NATLE FYI

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

We’re going into the last week to submit names to the Nominating Committee – the deadline is next Friday, May 1st.  Positions open to nomination are president-elect, treasurer, secretary, and five at-large seats.  If you are interested in becoming more active in the future direction of NATLE, or know someone who should be, click here for the nomination form.  All nominees will receive a follow-up questionnaire, due May 8th.

NOTE!  The riverboat tour is now an integral part of the Annual Meeting in Chicago set to sail on Saturday, July 25th (4:30p to 7:30p).  Our friends at Supio are sponsoring the activity to reduce any ticket cost (~$25-$30).  Families and guests are welcome to join us for this guided and catered excursion along the Chicago River.  The dock is a 2-minute walk from the Hyatt!  On this private cruise, we’ll explore amazing architecture, skyline vistas, stories, and more, discovering why no other city is like Chicago.  This will be an interactive experience to learn about the “ugly buildings” (this includes the House of Blues where we’ll be for the AAJ Opening Reception later!) and the City’s underbelly.  We’ll also have the whole boat and we’ll go rain or shine.  Reserve your spot(s)!

Register for our Annual Meeting in Chicago (July 25-27) to get in on the Early Bird rate by the end of TODAY!  Once you complete the NATLE registration process, you will automatically be added to a NATLE-member only (no vendors), listserv for Chicago registrants to help with any pre-con (and during-con!) arrangements. AAJ’s registration page is open and the confirmation contains a link to the hotel reservation site.  Don’t wait on registering and reserving a room – NATLE does not have a secret cache of rooms for fence-sitters! 

We’re bringing back the in-person Leadership Symposium for a full-day on Friday, Nov 6.  This is the day before the NATLE Governmental Affairs Conference in Tucson, November 7-9.  Leadership consultant, Jes Averhart, has provided a proposal to facilitate this valuable program designed specifically for executive directors, TLA staff, and volunteer leaders.  Help us spread the word by notifying your president and/or president-elect.  The Westin La Paloma is expanding our room block to include Thursday, Nov 5.  (If your volunteer leadership can only attend the Symposium and not the GAC, there will be a Symposium-only registration option.)  Help us right-size the room block and let us know how many rooms you’ll need for Thursday, Nov 5.

That’s the NATLE Weekly Wrap.  Have a great weekend!

P.S. In case you’re still here…I didn’t have any luck with Facebook Marketplace when I was in the thick of moving Dad’s 35 year's of stuff from New Hampshire to Vermont in 2022.  Craigslist was marginally better and helped me rehome a few of the big items like beds and area rugs that he wouldn’t need in his new place.  Lately, though, it has been the reverse.  Craigslist has been stagnant, but Marketplace is hot.  The light at the end of the tunnel is still dim, but there’s a tiny bit more wiggle room to park in my garage.

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

NEW!  We’ve added a pre-con riverboat tour to the Annual Meeting in Chicago on Friday, July 24th (11am to 2pm).  Our friends at Supio are sponsoring the activity to reduce any ticket cost (~$25-$30).  Families and guests are welcome to join us for this guided lunchtime excursion along the Chicago River.  On this private catered cruise, we’ll explore amazing architecture, skyline vistas, stories, and more, discovering why no other city is like Chicago.  This will be an interactive experience to learn about the “ugly buildings” (this includes the House of Blues where we’ll be for the AAJ Opening Reception later!) and the City’s underbelly.  We’ll have the whole upper deck and it’s covered, so we’ll go rain or shine.  Reserve your spot(s)!

Register for our Annual Meeting in Chicago (July 25-27) to get in on the Early Bird rate before Friday, April 24th.  Once you complete the NATLE registration process, you will automatically be added to a NATLE-member only (no vendors), listserv for Chicago registrants to help with any pre-con (and during-con!) arrangements. AAJ’s registration page is open and the confirmation contains a link to the hotel reservation site.  Don’t wait on registering and reserving a room – NATLE does not have a secret cache of rooms for fence-sitters! 

The Annual Meeting Scholarship Review Committee received two applications to attend the Annual Meeting in July.  The Committee will review and notify the awardee by next Friday.

Save the date for the NATLE Governmental Affairs Conference in Tucson, November 7-9.  NEW! We’re bringing back the in-person Leadership Symposium for a full-day on Friday, Nov 6.  Leadership consultant, Jes Averhart, will facilitate this valuable program designed specifically for executive directors, TLA staff, and volunteer leaders.  Help us spread the word by notifying your president and/or president-elect.  The Westin La Paloma is expanding our room block to include Thursday, Nov 5.  Note: If your volunteer leadership can only attend the Symposium and not the GAC, there will be a Symposium-only registration option.  Help us right-size the room block and let us know how many rooms you’ll need for Thursday, Nov 5.

