The Baton Rouge Bar Association’s 2014 Bench Bar Conference was held July 24-26, 2014, in Point Clear, Ala., at the Grand Hotel Marriot Resort, Golf Club and Spa. The superhero-themed conference hosted 150 attorneys and judges for a fun-filled three-day educational event. An auction was held Friday, July 25, 2014, to raise funds for the Association’s affiliated foundation, the Baton Rouge Bar Foundation.

This is the second consecutive year that an auction has been held at the Bench Bar Conference. Judge Tim Kelley and LaDonna Schexnayder served as chairman and vice chairman (respectively) of the Auction Committee and were in charge of orchestrating the auction. Jay Parker served as the chairman of the 2014 Bench Bar Conference Committee and oversaw the planning of the entire conference with the assistance of BRBA Executive Director Ann K. Gregorie. 

Overall, the auction was a great success and raised $10,815 to support the Baton Rouge Bar Foundation and its programs, which include the Pro Bono Project and the Youth Education programs.

Assisting more than 2,300 people annually, the Pro Bono Project provides legal assistance to the poor in East Baton Rouge and surrounding areas, which helps lessen the disparity in justice for the less fortunate in our area.

The Youth Education programs impact annually about 1,600 school-aged youths enrolled in public, private, charter, parochial, charter and home schools. The programs include Law Day, High School Mock Trial Competition and Junior Partners Academy.