Attorney Robert W. Harnais has been elected president of the Massachusetts Bar Assoc. (MBA) for its 2015-16 year, beginning Sept. 1. A general practitioner with Mahoney & Harnais in Quincy, Harnais is the MBA’s first Hispanic president.

“Since its earliest years, the Massachusetts Bar Assoc. has been welcoming of lawyers from all backgrounds. I am proud and humbled to serve as president of the state bar and further advance the MBA’s historic commitment to diversity,” said Harnais in a statement.

During his presidency, Harnais plans to promote a return to civility in the profession with a sense of camaraderie statewide, while also continuing the MBA’s advocacy for access to justice and criminal justice reform, including the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related crimes.

Harnais has previously worked as an officer and as a member of the MBA’s Executive Management Board and House of Delegates. He has also been co-chair of the MBA’s Crime Lab Task Force and chair of the MBA’s Diversity Task Force.