Those who attended the LPBA Annual Meeting in Santa Rosa in July were glad they were there. An outstanding program of continuing legal education, the beauty of the California landscape, the perfect weather, Sid and Peggy Berlin's party, complete with delicious wines, and the fun and fellowship of the LPBA members made it a worthwhile meeting.

For those of you who could not attend, the meeting began with a lovely reception and buffet dinner hosted by Speiser, Krause, Irvine, CA; Gerald Sterns, San Francisco; William Wimsatt, of Magana, Cathcart & McCarthy, Los Angeles; and Kreindler & Kreindler, New York, NY, who was represented by James Kreindler.

The substantive program got underway bright and early on Thursday morning. William Boston, Esq., Oklahoma City, spoke on the subject of "Registration of Aircraft." He was followed by Sara Simmons, Esq., San Francisco, who spoke on "Discovery: The Full Monty." Although the title, "The Full Monty," is provocative, Sara's presentation was nothing like the movie of that title. Don Lykins, Cedar Glen, CA, presented "Seeking the Truth: The Ethics of an Expert in Aviation Litigation."

Other outstanding speakers included Erik Rigler, who is a pilot and former FBI agent from San Antonio. He regaled us with "Learning The Bitter Lessons: Inception of the FBI's Aviation Program." Erik, thank you for the FBI hat. I wear it every opportunity I get. The end result is that my neighbors now shun me, my friends have stopped calling and my car has been vandalized. All coincidences, no doubt.

Also on the program was an informative presentation by Mark Kolber, Denver, on the subject of "E-mail in the Law Office: Practical and Ethical Considerations.: He was followed by Robert Gusinski, Esq., who gave an excellent speech on "New Developments in FAA Federal Aviation Regulations."

We kicked off the afternoon with the ever popular golf tournament. The winners in the men's category were Howard Weiss and Tom Teppler. The women winners were Amanda Kessler and Maggie Meko. We capped off the day with hospitality in the present's suite.

Friday dawned under beautiful skies but that did not deter our members from flocking back to the meeting. We started off with our own Katherine Yodice, who now practices with her father, John Yodice, in Washington, D.C. Kathy gave a fine presentation on "Recent Courts of Appeals Decisions in FAA cases." She was followed by an outstanding aviation visibility expert, James Harris, Alpine, CA, who spoke on "Visual Analysis in Midair Collisions." Jonathan Sterns, Esq., Washington, D.C., then addressed the subject of "The See and Avoid Rule: How to See It and How to Avoid It."

We were fortunate to have James Kreindler, Esq., New York, NY, give us a first hand update on "Air Carrier Accidents." Jim is personally involved in most of the recent major airline crashes. He was followed by Gregg Winton, Esq., who spoke on the subject of "Rule 26-The Lost Privilege."

The afternoon event was the tennis tournament. The winners in the men's double were Alan C. Wilkinson and Norris B. Rickey. In the mixed doubles there was a tie for first by William O. Luckett, Jr. and Janet Doolin and Mark Kolber and Margie Wilkinson.

The social highlight of the meeting was the reception and dinner party hosted by Sid and Peggy Berlin at their beautiful home and vineyards on Friday evening. The view was spectacular; the dinner was delicious, and the wine was superb. Many thanks to Sid and Peggy for an unforgettable evening...especially for those of us who had never before used an outhouse!

Saturday, the day began at 7:30 a.m. for those who attended the Fun/Run and Walk/Talk. We started our program with Robert Gross, Esq., Washington, D.C., who gave us many practical tips in his presentation, "Defending The U.S.: Lessons Learned." Phillip Kolczynski, Esq., Irvine, CA, gave an excellent speech on the subject of "Liability Exposure of Volunteer Flying Organizations and their Members." The program ended with a trial demonstration, "Expert Witnesses In The Courtroom." Those participating in this outstanding demonstration were Gerald Sterns, Esq., San Francisco, who served as plaintiff's attorney; Jack Veth, Esq., Irvine, CA, defense attorney; and real live pilot witnesses, William Kelly, Lakeland, FL and Alan Wilkinson, Durango, CO. I can personally vouch for the excellence of both Kelly and Wilkinson because every time I have hired them, we won the case.

The program was followed by the annual membership meeting. The election results were announced. James Pokorny is the new president elect; Errol Kantor will serve as secretary. William Wimsatt is our new treasurer and the newly elected board members are Ed McConwell and Marty Weiss.

Saturday afternoon featured the spot landing contest. The winner was Loyal Hibbs, my favorite pilot, in his Malibu airplane, which is my longtime favorite airplane. Congratulations, Loyal.

Saturday evening, we all enjoyed the reception and awards banquet followed by dancing. Our president, Tim Cook, outdid himself by presenting beautiful rose bouquets to Peggy Berlin, Karen Griggs, Valerie Cook and yours truly. What a gentleman!

Cecile Hatfield