The publisher of the Wall Street Journal, and perhaps that of other notable newspapers, reports annually to its readers in the belief that publishing a newspaper is a public trust and therefore makes one accountable to the readers. It is a bit presumptuous (a large bit) to bring the Senior Lawyers News into the same species as the Wall Street Journal, but as editors of this paper come and go, a little thoughtful reflection can’t be all bad.

Under three editors the newsletter has changed. At first, there was a good collection of timely articles largely appearing in other, less convenient publications. Next, there was a mixture of such articles combined with original writings. At the present time, we are trying to obtain more original writings and to enlarge our scope to include what the Wall Street Journal progress report of January 9^th refers to as its "Personal Journal" to begin on April 9, 2002: Personal Journal will focus on what we call the "business life", or what managing editor Paul Steiger refers to as the "second shift" we all face when our workday is done. Among the subjects Personal Journal will address will be personal finance and investing, travel, health and family concerns, automobiles and consumer electronics.

We proceed on the assumption that lawyers who have reached that relatively mature age of 55 have learned a lot of the basic law from their practice, so we try to carry out the purpose of the Virginia State Bar and its Senior Lawyers Conference by serving up a small offering of substantive material shaping up some legal point and adding a little larger portion on the quality of life. As a U.S. Air Force ad once put it, "You have a job, now get a life."

This issue emphasizes civility, that indispensable lubricant of a profession, which is so largely dependent on successful resolution of contention. It also recognizes men who succeeded admirably in living up to the high standards of our professional codes of conduct, but also lived useful, happy lives after their workday was done. Enjoy.