Walther elected Missouri Bar VP
Skip Walther, who has been practicing law in Columbia for 22 years, says his election as vice president of the Missouri Bar Association comes during a challenging time for the organization.
Gov. Matt Blunt and Republican members of the General Assembly plan in January to renew their efforts to change the way judges are chosen in Missouri, or what Walther calls “a partisan attack on the judiciary.”
Walther says he will be called upon to help develop fair and reasoned arguments for the debates over judicial selection and must “be able to effectively articulate the position of the Bar.”
Currently, the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan governs the selection of judges on the state Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals.
Walther said the process will become politicized if Missouri gives voters or legislators more power to select judges or changes the makeup of the commission that nominates appellate judges.
Walther, who has been on the Bar’s board of governors since 1999, was elected vice president Sept. 28 during the annual meeting in Springfield, Mo. The group of 28,000 attorneys and judges traditionally promotes the vice president to acting president and then president of the organization, so Walther may have the top job in two years.
The leadership position will mean less time on the tennis court and on the air for Walther, a co-host of a Sunday radio show on KFRU—and, of course, fewer billable hours at the firm Walther, Antel, Stamper & Fischer, P.C.
“It’s a significant time commitment,” said Walther, who also directs the Columbia Special Business District board of directors. His first trip will be to a meeting of the Southern Bar presidents next week in Little Rock, Ark. “It will be a strain on my firm because it will take me away from the office.”
But the position also puts him in the limelight, which is great for name recognition, and his influence could bring the Bar’s annual meeting to Columbia sometime during his term on the executive committee.
The Bar’s annual meeting usually draws about 1,000 people. Walter said the last Missouri bar conference in Columbia is still remembered as one of the best meetings.
“It was partly because of the partnership we had with the law school,” Walter said. “The professors really put a lot of time and effort into their presentations. We got them to put together some things a little off the beaten path. It was an imaginative conference.”
The leaders of the state Bar also appoints committee chairmen, and Walter said he’ll ask Columbia legal professionals to volunteer on statewide committees.