SECTION NEWS  

Homeland Security and Emergency Management Committee

The Homeland Security and Emergency Management Committee has continued to serve as a valuable resource not only to lawyers practicing state and local government law, but also to public officials and leaders.

The Committee’s book project was published in 2005. A Legal Guide to Homeland Security and Emergency Management for State and Local Governments, edited by Ernie Abbott and Otto Hetzel, and serves as a valuable tool for practitioners addressing the many legal issues involved with emergency management. Among other topics, it includes chapters on mutual aid, preparing for public health emergencies, and DHS/FEMA response and recovery issues. The “Checklist for State and Local Government Lawyers to Prepare for Possible Disaster” is included as an appendix. More information on the book is available on the ABA State and Local Government Law Section website at www.abanet.org/statelocal.

The Committee has also been active in CLE programming. At the ABA Annual Meeting in August 2005, it cosponsored on behalf of the Section a session on “The Lawyer’s Role in Disaster and Homeland Security Planning and Execution.” Committee members Ernie Abbott, Otto Hetzel, and Lai Sun Yee were among the panelists who addressed topics such as the lessons of New York City’s 9/11 crisis and incident command, business continuity obligations under Sarbanes-Oxley, and intergovernmental coordination and legal issues.

On May 4 and 5, 2006, Committee members Ernie Abbott and Otto Hetzel co-chaired a program in New Orleans entitled “Homeland Security and Emergency Management for Lawyers, Policy Makers, and Executives: Lessons from the Katrina Catastrophe.” The program, co-sponsored by The Center for American and International Law and the International Municipal Lawyers Association, included Committee members Alan Cohn and Lai Sun Yee among its faculty. The program focused on lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and was designed to help lawyers and leaders better prepare for future catastrophes.

—Marilyn S. McHugh, Committee Vice-Chair–Reports, Fairfax County Attorney’s Office, Fairfax, Virginia

Our Very Special Thanks to The University of San Diego

Dean Kevin Cole Professor John (Jack) H. Minan
for hosting the “Welcome Reception” during the Section’s Spring Meeting in San Diego.

Report of the Nominating Committee 2006

Pursuant to Article IV of the Bylaws, the Nominating Committee makes the following nominations for each position to be filled by election at the Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Chair-Elect — Benjamin E. Griffith, member of the law firm of Griffith & Griffith, Cleveland, Mississippi. Served as Communications Director.

Vice-Chair — Adriane J. Dudley, member of the law firm of Dudley, Clark & Chan, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Served as a member of Council and as Assistant Budget Director.

Secretary — Donna J. Pugh, member of the law firm of Foley & Lardner LLP, Chicago, Illinois. Served as a member of Council and Publications Director.

Budget Director — Patricia Lynch, city attorney, Reno, Nevada. Served as a member of Council.

Communications Director — Dwight H. Merriam, member of the law firm of Robinson & Cole LLP, Hartford, Connecticut. Served as a member of Council.

Editor of The Urban Lawyer — Julie M. Cheslik, professor of law, University of Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri. Has served as editor of The Urban Lawyer for the past few years.

Editor of Section Newsletter— Justina Cintron Perino , senior staff attorney, Government Law Center of Albany Law School, Albany, New York. Has served as editor of State & Local Law News and served on Council.

Publications Director — Mary Kay Klimesh, member of the law firm of Seyfarth Shaw, Chicago, Illinois. Served on the Publications Oversight Board and as vice-chair of the Public Education Committee.

CLE Director — Kyle V. Mitchell, senior attorney, Governmental Operations Committee, Florida House of Representatives, Tallahassee, Florida. Served as a member of Council and as Membership Committee chair.

Section Delegate—term ending 2009
Patricia E. Salkin , director, Government Law Center, Albany Law School. Served as Chair of the Section.

Members of Council

term ending 2007
Dale F. Rubin , professor of law, Appalachian School of Law, Grundy, Virginia. Served as CLE Director.

term ending 2010
Steven J. Eagle , professor of law, George Mason University School of Law, Arlington, Virginia. Served as co-chair of the Condemnation Law Committee.

W. Andrew Gowder, Jr ., member of the law firm of Pratt-Thomas, Epting & Walker PA, Charleston, South Carolina. Served as vice-chair of programs for the Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee.

Stephen N. Zack , member of the law firm of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, Miami, Florida. Served as the Chair of the ABA House of Delegates.