What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been
| Author | Michael A. Mosberg |
from the chair
By
Michael A. Mosberg
What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been
MICHAEL A. MOSBERG (mosberg@amsllp.com) is
Chair of the ABA Family Law Se ction and a partner with
Aronson Mayefsk y & Sloan, LLP in New York City.
As I sit down to write this, my nal column as
Section Chair, I am thankf ul that as a country
we can nally see some d aylight. Although not
completely out of the wo ods, with vaccines in
abundant supply an d reported cases declining ,
a gradual return to normalc y is most welcome. Certainl y, this
was not the year I had anticipa ted or spent years planning
for. That said, while COVID-19 present ed its share of prob-
lems for our Sec tion, we did what we do best: evolve and
adapt. Beyond our trie d and true staples, Family Advocate
and Family Law Quarterly, the intellectual anchor s of our
Section, our Pu blications Development Board continu ed to
produce practic al books critical to the success of the fa mily
law practitioner, and our mo nthly e-Newsletter conti nued to
keep members inform ed of Section news and the lates t
developments in family law.
While we unfortunat ely were unable to meet in person
for the rst time in our S ection’s history, we quickly pivoted ,
doubling down on provid ing and presenting the information
family lawyers ne eded most. From a COVID resource pa ge to
practical pres entations by Mark Powers, we made s ure that
our members had t he tools necessary to help them ma nage
their practices an d remain economically viable through the
pandemic. Recog nizing the nancial difculties many of our
members were ex periencing, we provided more online
content than ever before a t no or minimal cost. From
webinars on busine ss valuations and custody to our rs t-ever
Family Law Quarterly Symposium entitled “Family L aw
During COVID-19: Virtual Hea rings, Family Court Proceedings ,
and the Future” to our incredib ly popular brown bag series,
produced by the Sec tion’s substantive committee s, on timely
topics ranging from dive rsity in the profession to online
mediation, we did our ver y best to provide the value you
expect and de serve. Very shortly we will be d elivering
content in yet another way, throu gh podcasts, an exciting
new Section initiati ve. And more is yet to come.
In every sense , our members are the lifeblood of this
Section. I want to than k each and every one of you for your
efforts thi s past year and your commitment to the Sec tion
and its enduring an d continued success, as well as our
numerous speaker s for providing important and timely
content, our Sec tion Ofcers and Delegate s for supporting
me with sage guidance and counsel, and our phenomenal
Section staf f—Cynthia Swan, Danielle Pruger, and Ann
Mullen—wh o worked tirelessly behind the scenes a nd
without whom this year wo uld not have been a success.
As I reect up on my time within the Section, I cannot h elp
but think back to my ver y rst meeting. Nervous an d excited,
I had never traveled any where for work, let alone an
out-of-state p rofessional conference. It was also my ve ry rst
time giving a CLE prese ntation. Having practiced for wee ks
on end, it was exhilaratin g to nally be up on stage before so
many people and have this o pportunity. But even more
satisfying wa s the fact that the person who invite d me, Past
Chair Jonathan Wolfe, has b ecome one of my closest friends
and someone with w hom I work and collaborate regularly. In
the audience that day was Pa st Chair Randy Kessler, who
gave me the proverbial “pat on the ba ck,” welcoming me
with open arms and e ncouraging me to get involved. He has
been a friend, me ntor, cheerleader, and someone with whom
I have had the oppor tunity to team up on cases involving our
respective s tates for years. The next year, then S ection Chair
Mitchell Karpf appoint ed me to serve on my rst commit tee
and has been a mento r ever since.
Indeed, what s truck me most and what has stayed w ith
me all these years is the w armth and camaraderie I genuinely
felt at that meeting in A rizona thirteen years ago. The
friends I made at my r st meeting and in future meetings
remain some of my close st friends today. And in the end, that
is the reason why this Se ction thrives: the interperso nal
relationships built an d developed over years at meetings we
work so hard to make fun, engag ing, and informative.
Interacting with an d learning from colleagues and nationally
recognized exper ts from across the country who ar e dealing
with the same or similar is sues. But there are no words to
describe those tim es when things seem at their bleakes t and
the people with who m you have built and developed these
friendships are the re for you. There is only gratitude.
It has been a true hon or to serve as Section Chair. Rest
assured, we are in gre at hands with incoming Chair Candace
Peeples. Can di and I have worked closely this past year to
navigate our Sectio n through unprecedented times . Forward
thinking and lled with bo undless energy, I cannot wait to see
what she accomplish es over the next year. I hope you will join
us in Orlando Oc tober 6–9 for the Secti on’s Fall Meeting! fa
Published in Family Advocate, Volume 44, Number 1, Summer 2021. © 2021 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof
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