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September 15, 2021 Feature

Chair’s Message

Steven F. Stapleton

I would like to welcome you to the State and Local Government Law Section’s fall newsletter and introduce myself as the incoming Chair. I am grateful for the significant time and effort Erica Levine Powers put into the Section this past year as Chair under difficult and unique circumstances.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered our personal and professional lives and will continue to do so throughout my tenure. I will rely on the Section’s dedicated staff members (Tamara Edmonds Askew, Section Director, and Marsha Boone, Program Specialist) and leadership team to ensure that we have access to meaningful resources for our members and hopefully a gradual return to in-person meetings and networking events.

There are many reasons to join our Section, and for me it was access to subject specific CLE’s and written materials and to network with other lawyers working in my field. I have been fortunate to be surrounded by many outstanding mentors and continue to reach out to those I have met during my ABA travels over the past 25-plus years. I hope to offer the same to our membership during this next year as Section Chair.

During the next year, we will work within our budgetary constraints to offer programming on subjects that are both timely, topical and relevant to Section members. This will include virtual and, hopefully soon, those in-person events. We will also continue to publish our newsletter (thank you Section Editor Kathy Kinsman) and have several books scheduled for release.

We also thank Daiquiri Steele for all of her work as Interim Editor of The Urban Lawyer. She stepped up and helped the Section publish three issues over the past year. There are no words that can adequately convey how appreciative we are of her efforts. Daiquiri will still be involved in the Section, but she will be focused on her new position at the University of Alabama Law School and the students there will find out quickly how fortunate they are to have Professor Steele on campus. One of my priorities this upcoming year is to find a more permanent home for The Urban Lawyer with the help of the Urban Lawyer Advisory Board (ULAB), chaired by W. Andrew Gowder. Any insight or recommendations are welcome.

Our recent survey provided valuable information to guide us in our planning this upcoming year given our financial constraints. For instance, for our Fall Meeting, we will conduct our Executive Committee meeting and Council meeting virtually in October (specific dates TBA). We will provide limited programming at the ABA’s Conference of the Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries in Las Vegas in October. They will conduct a hybrid meeting over a two-week period, so please look for more information about those events on our website soon. By conducting our Fall Executive and Council Meetings virtually, we will save money and hopefully be in a better position to attend an in-person event later in the year.

Our Mid-Year Meeting is scheduled for Feb. 9-14, 2022 in Seattle, and we expect that the Section will contribute to programming. We are working to finalize the dates and location for the Spring 2022 Meeting, which we will host with the Health Law Section. Our partnership with the Health Law Section will allow us to provide strong programming on what will certainly be topical and timely issues for our membership. We intend to hold an in-person meeting of the Executive Committee and Section Council, but will likely offer virtual participation opportunities as well.

Finally, our Section is no different than many others in trying to retain current members and attract new ones. A priority during my term will be to reach out to our existing members to find how we can provide value to them and also promote our Section to potential new members. I encourage you to take time to pitch the benefits of our Section to your associates, partners, colleagues and friends. Last, but not least, the Section will also reach out to current and prospective law students to highlight the value of Section membership.

We are a diverse group of State and Local Government practitioners who will benefit with even more diversity in terms of membership, ideas and Section offerings. I look forward to serving as Chair for the next year. Please contact me anytime with comments, questions or concerns.

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Steven F. Stapleton

Steven F. Stapleton, Section Chair, is a member of the litigation practice group and co-chair of the sports industries team for Clark Hill. He represents both public and private sector clients and serves as special counsel to many sports governing bodies. He is also a member of USA Hockey’s Legal Council.