March 18, 2016
President’s Message By Mark Martini

This month you are seeing the first of our themed Lawyers Journal editions. These themed editions are aimed at showcasing the various divisions and sections of the ACBA and the substantive area of the law that they focus on. Although these new editions will have substantial theme-specific content, they will continue to contain subject matter that we hope will be of interest to the entire membership. So, in addition to several family law articles, you’ll find in this issue Bar Briefs, the opinions list, photos from recent social events and articles on subjects such as human trafficking and the Bar’s annual collaboration with PICT Theatre.

I’ll keep this message short so that you can move on to the great articles that our members have written. 

The ACBA’s Family Law Section is one of the most active sections in the Bar, and it has gone above and beyond in supporting this new concept. Chair David Slesnick and Vice Chair Dawn Gull have helped to provide logistical support to editorial staff, and volunteer contributors have offered their expertise in a number of areas, such as grandparents’ rights, surrogacy, step-parent support and the intersection of oil and gas law with family law. The Collaborative Law Committee has also stepped up to make this first edition a success.

And the advertising support for this project has enabled us to double the size of this issue from its usual 12 pages.

The ACBA is looking for divisions and sections that would like to be similarly showcased in upcoming editions of the Lawyers Journal. Interested members should brainstorm potential topics and make sure that the section or division has adequate volunteers available to write the articles.

The Editorial Board will be very interested in selecting a topic if a group presents at least 10 strong, timely topics for publication. Each volunteer writer will be recognized with a headshot and brief bio, and the chair of the respective division/ section will pen a column. This new format also creates a great opportunity for attorneys to write and have articles published on a substantive area of law  – which is a win for both the association and the authors.

This obviously is a new concept for the Lawyers Journal, and we hope it will provide our members with even more of what they want. And don’t worry, the Lawyers Journal will continue to regularly publish the paper in the format and with the content you have grown accustomed to over the years. If you’d like to have your section or division showcased, please contact ACBA Director of Communications and Publications Brian Estadt at bestadt@acba.org.

Enjoy!