Dear American Counsel Association Members and Guests:

I am honored to serve from August 2011 to August 2012 as President of the American Counsel Association, the oldest association of independent law firms in the world. For 80 years, our association has supported members and their clients with an emphasis upon professionalism, camaraderie, and scholarship in the field of law.

Each year we are proud to support exceptional law students who have demonstrated financial need and a commitment to public service by providing scholarship assistance. At our 2011 Annual Meeting in Toronto, we created a new scholarship that will be awarded each year to an international law student beginning in 2012. This new award, to be named "The Gerard McDermott International Scholarship Award," in honor of our distinguished past president from Manchester and London, UK, recognizes the growing membership of international lawyers within the ACA. Some very fine lawyers serve justice today at least in part because of the generosity of our members, and this tradition will continue in the foreseeable future.

Even in this age of electronic networking, we focus on direct personal connections among our members. Our membership is intentionally small, but a large portion of our group gathers twice a year to spend time and enjoy one another's company in connection with the American Bar Association's Midyear 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. Our annual meeting which just concluded in Toronto had an especially international flavour. In addition to the usual complement of international members, our Sunday night reception included as guests many presidents and officers of international bar associations, and a number expressed strong interest in joining the ACA.

Over the years, I have learned to truly appreciate the value of membership in the ACA, and have made long time friendships with great people such as past presidents and members Barbara Howard (OH), Pamela Bresnahan (DC), Don Slesnik (FL), Michael Uberoi (UK), Rich Cassidy (VT), Gerard McDermott (UK), Wesley Horton (CT), Stanley Cohn (LA), Buddy Menton (NY), Tom Bolt (US VI), Gavin Foggo (UK), and James Dorsett (NC), just to name a few.

We are particularly fortunate to have developed a close relationship with the European Circuit of the English Bar. It organizes annually an international conference and continuing education program co-sponsored by our two organizations. Our groups will gather this November 10-12 in Geneva for a truly exceptional program. Please attend!

Our 2011 Annual Dinner held at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club was a gala event presided over by my predecessor, Bernard Amyot of Montreal, Canada. Some 60 of our members with their spouses and guests enjoyed fabulous views of the Toronto harbour and skyline, a wonderful cocktail hour in the Yacht Club Garden, and a delightful meal accompanied by a professional string quartet and singers. We are fortunate to have our dinners sponsored by a number of partners such as Lexis/Nexis, Aon, and ERS Group. Of course, as is our tradition at our annual dinner, each member introduced himself or herself in a humorous vein, and I had the chance to honor outgoing President Amyot and hand him three "questionable" souvenirs to prepare him for a year under South Carolina leadership including "Mark Sanford For Governor" memorabilia and a tote bag labelled "I bill for this!." Thank you for your leadership, Bernard!

We also had an elegant President's reception at the world renowned CN Tower Horizon lounge while looking at the gorgeous City of Toronto 1151 feet below, as well as a guided walking tour of the University of Toronto and the hip Yorkville entertainment and shopping district. All in all, it was a great meeting. Plans for 2012 include a fine dinner at the ABA Midyear meeting at Ralph's on the Park in New Orleans on the evening of February 3, and I look forward to welcoming you all in New Orleans where "laissez les bons temp rouler." My President's Reception will take place in Chicago on August 5, and our Gala annual reception and dinner will take place on August 6, 2012 at the University Club of Chicago, where my able successor, President-Elect Suzanne Gilbert of Orlando, Florida, will be confirmed as the Commodore of the ACA for 2012-2013!

I look forward to spending time with as many members of our Association as possible at our upcoming events in Geneva, New Orleans and Chicago. If you are a member, we hope you will find your way to at least one event. If you are interested in membership, please do not hesitate to contact me (howard.daniel@ogletreedeakins.com) or President-elect Gilbert (suzanne.gilbert@hklaw.com), and we will be happy to explore the possibility of membership with you.

Sincerely,

Howard Daniel