Please allow me to begin by thanking some folks. Thank you to Lynn Carrillo, as she moves into her position as Past Chair. Lynn had the unenviable task of stewarding our Forum during the lock-down of the pandemic. She did and we appreciate it. Also huge thanks to the Forum’s first volunteer Executive Director Laura Prather, and to her two successors, Deanna Shullman and Sherrese Smith. In addition, several former Chairs, particularly Dave Giles, Carolyn Forrest, and Chuck Tobin, have devoted countless hours to the Forum. We look forward to their continued wisdom, guidance, and participation. Many others deserve thanks as well for their devoted service to our Forum.
Looking forward: Many of our members have indicated that they wanted to see our Forum’s leadership structure have new faces and voices, an influx of younger members, more diversity, and more in-house lawyers. We have worked to achieve those goals—please take a look at the latest Governing Committee (GC) lineup contained in this issue. I hope you will agree that we have made significant strides in each of these goals.
I encourage you to visit the Forum’s website from time to time at www.americanbar.org/groups/communications_law. In addition, please sign up for the Forum’s Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter posts. The new Social Media chair, Lyndsey Wajert, invites your input. The Forum’s social media posts are increasing in number and connectivity.
We have spent over a year working on a Strategic Plan for the Forum. The GC adopted the Strategic Plan (www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/events/communications_law/co-plan82522.pdf) at its May 4, 2022, meeting. The strategic planning process included about a dozen actively involved committee members, supplemented by another two dozen Forum members for sub-committees. The final report, if I may say so, is impressive. Please review the Strategic Plan, which provides specifics tasks we will undertake, stretch goals, and aspirational goals over the next few years. Any comments? Please email me.
The Strategic Plan challenges the Forum to provide more “content.” Since April 2022, we have hosted discussions regarding two books written by Forum members (Bob Corn-Revere and Len Niehoff), hosted a Young Lawyers committee discussion with Joe Tomain, and provided a webinar by the IP committee (organized by Lincoln Bandlow and Robin Luce-Hermann). All of this creates more work for Teleconference/Webinar chair Leslie Pedernales, and we appreciate her leadership. Soon to be scheduled—an In-House committee discussion (organized by co-chairs David Seiden and Adrianna Rodriguez) as well as a Women in Communications Law event (WICL—organized by co-chairs Evynne Grover and Alison Schary, vice chair Dana Green). Also coming back—the Privacy and Data Security program co-sponsored with the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) (co-chairs Jennifer Dukarski and Kathleen Scott) and the Representing Your Local Broadcaster program (co-chairs Josh Pila and Kathleen Kirby) which is scheduled during the NAB’s conference in Las Vegas.
Our fantastic Communications Lawyer has a new editorial staff—Editors Joe Tomain and Max Mishkin; Associate Editors Sarah Cronin and Ally Settelmayer. We expect our next issue to be published just before the Annual Conference. I will be asking At-Large GC members and Division Chairs (on the GC list) to contribute articles for future issues. All Forum members (and non-members) are encouraged to submit ideas and articles—short or long. Please reach out to any of the editors.
Our Sponsorship Committee (co-chairs Bob Latham and Mark Bailen, vice-chair Derek Bauer) are hard at work. The fruits of their labor determine what our Forum can afford to do in any particular year. Please answer the call and provide some financial support as well as sweat equity.
You will be hearing more about terrific new initiatives from our Diversity Committee (co-chairs Charlyn Stanberry and Michael Lambert). For starters, we have just received word that the FCBA has accepted our offer to publicize its terrific Diversity Pipeline Program, which provides educational sessions to law students and then, for some, summer internships. Many of our 2,000+ law student members will be interested in this program. In addition, WICL, Young Lawyers (co-chairs Giselle Girones and Andy Pauwels, vice chair Kristel Tupja Barnett) and In-House have other plans in the works.
Our Scholarship team, headed by Len Niehoff, will be lining up some law students as a result of a national application process as well as a few local law students. Be on the lookout for them at the Annual Conference. Our Membership team (co-chairs Eric Schroeder and Kaitlin Gurney) will be bringing back the First-Timers and Plus One programs. Please help them.
For GC members, I look forward to seeing you in person in NYC on November 10. WICL is planning events on November 10 and 11. Please stay tuned. We are trying to develop sticky email lists for WICL, In House, and Young Lawyers. Feel free to invite your friends.
We have been promoting the 2023 Annual Conference dates, February 2-4, in New Orleans over the past few months, and have asked you to block out those dates and include the Conference in your company/firm’s budget. As Jerry Maguire famously said, “Help me, help you.” Fantastic content, with plenaries and lunch programs nearly finalized, and nearly a dozen Workshops are in the works. Our In-House co-chairs are planning a special program for in-house lawyers only the afternoon of Thursday, February 2. On February 2, our Media Advocacy co-chairs Mara Gassmann and Mark Caramanica will assemble a top-flight workshop faculty, and on February 3, we will have the finals in our Diversity Moot Court competition (co-chairs Natalie Harris and Linda Norbut). I will not presume to suggest reasons why you might like to be in Nawlins during Mardi Gras, but we obviously selected that awesome locale to help us all make fun memories as we renew in-person ties and make new ones.
Right now, what I have described as our “small, but scrappy and proud” Forum has about 700 attorney members in the U.S. We want to get bigger, despite the challenges facing all membership organizations (including the ABA). Every member add is a material increase. PLEASE, help us. If every member recruited one new member, instantly we would have a greater voice. Please reach out to Membership to offer your assistance. If you recruit someone, let me know and I will thank them for joining. Introduce us in New Orleans.
Recently, we welcomed aboard the new Director of the Forum, Lee Swanson, and look forward to her many contributions along with Yasmin Koen.
I have sometimes wondered how closely our members read Communications Lawyer or this column. So, as a test, I’ll give a shout-out to the examiner of Len Niehoff during the webinar, friend Jack Greiner (who I like to call “Mr. Big Shot”). And I will send ten bucks to each of the first three (3) readers who email me that they read this reference to Jack.
Clearly, forces everywhere continue to shoot at the First Amendment, an unfortunate reality in these divisive times. But in our Forum, we remain united and committed to upholding our shared heritage as defenders of free expression. I look forward to further immersion in the energy, strength, and vitality that this Forum always brings to our work together. If you have comments or suggestions, please let me know.