Minneapolis (06-15-09): --Christopher R. Morris will take his place as the 91st president of the Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA) on July 1. Morris is a shareholder in the Bassford Remele law firm.
A Twin Cities native, graduating from Alexander Ramsey High School, Morris completed his undergraduate work at Harvard University before returning to law school at the University of Minnesota. He graduated cum laude in 1992. Following law school, Morris clerked for the Honorable Gary Crippen at the Minnesota Court of Appeals, a time he values as an excellent transition between the world of academia in law school and private practice.
Morris then joined Bassford Remele, where he has remained ever since. A shareholder at the firm since 2000, Morris focuses his practice on representing businesses and individuals in commercial disputes and defending attorneys and other professionals against malpractice and consumer protection claims.
Morris began volunteering with the HCBA during his first year in practice, joining its professionalism committee. He eventually co-chaired that committee as well as chairing the association’s Finance and Planning Committee with the task of overseeing the development of a five-year strategic plan for the association.
Consistent with his focus on professionalism and ethics, Morris also served for a number of years as a volunteer investigator for the Fourth Judicial District’s Ethics Committee.
Morris and his wife, Sarah (a partner at the Lind, Jensen, Sullivan & Peterson law firm), have two young children. In his personal time, he coaches youth sports and is training his children to love golf. The more they get exited about the sport, the more time he will have to pursue his hobby.
Morris notes that he does not expect to introduce bold new initiatives, but rather to use his energies to further support four specific longer term efforts around issues that cannot be solved in the span of a year. Those include increasing pro bono service by lawyers, increasing funding for the courts, supporting judicial independence under an appointment and retention model, and finalizing and implementing of the Call for Justice, which will provide improved and immediate legal advice through a hotline for many in need of legal help.
Morris’s passion for the profession predicts a busy and productive year for the association and its 8,400 members.
Also serving on the 2009-2010 Executive Committee of the Hennepin County Bar Association are:
Courtney Ward-Reichard, President-elect, Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson
Jewelie Grape, Treasurer, ELCA Board of Pensions
Thomas Jensen, Secretary, Lind, Jensen, Sullivan & Peterson
Mary Vasaly, Past President, Maslon, Edelman, Borman & Brand
Sarah Dunn Rohne, New Lawyers Section Chair Attorney at Law