FOREWORD.

A "NEW NORMAL" FOR THE JOURNAL

On January 22, 2020, I received an email that would profoundly impact the course of my year. The email had originated on a library listserv, and it came to me from our director of legal writing, Susie Salmon, who had received it from our interim library director, Shaun Esposito. Normally a double forward like that would receive little attention in my inbox--but this email sparked my interest. It was a call for someone to take over editing The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process. Nancy Bellhouse May was retiring from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law, and the school was unsure if it could find someone to replace her and continue The Journal.

I emailed our director, and she and I started considering if this was something that we could take on at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. Within a few days I had exchanged emails with Dean Theresa Beiner at Arkansas and had a phone conversation with Nancy. A few days later I was drafting a memo for our dean, Marc Miller, on acquiring The Journal.

If I had to find one word to describe Dean Miller, it would be innovative. He is always open to new ideas. When Susie and I met with him in mid-February to discuss The Journal, he was enthusiastically supportive of acquiring it. But, as is often the case, we all agreed that we needed to think more about how we would fund The Journal and a full-time editor.

I started reaching out to a few friends at law firms to discuss funding. I also contacted Marsi Buckmelter at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy to see if NITA would be interested in sponsoring The Journal. (1) I had worked with Marsi on revising the classic advocacy text Winning on Appeal, and I have tremendous respect for the work that NITA does. NITA was interested--but not in the way we thought. They presented us with a truly innovative offer, where instead of funding the editor they would assist us in the editing process. It was an offer that we could not refuse, so we decided to move forward.

On March 11, Dean Miller, Susie, and I called Dean Beiner with an official offer to take over The Journal. That was the same day that the NBA canceled the remainder of its season due to COVID-19. (2) Closer to home, that same day President Robbins of the University of Arizona announced that our classes would move online. (3) Almost overnight, the country came to a standstill.

As I write this foreword, it has been almost...