When I began moving up the leadership ladder in this Division, never in my wildest dreams did I think that a pandemic would be raging during my year as chair. But sometimes when you make plans, God says “Ha!” I was very disappointed that the Annual Meeting was not in person and even more dismayed when our fall meeting (which was supposed to be in Bethesda, Maryland) became a virtual meeting as well. But I have been surprised by the silver linings I have found. The Annual Meeting was virtual, but it allowed me to attend several events I normally would not have been able to attend, like the tour of the RBG exhibit at the Illinois Holocaust Museum. And yes, our fall meeting was over Zoom but we had an opportunity to have a social event where we played an online trivia game, which was a lot of fun. I was also especially heartened about the very creative ideas that our council members came up with for future CLE programs and articles. Some of these will make it to these pages.
We are proud to announce that we will present a virtual skills conference in June of 2021, partnering with the Young Lawyers Division. Other ABA groups who have pivoted to virtual conferences have been surprised by their increased attendance. It is not really unexpected when you think about it — if you take away barriers like travel costs, more people can attend. We are super excited about the skills conference which is going to be a great mix of education, networking, fun, and wellness. Watch this newsletter later in the bar year for more details and registration information.
I hope you too can find your silver linings, whether you are working from home, juggling kids schooling, or just trying to figure out what to make for dinner without having to go to the store.
If you have ideas for Division projects or activities, I would love to hear about them. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. I always enjoy hearing from our members and welcome your suggestions.