President’s Perspective: Patti Ramseur Installed as 129th NCBA President
Patti Ramseur of Greensboro was installed as the 129th president of the North Carolina Bar Association on Friday, June 23, at the NCBA Annual Meeting in Wilmington. She will also serve in 2023-24 as president of the North Carolina Bar Foundation.
Ramseur is a native of Burke County and a graduate of North Carolina State University and Wake Forest University School of Law. She began her legal career as a law clerk to N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Ralph A. Walker, who administered the oath of office as Ramseur’s husband Chris looked on and their daughters Reece and Riley held the Bible.
Judge Ralph Walker administers the oath of office to Patti Ramseur while, from left, her husband Chris Ramseur looks on and their daughters Reece and Riley hold the Bible.
Ramseur entered private practice in 2000 with Haynsworth Baldwin Johnson & Greaves. In 2003 she joined Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP and continued as a partner with the firm when it merged into Fox Rothschild LLP in 2018. She joined Alex Maultsby in 2020 to establish the employment law firm of Ramseur Maultsby LLP.
The following President’s Perspective has been derived from President Patti Ramseur’s installation address.
First, I want to recognize and thank my family for being here, and for always supporting me. Here tonight are my husband, Chris; my daughters, Reece and Riley; my mother, Toni; my sister Leslie and her husband Mike; my niece Brittany; and my nephew Andrew and his girlfriend Georgia. Also here are my friends and partners from the Ramseur Maultsby firm: Alex Maultsby and his wife Terri, and Tina Hlabse and her daughter Lilah, who is like my third daughter. Alex and Tina, I am so thankful that I get to practice law with you. You are brilliant attorneys and wonderful friends.
To Judge Walker, thank you! As many of you know, I clerked for Judge Walker at the North Carolina Court of Appeals immediately after graduating law school. I could not have had a better mentor. As I was learning to practice law, I had the opportunity to work with a judge who is committed to excellence, civility, and service. It means so much to me that you and Mrs. Walker are here.
Reece and Riley, I want to take a few minutes and talk directly to you. I think we have some of our best conversations in the car. Maybe that’s because we are able to look straight ahead while we are talking, or maybe it’s because I’m talking and you’re sleeping. Either way, we haven’t had a lot of car time together lately so I thought tonight would be good. Reece and Riley, I am so incredibly proud of you. You work so hard in the classroom and in the pool. Because of your strong work ethic, you have already done some amazing things. Equally important, you are kind and respectful. You continually inspire me to be a better mother, attorney, and person.
About a year ago, a couple of our Past Presidents emailed me to congratulate me on my nomination to President-elect. They said that I was the right person to serve at a time such as this. At the time, I thought that was such a nice thing to say, but I had no idea at that time what was coming!
Our Association is truly unique and special. I am thankful for all my NCBA experiences. As I look around this room, I’m reminded that there are so many attorneys and judges who I have met through the years, solely because of my involvement in the NCBA. You are my mentors and my friends. The individuals I’ve met through NCBA leadership and activities have – without a doubt – helped me become a better lawyer. They constantly remind me how blessed we are to be lawyers but also the responsibilities we have because of our positions.
Participation in our Bar Association plays such a critical role in the success of individual lawyers and the legal profession as a whole. This is the place where we come together to do pro bono work, educate the public about legal issues, and work together to improve issues affecting the legal profession. This is where our sections are able to weigh in on significant legislative matters that benefit the public and the profession. This is also the place where we have the opportunity to meet other lawyers and judges. It is through these opportunities that we are truly able to engage in the profession of law, rather than just perform a job.
Our Association today exists in a time of significant cultural warfare and social polarization. We see it on the news. We experience it in our communities. We see how polarized almost every part of our communal lives can become. Of course, this seems to be exacerbated by the fact that everyone – including lawyers – spend more time on video calls than in-person meetings. But truly, while video calls are very convenient, we cannot develop relationships in the same way we are able to when we sit down face-to-face.
I am deeply concerned about how what we all see and feel in our country today has and will continue to impact our Association. How do we remain relevant and continue to provide value to our members as the world around us continues to fragment? How do we do this and remain relevant for ALL of our members?
