BAEC Bulletin | November/December 2021 | 5
Letter from the President
With this letter, I intend to convey some random thoughts, along with some really good news. Perhaps nurtured by the pandemic, my latest trick involves falling asleep on the couch (inevitably before the climax of the show that I am watching) and then waking up in the middle of the night — wide awake with my mind racing. Here is some of what I have been thinking late at night: Since my last letter to you, we lost a true legend, Richard Griffin. While we overuse words like legend and hero, Dick merits that treatment. Dick’s funeral was inspiring, and he received tributes from Judge Jerry McCarthy and each of his four children. Dick was a great lawyer and mediator, and he loved his work, as the tributes recounted. Yet Dick could also be incredibly annoying. Conventional wisdom says that a mediator is not an advocate. Wrong. A good mediator is an advocate for a fair settlement. A good mediator convinces you to do the right thing even when you don’t want to do it. As a mediator, Dick almost never gave up. He begged and pleaded and cajoled and persuaded you — he annoyed you — until you settled. In this sense, as well, he was legendary. Like a judge exposing a critical weakness in my case during oral argument of an appeal, people frequently ask me how am I “enjoying” my Bar Presidency. I don’t answer the question well. I usually say something like, “Enjoy isn’t exactly the right word,” and I make some reference to “the pandemic having taken most of the fun out of it.” What I don’t answer, and what I should say as if it were the perfect answer that comes to mind on the drive back from Rochester (or after you’ve signed off on Microsoft Teams), is that I am really feeling “engaged.” We have an exceptional association, with some really committed members, doing very important work, and ours is a noble profession. Sticking my nose into everything happening has been incredibly fulfilling. Thank you for this opportunity. And now for the good news. I don’t know about you, but I feel exhausted all the time. I have some health issues that might contribute, but they don’t fully explain the weariness I experience daily. My first letter to you heralded the anticipated end of the pandemic, but the pandemic drags on, we remain committed to certain protocols that limit our interaction and activities, and — perhaps most disturbingly — the definitive end is not in sight. I am just plain tired. On taking this office, my original plan involved connecting with as many of you as possible — in person. What do they say about the best laid plans?
HUGH M. RUSS, III President Bar Association of Erie County
I had a younger lawyer come into my office this week, and we agreed
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