PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

I am honored to serve from August 2009 to August 2010 as President of the American Counsel Association, the oldest association of independent law firms in the world. For 80 years, our association has supported scholarship, conviviality, and professional camaraderie.

Every year we are proud to support talented law students who are in financial need by providing scholarship assistance. Some very fine lawyers serve justice today at least in part because of the generosity of our members.

Even in this age of electronic networking, we focus on direct personal connection among our members. Our membership is intentionally small, but a very large portion of our group gathers twice a year to spend enjoy one another's company in connection with the American Bar Association's Mid Year and Annual meetings. Membership in the ACA is generally limited to members of one law firm per metropolitan area.

Although we are "American" by name, in recent years we have become a truly international organization, as lawyers from around the world have sought to join us. We are particularly fortunate to have developed a close relationship with the European Circuit of the English Bar. We look forward to continuing to expand our international membership and to continuing cooperation with our international partners.

Our 2009 Annual Dinner, held at Chicago's University Club, was a gala event presided over by my predecessor, Wes Horton, of New Haven, Connecticut. Some 60 of our members, together with their spouses and guests, enjoyed fabulous views of the Chicago skyline, a wonderful cocktail hour and a delightful meal. Of course, as is our long tradition at our annual dinner, each member introduced him or herself in a humorous vein.

In Chicago, we also had an elegant President's reception at the Drake Hotel, an informative river tour of Chicago architecture, and the pleasure of a trip to the ballpark to see the Chicago White Sox take on the New York Yankees.

All in all, it was a great meeting.

This year, some of our members participated in continuing legal education co-sponsored with the European Circuit in Warsaw, Poland in October.

Plans for the rest of our year are nearly complete. At the ABA Mid Year meeting in Orlando, we will have dinner together at the exciting "BlueZoo" Restaurant on the evening of February 5. And, of course, we will have a full schedule of events in conjunction with the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco this summer.

I look forward to spending time with as many members of our Association as possible at this year's events. If you are a member, we hope you will find your way to at least one event. If you are a lawyer, but not a member, my neighbor from Montreal, Bernard Amyot, our Membership Chair and President-Elect, would be happy to explore the possibility of membership with you.

Sincerely,

Richard T. Cassidy

President