That’s the NATLE Weekly Wrap.  Have a great weekend!

P.S. In case you’re still here…Instead of immediately deleting the email from Xfinity last week, I quickly scrolled through it and my eye landed on the words “free” and “Peacock”.  Color me skeptical, but it’s true that my internet provider now includes the streamer in my subscription.  This means I can finally watch Yellowstone that won so many awards.  I’m only a handful of episodes in, but I’m getting to know the Duttons – a seriously dysfunctional family running a successful ranch through ruthless politics, a twisted sense of loyalty, and questionable morals.  The cinematography doesn’t take advantage of the setting as well as another “western” I like, Heartland, that takes place in stunningly beautiful Alberta, but I’m too busy watching Kevin Costner to miss it.

P.P.S. On my evening commute to an exercise class this week, I was stopped in traffic and watched a litterbug in action at the bus shelter.  Without a hint of shame, she tossed a fast-food soda cup on the ground and then dug around in her backpack to pull out an empty burger box to add to it.  I don’t even spit out my gum anymore unless it’s into a trash can, so I was instantly incensed.  As my light turned green, I rolled down my window to yell, “Pick up your $%&@”.  Sadly, but as I expected, it was completely ineffectual, but it made me feel a little better that I’d had my say.

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

The Annual Meeting Scholarship Review Committee has received one application, so far, to attend the Annual Meeting in July.  If the conference isn’t in your TLA’s budget, apply for the Townsend Memorial Scholarship.  Part-time Regular and Associate members may now apply and the deadline to submit an application is the end of TODAY.

Register for our Annual Meeting in Chicago (July 25-27) to get in on the Early Bird rate before April 24th.  NEW!!  Once you complete the NATLE registration process, you will automatically be added to a NATLE-member only, listserv for Chicago registrants to help with any pre-con (and during-con!) connections. AAJ’s registration page is open and the confirmation contains a link to the hotel reservation site.  Don’t wait on registering and reserving a room – NATLE does not have a secret cache of rooms for fence-sitters! 

The Annual Meeting Planning Committee is booking a riverboat tour for Friday, July 24th between late-morning and 2pm.  Supio is sponsoring the activity to reduce any ticket cost.  Details on this activity will be released ASAP.

If you are interested in becoming more active in the future direction of NATLE, the Nominating Committee is actively recruiting its next leaders.  Positions open to nomination are president-elect, treasurer, secretary, and five at-large seats.  Click here for the nomination form.  Deadline is May 1st.  All nominees will receive a follow-up questionnaire, due May 8th.

That’s the NATLE Weekly Wrap.  Have a great weekend!

P.S. In case you’re still here…I learned how to ski through a school program in 3rd grade at Cochran’s Ski Area.  For those who watch the Olympics and World Cup races, that name is familiar to the sport going back to 1968.  Ryan Cochran-Siegle’s grandfather, Mickey, ran the Mighty Mite (lift), while grandmother, Ginnie, taught newbies the difference between “pizza” and “spaghetti”.  One of the other “lifts” was a rope tow that was a rough, hemp-like, inch-thick rope that would shred your mittens and jacket on Day 1…not for the timid.  Their son, Bobby, was my race coach.  I’d love to leave that sentence right there, but I feel obligated to add that it was the “Lollipop Races” where all racers received a sucker at the finish line.  Even at the tender age of eight, I knew that skiing with a lollipop clamped in my mouth was probably a bad idea, but we all did it anyway.  Seeing my name in the newspaper on Sunday was worth it.  My parents soon got on skis, too, and Dad became one of the ski patrollers.  I’d help with “sweep” at 4pm after the lift (yes, just one went to the top) stopped running.  We’d cruise along the sides of the trails looking for errant ski tracks and I remember the thrill of the possibility of rescuing someone clashing with the dread of alternatively finding someone wrapped around a tree.  One story my dad loves to tell is about his spectacular yard sale.  That’s what it’s called when you fall and every bit of equipment that you weren’t born with is spread far and wide across the trail.  I witnessed it from the Tbar and when I finally skied down to him, he was still looking for his glasses.  This is all a roundabout way of acknowledging that my daredevil days are over, but I wish the crew on the Artemis a safe and soft landing this afternoon.

