| P R O B A T E & P R O P E R T Y July/Auguest 2007 Vol. 21 No.4 Other articles from this issue |
| Articles from other issues of Probate and Property |
PROFILES IN MEMBERSHIP
Beverly J. Quail
For nearly every year since Beverly Quail started practicing law, she has been active in the ABA, simultaneously building her practice and network of ABA friends. With a focus on real estate, Beverly is a partner in the 500-attorney firm of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. She is passionate about her client work and equally zealous when it comes to the Section providing opportunities for members.
Beverly served as Chair of the Section in 1999–2000, with prior service as Chair-Elect, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and council member. As Chair she instituted the first minority networking luncheon and initiated the Section’s $50,000 contribution to the ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund started by past ABA President Bill Paul. As a council member, Beverly started a Section women’s networking group that helped increase the involvement of women in the Section.
Beverly mentors attorneys throughout their careers and constantly advocates the value of ABA involvement. “The ABA gave me a chance, as a young lawyer, to speak and participate on programs with some of the most distinguished real estate lawyers. This opportunity helped me build my reputation as a real estate lawyer, make new friends, and develop professional relationships across the country.” She enjoys seeing the younger members she has mentored move through the ranks of the Section. And she always has a colleague to turn to when she needs local counsel in other states in the representation of her clients.
Currently, Beverly is the delegate for the State of Colorado to the ABA House of Delegates. In the past she has served on several ABA committees: the Standing Committee on Membership, the Standing Committee on Lawyers Title Guaranty Funds, and the Section Officers Conference Executive Committee. Currently, she serves on the board of the Central City Opera House Association and helps disabled skiers enjoy the sport.
Beverly is a fitness enthusiast and takes advantage of her Rocky Mountain backyard with interests in skiing powder and cycling. In fact, she frequently skis with friends she has met through the ABA when they are in Colorado. She hasn’t found the same level of interest in cycling from her colleagues, however. “I did organize a bike ride for ACREL, but the weather turned on us and several of the participants nearly froze to death.”
David J. Dietrich
David Dietrich has an agricultural estate planning practice in Montana’s largest city, Billings (population 100,000). Agricultural estate planning often involves mixed real estate and probate and estate issues. David first became involved with the Section in 1997 when he attended a Spring CLE meeting in Washington, D.C. David’s eagerness to contribute to the Section’s activities was immediately noticed by the Section leadership, who appointed him a vice-chair of the Estate Planning and Administration for Farmers and Ranchers Committee of what is now the Business Planning Group. David has presented a number of conservation easement and general agricultural estate planning CLE programs at various Section meetings. More recently, he has worked on eCLE programs for the Section. David has served as the vice-secretary for the Probate and Trust Subcouncil and was later appointed to serve on the RPPT Council. But David considers his most important accomplishment the implementation of the Property Preservation Task Force, a standing committee that he describes as “a program to assist fractional tenant-in-common owners avoid land loss through partition or forced sales.” Tenancy-in-common land ownership issues have become quite high profile and have now drawn the attention of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). NCCUSL has recently created a drafting committee on partition law reform. David and other members of the Property Preservation Task Force will serve as advisors to NCCUSL as the drafting process progresses. David’s involvement with the Property Preservation Task Force has highlighted what David believes is a key benefit of RPPT Section membership—the ability to influence national policy.
David was motivated to join the RPPT Section out of a desire to establish contact with practitioners on a national basis, to participate in the Section’s impressive CLE offerings, and to enjoy the opportunity to travel outside of Montana. “I have really enjoyed the camaraderie and friendships that the Section has offered me.”
When he is not busy with his small firm practice, David enjoys wildlife photography. David also confesses to being his 11-year-old daughter’s “stable boy—she rides a quarter horse competitively and I help with her horse.”
