A TIPS Year Focused on Raising the Bar

You will see references to TIPS’s theme “Raising the Bar” many times during this bar year. It is a reminder of an evolution in our organization that will have an impact on image and messaging, technology and delivery of content, the redesign of our publications, an increase in the importance and focus of our committees, significant expansion of our CLE offerings, and more. Our new Networking, Strategic Communications, and Law Firm and Legal Department Management Task Forces already are actively engaged in expanding our focus. TIPS’s emerging issues initiative led to the new Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Committee, Women Trial Lawyers Committee, Cannabis Law and Policy Task Force, and Insurance Institute Task Force; each of these groups manifests strong evidence of TIPS’s cutting edge focus on addressing issues of importance to the legal industry. We continue to evaluate areas for new groups, programs, and publications that address the most immediate needs of our members.

Important Section Meetings—Mark Your Calendar

The Section Conference has become TIPS’s signature meeting for all members. If you come to one meeting a year, then this is it! From May 1–5, 2019, our New York City venue in the heart of Manhattan will make this Section Conference even more of a premier event, including a reception on Thursday evening of that week at the iconic Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center. This meeting will include more than 50 company speakers and a host of networking opportunities, with CLE that will be better than ever. This is an event that you really should not miss, so mark the dates on your calendar now.

Beginning with the 2018 Fall Meeting, all first-time attendees were assigned a mentor from TIPS Fellows, creating a link for every new member with a senior advisor to the organization. Convened on Amelia Island, Florida, October 10–13, the Fall Meeting combined strategizing and networking for a gathering that was focused, informal, and fun. The ABA 2019 Midyear Meeting in Las Vegas and the ABA 2019 Annual Meeting in San Francisco have been scaled back to involve only the TIPS Council and certain general committees. There will be no general committee activities at these two meetings.

TIPS Committees and Task Forces

TIPS has 35 substantive committees and task forces that are actively engaged in delivering content in various areas of interest to members. Many of these groups are industry leaders, continuing to create dialogue and produce programs and publications that are the best in the business. Our focus going forward will be on delivering value within these general committees, and those with critical mass are being encouraged to organize and present their own stand-alone substantive programs. Each of these groups also is charged with creating networking, publishing, and speaking opportunities for members. Committees can plan to fulfill these goals by creating practice area directories, publishing their newsletters, and contributing articles to The Brief, TIPS’s signature publication, as well as to TortSource, e-TIPS News, and the TIPS Law Journal.

Our slate of national programs for 2018–2019 is unmatched. CLE for Aviation Litigation, Fidelity and Surety (Fall, Midwinter, and Spring), Insurance and Employee Benefits, Insurance Coverage Litigation, Transportation Megaconference/Trucking Litigation, Admiralty and Maritime Law, Motor Vehicle Products Liability, Toxic Torts and Environmental Law, Cybersecurity and Data Privacy, Cannabis Law and Policy, and Workers’ Compensation are on the schedule. Each will be a cutting-edge program at which attendance will be as important for subject matter as it will be to network with leaders in those areas of practice.

There are many ways to get involved in TIPS. Please feel free to contact me, and we will find the right place for you.