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

If you are interested in becoming more active in the future direction of NATLE, the Nominating Committee is actively recruiting its next leaders.  Positions open to nomination are president-elect, treasurer, secretary, and five at-large seats.  Click here for the nomination form.  Deadline is May 1st.

The Annual Meeting Scholarship Review Committee has received zero applications to attend the Annual Meeting in July.  If the conference isn’t in your TLA’s budget, apply for the Townsend Memorial Scholarship.  Part-time Regular and Associate members may now apply and the deadline to submit an application is next Friday, April 10th.

Register for our Annual Meeting in Chicago (July 25-27) to get in on the Early Bird rate before April 24th.  AAJ’s registration page is open and the confirmation contains a link to the hotel reservation site.  Don’t wait on registering and reserving a room – NATLE does not have a secret cache of rooms for fence-sitters!

The Annual Meeting Planning Committee is looking into a riverboat architectural tour for Friday, July 24th between late-morning and 2pm.  Details on this activity will be released ASAP.

That’s the NATLE Weekly Wrap.  Have a great weekend!

P.S. In case you’re still here…When I noticed a lot of winged traffic flying in under my deck with little twigs, I put up the wren house last weekend as an alternative, and preferred-by-me, nesting spot.  Yesterday, a flash of blue caught my eye in the space between my desk monitors.  This wasn’t a big blue jay, so I grabbed my handy binoculars.  It was a gorgeous male Eastern Bluebird!  I’d seen several before, most recently last May on a hiking trip in Virginia, but they’re not so common this far north, especially this time of year.  He and his lady friend both checked out the as-yet vacant wren house real estate, but must have decided to pass on it since I’ve only had that one sighting.

P.P.S. Speaking of pairs, I got a good chuckle this morning listening to the buttoned-up BBC interviewer ask a Harvard researcher about the mechanics of octopus mating.  Try as he might to make it sound dignified, it still came out as “how did the male octopus know where to…stick it?”

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

Annual Meeting:

Register for to get in on the Early Bird rate before April 24th.  I’ve been hitting the refresh button on AAJ’s registration and hotel reservation site and will let you know as soon as it’s open.

The Planning Committee is open to suggestions of activities in Chicago for Friday, July 24th between morning and 2pm.  Ideas, so far, include the Obama Library, museums, Shedd Aquarium, riverboat tours.  If you have thoughts, please let me know.  We recognize that you need to make travel arrangements, so details on this activity will be released ASAP.

Part-time Regular and Associate members can now apply for a scholarship to attend, July 25-27.  The deadline to submit an application for the Townsend Memorial Scholarship is April 10th.  The NATLE Board has relaxed the criteria for Scholarship eligibility.

Many of you have received emails from the student-led group, NPLA.  We are working a visit with them into the Chicago program.

Nominations:

The Nominating Committee is actively recruiting members who are interested in joining the NATLE Board.  Positions open to nominations are: president-elect, treasurer, secretary, and five at-large seats.  If you or another member are interested, click here for the nomination form.  Deadline is May 1st.

That’s the NATLE Weekly Wrap.  Have a great weekend!

P.S. In case you’re still here…Growing up, paleontology and archeology were high on my list of possible careers.  Maybe it was the dusty, desert locations and the sometimes years it can take before uncovering a find that drove me to get my degree in business administration instead.  Also, the fussy business of using nothing more robust than a soft paintbrush to remove millennia of that desert build up, wasn’t much of an incentive.  I grabbed a random book off the shelf last week that seemed to blend my love of mysteries with a fascination with ancient civilizations.  The Horus Killings by P.C. Doherty takes place as Queen Hatusu (aka Queen Hatshepsut) takes the throne (c. 1479 BCE) after her husband (and half-brother…ew) dies.  While her detractors weigh the legitimacy of a female Pharaoh, her supporters and those searching for a precedent in the archival scrolls are dropping like flies in rather brutal ways. I only have 25 pages left to go, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open long enough last night to finish it.  Imagine my surprise though when the NYT had an article this week about this actual Queen-Pharaoh who has been up-to-now apparently unfairly maligned as cruel. Turns out, her stepson had a case of the insecurities and desecrated her monuments after she died. She should be remembered as a successful politician and battle strategist.

P.P.S. How did the ancient civilizations count the years? What did they consider the “first century” when they first started counting? They refer to the eras by naming the dynasties, but that’s not very precise.

Good Morning and Happy First Day of Spring!

The Nominating Committee is actively recruiting members who are interested in joining the NATLE Board.  Positions open to nominations are: president-elect, treasurer, secretary, and five at-large seats.  If you or another member are interested, click here for the nomination form.  Deadline is May 1st.

