As I embark on this great honor of serving as your Employer Co-Chair of the Employee Benefits Committee, I think back to when I was first introduced to the Committee and how much the Committee has since accomplished. With each new co-chair, our Committee has gotten stronger, larger and more productive. Al Holifield, my immediate predecessor, certainly made great strides during his tenure and I hope to continue his successes.
I recall my first years as an employee benefits lawyer and attending the Committee’s marquee event – the Committee’s Midwinter Meeting. At my first meeting (in San Francisco), our Committee meeting sat in a single circle and, over the years, it expanded to a double circle and eventually grew too large for circle-seating altogether. If you have attended the Committee’s Midwinter Meetings – if you have not, you really must – you probably won’t be surprised to learn that our Committee has the distinction of having the most attendees year-after-year of any of the other Standing Committees of the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law. That is a tribute to our Committee leadership and the Programming Committee. Chaired by Mary Ellen Signorille, the Programming Committee continues to exceed expectations and develops a five-star set of programs providing views from the Department of Labor, plaintiffs’ bar, unions
Over the past several months, I have had the opportunity to chat on multiple occasions with the Section of Labor and Employment Law leadership, including Chair Don Slesnick and Immediate Past Chair Gail Golman Holtzman. Don and Gail have made it abundantly clear to me that they and the rest of the leadership are here to help our Committee. I will be working with my Committee Co-Chairs to take them up on their offer at every opportunity.
I encourage all of you to get involved and, if you already are involved, to stay involved and become more involved. For those that do not know how, there are numerous ways: volunteer on one of the subcommittees, attend and/or participate in one of the many programs the Committee co/sponsors – Midwinter Meeting, a JCEB program like ERISA Basics or ERISA Litigation, or one of the many webinars conducted every year. If all else fails, don’t hesitate to pick up the telephone and call me, or send me an email. Brad Hoffman, Director of the Section of Labor and Employment Law, is an excellent resource as well.
Of course, if you have any ideas on how to improve the Committee, please let me know.
I look forward to seeing many of you soon at our Midwinter Meeting in Clearwater Beach, Florida.