New York State Bar Association names Watson as new executive director

The New York State Bar Association has named David R. Watson to serve as the next executive director of the 75,000-member association.

Watson, who is currently executive director of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, succeeds Patricia K. Bucklin, who stepped down in March after nearly 13 years as the New York State Bar Association’s executive director.

As executive director, Watson will oversee the day-to-day operations of the association and help implement policies approved by its House of Delegates and Executive Committee. The association says it has 125 employees at its Albany headquarters and nearby print shop.

“We are delighted that Dave Watson has agreed to join us as executive director. He is a highly regarded bar executive with excellent management skills and experience in business and in the legal profession, including as a practicing lawyer,” the association’s immediate past president, David M. Schraver of Rochester (Nixon Peabody LLP), said in a news release.

Watson brings to the New York State Bar Association his experience as a manager of three law-related associations and a legal technology company, as well as a practicing attorney and financial advisor, according to the release.

Since 2010, he has been executive director of the 6,000-member Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.

The 75,000-member New York State Bar Association says it is the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. It has members in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and 120 countries. It was founded in 1876.