Three times a year the ABA Labor and Employment Law (LEL) Section Council meets to do the business of the Section. I’ve mentioned this before, but for the newcomers, the Section operates on consensus which means that there is balance in perspective in all its administration and programming. There are management, union/employee, and neutral members who work together to get the work of the Section done, and to provide a much richer view of the topics presented at our Continuing Legal Education programs. I serve on the Council as an At-Large member until August, but serve in a continuing role as a Section representative in the ABA House of Delegates, its policy making body.Our LEL Section has three delegates, me (neutral), Keith Frazier (management) and Don Slesnick (labor/employee). What I didn’t know before arriving at the Council meeting is that Section was extremely fortunate to have in attendance the Chair of the House of Delegates, Robert Carlson.
The flight was uneventful, but upon arriving at the Drake Hotel, I realized that I hadn’t eaten all day, so I wandered over to the nearby Cheesecake Factory. My lunch, tamale cakes was actually quite tasty. 
The Council events began later that evening with a lovely reception at the hotel, followed by dinner at Ditka’s. The Section social events are a great time to catch up with what it going on, personally and professionally in the lives of long time friends and that evening was no exception. It’s always terrific to see Chris & Shellie Hexter, Michael Green, Gail Holtzman, Denise Clark, Samantha Grant, Steve and Cindy Gordon, Ruben Chapa, and Kelly Dermody among others. I truly value the relationships that have come out of my involvement with the Section.
At the dinner, our current Chair Joel D’Alba recognized the outgoing member of the Council. As my term as an at-large, voting member of the Council ends in August, he presented me with a beautiful bowl in recognition of that service.
Nancecy 