American Bar Association
Section of State and Local Government LawState and Local Law News
Vol. 24, No. 1, Fall 2000
Chair’s Message
By Patrick K. Arey
Sholem Friedman, our outgoing Section Chair, will be a hard act to follow. During his year as Chair, Sholem presided over the Section with grace and dignity. To all Section officers, he has been a wise counselor and a good friend. On behalf of the Section, I express my deep appreciation for all he has done and in anticipation of his future contributions.
The Annual Meeting was a success with both good programs and good fellowship. I think the highlight of the meeting in New York was the Jefferson Fordham Society lunch on Monday with presentations by Muzzy Rosenblatt, Chief Operating Officer of Common Ground Community, and Kevin Corbett, Director, Empire State Development Corp., on the redevelopment of the Times Square area. The program effectively demonstrated how government and private entities can work together with a common goal of revitalizing urban areas while concurrently meeting the needs of people who might otherwise be forgotten. The work of Common Ground Community was a forceful illustration of how government and private entities can provide housing, employment training, and personal development while affirming the dignity and worth of individuals.
Many thanks to Victor Moore, Nigel Macleod, and Steven Durno for their assistance in the arrangements for the Section’s London programs, as well as the social events in the Old Hall at Lincoln’s Inn. I am also very grateful to Lord Kingsland for arranging the joint reception in the House of Lords on Monday evening. The educational program and dinner were the highlights of the London meeting for the members of this Section and will be a long cherished memory of the London meeting.
Looking forward to the coming year, we will concentrate on a number of areas designed to build leadership for the future and outreach to attorneys sharing our common concerns.
On Friday, October 13, at the Fall Section Meeting in Hershey, Pennsylvania, we will present three continuing legal education topics relating to "smart growth," new environmental regulations governing nitrous oxides, and ethics for governmental lawyers, with special efforts to reach state and local government lawyers in that area. This program will be presented in conjunction with the Government Lawyers Division. Many thanks to David Sumner for his efforts to secure locally known speakers and to promote this program to state-employed attorneys, as well as local bar associations. We will also hold a half-day of training for Officers, Council members, committee chairs, and vice chairs. For further information or to register for this program, contact Lisa Allen at 312/988-5649, e-mail allenli@staff.abanet.org.
We are working on a plan to provide a similar half-day CLE program in February in San Diego, California, concurrent with the ABA Midyear Meeting. As with Hershey, we are endeavoring to provide programming aimed at attorneys within that area addressing specific issues of immediate local concern. Many thanks to John Witt, Dan Curtin, and Richard Opper for agreeing to coordinate this program.
Our Spring Meeting will be April 26–29, 2001, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. With the help of Council member Adriane Dudley, we intend to provide outreach and programs of interest to local lawyers in the Virgin Islands, in addition to the excellent programs traditionally offered at the Section’s Spring Meeting.
The year will end with the Annual Meeting in Chicago, presently scheduled for August 2-5, 2001.
I look forward to working with and hearing from many of you in the coming year.
Patrick K. Arey is Chair of the Section and practices law with Abramoff, Neuberger and Linder LLP in Baltimore, Maryland.
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