Announcing!  At this week’s meeting of the NATLE Board, criteria for Scholarship eligibility have been relaxed.  Part-time Regular and Associate members can now apply for a scholarship to attend the Annual Meeting in July.  The application period for the Townsend Memorial Scholarship is now open with a deadline of April 10th.  (Yes, this seems early, but the Committee needs to review and meet to approve an awardee, with time left for the awardee to make travel plans.)

Register for our Annual Meeting in Chicago (July 25-27) to get in on the Early Bird rate before April 24th!  AAJ’s registration and hotel reservation site will open at the end of March.

The Annual Meeting Planning Committee is open to suggestions for activities in Chicago for Friday, July 24th between morning and 2pm.  Ideas, so far, include the Obama Library, museums, Shedd Aquarium, river tours.  If you have thoughts, please let me know.  We recognize that you need to make travel arrangements, so details on this activity will be released ASAP.

Many of you have received emails from the student-led group, NPLA.  We have invited them to make a presentation to NATLE in Chicago, so stay tuned.

The Zoom Series topic on Monday was about Trademarking Your TLA’s Assets.  It’s a relevant topic and our presenter, Jennifer Couture, made the process easy to understand.  The recording is available for members, along with her PPT.  Watch it!

Bookmark our Master Calendar to stay up on the major events hosted by NATLE, AAJ, and your TLA colleagues.  If you have a major event you’d like included, send me the title, date, and location.

That’s the NATLE Weekly Wrap.  Have a great weekend!

P.S. In case you’re still here…How do you define member engagement?  That became the catalyst question for a great conversation in a roundtable hosted by PropFuel this week.  We may have members who read emails (listserv or otherwise) and click on links, but never post or attend a meeting, yet they consider themselves to be engaged and are therefore satisfied with their membership.  The conundrum is that low engagement doesn’t equate to low satisfaction, but it’s hard to measure engagement, especially when requests for feedback are most often answered by the most active members.  Hmm, this sounds like a good roundtable for Chicago…

Good Morning and Happy Friday the 13th (ah-gain)!

The Zoom Series topic for March is Trademarking Your TLA’s Assets on Monday, March 16 at 4pmET.  Ensuring that your association’s name and logo are properly registered and protected helps safeguard the value of membership and strengthens the organization for the future.  Jennifer Couture, Esq. will highlight the items required to begin the process; for example, collecting background information, like dates a name/logo is first used, saves time in the application steps.  Register today!

Registration is open for our Annual Meeting in Chicago (July 25-27) so get in on the Early Bird rate before April 24!  The application period for the Townsend Memorial Scholarship is also open with a deadline of April 11th.  Criteria and guidelines are available on our website.

There is enough interest in the topic of non-lawyer-owned law firms and fee sharing with non-lawyers to hold a Zoom Series session in the near future.  I’ll work on pulling together the facilitator(s) and send an announcement ASAP.  Tentative date is April 20th.  If you or a TLA member is interested in participating, please let me know.   

That’s the NATLE Weekly Wrap.  Have a great weekend!

P.S. In case you’re still here…I’ve started watching The Dinosaurs on Netflix.  Growing up, my toybox was filled with Holly Hobbie dolls and Lego sets rather than plastic T-Rexs and Stegosaurs, but I was fascinated by National Geographic articles (ok, mostly the drawings) about archeological discoveries of giant bones and the creatures they once held up.  Seeing those beasts reproduced in CGI with skin, muscles, eyes, takes it to a whole other level.  I know they can cover only so much in a 4-episode series, but I miss seeing how the reptiles and dinosaurs developed in each period.  In the show, they’re just there as if they hatched fully formed without the steps of evolving from a creature that crawled out of the primordial goo.  It’s still a good watch and the calming and deeply resonant voice of Morgan Freeman is a bonus. 

P.P.S. Most of us have enjoyed referring to our friend at TrialSmith, Kent Hughes, as Kenta Claus, but if you have a daily tear-off calendar, you may have seen one of The Daily Extra’s on the back this week was about the Kentrosaurus.  This dinosaur resembles a pint-sized Stegosaurus with hard plates on its back and a tail clustered with spikes.  I confess I don’t know where I was going with this, but it made me think of Kent and smile!

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

The Planning Committee for our Annual Meeting in Chicago is meeting on March 27th.  Save the dates in July (25-27), but before booking flights, consider that the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is holding their annual Summit immediately following our Annual Meeting.  “State” night is Tuesday evening and this is a great opportunity to see your state legislators while in Chicago.  (Check their website for emerging details.)

