2 Trial Lawyer • Summer 2023 By Blair Townsend OTLA Guardian I always get sick after a trial. In the weeks leading up to trial, some internal summit takes place in which my health and sleep make concessions to adrenaline and stamina — with the caveat that amends would be made when the trial is over. Sure enough, after a March trial, I stayed home from the office What a difference a year makes the rest of the week. Tito, my partner, generously (particularly after the strain we all put on our partners when we are in trial mode) took care of me as I “paid the piper.” But this time, I was nauseous and blanched at the smell of certain foods. He joked that I was pregnant and we laughed — impossible! — until the faintest line appeared on our pregnancy test that weekend. If I had any goals about my presidential year at OTLA, they were, primarily, to (1) not sink the ship, (2) get through our firestorm legislative and political year as unscathed as possible and (3) learn and soak up as much as I could from OTLA’s other members. I certainly did not anticipate also discovering an unexpected pregnancy and opening my own law firm within the same month! We have years when everything seems to happen all at once…and what a difference this year has made in my life. Acting as OTLA president only made me feel stronger and braver in opening my own firm. Making strides As OTLA celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, being visibly pregnant at our convention while still president makes me feel proud as a woman, trial lawyer and OTLA member. I hope it is emblematic of the strides toward equality we’ve made as an organization with the important acknowledgment we still have so much to do to learn about diversity, equity and inclusion and to continue to grow so that we better reflect and respect our underrepresented communities. When I write I hoped to “not sink the ship,” I mean that I don’t think a president should come into their year with an agenda seeking to upend the organization. Rather, the president should act at the direction of our elected board with a focus on the strategic plan, and should support and hopefully cultivate amazing programs OTLA already has in place. For instance, DEI has been a defined and long-term top priority for OTLA’s leadership. At the board retreat at the beginning of this presidential year, we hired a leadership and organizational psychologist who specializes in the intersection of bias, power and change. We asked Dr. Tiffany Brandreth to lead a DEI strategy session to educate and foster a conversation within our board that was at times challenging but ultimately President’s Message Blair Townsend
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