were present. Lawyers who compete against each other regularly were seen walking around town together or having meals together at tables outside local restaurants. We had a CLE Program that will never be forgotten. In The Greatest Stories Never Told: How We Practice Law Before The Internet, The Hon. Mason Avrigian, Sr., Lynne GoldBikin, Marvin Wilenzik and William H. Pugh, IV told us hilarious stories from their decades of practicing law here. They had a lot of help. Time and again audience members rose to their feet to tell their own stories. Never was there so much laughter at a CLE Program. Both the Clambake and the Bench Bar Conference were celebrations of what it means to be a Montgomery County Lawyer. There is a tradition of courtesy among competitors here that can’t be matched anywhere else. In one of my first weeks of practicing law here, I was asked to defend a personal injury case. I spent an inordinate amount of time preparing my first set of Interrogatories and Document Requests, and reviewing the state and local rules. Finally, I served the discovery on my opponent. My opponent was Bill Honig. A few days later our receptionist told me that Bill Honig was downstairs to see me. I wondered what he wanted. Had he been so overwhelmed by my discovery requests that he had stopped by to surrender? When I got downstairs
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FALL 2013
I met Bill Honig for the first time. He was holding an accordion file. He looked at me and smiled and said “I got your discovery. I don’t have time to answer all that stuff. Here’s my entire file. Copy whatever you want and bring it down the street to my office. I was stunned. This was not what I had learned in three years of law school or what I expected. I thanked him, and ran back up the stairs to see Bill Pugh, IV. I asked him if this was a proper response to discovery. Bill laughed and said “sounds good to me!” Ever since that day I’ve learned again and again that we do things a bit differently here in Montgomery County, and that is a very good thing. It is something worth celebrating. The good news is that another chance to celebrate the way we practice law here in Montgomery County is right around the corner. It is our Annual Membership Dinner on Friday, November 1st at Meadowlands Country Club in Blue Bell. This event is for members only. This year we will be honoring Judge Tilson and Harvey Strauss. At the end of the year, Judge Tilson will become a Senior Judge and Harvey will be retiring from the position of Executive Director of Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania. We will also be honoring the Fifty Year Members of our Bar. In doing so we will celebrate the careers of attorneys who have set an example for all of us to try to follow as each of us tries to carry on the tradition of what it means to be a Montgomery County lawyer. Please join us on November 1st, and be a part of the celebration.