Minneapolis (06-15-07): -- Courtney Ward-Reichard has been elected as Secretary of the Hennepin County Bar Association, beginning a five-year sequence on the association’s leadership track.  She is scheduled to be president of the 8,000-member professional association in 2010-2011.

A shareholder in the Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson law firm where she practices primarily on product liability/mass tort and commercial litigation, Ward-Reichard brings fifteen years of law practice and a wide range of bar association experience to her new role.  Fulfilling her dream since seventh grade, she graduated from William Mitchell College of Law after first completing her undergraduate work from Concordia College in Moorhead. 

Ward-Reichard is enthusiastic about what the bar association has to offer in personal and professional growth opportunities as well as options for service to the broader community. She became involved with the bar association during her first year of law practice, serving initially in helping produce the association’s membership publication, The Hennepin Lawyer. She later chaired that committee.  Many other roles have followed, including service on the Continuing Legal Education Committee, Finance and Planning Committee, and Board of Directors.

In addition to association work, Ward-Reichard has given considerable time and energy to service through the Hennepin County Bar Foundation, the charitable giving arm of the association.  She will serve as president of the Foundation during the coming year while she also chairs the Bar Benefit Committee for the third year, directing that charity event to record contributions.  Her commitment to public service is also reflected in her work with her law firm where she chairs the Charitable Contributions Committee and co-chairs the Community Involvement Task Force. 

Ward-Reichard approaches her new role on the association’s Executive Committee with enthusiasm, anticipating participation in decisions in the pursuit of professional excellence, ethical conduct, and civility among members of the bar.  She believes the association serves a critical bridge between the bar and public at-large, both in increasing public understanding of the law and the legal system and by improving access to the courts and justice. 

Ward-Reichard and her husband Kevin, owner of a publishing business, are proud parents of three children:  Sean, Rachel, and Sarah.  In her spare time she enjoys playing music, reading, and being active in her church. 

The Hennepin County Bar Association is a professional society representing 8,000 area attorneys with a wide variety of services for the community and the profession.  The association strives to ensure the fairness and accessibility of the legal system by promoting public understanding and confidence in our system of justice and by working along with the courts to improve the administration of justice.