I knew it would happen eventually: it’s no secret that my tenure as Editor of the Brief has at last come to a (pretty) soft landing after these past 9 months of deadlines, cover photos (how many flowering fields can you photograph, already?), editing, re-editing, meetings, discussions, rants, raves, name calling that would make an 8th grader blush, and enough changes to our 19-year old publication to leave the Publication Board downright exhausted. I found the Brief a publication of paper and staples, and leave it a publication of world-wide reach on the Web, on Westlaw, and beyond. Not bad for a year at the top.
But before I leave you all I’d like you join me on a short stroll down memory lane. Let’s begin at the beginning …
2006
Sep musings on my first Editor’s Page … how obsequious is too obsequious
Oct one minute inside a lawyer’s head (someone had to tell it like it is)
Nov practice hacker OR how I learned to love the law in spite of myself
Dec Building a Better Brief or All I Want For Christmas is my Two Front Teeth
2007
Jan Law 2.0? Been there, done that
Feb turning the asylum over to the readers … how are we doing?
Mar Another Opening, Another Show (Judges Nite 2007, 2008)
Apr [this portion intentionally omitted]
May Web 2.0 Coming to a Firm Near You
So what have we learned from this year-long experiment in publishing-as-self-reflection? Um … let me get back to you on that. In the meantime though, let’s all think back on how we’ve learned, laughed, and brought out the best in one another, even as we turned out issue after issue of thought-provoking and practical articles written and edited by the best volunteers that money can’t buy (seriously, they don’t pay us at all). But at least there’s the adulation of the … that is, the respect of one’s … oh, heck, let me just take this opportunity to thank the people who gave even more this year than the rest of the board (not to slight anyone else):
Ted Donner: As this year’s Associate Editor, Ted went above and beyond, often orchestrating the production of editions and acting as a liaison between the writers, editors, photographers, desktop publishers, and bar staff that all need to somehow fall into place to make every issue of the Brief work. In short, it’s a tough job to make things look so easy.
Tony Abear: Tony has been a tireless, creative, innovative contributor to the Brief this past year, as well as a first-rate issue editor. He’ll make a great Associate Editor next year. He picked up the baton of Judicial Profiles, an on-again, off-again, semi-tradition here, and really ran with it. He even started out the right way, leading with one of the strongest profiles in recent memory, in this case about the Chief Judge of the Family Law Division of the 18th Circuit, Rodney Equi.
Jacki Hamler: What can I say about Jacki … that won’t get me into trouble? She is the reason that "liaison" is a verb as well as a noun. Active, enthusiastic, and always there at meetings with Pizza or Sandwiches (my favorite part of the process), Jacki kept me coming back month after month, and I know other Publication Board members would say the same.
Of course there are so many others to thank and so much more to say, from our intrepid President, Glenn Gaffney, to our far-sighted Bar Association Executive Directrix, Glenda Sharp, to the ever vigilant Gloria Norton who can always be counted on for an article idea or two. But all the rest of what I had to say will have to wait for next year, assuming my Publication Board privileges haven’t been revoked. So in an effort to keep this parting short, sweet, and to the point (a first for me), let me just say for the last time that it has been a right privilege, a distinct pleasure, and my high honor to be your Editor this past year. Good bye, good luck, and as always, thank you for your support.
Mazyar M. Hedayat
Outgoing Editor in Chief, DCBA Brief