It is my honor to be elected RNLA President for 2021.  While building on the work of my predecessors such as David Warrington, it is my hope to be forward-looking as we return to normalcy.  One of RNLA’s missions is to provide a network for “lawyers committed to lives of significant career accomplishment.”  Toward that end, I look forward to moving ahead with our much-delayed National Policy Conference and 30th Anniversary Celebration on September 24, 2021 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.  I am confident that COVID-19 restrictions will be such by this time that an in-person event with proper precautions can occur.  

In my first message, I want to go over what RNLA is currently doing for our members and also note a few of RNLA’s accomplishments.  

RNLA has adapted to the pandemic by creating a very successful webinar program.  Every Friday in a non-holiday week, RNLA hosts a webinar on issues of current interest to our members.  Past topics include censorship by big tech, judicial nominations, and the effect of COVID-19 on the legal profession.  Guests have included Senator Tom Cotton, Congressman Rodney Davis, former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Jonathan Turley, and Carrie Severino.  RNLA will continue its weekly webinars as long as COVID-19 restrictions continue.

Miss a webinar?  No worries.  Most of the webinars are recorded and available to our members for later viewing.  Simply log into the “Members” page of www.rnla.org.  This is also where you can update your public RNLA profile.  Many members have found that their profiles help generate new business.

For members looking for new opportunities, RNLA also maintains a “jobs list” to assist members with their job search and advertise openings at our members’ firms.  If you are interested in receiving jobs list emails or advertising an opening, please email [email protected].

For those of you who volunteered for “EDO” in the 2020 election, we would love to hear about your experiences.  Another one of RNLA’s missions is open, fair, and honest elections.  Let us know what you directly experienced while volunteering for EDO in 2020.  These stories and details are helpful for future planning.  Email your thoughts to Elizabeth Bradford El-Rassy at [email protected].  

RNLA posts daily blog posts on issues of importance to Republican lawyers.  Follow RNLA on Facebook and Twitter (@TheRepLawyer).  We are also on Parler and will be back as soon it is up and running again.  

While the 2020 election has resulted in a high turnover of staff for many Republican groups, I am very pleased that RNLA has been able to keep its 2020 team intact.  I know I speak for them when I say that they are excited to continue to work with RNLA on serving our members and taking back Congress in 2022.  

•  Elizabeth Bradford El-Rassy serves as the Research Director of RNLA.  A native of the Sunshine State, Elizabeth holds both her undergraduate and law degrees from Florida State University. 
•  Austin Cromack is the Policy Director of the RNLA.  A native Arizonan a proud graduate of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, Austin looks forward to influencing election policy leading up to 2022.
•  Lisa Dixon serves as Legal Counsel to RNLA.  Before joining the RNLA five years ago, she practiced at Holtzman Vogel and worked for The Federalist Society.  After growing up in Michigan, she enjoys Virginia's milder winter weather but is conflictingly disappointed that there is not more snow.
•  Christina Norton is the Political Director of RNLA.  From the U.S. Congress to Republican committees to national and statewide campaigns, Christina holds over ten years of experience executing political operations and is also a native Floridian. 
•  Michael Thielen serves as the Executive Director of RNLA.  Michael has been with RNLA for 20 years and is thankful every day that he no longer lives in California.  He is looking forward to helping make Rep. Kevin McCarthy Speaker in 2023.

I want to close by recognizing a few of our Board members’ recent accomplishments.  

•  RNLA Co-Chair Harmeet Dhillon was recently elected to serve as the Western Region Vice Chair of the Republican National Committee.
•  RNLA Vice Chair Joanne Young was recently elected to serve as Vice Chair of the D.C. Republican Party.
•  RNLA Board Member Joy Lee is now General Counsel to the Republican State Leadership Committee.

Onward,

David K. Bowsher 

RNLA President