Thank You for the Opportunity

• Date: 01 April 2024
• Author: Loren D. Podwill

4THE BRIEF❭ Spring 2024

View from the Chair

PUBLISHED IN THE BRIEF, VOLUME 53, NUMBER 3, SPRING 2024. © 2024 BY THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION. REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS INFORMATION OR ANY PORTION THEREOF MAY

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How quickly time goes by, especially when you’re doing

something you really enjoy with people whom you

respect and like. In August 2023, I had the honor and

privilege of starting my term as TIPS Chair, which will come

to an end at the conclusion of the ABA Annual Meeting in

August. At that time, Chris Nolan will start his term as TIPS

Chair, to be followed by Marcy Greer (Chair-Elect) and then

Meade Mitchell (Vice-Chair). Newly elected TIPS Council

members Peter Biging, Christine Forsythe,Aaron Greenbaum,

Roscoe Mutz, and Richard Vanderslice, along with Finance

Ocer-Elect David Becker, Revenue Ocer-Elect Leland

Kellner, Secretary Lisa Dickinson, and Section HOD Delegate

Floyd Holloway, will also start their new terms.TIPS is in

great hands with these new and returning leaders at the helm,

along with the many newly appointed and returning chairs,

chairs-elect, and vice-chairs of our general and standing com-

mittees and task forces.

As I stated at the start of my term, the primary focus this

year was on preparing and transitioning to “TIPS: The Next

Generation.” Mission accomplished! TIPS leadership will be

guided by an updated Section strategic plan that was approved

by the Council at our Section Conference in Los Angeles in

May. Thank you to the many contributors to the strategic plan

and to the Section ocers and sta who will be implementing

the plan in the months and years ahead.

In my nal message as Chair, I want to thank TIPS for the

many opportunities that I and many others have had through

the years and to encourage new and returning TIPS members

to consider getting involved in a leadership role and to volun-

teer for the many TIPS public service projects.

TIPS oers unparalleled leadership, networking, publishing,

and speaking opportunities. I’ve beneted professionally and

personally from decades of involvement in TIPS and TIPS

leadership. I have had legal scholarly papers published, spoken

at numerous CLEs before audiences of existing and potential

clients and colleagues, and developed lifelong personal rela-

tionships with fellow TIPS members throughout the country.

I’ve also had the opportunity on numerous occasions to

give back through participation in various public service proj-

ects organized by the TIPS Law in Public Service Committee

(LIPS), including our current Financial Literacy Project and

past projects involving high school peer mediation, domestic

violence safety brochures, and service at homeless shelters,

animal shelters, and food and clothing drives. The professional

and personal satisfaction has been beyond measure, and I

rmly believe that TIPS has made a positive dierence in the

lives of many. As Winston Churchill is quoted as saying: “We

make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we

give.” And as Gandhi said:“The best way to nd yourself is

to lose yourself in the service of others.” Finally, as my good

friend and new HOD Delegate Floyd Holloway regularly

reminds us: “If service is beneath you, leadership is beyond

you.” At a time when American jurisprudence, our judicial

and legal systems, and the legal profession as a whole are being

challenged and questioned by many, it’s crucial that lawyers

step forward as representatives of and protectors of American

democracy and our legal system. The ABA and TIPS oer

opportunities to do so on a local and national basis.

If you are not already a TIPS member, please consider

joining us at https://www.americanbar.org/groups/tort_trial_

insurance_practice/membership/. If you are already a TIPS

member and are interested in a leadership position, please

contact Theresa Livingston at theresa.livingston@americanbar.

org. If you are interested in volunteering for a LIPS project,

please contact Briana Lindsey at briana.lindsey@americanbar.

org.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the ABA Annual

Meeting in August in Chicago and at the TIPS Fall Meeting

in October in Hawaii. I’m so grateful for the many opportuni-

ties I’ve had with TIPS through the years and the trust placed

in me as the 2023–24 Chair.We have accomplished a lot

together, and there is so much more to come. With the help of

our incredible TIPS sta, led by Director Theresa Livingston

and Associate Director Janet Hummons, and all of you, the

future is bright and the sky is the limit. Let’s take the journey

into the future together.Z

Thank You for the Opportunity

By Loren D. Podwill