Last Thursday I moderated a fantastic local food law CLE (i.e., “Continuing Legal Education”). The faculty worked hard putting together substantive materials for the attendees including relevant ancillary materials (such as this, this, and this). If you missed the live webinar, you can purchase the CLE from the American Bar Association’s (“ABA”) webstore here. Though the CLE was directed to …
Debrief from Skype Conversation About Being an Ag Lawyer
I had the opportunity to speak to a great crew via Skype last Friday about being an agriculture lawyer. It’s casual “open mic” style so we talked about whatever the participants wanted to talk about. I have been getting a lot of these types of inquiries lately from folks in many different stages of life/career. I want to note a …
Upcoming CLE on “Counseling the Local Food Movement”
As I noted in this blog, I’m very excited to announce that the American Bar Association’s (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division’s Agriculture Law Committee will be hosting a CLE webinar on Thursday, May 10, 2012 titled “Counseling the Local Food Movement: What a Practitioner Should Know.” This is a very substantive CLE that will be two hours. …
Recorded Version of Crop/Livestock Insurance Webinar Available
I want to thank everyone who participated in the Crop and Livestock/Equine Insurance CLE last month hosted the American Bar Association’s (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division’s (“GP Solo”) Agriculture Law Committee. We had a tremendous turnout. Even though the webinar lecture time ran a bit short, I feel confident that attendees received their money’s worth with a …
Upcoming ABA Crop & Livestock Insurance CLE
As part of my new leadership role with the American Bar Association (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division’s Agriculture Law Committee, I have been busy helping plan a Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) webinar on crop and livestock insurance. This program will lay down the fundamental building blocks for practicing either crop and or livestock insurance law. Please mark your …
Will Be Speaking on Farm/Ranch Partnerships at the AALA Symposium
I will be a panelist speaking on partnerships on Saturday, October 22, 2011 at the American Agriculture Law Association (“AALA”) 32nd Annual Agriculture Law Symposium in Austin, Texas. The name of the session is “Partnerships: The Neglected, The Disaster and The Desirable Plan.” We will be talking about partnerships with farms, ranches and agri-businesses. The moderator for the session is …
New Chair of the ABA GP Solo Agriculture Law Committe
I have been appointed the new chair of the American Bar Association (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division‘s Agriculture Law Committee (whew that’s a mouthful- say that three times really fast). The Committee has been fairly inactive over the last few years but I hope to change that. If you are a food/agriculture attorney or law student, please …
Thanks to Pfizer, I Will Soon Be Using an iPad in the Courtroom
Last week at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (“NCBA”) Annual Convention and Trade Show, Pfizer Animal Health’s Beef Division (@Pfizer_Beef), the sponsor of Cattlemen’s College, had an iPad giveaway contest for someone who tweeted throughout the week. Thanks to Tweetdeck and HootSuite, I won the iPad giveaway. I have been lusting over the iPad for quite sometime, particularly since I …
Back from Nebraska
Happy Columbus Day! I’m back from the great state of Nebraska where I attended American Agriculture Law Association (“AALA”) Conference. I listened in on the break-out sessions discussing Confined Animal Feeding Operations (“CAFO’s”), wind and solar farms, crop insurance, agriculture liens, and animal rights. Industry experts gave updates on a myriad of agriculture law issues including food law, environmental law, …
What Is On My Bookshelf: Ag Book Club
It’s been quite a while since my last Ag Book Club discussion. If you are a new reader to this blog, I got the idea a year ago to finally get organized and read the literature discussing or criticizing the U.S. food and agriculture industry in some way. We discussed the movie Food Inc., and the books Omnivore’s Dilemma, Eating …
Heading to Nebraska for the AALA Conference
Today I am getting on an airplane from LGA and heading to Omaha, Nebraska for the American Agriculture Law Association‘s (“AALA”) 31st Annual Agriculture Law Symposium. I’m always excited to meet other food and agriculture attorneys. Nebraska is such a great agriculture state. I haven’t been to Omaha for a few years. This year’s conference has an excellent line-up: On …
When Is The Last Time You Reviewed Your Estate Plan?
I read a great article in the Agriculture Law Update from the American Agriculture Law Association (“AALA”) by Kevin Alerding, Esq., a Partner at Ice Miller, LLP in Indianapolis, Indiana, about reviewing estate plans. Alerding recommends that folks review their estate plan once a year. I think this is good advice so it becomes part of your regular routine. Perhaps after you …