Chair's Message Strategic Plan Update By Richard Hill Five years ago, our Section Council approved its Mission Statement: The Section serves as a collegial forum for its members, the profession and the public to provide leadership and educational resources in urban, state and local government law and policy. To accomplish that mission, the Council adopted nine goals dealing with such issues as education, ethics, diversity, inter-disciplinary solutions to state and local law problems, ABA visibility, and having fun. At the recent October meeting of the Council, a Long Range Planning Session was held to update the plan, to identify those portions of the plan that are still relevant, and to adapt the plan to deal with the changes in the legal environment that have occurred in the past five years. The Section's Executive Committee, Council members, most committee chairs, and Section staff participated. Marilyn Steinke, director of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section, facilitated the session. Former Section Chair Carol Dinkins has accepted overall responsibility for the plan update. Business of the Section The participants were first asked to consider the following questions: What are we about? What business are we in? What value do we give for our membership dues? The consensus reached is that we must be member-driven, we must learn what our members want and need, and we must provide the services that they demand. These include such things as providing a forum for dialogue, offering technical legal information and assistance, creating educational opportunities, and monitoring state and local government law issues while providing solutions for problems encountered. Future of the Section How will the business of the Section change in the next twenty years? The participants gazed into the crystal ball, and their vision still included opportunities for dialogue and collegiality, educational programs and products, and identifying and solving state and local government law issues. The environment will change, in part due to technological change, in part due to increasing competition and privatization of government functions. Judgment and advice will be as valuable as simple technical information. Programs and Products The session provided an opportunity to conduct an in-depth review of our CLE and Publications Progam. The strengths of our existing program were recognized. A consensus was reached that the Section needs to explore new methods of delivery, including videotapes, electronic publishing, CLE teleconferences, regional CLE meetings, use of the Internet, and partnerships with cable entities. Substantive areas to explore include government and ethics, privatization, violence in the workplace, and public policy dispute resolution. "SWOT" Exercise The participants explored the Section's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Our relatively small size for an ABA section offers informality and opportunity for advancement, while also limiting the resources available to accomplish our objectives. Our diversity of practice settings lends a richness and vitality to our substantive dialogue, but also occasionally blurs our focus. The many subject matters that are within the state and local government law umbrella lends great interest, but also sometimes challenge our ability to address issues with the proper depth. How to maximize these qualities as strengths and respond constructively to them as weaknesses will be one of our major challenges. Member Participation The session explored the challenge of increasing our member's participation in Section activities. Our goal should be not merely to add to our membership rolls, but to make sure that our new members have incentives and opportunities to be involved in the Section. One way to accomplish this goal is to reach out to state and local bar associations. Many of their committees focus on issues that correspond to the substantive programs of the Section. Increasing the Section's visibility in public policy debates would also be helpful by, for example, pointing out technical or legal aspects of the issues that might otherwise be overlooked. Action Plans Our facilitator, Marilyn Steinke, led the session through a goal by goal review of the nine goals adopted by the Section in 1990, both to determine the viability of the goals today, and to begin to develop an action plan with implementing strategies and specific assignments. Specific assignments were made to pursue our Section diversity objectives, using innovative technology for CLE programs, visibility in ABA policy formulation, identification of and education about ethical dilemmas in government law practice, increasing participation by government lawyers, and enhancing our membership base through innovative means of collegiality. Next Steps I have appointed a task force to flesh out the details of the proposed action plan. The task force will meet, under Carol Dinkins' able guidance, in January in Texas and will prepare a written draft action plan for the Council's consideration at the Spring Section Meeting in Cancun. Your input on all of these issues is earnestly sought and appreciated. Please feel free to call or write me, Carol, or our Staff Director, Jackie Baker, with your ideas and comments. In addition, you will receive in the near future a membership survey soliciting your comments on these and other Section issues. Please take the time to respond to the survey, so that the Section can continue to respond to your needs and provide value to you and the profession. Richard Hill is Chair of the Section and practices law in Seattle, Washington, with Foster Pepper & Shefelman.