Volume 20, Number 5 July/August 2003
THE CHAIR'S CORNER
The Year in Brief
By Karen J. Mathis
Let's reflect on our Section's many accomplishments during the
past 12 months. Did you know that our Section is growing faster,
by percentage, than any other Section in the American Bar
Association? Not surprising when you recognize that our
constituency includes solos, small firm lawyers, general
practitioners, and military lawyers. We are the portal into the
ABA for all of these lawyers-the "main street lawyers of
America." We have made significant strides in the Section's
outreach to law students, young lawyers, military JAG officers,
and lawyers in transition.
Our Section embraced a Renaissance theme this year, and we have
"rethought, renewed, and retooled." Our Fall and Spring Section
Meetings continue to be a major draw to members, and we were
joined in San Diego and Baltimore by luminaries of the bar and
nonprofit organizations. The ABA's Immediate Past President,
Robert Hirshon, and the President-Elect Nominee, Robert J. Grey,
addressed us about the power of the law for good, the positive
differences we make in the lives of Americans, and the future of
our profession. Local and state bar leaders in California and
Maryland welcomed us and inspired us with stories of the work of
lawyers in their communities; we are grateful to them for helping
us rethink our roles as attorneys. Connie Matsui, national
president of Girl Scouts of the USA, and Marsha (Marty) Evans,
president and CEO of the American Red Cross, spoke to us at
Section luncheons about giving back to our communities and our
profession.
We are proud of our public service project, Tolerance Through
Education, which sponsored training workshops and demonstrations
of the project in third-grade classrooms in San Diego, Seattle,
Baltimore, and San Francisco. This initiative, designed for
lawyers to help strengthen our society's commitment to diversity
by promoting respect among children for those who look or act
differently or hold different beliefs, renewed our spirits while
we interacted with grade-school children.
We have enjoyed superb CLE programs on estate planning,
communications skills, technology, real estate, and environmental
law, helping us stay current on the law and retool to meet the
demands of our practices. The Section will reprise its acclaimed
one-day seminar, Solo Day, at the ABA Annual Meeting in San
Francisco on Friday, August 8, 2003. Other Annual Meeting CLE
programs will include "Business Bankruptcy for the Rest of Us,"
"Demon in the Belfry: A Historic San Francisco Murder Meets
Today's Technology," and "Best Program for Real Lawyers."
We celebrated the heroes among us with the Section's first
Difference Makers Dinner, honoring Laura Farber, Harry Hathaway
III, Lieutenant Colonel (Sel) James Durant, Mary Pat Toups, and
Jarvis Wyatt. They are law students, young lawyers, senior
lawyers, and military lawyers chosen for their work to break down
barriers of gender, race and ethnicity, disability, and sexual
orientation.
Our Section's military traditions continue in San Francisco with
our cosponsorship of the Second Annual Military Dining Out to be
held on Friday, August 8, 2003, at the Marines' Memorial Club. It
will be an evening of tradition, ceremony, and high humor. What
an opportunity to celebrate our Section's strong connection to
the nation's military lawyers, and we are all invited!
Our periodicals GPSolo and Solo Newsletter continue to provide
cutting-edge articles, checklists, and news essential to our
members, and we added two new electronic newsletters, GPSolo New
Lawyer and Technology eReport, that bring our annual periodical
offerings to 20. These periodicals give our members outstanding
value for their membership dollars, made possible in part owing
to the significant corporate underwriting of West; we thank West
for recognizing that our members deserve the best information
from their home in the ABA.
Your Section has been active in the governance of the ABA and in
its policy-making body, the ABA House of Delegates. As challenges
facing the profession arise, your Section's leaders review the
impact they will have on you and your fellow members. The
Section's Council has debated important issues concerning
multi-disciplinary practice, multi-jurisdictional practice,
alternative dispute resolution, the sale of law firms, and
corporate governance and responsibility. National legislation
such as Sarbanes-Oxley, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley notice
requirements, the USA Patriot Act and money-laundering concerns,
the bankruptcy reform legislation and its draconian provisions,
and the SEC's proposed rules that may impact lawyers' historical
relationships with their clients-all have been examined by the
Section with the goal of representing your interests.
The Section is not just responding to the current issues of our
time. It is also staying abreast of the trends that will affect
our profession in the future-particularly for those of us in solo
or small firm settings. The economics of law practice,
technology, the commoditization of legal services, competition
from nonlawyers' services, globalization, and the size of firms
are all subjects of great concern to you and to the Section. The
leaders and active members of the General Practice, Solo and
Small Firm Section will continue to work hard on your behalf,
helping to achieve the preferred future of the legal profession.
They, and I, appreciate your support for these efforts by
becoming and continuing to be a Section member.
I now pass the mantle of leadership to a stellar ensemble of
Section leaders-William T. Hogan III, Lee S. Kolczun, Dwight L.
Smith, John P. Macy, and Charles A. White Jr. They welcome your
thoughts, your suggestions, and your support. Thank you for
allowing me to serve as Chair of our superb Section.
Enjoy the benefits of membership:
- Award-Winning Periodicals
- Special Member Discounts
- Practice Area Committees
- Continuing Legal Education
- Networking Opportunities
- Leadership Opportunities
