January Update

We are halfway through January and gearing up for the Midyear meeting in Costa Rica March 11 - 15. We have a limited number of available rooms if you have not signed up yet and are interested in doing so (and you should be!). If you wish to reserve a room contact Janice at the home office (312-263-6477) today. It is a meeting you will not want to miss.

We have just returned from my first Executive Committee meeting in Miami, Florida. My thanks to all of the Florida Fellows who joined us on Friday night to "meet and greet." Once again, I cannot stress too strongly how beneficial it is to your officers to travel to various chapters and meet many of the Fellows who do not make it to the annual or midyear meetings. Your officers are there to serve you and your interests, but we need to know what you want us to do in order to serve our purpose. There is no substitute for face to face communication, so please come out to see us when we are in your town.

The Executive Committee addressed a variety of issues that we hope will advance the health of the AAML. Obviously, you have witnessed our progress into social networking - Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn - as well as the initiation of this presidential blog. We continue to focus on e-commerce, so that Fellows can sign up for seminars and events on line instead of by paper. Although we were not able to get the system up and running in time for the March meeting, we anticipate everyone being able to sign up for June's Institute for Family Law Associates and July's Negotiation Seminar on line. Stay tuned for the completion of this project.

Linda Lea Viken is busy streamlining our bylaws and putting them in sensible order. I will update you on any changes as they are reviewed and approved by the Board of Governors.

The next issue of the newsletter will be out shortly. I want to encourage you click on the link to our website when you get to the email announcing its posting and either read it or print it out for your perusal at your leisure. It is a great source of information as to what other chapters are doing, the scheduling of future meetings, and, of course, pictures of your Fellows enjoying various social events. We always welcome articles and submissions from our very talented fellowship

I hope everyone is surviving winter and enjoying the start of the new year. Keep those cards and letters coming - or, in this new technological age, emails! I am just a click away: ken@portlandlegal.net. Ken