CHAIR'S MESSAGE By Patrick K. Arey As Chair of this Section, I have learned to live with surprises. Issues arise unexpectedly which the Section must address in order to fulfill its mission. Sometimes the issues are narrow and affect only small numbers of our members or the clients we serve; at other times they affect the public at large or all of our clients. Two such issues arose at the ABA Midyear Meeting. As discussed in separate articles in this newsletter, we are now involved in efforts to address issues arising from the 2000 Presidential Election as well as a proposal to modify the Model Rules of Professional Conduct in a manner which we believe adversely affects the interests of governmental and private lawyers who practice before governments and our government clients. 2000 Presidential Election Issues The Section will be working in conjunction with other sections and the ABA's Standing Committee on Election Law to formulate recommendations relating to the voting process to address some of the issues that arose last November. Our efforts in this area will be ably lead by David Cardwell (407-425-8500 or dcardwell@hklaw.com), one of the Section's election law experts, who was also a commentator for CNN during the recount and judicial process. Please contact David if you would like to become involved. Ethics 2000 Commission Report We expect the final report of the Ethics 2000 Commission to contain specific amendments to Model Rule 1.11 which would greatly expand the scope of conflicts of interest affecting representations by attorneys who leave government employment and enter private practice. The Commission believes that these changes will bring these conflict prohibitions more into line with those applicable to lawyers with private clients. Many Section officers believe this change is inappropriate in view of countervailing public policy considerations and a concern that a vigorous application of the proposed rule would limit the ability of lawyers to move between the public and private sectors to the detriment of governmental entities. We believe that the valid concerns of the Commission can be addressed by more limited amendments to these rules. Our efforts in this area are being headed by David Caylor (972-721-2541 or dcaylor@ci.irving.tx.us). Please contact David if you would like to participate in these efforts or desire further information. Similarly, if you have any concerns regarding these issues, please share them with me. Patrick K. Arey is Chair of the Section and practices law with Abramoff, Neuberger and Linder LLP in Baltimore, Maryland.