By Joel D. Henriod
I grew up in a small town. We had about ten lawyers. Maybe a dozen in a good year. Half of them were generalists. They handled whatever came through the door—real estate closings one week, a civil case or DUI defense the next. There weren’t enough of them to divide into camps.
They all knew each other. They respected each other. And they were everywhere—at the school board, the Rotary, church picnics, and always the diner. You could walk in for coffee and hear lawyers talking with each other and with anyone who wanted to sit down. Not arguing. Talking. I grew up feeling like I knew Atticus Finch. And I wanted to be them.
Then I graduated from law school in 2003 and chose to practice in a city. And I saw something different. Everyone specialized. Criminal defense here. Prosecutors over there. Plaintiff’s bar on one side. Defense on the other. The work was sharp. So were the lines. People stuck with their own. The conversations didn’t cross.
I missed the town. Not just the pace or the size—but the way the lawyers carried themselves. The way they showed up. The way they belonged to the whole community, not just one corner of it.
That’s why I believe in this bar association. It’s the closest thing I’ve found to that diner back home. It’s where I meet attorneys I’d never run into otherwise. It’s where I hear about struggles I don’t see in my own practice. It’s where I can serve—not just my clients—but the profession.
You don’t have to join. But I hope you will. Because the bar isn’t some outside thing, it’s us. It works when we engage. It grows stronger with each new voice.
We need you here. Not because you need another meeting or another CLE—but because your presence raises the quality for everyone. The conversations get better. The tone gets better. The profession gets better.
The law is at its best when it’s connected—to people, to places, to principle. That doesn’t happen on its own. It happens when we show up.
So come. Join. Get to know someone outside your practice area. Volunteer. Mentor. Sit in the metaphorical diner with us.
We don’t need more sides. We need more bridges. We need more lawyers like the ones I grew up with—fair, grounded, curious, human. This bar gives us a place to be those lawyers again.
About the author
Joel Henriod is a litigator specializing in appeals at Henriod Law, PLLC, practicing in substantive areas ranging from personal-injury and product-liability to commercial and public-sector disputes involving election law, breach of contract, taxation, eminent domain, and governmental regulation, etc. He serves as CCBA president through 2025.
About the article
This article was originally published in the Communiqué (June/July 2025), the official publication of the Clark County Bar Association. See https://clarkcountybar.org/about/member-benefits/communique-2025/communique-june-july-2025/. The printed magazine was mailed to CCBA members on June 6, 2025.
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.
© 2025 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.