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Greer Prepares for Presidency
By Daniel Casciato
For The Lawyers Journal
June 29, 2001

If Allegheny County Bar Association's President-elect Amy J. Greer was apprehensive about becoming only the third female president in the association's 131-year history, she certainly did not show it. The last female president to lead the association was Joy Flowers Conti in 1993. Although more females are assuming leadership roles on committees and sections, it has taken nearly a decade for another female to step into the leadership post of president.

"It's been long overdue. The board of governors has had substantial representation by women for a while now. We should not have to wait another 10 years for a female president," she said as she gazed at the beautiful panoramic view of the city from her office window at Klett Rooney Lieber & Schorling in One Oxford Center. With experience that ranges from corporate and commercial litigation, and a law degree at William & Mary to teaching Continuing Legal Education courses, and her vast pro bono and community service work, Greer comes to the job with a wide range of leadership skills. Affable and straightforward in personality, Greer is candid and accessible, and she believes in honest, open communication.

"I'm eminently available to anyone and I'll get things done. I believe that accessibility is important and I'm very much approachable. If you have a problem, pick up the phone and call me, or e-mail me," she said when asked about her leadership style. After a brief pause, she continued, "I'm also very honest for better or for worse. People usually know what I'm thinking." Greer will be taking the reins of leadership July 1, 2001, and she plans to hit the ground running on three topics-building diversity on the board, committee and sections improving substantive communications with the bench, and other surrounding county bars and the legislature and reaching out to the community.

"Reaching out to minorities is one of my most important goals during my upcoming tenure. The bar has been working to increase minority participation and better its relations with minorities. I want to reach out to all the minority bars out there-the Homer Brown Law Society, Hispanic, and Women's Bars. In addition to opening long overdue lines of communication, I am hoping they can assist us in identifying potential bar leaders," she said. "Our bar has something to offer them. Most of their members are our members as well and, as important as it is that these separate organizations exist, it is also important that their members know that opportunities exist for them to get involved in the ACBA as well. We want to support the efforts of the minority bars and in turn, I want them to help the ACBA better reflect the whole community of lawyers."

Silence on issues that affect the members and the general community is also something that Greer wants to address as she prepares to take office. "The ACBA is at a crossroads in terms of its willingness and its mandate, or the lack thereof, to speak out on important issues that affect the members and the general community," she said. "We need guidance from the members and I hope to hear from them. We're a trade organization at our most basic definition. The question is, at what point and in connection with what issues are we also an advocacy organization and a legal resource for the larger community and the media?" she said.

"The question also arises organically through our sections and committees which identify issues of importance to their individual memberships. Oftentimes the position taken by a certain committee on an issue will differ from positions taken by other committees, sections, or our individual members. The board always struggles with how to handle these situations."

Part of the way Greer hopes to hear from the members on their viewpoints is through symposiums on important issues. "We don't get our members together enough as a group. We not only want these symposiums to be educational and informational, but social as well." Greer also stresses that educating the public and media about a certain issue is not the same as taking a position. "There's a lot of concern about being controversial for controversy's sake. I think that is because we have opted to lay low on certain issues. Yet we represent nearly 7,000 members who individually are very powerful people. We can't afford to keep a low profile any longer."

Keeping with that theme, Greer mentions that she wants to strive to become more active in the community by partnering with other non-profits to help them with their events. "Our lack of a profile has kept us distant from organizations and events in which we can serve a meaningful role. We have many lawyers sitting on boards for various organizations that serve our community as a whole. I want to know how we can help. For now, I just want to lay groundwork for things to come. Partnering with these organizations may take a little longer than my 12 months in office."

Hoping that the bar can eventually alter peoples' perception of attorneys is something Greer believes will come once the association becomes more active in the community. "I grew up during a time when attorneys were held in the highest regard because of their contributions to society as a whole. In fact, that was one of the reasons I decided to become one. But somehow that perception has changed over the years. We have to work on improving that. You know it's funny how people will say that they hate lawyers, but they generally like their own lawyer. And maybe that's the image the bar has to portray-we're your lawyers," she said.

Improving the overall image of attorneys begins from within the ACBA says Greer. The social network provided by the bar has positively affected the way members practice law in Pittsburgh. Greer fears that the bar is slowly losing that social connection-that camaraderie that once existed among the members. "As we lose that connection, we begin to distance ourselves from each other. The relationship that we have among our members is so unique and it's very important to preserve it. After all, people do not generally treat their friends badly. One message I would convey to any new firms moving to Pittsburgh is that you cannot disconnect yourself from the ACBA without disconnecting yourself from the community of lawyers."

Like her predecessor and colleague, Edwin Klett, Greer wants technology to play an important role in the bar. "More and more technology allows for communication that has required more time in the past. If someone wants to convey something, they can send me an e-mail. I also want to see members use the website message boards more. I want to see more discussion on this message board on why the ACBA doesn't do this or that, and here's what I think they should do. It may not be a mandate, but it's helpful. All those members who are unsatisfied with our bar cannot complain that there's no way to convey their dissatisfaction. E-mail me, post a message, or just pick up the phone and call me directly." By encouraging committees and sections to use the message boards to post their minutes, meeting agendas, attachments and the like, Greer hopes to minimize paper costs as well.

Her impressive credentials more than qualify her to lead the bar association over the next 12 months, but her greatest accomplishments may come from her community service work. She was honored by the American Bar Association with its Pro Bono Publico award. She also received the Pro Bono Program Outstanding Volunteer Award from the ACBA for her local public service efforts, which include her role as pro bono General Counsel to the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force and former board member, immediate past-president, and pro bono General Counsel to Chatham Baroque.

A native of New York City, Greer earned a law degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary, where she was honored with the school's first George Wythe Award for outstanding service to the law school community. She also graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Gettysburg College, where she received her bachelor's degree in Political Science. Greer regularly teaches Continuing Legal Education courses, lecturing on subjects such as trial practice, evidence, and securities arbitration.

A member of the Allegheny County Bar Association since 1989, Greer has been a board member since 1997, first serving as treasurer, then as president-elect. She has also served on the ACBA Public Service Committee, Finance Committee and chaired its Subcommittee on Public Service and Pro Bono Services. She is a founding member of the Attorneys Against Hunger Program and a former Allegheny County Bar Foundation trustee.

As the association's 92nd president, Greer was formally introduced to the membership at the annual Bench-Bar Conference at Seven Springs. There is no doubt that she's ready and willing to lead the ACBA. When asked what she expects of herself over the next year, she just smiled and said, "I expect that I will be very busy."

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