February 2, 2021

President’s Address:

Okay, I give. Let me back in the pool. I’ve followed all the rules, I got vaccinated, I got boosted, it’s time to let me back in the pool. The white flag goes up. I admit that I’m officially suffering from the COVID blues. 

I’m ready for things to get back to normal. But they don’t. It just goes on and on and on. The courts open and then just as quickly, the courts close. Scheduling orders issue, the parties comply, and then cases sit for a year or more if they don’t settle. What kind of existence is this anyway?

COVID has cost us almost a million souls. With the advent of vaccinations, people aren’t supposed to get so sick from COVID. But they do. The heartbreaking evidence is that such patients are on the rise, with the average number of Californians in COVID intensive care units more than doubling between December and January. That’s just California.

I admit that it is awfully easy to maintain a bleak outlook during these uncertain times. However, there are wonderful things to look forward to. Better days are truly ahead! And, I’m happy to say, ABPLA is getting active again, and we will strive to bring your brothers and sisters back into your lives.

While we have not fully mastered the transition from the pre-covid world of Board Certification to its current iteration, we are making great strides and are confident we will all emerge from this ordeal stronger and better than we were before.

Our plan is to have an in-person meeting in the Fall, provided there is not another variant on the horizon that would prevent us from meeting safely.   However, in order for this to happen we will need a commitment from you to attend.  Our plan is to have one or two outside speakers, and the rest would be you and your peers of the ABPLA.  We believe the depth of those who belong to this organization are absolutely the best in the business and have the most relevant knowledge for our practice.  

Whether we are able to meet in person or not, we are committed to providing programming that is relevant to you and your practice. But, before I tell you about our upcoming programs, please click on the below hyperlink and fill out the questionnaire. It is extremely important. 

Please take a couple moments to provide your feedback regarding this, as it would be most helpful.

While we cautiously assess the in person meeting opportunity, we are planning several programs in the upcoming months that will be of interest to you and your practice.  Our past  presentation with Dr. Geoff Manley was the most attended ABPLA event in history, and we hope to create a similar situation with our upcoming events.

Our current schedule is as follows; all will be 7 PM Eastern 4 Pacific.

• 2/15 John Blumberg discussing his new book  Persuasion Science for Trial Attorneys
• 3/15 Justin Kahn- Technology Inside and Outside the Courtroom
• 4/20 Jon Lomurro- Electronic Health Records- “The more you know”

In order to assure our organization thrives in the eyes of the consumers of legal services your participation and assistance is crucial.  We encourage you to invite your partners and colleagues to attend.  They need not be ABPLA board certified, but if they aren’t, why not?

Together, we can make this a great 2022. As always, I look forward to serving you through the fall meeting.