Plan to attend the Section’ s next luncheon on October 23. For more information and to register, go to hillsbar. com.
marital & familylaW: anotheryear, anotherChair
Marital & Family law Section Chair: MarkF. Baseman – Felix & Baseman, LLC familylawismentallyand emotionallytaxing, butbeing partofacommunityabsolutely helpsmitigatetheday-to-day stressweallexperience.
A wise person with whom I shared an early draft of this article told me to be more cognizant of the fact that my humor is an“ acquired taste” and that my personality should be“ introduced to others slowly.” The reader may be excused for wondering whether I followed this advice. Either way, here we go.
Let me start by welcoming you to the 2025-2026 Bar year. For those of you who don’ t know me, a quick“ congratulations.” Many people are quietly envying you at this very moment.
My name is Mark Baseman. I’ m a partner at Felix & Baseman, LLC, where I practice primarily in the area of family law appeals. I’ ll be serving as Chair of the Marital & Family Law Section of the HCBA until June 30, 2026, or— according to the bylaws— until I die or resign.
Strangely, the bylaws don’ t include a provision that allows the Section to remove me for, say, gross incompetence. This seems like an oversight. But let’ s assume, for argument’ s sake, that the year goes
smoothly. Here are some things you can expect.
One of the primary goals of the Section is to promote professionalism, ethics and civility among family law practitioners— lofty goals for people who spend their days arguing over who gets the La-Z-Boy and whether little Dakota’ s gluten sensitivity is real. Still, we try. And we’ ll continue to pursue this goal by presenting useful CLEs, by hosting luncheons and roundtables that give members access to and insights from the judiciary, and by partnering with pro bono organizations to provide free advice to those who need it. We’ ll also have a holiday party and some happy hours that will more subtly promote the ideals of professionalism, ethics and civility.
Another goal this year is to encourage more attorneys and professionals to join the Section. Membership has financial benefits, but it also fosters camaraderie and a sense of belonging with other family law practitioners. Family law is mentally and emotionally taxing, but being part of a community absolutely helps mitigate the day-today stress we all experience. So, if you’ re not a member of the Section, please join. And if you’ re already a member, consider becoming more active. If you have questions or need more information, don’ t hesitate to reach out to me directly: mbaseman @ felixbasemanlaw. com. I’ ll be happy to forward your email to someone more helpful.
All kidding aside, I am honored to have this opportunity to serve the Marital & Family Law Section. I do believe we can make practicing family law more tolerable, if not enjoyable, and I hope to make significant progress in this direction during my mercifully short tenure as Chair. Of course, I won’ t try to solve every problem. I want to leave plenty of work for next year’ s Chair, Angie Rosello.
If you’ ve made it to the end of this article, I thank you sincerely for your patience, and I can’ t wait to see you at one of our events in the coming year. n
Author: Mark F. Baseman – Felix & Baseman, LLC
Plan to attend the Section’ s next luncheon on October 23. For more information and to register, go to hillsbar. com.
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