It was an honor being a participant and exhibitor at the annual Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) convention this year in Columbus, Ohio.  The convention was held at the Hyatt Regency on May 4 – May 6, 2011. This has been State and Federal Communications’ second year participating in the convention and we are looking forward to attend many, many more.

Congratulations to the OSBA team, who beautifully planned and orchestrated the three-day event.

Why does State and Federal Communications look forward to and enjoy the OSBA convention so much?

• We are always hiring to facilitate assistance across research and compliance departments in our expanding company. Since attorneys make up 50 percent of our staff, OSBA is a great place to recruit attorneys from different fields and levels of expertise.
• We love to “switch it up” when typically attending more “government relations/affairs” type conventions. We support our attorneys in continuing their education with CLE certifications. Also, it is refreshing to attend conventions where the subject matter is different, whether it be our neighboring booths in the exhibit hall or the topics of the CLE seminars.
• Attorneys have a unique perspective about consulting, campaign finance, and lobbying work – one of the many reasons we recruit at OSBA. The member attorneys are direct with their questions and sincerely try to learn about our company. Likewise, it is nice to hear their thoughts about recent news and issues regarding our line of work. We appreciate OSBA members’ professionalism and look forward to staying in touch.

Approximately 15 hours of CLEs were offered at the OSBA convention this year. The seminar titles included (but were not limited to): Administrative Law; Criminal Justice; Elder Law; Estate Planning, Trust and Probate; Family Law; Intellectual Property Section Council; Juvenile Law; Labor and Employment Section Council; Real Property Section Council; Solo, Small Firms and General Practice Section Council; Traffic Law; and Workers’ Compensation. Additionally, OSBA offered a special “New Lawyer Program” where attorneys in practice five years or less or 36 years and younger were able to participate in a special day of programming. This day was designed to demonstrate the benefits of OSBA membership, explain alternative law-degree career paths, finding a career purpose, and exploring job possibilities.

The OSBA exhibit was also fantastically planned. More than 40 exhibitors attended the convention, lighting up the exhibit hall with creatively lit booths, video streams, demo boards, and free giveaways! The floor plan was spacious and comfortable, providing a relaxed atmosphere for the convention attendees and exhibitors. Even the prize drawing for the OSBA members was overlooked! Prizes included two year-long OSBA memberships, two 2012 annual convention admittance tickets, and gift cards to many exhibitors present.

State and Federal Communications thanks OSBA for a wonderful, well-planned 2011 annual convention in Columbus. We will be first in line to sign up again and look forward to working with OSBA next year. The experience was enjoyable, stress-free, and beneficial to all those involved.