Kutcher Installed as 79th LSBA President Robert A. Kutcher, managing partner in the Metairie law firm of Richard Kutcher Tygier & Luminais, L.L.P., was installed June 6 as the 79th LSBA president during the Annual Meeting in Destin, Fla. Administering his oath of office was Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson.During his one-year term as president, Kutcher said he will continue the implementation of the LSBA Strategic Plan finalized and set in motion in the fall of 2018. The Strategic Plan includes goals addressing self-regulation and self-governance of the mandatory Bar, professionalism, inclusion and diversity, access to justice, and public trust and confidence. “We should continue to cultivate professionalism, collegiality and quality of life. We should foster inclusion and participation by focusing on the diversity of our membership. We want to improve the trust in the legal system. The more people believe in lawyers and the legal system, the better off we all are. We also recognize that we are the last profession to have the ability to self-regulate. We want to preserve that both for our benefit and for the public’s benefit as well,” Kutcher said. Also, “civil access to justice in this state and country is so woefully underfunded and it’s not fair. There needs to be better opportunities for individuals to have legal representation,” he added. Keenly aware that the “evolution of the legal profession” has brought on challenges he never faced as a young lawyer — including the 24/7 demand cycle on lawyers’ time, stifling student debt, and opening a solo practice, oftentimes as a necessity — Kutcher said the LSBA is tasked with adapting to those challenges and providing services to elevate and improve the day-to-day effectiveness of all members. “I encourage every member to go to the LSBA website and take five minutes to review the services the Bar offers. You don’t realize the resources and services you have from the Bar unless you make the effort to find out what we do,” Kutcher said. “We all have an obligation to make this profession better by giving our time, knowledge and experience. The practice of law should be more than just a living. This is an honored profession,” he added. About the future of the legal profession, Kutcher said, “Our profession is, indeed, changing. The evolution of artificial intelligence will impact lawyers more in the future. But I don’t have a crystal ball and don’t know where we will be in 25 years. But there will always be lawyers, and I hope the profession that exists in the future will build upon what we have done now for our members and will continue to make our Bar Association and the profession better for its members and the public.” Kutcher received his BS degree in 1972 from Cornell University and his JD degree, cum laude, in 1975 from Loyola University Law School. He was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 1976 and in New York in 1976. Kutcher served as LSBA president-elect in 2018-19 and as treasurer in 2014-16. He served in the House of Delegates and on the House Liaison Committee for several terms. He is a member of the Legislation Committee and the Committee on the Profession. He was a member of the Louisiana Bar Journal Editorial Board and is a co-chair of the Summer School Planning Committee. He also served on the Nominating Committee and the Rules of Professional Conduct Committee. He chaired the Audit Committee in 2013 and received the LSBA President’s Award in 2013. He is a former board member of the Louisiana Civil Justice Center (2015-18) and the Pro Bono Project (2014-17). He was a member of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board from 1993-99, chairing the board in 1999. He was a member of the Federal Bar Association New Orleans Chapter from 1984-92, serving as president in 1991-92. He is a Fellow of the Louisiana Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation and is a master in the Thomas More Inn of Court. Kutcher chaired the Louisiana State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission from 1990-94. He was an associate commissioner of the Anti-Defamation League National Commission from 1991-2002, regional chair of the Anti-Defamation League from 1992-96 and regional board member since 1984. In his community, he served as president of Shir Chadash Conservative Synagogue and the Jewish Community Center of New Orleans. He also served as a board member of the Jewish Community Centers of North America in 1992-98. He has been listed in Best Lawyers (2012-2019), including 2013 New Orleans Litigation-Real Estate Lawyer of the Year and Lawyer of the Year 2018 in the practice areas of closely held companies and family businesses law; and Louisiana Super Lawyers in business litigation (2008-2019). Kutcher and his wife, Renee B. Kutcher, have been married for 34 years. They have four children.