STATE BAR DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT JULY/AUGUST 2022
Chad Baruch
Interview by Will Korn
Photo courtesy of Chad Baruch.
Hometown: Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Position: Managing shareholder in Johnston Tobey
Baruch in Dallas
Board Member: District 6, place 4; Chair, 2022-2023
Honestly, I can’t remember when I didn’t want to be a
lawyer—even as a young child, before even knowing what a lawyer
did.
And it is particularly odd because no one in my family was a lawyer. It
had a lot to do with what my father and grandparents experienced in Nazi
Germany during the 1930s. As you can imagine, I grew up hearing a lot of
talk at the dinner table about the rule of law, our justice system, and
the role lawyers and judges play in protecting the freedom of Americans.
My practice is almost exclusively appellate law, with a focus
on constitutional issues.
My career began in litigation. But after several years, a good friend of
mine suggested my skill set might be more suited to appellate practice
and encouraged me to make the move to that practice area. It remains
some of the best advice anyone ever has given to me.
Find an area of the law that excites you—one you enjoy.
And if you can’t, try to find a different career path to use your law
degree. Life is too short to work at a job you hate.
Like so many Texas lawyers, my involvement with the State Bar began
through my membership in a section.
I was elected to a section council and then to the position of chair. My
first visit to the bar building was for a council of chairs meeting. The
exchange of ideas and discussion of issues facing our profession really
interested and excited me. So, I ran for a section representative
position on the board of directors. Without knowing much about it,
serving on the board just seemed like an opportunity to do something
good for our profession and the public. It has been a great
experience.
Several years ago, I proposed to the CLE department that there
should be a program on the Bill of Rights.
Regardless of whether many lawyers practice in that area—and even though
it likely would not draw huge attendance—it just seemed to me that the
State Bar should be offering at least one course devoted to our
constitutional rights as Americans. Pat Nester and Hedy Bower
enthusiastically agreed, and the State Bar has been providing this CLE
annually now for more than a decade (and, indeed, one other state now
has begun holding its own program patterned on the one we started here
in Texas).
One of the most difficult discussions we had recently pertains to
recommendations concerning whether to make certain changes to the
grievance process including requiring grievances to be sworn to under
penalty of perjury and heightening the burden of proof in grievance
proceedings.
Many Texas lawyers provided input, with cogent analysis on both sides of
these issues. It wasn’t an easy discussion, to say the least. In the
end, I listened to all of the arguments about the impact of the
disciplinary system on lawyers and the public. But I really hope this
conversation isn’t over—the grievance process remains an important part
of our right to self-governance as lawyers, and we always should be on
the lookout for ways to improve it both in terms of treating lawyers
fairly and ensuring public protection.
Often, directors come to the board not understanding the mission of
the State Bar. We have directors who join the board believing their sole
purpose is to “help lawyers.”
To be sure, I would find it odd if anyone wanted to be part of bar
leadership and didn’t want to help lawyers. But that is far from our
only purpose. Our mission also includes promoting the administration of
justice, educating the public about the rule of law, ensuring the
quality of legal services provided to the public, and ensuring diversity
so that our profession mirrors the public it serves. Happily, I think it
is possible to advance these worthy goals while still helping lawyers in
a variety of ways.
The age of social media presents special challenges for board
members.
Sometimes it can be discouraging to read statements some lawyers post
about the board and the State Bar on social media platforms. Our “bar
politics” too often mirror the problems that plague American politics in
general: talking past each other without listening, trying to foster an
“us-against-them” mentality for political gain, spreading
misinformation, using hyperbolic and vitriolic language, engaging in
personal attacks rather than focusing on issues, and—the most
destructive of all, in my view—doubting the sincerity or good intentions
of others simply because we disagree with them. We are lawyers. We
simply must do better to model civility when dealing with divisive
issues. Because if we don’t, who will?
Contact your district’s elected director!
Or, if the issue relates to a specific practice area, consider working
through your section to raise the matter.TBJ
