Young Lawyers Division 2000-2001

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1999

A Letter From The Editor

By Katerina M. Eftimoff

Hello! Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Kathy Eftimoff, editor of The Affiliate. Congratulations! If you are reading this, you are probably the leader of a state or local affiliate, or you are quickly on your way to becoming one.

If you are not familiar with it, The Affiliate is a publication of the ABA Young Lawyers Division. Its distribution is limited to people like you - leaders of young lawyer sections or committees across the country. The Affiliate is your publication. It is meant to provide you with information about the ABA Young Lawyers Division, its programs and initiatives for the coming bar year, and the resources available to you through the YLD. It is also meant to provide a forum for you to share news and information from your affiliate with the rest of the country. For instance, Rachelle DesVaux Bedke, the new YLD Chair, has identified membership and domestic violence as this year's member service and public service initiatives, respectively.

In each issue of The Affiliate, you will see an emphasis on one or more aspects of these initiatives and ideas for projects related to these initiatives. In this first issue, for example, we focus on domestic violence and projects that have been undertaken by some young lawyer affiliates to address this problem. (While domestic violence is a troubling problem in its own right, as the articles and statistics in this issue show, it has a tremendous impact on the legal system as well.) In coming issues, we will look at increasing membership and participation in bar activities among minority, government, and solo and small firm lawyers. If you have any ideas for projects or articles on any of these topics, I'd love to hear about them.

My hope is that you will use The Affiliate to identify projects being undertaken elsewhere that you might like to duplicate in your city or state, to promote your own projects, to recognize the hard work of your members, and to toot your own horn. Because The Affiliate has a limited distribution, I hope you will share it freely with your members.

The Affiliate is an ever-evolving work and your input is welcome. As I said before, if you have something you'd like to share with young lawyers across the country, I'd love to hear about it! If you have ideas for projects or articles, please pass them along! If you'd just like to make a comment or suggestion about The Affiliate, positive or negative, please send it in! (Well . . . at least the positive ones!). I welcome your input and look forward to serving the needs of you and your affiliate in the coming year. Comments, ideas, or questions can be sent to me at keftimoff@porterwright.com or c/o Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, LLP, 41 S. High Street, Columbus, OH 43215.

Katerina M. Eftimoff is the editor of The Affiliate and practices law with Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur in Columbus Ohio.