AVIATION AND SPACE LAW COMMITTEE

I am honored to lead our Committee as Chair this year. Our Committee faces challenging times in the current economy, as do many other ABA committees. As you may already know, some committees did not survive the economic downturn, and we are currently the only Aviationand Space law committee with a litigation focus. Section leadership has informed us that we must do more for our Committee members to remain viable, and we intend to perform. Below is an overview of events on the horizon and our plans for the near future of our Committee.

I look forward to seeing all of you at our annual Fall Meeting in Washington, D.C. on October 22 and 23, 2009 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, conveniently located at 1150 22nd Street N.W. near many of our Capitol’s landmarks, museums and attractions. This year’s program has been put together by a talented group of program vice-chairs, Barry Benson, Tracey Campbell, David Harrington and Michael Verna, representing the viewpoints of plaintiff and defense counsel, as well as that of the government and worldwide insurers. It promises to be both interesting and informative, and will provide an unparalleled opportunity to reconnect with others in the practice or make new friends – don’t miss it.

In addition to our annual Fall Meeting, the Committee leadership is seeking to provide new products and services to all of you, but we need your help. Our Newsletter Editors, Leane Capps Medford and Paul Alp are working to put together semiannual newsletters to provide our group with information on developments in the field of aviation and space law litigation. We encourage you to assist them by suggesting topics or cases for consideration and, most important, by submitting articles for publication. Our program vice-chairs will also be planning web-based CLE programs relevant to our Committee members for those who for whatever reason, scheduling, economic, or personal, cannot travel to our annual meeting. We need faculty members willing to assist with planning and leading these “webinars.” In addition, our membership and diversity vice-chairs, Chris Brown and Ricardo Martinez-Cid, are working to ensure that our membership grows in size and reflects the increasing diversity in the legal profession, and they need your support by encouraging others with an aviation or space law practice, or an interest in one, to join our Committee. These are but a few of the Committee initiatives we have in mind for the upcoming year. With your help and willingness to volunteer to improve your Committee, we will all benefit.

We also encourage you to take part in Section opportunities, as a means of promoting our Committee to the rest of the Section and the ABA at large. For example, the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section Law Journal, available to all Section members, is a convenient resource for updates on emerging issues and tort law developments and would welcome the submission of articles from you. Other publications, such as the Brief, are also receptive to the submission of articles. The Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section provides its members with a unique opportunity to network with lawyers throughout the country with whom we share many common interests. I recommend that you reach out to your partners, associates and colleagues and encourage them to join our Committee and TIPS to take advantage of the benefits and resources we have to offer. I look forward to working with all of you to further the goals of our Committee during the next year, and welcome any suggestions or comments you may have as to how we may better serve our members.

Best Regards,
Trevor R. Jefferies
Committee Chair

My contact info:
Hogan & Hartson LLP
Bank of America Center
700 Louisiana Street, Suite 4300
Houston, Texas 77002
(713) 632-1415
trjefferies@hhlaw.com