Over 250 TIPS leaders and staff met for a very successful and productive Fall Leadership Meeting in Amelia Island, Florida, at the Ritz-Carlton from October 10–14, 2018. TIPS general committees, standing committees, and task forces held business meetings; there were specialized chair and vice-chair training sessions, and the Section advanced planning for its meetings over the next year.
TIPS’s 2018–2019 Leadership Academy met for the first time this bar year and heard many illustrious speakers, including ABA President-elect Judy Perry Martinez and former ABA President Robert Grey. The Leadership Academy, which is held every other year, is a program designed to increase the diversity of leaders, nurture effective leadership, build relationships, and raise diversity awareness. The academy strives to inspire younger attorneys to think about different means with which to broaden the view of diversity in the practice of law and within TIPS. Twenty-three young lawyers were selected to participate in this year’s academy, which also will meet in 2019 at the Midyear Meeting in Las Vegas in January, TIPS’s Section Conference in New York City in May, and the Annual Meeting in San Francisco in August.
The TIPS Law in Public Service Committee partnered with Rise Against Hunger to package meals for those in need, while members of the Section’s Diversity Committee met with local middle school students at the Fernandina Middle School on Amelia Island for “A Day in the Life of an Attorney,” as part of a middle school outreach program that seeks to inspire young people to become lawyers.
The Aviation and Space Law Committee held its annual CLE conference, “Contemporary Aviation & Space Litigation: A World View,” on October 18–19, 2018, at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C. The conference included discussions on new and continuing challenges facing the aviation, space, and insurance sectors. Furthermore, this year’s conference featured many distinguished speakers, including the keynote speaker, Marion C. Blakey, who is the immediate past president and CEO of Rolls Royce North America.
In November, attendees participated in the Fidelity and Surety Law Committee’s Fall Fidelity CLE at the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia, focusing on “An Analysis of Fidelity Claims for the Modern World.” This well-attended and vibrant conference coincided with the Fidelity Law Association Meeting, which convened at the same hotel.