American Bar Association president gives Transylvania’s third annual Pre-Law Society Distinguished Lecture

American Bar Association President Bill Bay presented Transylvania University's third annual Pre-Law Society Distinguished Lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 30.

The public talk was at 4 p.m. in the Campus Center Pioneer Rooms.

"To host a lecture by the president of the American Bar Association is a great honor for Transylvania and exhibits the recognition Transylvania has achieved among leaders of U.S. legal institutions for its extraordinary pre-law education," said professor Peter Fosl, Pre-Law Society adviser.

Bay, who is a partner with the Thompson Coburn firm's St. Louis office, has long served the ABA in a variety of leadership roles, including chairing the House of Delegates and Board of Governors Finance Committee, according to his bio.

He has also led commissions expanding opportunities for female attorneys and helped litigants achieve equal access to justice. Bay is co-chair of the Supreme Court of Missouri's Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness.

His many honors include the Spurgeon Smithson award, Distinguished Lawyer Award from the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and a St. Louis Magazine Excellence in Law Award. He has also been spotlighted as one of the The Best Lawyers in America since 2012.

Bay earned a B.A. from the University of Missouri and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

His term as ABA president runs through next year.

The organization describes itself as "the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law."