By Paul C. Ray, Esq.
Did you get to attend Meet Your Judges last month and the luncheon with Jon Ralston? We had a great time mingling with our judges at the World Market Center. At the September luncheon, Jon Ralston shared intriguing insights into the upcoming elections. We are looking forward to the October luncheon when Barbara Buckley shares her knowledge and thoughts with us about professional responsibility and pro bono service.
In this month’s Communiqué, we are looking at Medicine and the Law. The challenge for the law has always been to keep up with technology. The repeated cycle is that sooner or later the law must catch up, at least until technology progresses and moves ahead again.
Both the medical profession and the legal profession protect confidentiality as one of the highest professional ethical goals. We know these professional responsibilities as the physician-patient privilege and the attorney-client privilege. Physician-patient confidentiality is part of the Hippocratic Oath, dating back to classical Greece in 400 B.C. The attorney-client privilege dates back to the sixth century A.D., and perhaps earlier.
Our social needs for medical service and healing and for legal service and advocacy are just as great today as ever. In that vein, the Clark County Bar Association (CCBA) is looking at our historical position as professionals in our community.
The beginnings of the CCBA took place between the early Prohibition period in 1922 and the early post-Prohibition period in 1934. The records show that the initial organization was called the Las Vegas Bar Association, which met for dinner and organized in February 1922, and organized with officers through 1927 when A.W. Ham was the President. On January 24, 1934, the Clark County Bar Association met by its current name, with A.W. Ham again serving as President.
We take our professional history, service, and goals for self-improvement seriously. We also want to keep a healthy sense of humor about our place in Las Vegas history. In February, we plan to celebrate the CCBA’s “90- or 100-ish” birthday. We plan to commemorate our earliest beginnings as the Fun Bar.
Watch for upcoming details about a Roaring 20’s style celebration of our history as Clark County’s organization of legal professionals.
About the author
Paul C. Ray has practiced business and real estate litigation and appeals for 32 years. He is with the law firm of Paul C. Ray, Chtd. Paul serves as CCBA President through December 31, 2024.
About the article
© 2024 Clark County Bar Association (CCBA). All rights reserved. No reproduction of any portion of this issue is allowed without written permission from the publisher. Editorial policy available upon request.
This article was originally published in the Communiqué (Oct. 2024), the official publication of the Clark County Bar Association. See https://clarkcountybar.org/about/member-benefits/communique-2024/communique-oct-2024/.
The articles and advertisements appearing in Communiqué magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the CCBA, the CCBA Publications Committee, the editorial board, or the other authors. All legal and other issues discussed are not for the purpose of answering specific legal questions. Attorneys and others are strongly advised to independently research all issues.