David W. Hood, President, 2015-2016
Hello again, NCADA members and hangers-on! As current President of our organization, I want to bring y’all up to speed on a few things happening in our world as we continue our mission to strengthen the practice of lawyers who defend individuals and represent business in civil litigation.
Probably the most important topic right now would be the ongoing preparations for our Annual Meeting, to take place for the first time this year in Asheville, June 16-19, at the Omni Grove Park Inn. The convention location (Grove Park) is fabulous, June in Asheville is fabulous, and the program is shaping up to be just as fabulous! The Annual Meeting is not only our organization’s best opportunity to get to know other defense lawyers and judges from around the state, it is also both educational and fun. Go to the website link and register today. Yes, I mean right now. You can come back to this column afterwards.
We just hosted our first Winter Workshop back in late January, with general session topics in the morning and Practice Group-specific programming in the afternoon. This was a trial run, and I believe was a big success. We had a nice turnout, and some truly excellent presentations at The Solution Center in Durham, right off I-40. If you missed it you, well, really missed something – but if you did attend and have not yet given us feedback, please do so. We want to use that input to plan an event better workshop for early 2017.
It is also the time of year when NCADA leadership positions rotate to new folk. If you have ever wanted to get more involved in your particular Practice Group, or in the organization as a whole, this would be a great opportunity to contact me, Executive Director Lynette Pitt, or our President-Elect Todd Brown about how you can become active in a committee, group, or project of the organization. We’d love to talk to you about your interests in that regard.
Finally, with the General Assembly about to go back to Raleigh for its “Short Session”, as well as with important cases always cycling through our appellate courts, I wanted you all to know that the NCADA will continue its role of helping to advocate for our positions with each branch of state government. We have an active Legislative Committee that works with our lobbyist, Bob Kaylor, on pending bills. We provide assistance and advice to members of both the legislative and executive branches on appointments and other important issues. Through our Amicus Committee, we advocate directly for legal principles important to our membership pending in the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. The NCADA is an active organization, and we are proud of that fact.
Thanks for your own involvement with the NCADA. See you in Asheville!