Possible Zoom Series topic: there was a conference call last September among a few states that are seeing an approach of non-lawyer-owned law firms and fee sharing with non-lawyers.  Is there enough interest in this topic to set up a Zoom session?  If you’re interested in (virtually) attending a session in April (tentatively April 20th), please let me know.   

That’s the NATLE Weekly Wrap.  Have a great weekend and, if you’re in one of the areas that still fiddles with the time, don’t forget to turn your clocks forward before bed on Saturday!

P.S. In case you’re still here…I did it.  FOMO got the better of me and I wanted to be a part of the conversation that it felt like the whole world was having without me.  I watched all six episodes of Heated Rivalry while I had access to HBOMax at The Del.  No spoilers in case you’re one of the dozen or so on earth who haven’t seen it, but I gotta say, I loved the end of ep 5 and all of ep 6.  One of my friends at Pure Barre has watched the series at least three times, “picking up more details each time”.  I don’t feel the need for a repeat viewing, but what will stay with me is the respectful portrayal of healthy intimate male relationships not usually found in prime time, and their supportive friends.

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

Thank you to all who traveled to San Diego for the NATLE Winter Meeting.  I am putting together a blast for next week with brief messages from each of our Justice Partners and conference sponsors that will also contain contact info.

An evaluation form was distributed earlier this week, as well as a non-attendee survey.  We acknowledge that this is a tough time of year to be away from the office and legislature.  You have requested more interactive discussion time during our conferences and, because of the more intimate attendance at the Winter Meetings, they fit well into a roundtable-heavy format.  I’m interested in hearing your ideas and experiences with how to make this format successful as a hybrid meeting.

The Planning Committee for our Annual Meeting in Chicago is taking shape, so if you’re interested in having input on the topics, speakers, or activities, please reach out to Alison Dodge or me.

That’s the NATLE Weekly Wrap.  Have a great weekend!

P.S. In case you’re still here…I know every one of you recognizes that conferences are energizing, but when you’re “on” from the second you step out of your hotel room, they can be exhausting.  When they’re over, I wish I could hop into a transporter and beam myself home.  By that time, I’m done, cooked, spent, and ready to get back to the routine of home, check off the post-conference tasks, and start looking ahead to the next project or meeting.  Despite the bomb cyclone that fwoomped down on the mid-Atlantic almost perfectly timed to coincide with my trip home and had already cancelled thousands of flights, I was home on schedule.  I envy anyone who can sleep on a plane.  On the long leg from San Diego to Dulles, one guy a few rows up was doing the head-bob by the time we pushed back from the jetway and was full-on navel-gazing within 5 minutes of take-off.  If the seats were more comfortable, I might do the same, but alas, they’re more like church pews than easy chairs.

Good Morning from San Diego and Happy Friday!

If you are arriving in San Diego for the NATLE Winter Meeting by 4pm this afternoon, please join us at the Sun Deck (at the Del) for Happy Hour.  Western Alliance Bank has invited us for cocktails at this oceanfront oasis!  The agenda is in the program brochure here and on our website, under the Events tab.

The Planning Committee for our Annual Meeting in Chicago is going to be taking shape soon, so if you’re interested in having input on the topics, speakers, or activities, please reach out to Alison Dodge or me.  In the meantime, save the dates of July 25-27.

That’s the NATLE Weekly Wrap.  Have a great weekend!

P.S. In case you’re still here…The word “tidy” would never be used in a sentence describing my father.  Blaming a lack of closet space (which is true), he’d stopped putting away his laundry.  To his credit, it was his idea to get a clothing rack, which I promptly ordered for pick up at Home Depot.  Well, it was made in China and the instructions for assembly were, I think, also written in China and then poorly translated into English.  I aced the mechanical and spatial reasoning of my high school aptitude tests (not the SATs), and I relied heavily on that skill to suss out the correct match-up of parts ‘n pieces.  Nowadays, I’d liken that early testing to the Sorting Hat at Hogwarts, suggesting the optimal career track for each of my classmates.  We all compared our results and “priest” and “military” were consistently and suspiciously among the top three career paths.  Other than a handful, I wouldn’t have called us saintly or particularly disciplined, but for the few who already had their hearts set on Annapolis, I’m sure it was affirming.  As to the task at hand, it took 4 hours on Sunday to get to a point where we could see the floor again in his apartment.

P.P.S. I decided to check out Nobu’s sushi for dinner last night.  Had a few rolls and a large hot sake.  I woke in the wee hours from a dream where my hair was stuck in a moving escalator.  Maybe I should have gotten the small sake.