Bar presidents customarily devote their final, May/June President’s Page to giving a retrospective on the year, thanking all the appropriate persons. Still short of that final hurdle, I already feel that instead of being on the rubber chicken circuit of receptions, I’m entering the phase where lame duck is on the menu. Aside from all the>>>

“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” —Winston Churchill Late last month, I had the honor and the great personal pleasure of participating in the investiture ceremony of three judges new to our outstanding court of appeals, and, on another occasion, to attend the retirement party of a dedicated jurist known>>>

By the time you read this column, the legislature will have been in session for several weeks. Most observers expect the legislative session will be devoid of the fiscal drama of last year. Barring a substantial shift in the budget forecast, the budget will not likely be front and center this year. Bonding, football, and a smattering of possible>>>

In the wake of the Cook County shooting, our thoughts remain with the victims: our colleague Cook County Attorney Tim Scannell and witness Gregory Thompson, and we hope for their full, complete and speedy recovery.  We recognize attorney John Lillie III for his heroic and successful efforts to help aid the victims of the shooting, and extend our>>>

It’s hard to believe that my year as Bar president is nearly half over—so much still to accomplish and so little time.  For me, and I know I speak for those who have preceded me, being Bar president is a remarkably fulfilling experience.  Thank you all for the opportunity.  Now it’s your turn to step up to the plate. There are so many>>>

Sitting in the Jose Marti Airport on October 17, awaiting the departure of our flight back to Miami and having purchased my last Cuban coffee with my last convertible peso, I reflect on the last eight days.  A remarkable legal and cultural education, paid for entirely by the participants, at no cost to MSBA, but with benefits I hope to share with>>>

“It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of  what he takes out of it.” —Albert Einstein My friends find endless amusement in reminding me that at 12:01 a.m. on July 1, 2011, the moment I became president of this great association, the State of Minnesota closed its doors.  “Pure>>>

Recently, I had the great pleasure of speaking to the incoming first-year class at two of Minnesota’s fine law schools.  The energy of the first gathering of the students, prior to the first class, was palpable.  The moment brought me back to the day before my first day of law school and my mixed emotions of pride, fear of the unknown, and>>>

“… nothing so liberalizes a man and expands the kindly instincts that nature put in him as travel and contact with many kinds of people.” —Mark Twain, May 18, 1867 In April, I had the honor to represent the MSBA and met with President Kenji Utsunomiya of the Japanese Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) in Tokyo.  The Federation is>>>

Terry Votel, our immediate past president and my good friend, is owed a great deal of thanks for leading us through very turbulent times at the legislature amid threats to judicial funding and the impartiality of the courts, and proposals for a tax on legal services. Terry presided with vision, class, a steady hand, and wisdom when the waters were>>>