Want something done? Ask a busy person (or so it seems). I was recently appointed to serve as the Vice-Chair of the American Bar Association (“ABA”) Special Committee on Section, Division and Forum Coordination (“SDFC”) for the Section of the Environment, Energy and Resources. (Whew- that’s a mouthful…) I’m looking forward to working with the Special Committee delving into environmental …
Save the Date: Local Food Law Seminar at Pace Law School on October 29th
I’m excited to announce that I will be a faculty member for a Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) seminar at Pace University, School of Law (my alum) on Monday October 29th, 2012 from 6:00 to 8:30pm titled “Survey of Local Food.” Just as the title indicates, the speakers will be presenting on a myriad of practice areas affecting the local food …
Appointed as the Chair of the ABA GP Solo Agriculture Law Committee for 2012-2013
For the second year in a row, I have been appointed as the Chair of the American Bar Association’s (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division’s Agriculture Law Committee for the 2012-2013 year. It has been an exciting first year getting the Committee up and going again with two fantastic Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) webinars on crop/livestock insurance and …
Debrief From Skype Conversation About Being An Agriculture Attorney
I hope that my readers had a wonderful Fourth of July vacation and were able to spend some time in the sun. I had a nice time running again and spending time on a few beaches on Long Island including Shelter Island and Robert Moses Beach. Some R & R is always a good thing. Last Friday, I enjoyed a …
For You Iowa Folks – Recommended Agriculture Law Book
I recently finished reading Pat Dillon‘s book titled “Field Manual: Iowa Farmer’s Guide to Legal Issues.” It’s a great book and covers all the basics ranging from contract law, crop insurance, estate planning, farm leases to bankruptcy. Dillion is a good writer breaking down complicated legal concepts. The Kindle version is only $5.00 from Amazon. I give the book …
Will Be Attending the American Agriculture Law Association Annual Agriculture Law Symposium
I will be attending the American Agriculture Law Association (“AALA”) Annual Agriculture Law Symposium on October 19-20, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. I highly recommend the conference if you are a lawyer or law student hoping to build a food and agriculture law practice. Registration forms will be available later this summer. If you are a law student, there are travel …
So What Exactly is “Sustainable Agriculture?”
Sustainability has been a big buzz word in agriculture over the last few years – but what does it mean? In preparation for this presentation that I gave earlier this month, I found the “legal definition” of “sustainable agriculture” here. Pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 3103, “sustainable agriculture” means an “integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific …
Spoke to Undergraduate Agriculture Career Class via Skype
Yesterday I had an opportunity to talk about being an agriculture lawyer to an undergraduate agriculture careers class in Wisconsin via Skype. I remember being that age and not really knowing what I wanted to do. To tell you the truth, I grew up looking up to Colleen Callahan and wanted to *be* her…with a career in agriculture journalism/communications. For …
Presenter on Sustainability in Agriculture
I will be a panelist at this event on May 16th from 8:00 to 10:00 am with the Association of the Bar for the City of New York (“City Bar”) titled “Feeding Ourselves, Sustaining the Planet.” I will be presenting on sustainability developments in “Big Ag.” It is sponsored by City Bar’s Committee on International Environmental Law and the Committee …
Law Student Discount for Upcoming Local Food Law CLE
Hey law students- great news! I just found out that the American Bar Association (“ABA”) is awarding law students who need financial assistance a special discounted rate of $25 to attend this upcoming CLE titled “Counseling the Local Food Movement: What A Practitioner Should Know” scheduled on Thursday, May 10th from 2-4pm ET. You can register online for the CLE …
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 …
So What Exactly is this Mediation Thing?
I have been blogging lately about mediation – but what is it exactly? Mediation is a type of Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) and is sharply different than arbitration. A mediator does not make the decision about the outcome of the case; instead, the parties (and their attorneys, if applicable) work toward a solution together. The mediator helps to facilitate this …