Welcome to the 2025 Bar Year!
Welcome to the 2025-2026 bar year! My name is Sheila Spence, and I am delighted to introduce myself as our YLD chair for this exciting year. It is truly an honor to serve in this role, and I am enthusiastic about the opportunities that lie ahead for us to work together.
Under our theme for this year, Breaking Barriers, I am challenging young lawyers to help me break down the many barriers that we face in our profession. In addition to diversity and inclusion, let’s also break down barriers as it relates to access to education, improving work-life balance, building mentorship and networking skills for first-generation lawyers, and embracing emerging technology.
Here are a few of the programming plans for each division we’ll focus on this year.
Law Student Division: Building Inclusive Networks through Mentorship. Law students have access to mentorship through our Grab-a-Coffee program and opportunities to mentor high school students through Legal LINK. Grab-a-Coffee Program sign-up available until September 5 (attorneys can sign up via this link).
New Lawyers in Practice Division: Practice Area Spotlights. New lawyers can explore different specialties and find their perfect fit by attending our First-Generation Summit, cross-functional networking events hosted by our section liaisons, or by reviewing one of our Quick Reference Guides on various practice areas like privacy & AI, contracts, estate planning, and criminal, etc.
Civic Engagement and Pro Bono Division: Give Back. Young lawyers have numerous ways to give back to the community, including learning more about what it takes to serve on local government boards, committees, and commissions.
Community Outreach Division: Service Days. Join us for our annual statewide competition among NC legal organizations to raise food and fund donations and volunteer with us at the North Carolina Food Bank for Legal Feeding Frenzy, one of our many signature events!
Bar Outreach Division: Breaking Barriers Awards. Celebrate young lawyers breaking barriers and making a positive difference in their communities by nominating them for one of our new Breaking Barriers Spotlight Awards. Also, join us for one of our many cross-functional networking events, like pickleball with the Litigation Section and Sports & Entertainment Law Section.
We have something for everyone here in the YLD. Please be on the lookout for additional information about our future events and meetings. We have an exciting year planned, and I encourage you to get involved and share your ideas! Together, let’s continue to make history and break down barriers!