Message from the Chair

Martha L. Noble
mnoble@msawg.org

Spring has sprung and another ABA year is well underway. If you just got back from 32nd Annual Conference on Environmental Law in Keystone, Colorado (March 13-16, 2003), you are probably still talking about the snow (or lack thereof!), the food, the friends and, last but not least, another great ethics program. Sunday morning, Tom Skove led a distinguished panel of experts as they explored the out-of-this-world ethics issues that can surround a complex transaction among publicly held companies. See Tom’s article at page 3, highlighting the ethics rules and issues featured in the program.

If you missed Keystone, mark your calendar to head east in October for the 11th Section Fall Meeting in Washington, D.C., Oct. 8-12, 2003. The Ethics Committee is working closely with the Environmental Transactions, Audits and Brownfields Committee, the In-House Counsel Committee and the Rapid Response Committee to develop a program entitled “My Big Fat Conflict of Interest.” Program planning is well underway, with panelists, to be named later, clamoring to “break some china” as they tackle the hard questions surrounding materiality and disclosure issues in light of changing ethics rules and the newly enacted Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Washington is a wonderful meeting location. During the Fall Meeting, the Ethics Committee plans to host a dinner for all First-Timers. If this will be your first Section Fall Meeting (and even if it’s not!), please plan to join us one evening for a get-acquainted dinner. Details will be available as the meeting date nears.

In the meantime, the Ethics Committee has been busy developing its latest Newsletter, and tracking developments related to Sarbanes-Oxley, Ethics 2000 changes to the Model Rules and multi-jurisdictional practice. For recent ethics program materials, see the link Tom provides in his article. Also, please don’t hesitate to contact me, or one of the listed committee leaders if you are interested in a more active role on the Committee. We are always looking for good ideas and helping hands. Cheers for now.