CHAIR’S MESSAGE

 By Edward J. Sullivan

Edward J. Sullivan is Chair of the Section and a member of the Portland, Oregon, firm of Garvey Schubert Barer.

It seems like yesterday that I wrote my first “Chair’s Message,” and now the Beatles’ lyric of “Hello Goodbye” seems appropriate to mark the passing of a very quick year. I have enjoyed the last year thoroughly and believe the Section has served its members well during that time. It has been a year of some sorrow, in the loss of our long-time friend and mentor, Dan Curtin, and in the impending retirement of our long-suffering Executive Director, Jackie Baker. But it has been a good year in the sense of the production of some very fine programs and publications, the opportunity to get together professionally and socially, and the celebration of what we do as lawyers and citizens. I look forward to assisting Chair-Elect Ben Griffith as he rolls out his own outstanding programs for the Section over the next year, which he will be discussing in the next “Chair’s Message.”

While a year can seem to be a long time, my observation of the tenure of previous Chairs convinced me that, in addition to presiding over the work of the Section, a Chair really has the opportunity to emphasize just a few areas. I chose three areas, each of which I have emphasized in my work and in previous messages.

My first objective for the past year was to emphasize and increase our efforts at diversity of Section membership. We have had an active and involved Diversity Committee, chaired by our Vice-Chair Adriane Dudley, which has spurred Section efforts to make us resemble the diverse lawyer population we represent. We have participated in programs at the ABA Midyear Meeting in Miami in February 2007, and we are seeking out members of minority groups to participate in Section activities.

A second objective was to invite our present members to participate more fully in Section activities. To that end, the Council, and especially our Chair-Elect, contacted those members, particularly younger members, who participated in previous Section activities and asked them to join a Section committee, make a presentation, or write for a Section publication. As a result, we now have a “crop” of future Section leaders who will be successful as they learn from our mistakes and build on our successes.

Finally, the Section has worked with our colleagues in the Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section to develop model legislation to deal with local land use proceedings and judicial review from their decisions. This is an area in which I work most often and it was very pleasant to share the expertise of Professors Daniel Mandelker and Michael Asimow as they helped our Joint Task Force deal with the problems inherent in dealing with land use controversies and the respective roles of the parties, local governments, and the courts.

In this my last column as Chair, I give my thanks to the Section’s Officers, our Council, and our members for making this a memorable and satisfying year.