Leadership Academy Prospective Fellow Application- 2026-2027 Fellowship Class

The Maryland State Bar Association Leadership Academy offers a 12-month program designed to assist lawyers in becoming better leaders and offers opportunities for future leadership roles in the MSBA.

Each year, 15 Fellows are chosen from applications submitted to the MSBA. During their term, the Fellows will spend time attending MSBA events, developing and implementing a public service project, as well as attending a special program on public speaking, media relations, interviewing skills, conducting effective meetings, budgeting, and many other related areas. Fellows establish a relationship with past Bar Presidents and current bar leaders to learn more about the MSBA and to enhance leadership skills.

Team building is a significant part of the Academy, wherein the Fellows develop relationships that will last long after the Academy. The skills the Fellows learn will benefit the MSBA, the local or specialty bar associations, and the profession as a whole.

Since 1996, the Leadership Academy has created pathways for diverse members of the bar to grow in their own leadership skills as well as find new pathways of leadership in MSBA. It was envisioned that the program would reach out to lawyers in areas and groups that were not traditionally well represented in MSBA leadership roles by offering leadership training and an in-depth introduction to the MSBA for them to find a better sense of belonging within the bar association and the community as a whole.

Previous Leadership Academy Fellows include:
Honorable Lisa Hall-Johnson, District Court of Prince George’s County

Erek L. Barron, Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland

Honorable Sydney Butcher, Circuit Court of Anne Arundel County
Honorable Myshala Middleton, Circuit Court of Baltimore City

Pilar Nichols, Esq., Past-President, Montgomery County Bar Association
Honorable Llamilet Gutierrez, Past-President, Maryland Hispanic Bar Association

Please note: Applicants should have practiced for at least 1 year and no more than 10 years. Applicants must be licensed to practice in Maryland AND be a member of the Maryland State Bar Association.

If you are not currently an MSBA member and wish to apply, you may join online at msba.org/join.