Presidential profiles

In the last decade, MBA presidents continued to work on a number of projects and causes that had long concerned the organization and the legal profession, including substantive court management reform, professional civility, championing judicial independence and the proper funding of the courts through difficult financial periods.

Longtime efforts like the passage of decades-in-the-making Uniform Probate Code were finally met with success, while newer efforts like David W. White's (2007-08) sentencing reform were undertaken. White also introduced the MBA's first green effort, a profession-wide challenge for lawyers to improve their environmental practices with the MBA Eco-Challenge, which concentrated on reducing practitioners' use of electricity and paper.

Presidents also oversaw the emergence and evolution of online efforts at the MBA. From posting print publications like Lawyers Journal and the Massachusetts Law Review online to the creation of the weekly electronic newsletter, e-Journal. And as the decade drew to a close, the MBA embraced the emergence of social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Also, after two decades of diversification of MBA leadership, the MBA still had room for two more firsts: the election of its first openly gay president with Mark D Mason (2006-07), who was later appointed a district court judge; and Valerie A. Yarashus (2009-10) passed the gavel to Denise Squillante (2010-11), the first time women had served consecutive terms. In addition to ushering in a new decade, Squillante also saw the close of the MBA's first century by presiding over its centennial celebration during her term.