Our second year as an MSBA section began this year and we are up and running with a membership approaching 300! For us, bigger is better and a long-time goal of mine has come true: the creation of a state bar association dispute resolution section that provides services to its membership and the community.

Many of us know each other through the bar, dispute resolution workshops, the ADR Commission, and other interactions. Many of us do not. My goals for the upcoming year are to improve opportunities for networking and to promote professional growth.

Last year, we had our first annual spring dinner meeting which was a huge success. This year, we hope it will be even better. The dinner meeting provides an opportunity to exchange ideas with other dispute resolution practitioners and to hear from prominent leaders in the field. Last year, Rachel Wohl, Executive Director, and Lou Giesel, Associate Director, of the Maryland Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO) provided an update on the state of dispute resolution practice in Maryland. They presented Join the Resolution, the report and recommendations of the ADR Commission, and provided information about numerous new programs. This year’s dinner promises to be equally informative and we are considering an additional daytime educational component. Stay tuned for the date and more details from Tom Lynch and Joyce Mitchell, co-chairs of this year’s Program Committee.

This newsletter contains the names and telephone numbers of the section council members and the various committee chairs. Get involved! Call them and sign up for areas of interest to you. Let me know your thoughts about improving and expanding section activities. Call, write, or e-mail Mary Louise Pries or Jonathan Rosenthal, our newsletter co-editors, and let them know what is happening in your jurisdiction, or submit an article or a letter for others to see and think about. This is your newsletter and your contributions are welcome. Mary Louise, Jonathan, and the newsletter staff do a great job of keeping us informed about state and national activities and they welcome FROM THE FIELD reports.

We have joined the resolution in a very big way and I am looking forward to another banner year.

Be well and be in touch,

Melanie