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SECTION NEWS
Call for Nominations: Ninth Annual Jefferson Fordham Awards
The ABA Section of State and Local Government Law established the Jefferson B. Fordham Awards program in 1998 to recognize and honor the accomplishments of practitioners and institutions active in the varied areas of practice associated with state and local government law. The awards honor outstanding attorneys and law offices that have achieved professional excellence within this area of the profession. Awards may be presented in the following categories on an annual basis: (1) Law Office Accomplishment, (2) Lifetime Achievement, (3) Advocacy, and (4) Up & Comers.
Submission of Nominations
Nominations must be received on or before April 21, 2006 , by the ABA Section of State and Local Government Law. The Section’s Awards Committee will select recipients by July 1, 2006, and the awards will be presented at the ABA Annual Meeting at a special luncheon in Honolulu this August.
Detailed Criteria for Selection
Below are the four categories for which the Jefferson Fordham Awards may be presented on an annual basis and a brief description of the criteria used to select recipients in each category.
Law Office Accomplishment Award —Recognizes sustained, outstanding performance or a specific extraordinary accomplishment by a state and local government law office. Eligible candidates include all state and local government public sector law offices, including departments or units within such offices.
Lifetime Achievement Award —Recognizes outstanding contributions to the practice of state and local government law by an individual over an entire career. This award is given for contributions over a number of years.
Advocacy Award —Recognizes outstanding advocacy or legal writing within the area of state and local government law. This award fosters and encourages excellence in advocacy, both written and otherwise, in state and local government law.
Up & Comers —Presented to a young practitioner as defined by the ABA (thirty-six or under) who, through his or her efforts and accomplishments, shows great promise to continue these contributions for future achievements.
Guidelines for Submission
Nominations of candidates in each of the four categories must be submitted in the following format with all the information requested:
1. Full name, addresses, and telephone numbers of the nominee.
2. Name of the law office’s director or manager for the Government Law Office Award, including size and mission of office.
3. Summary of nominee’s or office’s achievements (brief explanation of outstanding or extraordinary public and/or professional services rendered (50 to 100 words)).
4. An explanation of the nominee’s performance and service; information regarding the time frame for the services described; accomplishments or superior contributions over a number of years; outstanding advocacy or legal writing; qualifications as a young lawyer for the Up & Comer’s Award and past efforts and accomplishments that show great promise to continue contributions for future achievement; assessment of the impact of the service for which the individual or office is nominated (no more than two typed pages).
5.Names, titles, and phone numbers of three other persons (including at least one lawyer or jurist), who are familiar with the nominee’s performance, achievements, etc.
6.A brief statement about the nominator’s background that would assist the Awards Committee in evaluating the nominations.
Submit All Materials to:
Jackie Baker, ABA Section of State and Local Government Law, 321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60611-4714, 312/988-5652, fax 312/988-5121, or e-mail jlbaker@ staff.abanet.org .
Land Use Committee
The Land Use Committee is having another great year! I’m pleased to have this chance to catch everyone up on what we’ve been doing.
The Section’s Fall Meeting in Boston, my home town, was a great success. The Committee sponsored two great programs. The first, organized and chaired by Paul Wilson of Mintz Levin in Boston, looked at affordable housing laws, with a focus on the experience in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Among the panelists was my predecessor, the Hon. Peter Buchsbaum, who talked about the experience in New Jersey after the Mt. Laurel decision. The other program, organized and chaired by Mike Giaimo of Robinson & Cole, looked at Boston’s own Big Dig (I believe it is the single largest public works project in the country’s history). This was a great chance for Section members to get a view of the project from some of the lawyers who were involved from its inception. Both programs prompted terrific discussions, which showed again the wide range of experience, expertise, and interest among the Section’s members. Thanks to Paul and Mike for successful panels.
Those of you who were at the Annual Meeting in Chicago may recall the discussion between the Section’s own Ed Sullivan and Prof. Michael Asimow of the Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice on procedural requirements for local zoning authorities. In the aftermath of that “free and frank exchange” as the diplomats term it, Ed and Prof. Asimow have organized a joint task force to look at procedural requirements for zoning authorities. The members from our Section are Ed, Jim Godlewski of the City of Neenah, Wisconsin, former Land Use Committee Chair Tom Pelham, Bryan Wenter of Bingham McCutcheon, and myself. We are all looking forward to tackling this very important and interesting issue.
Our Spring Meeting is fast approaching! Set for March 30– April 2, 2006, in San Diego, the Spring Meeting will boast two terrific programs from the Land Use Committee. The first, of course, will be the Committee’s annual Hot Topics brown bag luncheon. Once again, we will hear reports from the Committee’s many subcommittees on the latest developments in land use. Topics include comprehensive plans, exactions, civil rights, ethics, and telecommunications. Paul Wilson, vice-chair for reports and the organizing force behind the luncheon, promises another great round of reports. In fact, Paul insists, as always, that the title to his report will top the list as the worst pun. You’re on, Paul!
The Committee’s other program promises to be special. Prof. Ed Zeigler of the University of Denver Law School will present a talk entitled, “ China’s Cities, Globalization, and Sustainable Development: Some Comparative Thoughts on Urban Planning, Energy, and Environmental Policy in the Emerging Middle Kingdom.” Drawing on his recent travels in China and his published works on China’s cities, Prof. Ziegler will discuss the comparative smart growth issues confronting China’s cities during a period of explosive growth. The presentation will look at how China’s urban planning, energy, and environmental policies may affect life in the United States and throughout the world in the years ahead. This is an issue of great interest not only to land use lawyers, but to everyone who is watching China’s development and the effect of that development on the rest of the world. The Committee is looking forward to Prof. Ziegler’s timely insights.
It’s not too early to be thinking about the Annual Meeting in Hawaii! Once again, the Committee will co-sponsor a program with its sister committee in the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section. This year, the committees will be looking at federal issues in land use, with a special focus on the new Roberts Supreme Court. I hope to see you there.
It’s a great pleasure to be able to serve as Land Use Committee chair, especially with the help of our great vice-chairs: Andy Gowder and Lora Lucero for programs, Paul Wilson for reports, and Mitch Carrell for membership outreach. Thank you, Andy, Lora, Paul, and Mitch, for your great work! We hope that all of you get involved in the Committee. It’s not hard—in fact, it’s as easy as volunteering to do a Hot Topics report! The meetings have fascinating programs and fun evenings. See you there.
—Bob Foster, Committee Chair,
Rackemann, Sawyer & Brewster, P.C.,
Boston, Massachusetts
Nominating Committee Appointed
At the Fall Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, Section Chair Thomas E. Roberts, with the approval of the Section’s Executive Committee, named the following members to the Nominating Committee:
Edward J. Sullivan, Chair
Portland , Oregon
503/553-3106
Daniel J. Curtin, Jr.
Walnut Creek , California
925/975-5351
Michael Donaldson
Tallahassee , Florida
850/513-3613
Mary Massaron Ross
Detroit , Michigan
313/983-4801
William J. Scheiderich
Beaverton , Oregon
503/526-2215
At the Annual Meeting in August, the Nominating Committee will submit the names of nominees for Section Officers and Council for the 2006–07 Association year. Section members who would like to suggest potential nominees should contact Edward J. Sullivan, Garvey Schubert Barer, 121 S.W. Morrison Street, Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97204, 503/553-3106, or any other member of the Nominating Committee by April 24, 2006.