It is imperative that we do three things: (1) stay true to our mission; (2) respect the diversity of our membership; and (3) recognize that the very things that make us powerful as an Association may even limit us in other respects. The mission of the NCBA is “to serve the public and the legal profession by promoting the administration of justice and encouraging the highest standards of integrity, competence, civility and well-being of all members of the profession.”
Under the purview of our mission statement, we do meaningful work that benefits the public and the profession. I do not believe there is any organization in the state – or even the country – that is able to do what we do. The NCBA is able to do what it does because it has over 17,000 members who voluntarily choose to join and pay dues year after year. Our members then show up in meaningful ways to generously give of their time, talents and treasure to advance the mission of the Association and Foundation.
The Power of Association – of our bar association – is directly tied to the fact that we have 17,000 members, speaking with one big powerful voice when we speak. Our 17,000 members come to the Association with great diversity. As stated in its Diversity Statement, the NCBA is an inclusive organization. We heard in our program this morning about times when that was not true. Today, it is unequivocally, intentionally and proudly true that we are an inclusive collection of lawyers, judges, and paralegals. The Bar Association is committed to recognizing, respecting, promoting and encouraging diversity among its leadership, its membership and the entire legal community.
Our members come from all parts of the state. Our members are attorneys from different practices and in different stages of practice. Some are young, and some are not so young. Our members have different needs and concerns, represent different religions, are from different political affiliations, and have different beliefs regarding various political, social, and cultural issues. Look around the room at the diversity. Keep in mind that we are just a sampling. This is not even close to accurately representing the diversity we have throughout our entire membership.
With a membership so large, so diverse, so spread across the state, it begs the question: What has kept and continues to keep our 17,000 members together? When there are so many members and so many differences that exist between our members, how do we continue to thrive? The ability of our organization – and most any voluntary association – to continue to exist is dependent on us focusing on the mission of the NCBA and doing so in a way that attempts to keep our members together. It’s our Big Tent approach. We operate best when we pull all of our members together to collaborate on how to accomplish our shared, collective goals.
Will we always agree on how to get there? Well, I doubt it, but, we can agree on our goals by listening, openly and in good faith. When we focus on trying to be true to the mission, while keeping everyone under the Big Tent, there can sometimes be limitations on what we can do; or there can be voices pulling in different directions; or there can be, even, disagreement over what the role of the Association should be. How can we show we are inclusive and supportive, even when we do not exist as an advocacy group for all of the various diverse causes our members support?
These are worthy and important questions, ones that any healthy organization should examine. As we do so, in order for our Association to be its best self, we should be tolerant, slow to judge, and never condemn others who may have a different belief or opinion.
Here is my hope for the next year:
The cultural surroundings in which we live and work are not going to calm down in 2023-24. We will be pulled in a variety of directions. But I hope, as we look to serve our 17,000 members, we will focus on what is best for accomplishing our mission and that we will stay true to advancing the profession, to promoting access to justice, to professional education, to pro bono work, to teaching the public about the law, and to helping lawyers deal with the massive pressures that serving clients can bring. So, so, so much important work. And, we must bring attorneys together for networking and simply having fun together. It’s the approach our Bar Association has taken for years.
Finally, and consistent with our efforts to be leaders in a too-often fractured world, for the upcoming bar year, I want to focus on respect and civility in the Association and profession. Gill Beck will chair the Professionalism Committee, with Jay Tillman as vice chair. They are excited about working across each of our sections, divisions, and committees this year, keeping respect and civility at the top of our minds. When we engage in this way, we are not only better listeners, but we are more productive. We make new friends, and we are happier.
Should we show respect and civility because it’s the right thing to do? Of course, we should. Imagine if our 17,000 members always respected and spoke civilly to each other. Think about what this Association, with its diversity, could accomplish.
Like I always tell Reece and Riley before they step up to the starting block for a race – “It’s time to go all out!” I look forward to diving in with all of you.
Russell Rawlings is director of external affairs and communications for the North Carolina Bar Association.