The Midwinter meetings of our Section Committees are in full swing, but there is still time to plan to attend a meeting. The meetings provide excellent opportunities to hear the latest developments from knowledgeable practitioners and to get to know your colleagues from all constituencies and government agency representatives in areas in which you practice. Complete information about registration and the meeting agendas is on the Section website.

One of the very rewarding programs sponsored by the Section is the Annual Student Trial Advocacy Competition, just completed the last weekend of January in Chicago. Six finalist teams remained from 53 teams that began the competition, featuring a religious discrimination in the workplace case. More about this Competition and the winning team is written elsewhere in this Flash, but the point I would like to make is that it presents an excellent opportunity for Section members to become involved in an interesting and exciting project that gets you interacting with students in a learning setting. Our Trial Advocacy/Moot Court Competition Committee Co-Chairs Michael Posner and Joe Tilson have done a fabulous job creating and expanding this competition. Chris Meacham, Assistant Section Director, can provide you with information about next year’s regional competitions.

The Second Annual CLE Conference, to be held in Denver September 10-13, 2008, is well into the planning process. Just like last year, you’ll have traditional labor law, litigation, ADR, consulting and ethics tracks, for all levels of experience. We’ve also decided to keep the registration fee at its low level for Section members who sign up during the early bird period. And, we’ll again build in networking opportunities for lawyers of all strata. You’ll be hearing more about the programming as Spring approaches, and I hope you’ll make plans to attend.

There is one final thing I’d like to mention. Our efforts at fundraising for Katrina relief are ongoing. Contributions are always welcome, and you can find information on the Section website and at midwinter meetings. We’ve made another contribution from the Section, of $5000, to the New Orleans Pro Bono Project to support the position of Employment Law Staff Attorney that the Project established last year. There are an overwhelming number of claims of non-payment and underpayment of wages, with few local practitioners to assist on a pro-bono basis. This grant is consistent with the Section’s pro bono initiatives, including the model law firm pro bono policy adopted at the Spring 2007 Council meeting, and the ABA’s pro bono efforts.

I hope to see you at a midwinter meeting and in Denver.