Recruiting Younger Members Drives Local and State Government Law Chair Chris Trapp
8.3.2026
You will find no bigger cheerleader for the legal work and commitment of our village, town and county attorneys than Local and State Government Law Section Chair Chris Trapp. The Buffalo area attorney, who hasn’t missed a Bills home opener in 40 years, took on the leadership role in June. His first priority is to recruit new members, especially younger attorneys.
“Most people don’t think of municipal work as being a sexy type of job. Criminal law, litigation, international – yes, town or village attorney – not so much,” Trapp concedes. “They don’t realize the breadth of what we do: labor work one day, drafting codes the next day. I can be in court litigating a matter, or I can be doing land use issues. All these things that go across many different fields is what we do!”
Trapp encourages any attorney looking to learn more about the section to join him for the monthly municipal committee meeting, held via zoom, on the third Friday of every month at 8:30 a.m. The 30-minute meeting will give them a taste of what the section is doing.
“If I can get them in the door and they can see the value of the programs, then they will join and get more involved,” he said.
Trapp said there are many obstacles to expanding the section. State workers, he says, are not encouraged by their supervisors to take time to participate in bar activities and some find the cost of membership prohibitive. But Trapp is trying to convince them that the networking and other benefits are worth it.
“We are a great congenial group of people who have a good time together and help each other out,” he stresses. “Our networking provides that – it’s how we operate here.”
The recent change to an all-inclusive membership model has brought an influx of members to the section. Trapp, along with the section’s officers, are working to engage those members to attend events like the fall meeting, which takes place from Oct. 9 to 11 in Lake Placid.
Trapp is also grateful for the opportunity to develop his leadership skills. The section promotes its leaders from within with members taking on successive roles starting with secretary, moving on to vice chair positions and then to the chair of the section. Trapp says institutional knowledge makes it an easy transition for the new chair.
“I have found [the leadership path] helps tremendously because this isn’t my first year looking at a budget,” Trapp explains.
