Volume 20, Number 4
June 2003
THE CHAIR'S CORNER
What's Next?
By William T. Hogan III
I have had a great year serving as the Chair-Elect of our
Section. Most of my time this past year has been spent planning
the next bar year as your Chair. After visiting with many members
about the future of our Section, I am proud to report the energy
of our members and the level of their enthusiasm for our Section
are unparalleled in the ABA. I am very excited about next year
and pleased to have this opportunity to present an overview of
the next bar year to you. Now you know who I am and what I've
been doing, but who are we?
In the past year our Chair, Karen J. Mathis, has led the Section
membership through a renaissance. The programs and initiatives
offered by Chair Mathis gave members the opportunity to rethink,
renew, and retool. Next bar year, following Chair Mathis's lead,
the theme for the Section will be "Who Are We." I must admit that
my mother, and many others, have been wondering this about me for
years!
Over the last couple of years our Section's leadership has
engaged in a very comprehensive set of planning meetings. These
meetings culminated with a five-year plan for the Section. The
meetings were facilitated by Sarina Butler, Associate Executive
Director of the ABA. Our Section owes her a substantial debt of
gratitude for all of her work. Throughout the course of these
meetings Sarina proved through her leadership and direction that
she clearly is one of the best and brightest members of the ABA
staff.
One of Sarina's suggestions was to use themes as an effective way
to communicate our message to membership. When I informed Sarina
my theme was "Who Are We," I could see her cringe. However, I
recalled her advice that a theme should never question your
identity. To cut her cringe short, I quickly added that my theme
did not pose a question. Instead, it made a statement.
Our Section has just been through a renaissance, and it is now
time for the members of our Section to revel in the understanding
of who we are. We are many different people, but we are all
lawyers. Ours is a proud profession. Think about our professional
heritage. At the birth of our country, our friends in medicine
were using leeches while lawyers were crafting the organic
documents that have sustained this nation for more than 200
years. My objective this next bar year is to bring you programs,
projects, and plans acknowledging and celebrating all that we are
as lawyers.
Let me briefly describe for you what we, as lawyers, will be
engaged in during the next bar year. We will begin the year in
August at the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco. I have
appointed a Steering Committee that is charged with the
responsibility of reviewing the five-year plan. The Steering
Committee will discuss the components of the plan with Section
members and provide the leadership with action steps and a
timeline for implementation of the plan. Although this is a large
undertaking, it will help members of the Section and leadership
to maintain continuity and direction.
Our Fall Meeting will be October 16 to 19, 2003, at the
Minneapolis Hilton in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We will begin
Thursday with an opening session and reception followed by a full
day of CLE and committee meetings on Friday. The Section Council
will meet on Saturday. The host committee has planned several
outstanding social events. Our meeting will be held in
conjunction with the Midwestern Regional Solo and Small Firm
Conference. I am also pleased to announce the ABA Standing
Committee on Solo and Small Firm Practitioners will join our
meeting. The participation of these two significant groups will
produce a great mix of ABA and non-ABA members in
attendance.
The ABA Midyear Meeting will be held February 5 to 8, 2004, and
our Section will be staying at the Marriott Riverwalk in San
Antonio, Texas. We will be sharing the hotel with our good
friends from the Young Lawyers Division. The Midyear Meeting is a
great opportunity to measure our progress and to work on the
various issues affecting Section membership pending in the House
of Delegates.
The Section's Spring Meeting will be held April 22 to 25, 2004,
in Phoenix, Arizona. I am currently looking at two resorts that
will allow our members a relaxing-and thrifty-weekend. The
meeting will focus on lawyers who have made a difference in our
profession. The bar year will end in August at the ABA Annual
Meeting in Atlanta.
With the help of Section members, we have planned many exciting
events for the coming bar year. There are numerous opportunities
for people to become involved, network, socialize, and learn. We
come from a variety of backgrounds; we have different
personalities, experiences, and practice settings, but we all
know who we are. We are lawyers, and I invite you to join us as
we celebrate who we are.
William T. Hogan III, the guest author of this issue's column, is Chair-Elect of the General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division.
Enjoy the benefits of membership:
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