Dear Section Members,
Will we see you in D.C.? The deadline to register for the Appellate Practice Section’s 2018 Fall Meeting and Retreat is fast approaching! September 3 is the last day to reserve your hotel room at our reduced rate, and September 14 is the last day to register to attend or sponsor the program. I want to share with you what we have planned…
October 4, 2018
A special reception at the Supreme Court, sponsored by Justice Clarence Thomas. I can’t tell you how excited I am for this reception and how honored I am on behalf of the Section that the Court is offering us this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you’d like to share this experience with a guest, please note the option to purchase a guest registration for the reception when you register to attend the Fall Meeting and Retreat
October 5, 2018
A CLE focused on appellate practice in our Nation’s capital. This will be an exceptional program offering 5.5 credits of intermediate appellate practice and criminal appellate law certification CLE, with 1 hour of ethics credit. In our morning segment, we will be learning about the unique aspects of managing a high-profile case, handling appeals in the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (featuring an exciting appellate pro bono opportunity), and practicing in the Supreme Court. In our afternoon segment, our very own Judge Alan O. Forst will be interviewing the Honorable Gregory G. Katsas of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and the program will conclude at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum with a special program on Law, Justice, and the Holocaust.
Fall 2018 Committee Meetings and Executive Council Meeting. We will be holding our Committee meetings and Executive Council meeting in D.C. before the morning and afternoon sessions of our CLE. Executive Council members who are unable to attend in person will be able to call in to this portion of the meeting. These meetings are where the Section discusses official Section business and where great ideas come to life through the work of our Committees and their members. This is the place to start if you’re interested in getting involved in the Section.
For those who haven’t attended Committee meetings before, we typically have a table set up for each Committee. If you haven’t yet decided where you’d like to get involved, you’re free to move from table to table to get a feel for each Committee and the various opportunities for involvement. Executive Council meetings are where you’ll learn what’s going on in the Section as a whole. At this Executive Council meeting, we’ll be sharing important details about our facilitated planning session on Saturday, October 6, another must-attend event.
A true D.C. dining experience. After a day of programming, we invite you to come out and enjoy a cocktail hour and dinner at one of D.C.’s finest dining establishments, 701 Restaurant. This dinner is open to guests at an additional charge, so please be sure to make a reservation for your guests in advance during the registration process.
October 6, 2018
A facilitated strategic planning session. At our 2016 retreat in Key West, we worked together to identify a set of goals we’d like to achieve as a Section. Great things came from that meeting, and we want to extend that discussion with a skilled facilitator who will help us further identify specific goals and develop action plans to help us reach those goals. I can’t overstate the importance of this session—we will be working together to shape our future! What topics are on the table? That’s where you come in. Whether you’re a Past Chair, active on a Committee, or new to the Section and looking for ways to get involved, we want to hear your voice in this process.
So, will we see you in D.C.? Every now and then, I hear a Section member express hesitation about attending a Section meeting because he or she has not been particularly involved in the past. Involvement always starts somewhere, and if we haven’t had the pleasure of working with you yet, or if it has been a while, our first-ever venture to D.C. is the perfect opportunity to come, contribute to our growth and future, and benefit from all the Section has to offer. I can’t wait to see you there!
Sarah Lahlou-Amine
Chair, Appellate Practice Section of the Florida Bar