Defense Counsel Journal

Editor's Page - Volume 85, Number 3

January 20, 2020

Michael Franklin Smith

Michael Franklin Smith

Michael Franklin Smith is the current Editor and Chair of the Board of Editors for the Defense Counsel Journal. He is a shareholder at McAfee & Taft and a member of the IADC.

Term limits? I wholly support them across the board—politicians—local and national, boards of directors—profit and nonprofit alike, and any where else they apply. According to my brief Internet research, term limits have been around since ancient Athens when the council of 500 rotated its entire membership every year. Benjamin Franklin advocated for term limits writing, “In free governments, the rulers are the servants, and the people their superiors.... For the former to return among the latter does not degrade, but promote them.” In other words, politicians who know they will eventually return to the general population and live under the policies they promoted are more likely to consider the long-term implications of their policies.

Out with the old, in with the new.

But now it’s my turn. I simply cannot believe my two-year term as Editor and Chair of the Board of Editors of the Defense Counsel Journal is coming to an end with this issue. It has been an amazing two years for me. I have enjoyed every article I read and considered for publication—and I wish we could have published every single one of them. I had the pleasure of learning about so many different areas of the law that I would never have encountered in my legal practice. I also got to delve deeply into subjects that have helped me in representing my clients. The best part of my experience by far, however, is all the amazing people I have met and worked with over the past two years.

My final issue as Editor is dedicated to international law in honor of the fact that the 2018 IADC Annual Meeting is being held in Lisbon, Portugal, July 7 through 12. In this issue, we present a comprehensive survey of product liability in Latin America where the recent shift to a market-friendly approach in politics has made the region attractive for business development in a reduced players’ market. We also have an article examining how global businesses can comply with the European Union’s recently implemented General Data Protection Regulation. Another article re-examines the phenomenon of carbon copy prosecutions—when one jurisdiction files charges based on a guilty plea or similar charging document from another jurisdiction. Finally, we present a detailed look at the consequences of data breaches in Europe and a comparison of the implication of data breaches in Europe and the United States.

It has been an honor serving this scholarly publication of the International Association of Defense Counsel for the past two years. I hope you have found the articles published during my tenure insightful and useful. Do not fret my departure. I am turning the reigns over to the very capable Kenneth R. Meyer, a Partner at McCarter & English in Newark, New Jersey. Ken has served as Editor-Elect for the past two years. He is ready to take over.

Before I sign off for the last time, I must thank the amazing people who do such tremendous work to make each issue of the Defense Counsel Journal the scholarly publication it is. My work here would not have been possible without the incredible efforts of Ken, Editor-Elect, Robert F. Greenlee, Deputy Editor, Amy O’Maley McGuire, Managing Editor, the forty-seven members of the Board of Editors, the twenty-one Committee Vice Chairs of Journal Articles and Publications for all of the IADC’s Substantive Committees, and every person out there who authored or co-authored an article and submitted it to be considered for publication here. I thank you all.

In the words of A.A. Milne, author of Winnie-the-Pooh, “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

Michael Franklin Smith
Editor and Chair of the Board of Editors, Defense Counsel Journal
Shareholder, McAfee & Taft, A Professional Corporation

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