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State & Local News Vol. 20, No. 1, Fall 1996
Legally SpeakingBy John CopelanJohn Copelan is Broward County Attorney in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and editor of State & Local Law News. As the new editor of the State and Local News, I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and our new column, "Legally Speaking." As editor, I am presented with a very special opportunity to combine what I do with what I enjoy. I have been a member of the State and Local Government Law Section of the American Bar Association since I was a law student over twenty years ago and have served as a member of the Section Council for the past four years. Since high school, where I served as editor of the high school newspaper, I have had an interest in journalism. Although I chose law as a profession, I have continued to write on local government issues and have volunteered my services to legal publications. Being editor of the State & Local News not only allows me to continue to serve the Section but also allows the frustrated journalist in me to continue to have a forum for the publication aspect which I enjoy. The title of this new feature, "Legally Speaking," has been borrowed from a preventive law newsletter distributed to clients by the Broward County Attorney's Office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where I am County Attorney. While the State & Local News is intended to update its readers on recent case law and events affecting various areas of practice, this column is intended to open the lines of communication with you, our Section members. It is hoped that this column will provide a forum for the mutual exchange of ideas and discussion of topics which, although not based on case law, affect the legal profession. For example, professionalism, local government certification, technology, and expansion of the Internet have been recent topics of discussion for many local government lawyers. I hope to discuss these topics and other topics of interest to local government lawyers in future issues. Through this column, I also hope to provide our readers with updates on Section activities. For example, next year will be very exciting for our Section. On August 5, 1997, after the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, our Section will sponsor a continuing legal education program in China which I am organizing. The program will consist of a ten-day comparative study of the developing issues in China. It is anticipated that the program will take us to Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai to meet with Chinese lawyers, academicians and public officials. The program is currently in the final planning stages so I will update you on the details as they become available. One of the unique aspects of editing the News, as opposed to other legal journals, is my ability to interact with our Section members. Our recent membership survey indicated that you wanted several changes implemented in the newsletter which would better serve our readers. In response to our survey, you will note that this edition of the State & Local News contains more substantive articles of interest to state and local government attorneys. I hope that this portion of the newsletter provides the impetus for continuing the line of communication which has been opened with the surveys and that our members will inform me of how their needs are being met and what the Section can do to better meet those needs. As I begin my term as editor, I look forward to hearing from Section members on a variety of topics of interest to government lawyers. I am receptive to any comments, topics for discussion, or other issues which you may wish to see addressed by this article or the News in general. Please feel free to send me your comments via Internet E-mail at jcopelan@co.broward.fl.us, or fax 954/357-7641. I look forward to a great year.
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