President's Message

By Michael Huddleston
Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr P.C.

Dear Fellows:

We have had a very exciting few months as we have moved beyond the pandemic to have our first face-to-face meetings. Kudos to Wayne Taylor for his creative and persistent leadership as we have moved from the improvisation required by the pandemic to a return to the normal business of the College. We have come through this trying period financially sound, with expanded offerings like Pop-Up Calls for members, and a continued commitment to selecting distinguished and diverse new members. Sheri Pastor will now be cycling out of the formal leadership positions she has held. We extend our heartfelt thanks for her service as an Officer and member of the Board of Regents, and for her continued involvement in the College. Deb Varner has now become the College’s President-Elect and Angela Elbert has been elected Secretary-Treasurer.

With each step this year, we will be encouraging your participation in the activities of the College. The real joy of being in the organization is getting to know and work with so many exceptional lawyers working in the same area of law. So, volunteer! Join a committee, sign-up to speak at or attend a Pop-Up Call, let us know about your interest in serving, and join us at the Annual Law School Symposium and the Annual Meeting. Share your ideas for how we can improve the College.

We will continue to seek to extend the College to jurisdictions where we do not have Fellows. Wayne Taylor’s focus on building the College for the future by bringing in younger, diverse Fellows will continue as we begin to transition to newer generations. We will be planning for the evolution of the College as a part of this process. As with improvisation, we want to gently jazz things up a bit, but we do not want to lose track of the melody.

The College has been very successful in providing programming that focuses on cutting-edge issues in insurance coverage and bad faith. We need your initiative and involvement in the generation and discussion of new ideas, concepts and legal developments. Our goal is to have you “hear it first” and/or “understand it best” as a part of the College’s upcoming programs and events.

We are finalizing details for holding the Annual Law School Symposium at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Texas, on November 11, 2022. Bob Allen, Ernest Martin, and Marc Gravely are leading the efforts in planning the Symposium, supported by committee members Beth Bradley, Leo Martinez, Ellen Van Meir, and Jim Cooper. 

Our thanks go out to Tracey Saxe and Laura Hanson for the splendid work they did on our recent 2022 Conference. Our Annual Conference will return to Chicago, May 10-12, 2023. The Annual Conference Co-Chairs, KT Talieh and Mary Borja, and Vice-Chairs, Suzan Charlton and Barbara O’Donnell, have already begun the hard work of the planning of the Conference.

Collegiality and knowledge are primary goals of the College. For me, the College has been very meaningful because of the friendships developed from participation and involvement. As we begin the second decade of the College, we will be committed to improving and invigorating what has already been a great success. We have a great year ahead of us. Get involved. Participate. I hope to see each of you at the Law School Symposium in the fall and at the Annual Conference in 2023.

Warm Regards,
Mike