Dear Fellows,

Many of you have not heard of Seth Godin, a serial entrepreneur and marketing guru. Godin has written twenty-two worldwide bestsellers and Seth’s Blog has over two billion views.

Consider this recent blog post:

Taken for granted.

It’s an odd term, worth a look.

We don’t notice that the tree we planted a few years ago thrives just a bit more each day. We don’t notice that the mail shows up when it’s supposed to, that our civilization persists in the face of chaos, and that the lights (usually) go on when we flip a switch.

Granted?

What would happen if we paid as much attention to these persistent delights as we pay to the annoying surprises that unfold each day?

The narrative of our time here becomes our lived experience. We’re the directors of this very long cinéma vérité documentary, deciding what gets focused on and what we skip over.

And it turns out that choosing our focus often leads to the plot changing as well.

"But Godin and others remind us of the need to look at the positive things in life, including all those things that we have become so accustomed to that we simply take them for granted."

These are hardly unique ideas. Author Anthon St. Maarten told us that “true gratitude is about the ordinary.” Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset said “tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are.” And Texas philosopher Willie Nelson proclaimed that “once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” 

Each of us is wired with a survival mechanism known as negativity bias: a human tendency to pay more attention to negative information than positive. While this instinct once...

National Office

Candidate Nominations

Do you know an attorney who’s qualified for and deserving of fellowship?

Any Fellow may propose the nomination of an eligible lawyer for Fellowship. The proposal must be seconded by at least two other Fellows and supported by letters of qualifications from the proposer and the seconders. Neither the proposer nor a seconder may be the partner, associate or relative of the candidate. The proposal and the supporting letters of qualification shall be submitted to the Chair of the State or Province Committee of the state or province in which the person proposed maintains his or her principal office or to the National Office of the College.

The Proposal for Fellowship (Form H) to make a nomination can be found by clicking on Nominate a Fellow in the Fellow Hub section on the College website. 

Furthering the Mission

State and Province Committees

California-Northern: On January 9, the Northern California chapter will host a dinner for the Northern California and Nevada Fellows at the City Club in San Francisco. The special evening will feature Honorary Fellow Justice Stephen G. Breyer (ret.) as the 2026 recipient of the Charles B. Renfrew Award, presented by Judicial Fellow Honorable Charles R. Breyer.



New Jersey: On December 1, 2025, Fellow Dennis J. Drasco and State Chair William D. Wallach presented the 4^th Annual Rutgers Law School Seminar on “Trials and Alternative Dispute Resolution”. The seminar was organized by the New Jersey Fellows. They were joined this year by the Honorable Marianne Espinosa, J.S.C.; past judicial participants have included Federal District Court Judges and New Jersey State Supreme Court Justices.

North Carolina: In October 2025, members of the State Committee presented a CLE for the Legal Aid of North Carolina's Statewide Summit on Taking and Defending Depositions. In 2026, the Committee will conduct Professionalism Programs at every North Carolina law school, organize social events for new Fellows, solicit applicants for the Diversity Trial Advocacy Program, and assist with judging at the National Trial Competition Regional at Wake Forest School of Law. The Annual NC Chapter meeting will occur in Asheville, from April 16-19, 2026.

Texas: In December, the Texas Fellows held a Holiday Luncheon at the Dallas Country Club in Dallas. Immediate Past State Chair Kathy Snapka received a “quilt pen hand” sculpture as an appreciation gift for her service over the last two years as chair. This is the same sculpture that the Texas State Committee gives to every national president of the College. 

President's Travel Log

This emailed version of the eBulletin features the name, location and date of local events with a link for more details. Click on the name of the event to read more. Remember, you also have a CHAPTER PAGE where you can read more about your local news, state committee and more. You must be logged in as a Fellow to view this content.

Passing of Fellows

The College has been notified of the passing of the Fellows listed below. The date after each name notes the year of induction into the College, and the date following the city is the date of his or her passing. A tribute to each will appear in the In Memoriam section of a subsequent issue of the Journal.

Arkansas

James B. Blair, ’79, Fayetteville, December 3, 2025

California

Gary L. Bostwick, ’97, McCloud, December 6, 2025

Florida

Robert S. Campbell, ’83, Naples, November 29, 2025

Alan G. Greer, ’92, Coral Gables, December 21, 2025

Martin “Marty” Leonard Steinberg, ’01, Miami, November 21, 2025

Mississippi

Stephen L. Thomas, ’01, Jackson, December 5, 2025

Missouri

Barry A. Short, ’86, Saint Louis, April 25, 2025

Montana

Hon. Sam E. Haddon, ’84, Helena, November 26, 2025

New Jersey

Carl Greenberg, ’78, Beach Haven, November 19, 2025

New York

*Robert B. Fiske, Jr., ’76, New York, December 4, 2025

North Carolina

James W. Williams, ’89, Hillsborough, December 2025

North Dakota

Ronald F. Fischer, ’03, Grand Forks, June 25, 2025

Oklahoma

Clyde A. Muchmore, ’84, Oklahoma City, November 12, 2025

Ontario

John Lorn McDougall, K.C., ’91, Toronto, November 28, 2025

Québec

J.J. Michel Robert, P.C., K.C., ’87, Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs, November 18, 2025

*There will be a detailed In Memoriam for Past President Fiske in the spring issue of the Journal