| Events reshape
assignments
by
Robert C. Powell III
Virginia
Business
December 2004
Change of plans. That’s the theme of a television
commercial that frequently appears in prime time.
In the spot, two businessman are seen talking on cell
phones. Things have changed since they last spoke. Neither
man is where he was scheduled to be, the specs for a
project they are working on have been scrapped, and
their meeting place for later in the week has been moved.
When the conversation ends, a colleague of one businessman
asks what’s happening. “The usual,”
he says, with a note of resignation.
That sense of rapid change was evident in this edition.
The magazine had planned for months to report on commercial
insurance. Contributing Writer Garry Kranz was assigned
to profile Hilb, Rogal & Hobbs,
and we expected to prepare another story about insurance
trends.
Those assignments changed, however, when New York Attorney
General Eliot Spitzer began his investigation of insurance
practices. The story on HRH now had to include reaction
to Spitzer’s lawsuit, an event that hammered the
price of insurance stocks. Meanwhile, the trend story
took a different direction as a number of states, including
Virginia, began their probes.
Change was also afoot in the Legal
Elite section. In recent years, the magazine has
learned that some lawyers are publicity shy. On more
than one occasion, a lawyer picked for a profile has
declined. That was the situation again this year.
The result is that the lawyers profiled in the section
are excellent representatives of their specialties,
but they are not necessarily the top vote getters in
their categories. The point of the profiles is to introduce
you to lawyers throughout the state that are making
a name for themselves. Everyone featured is high on
the list of vote getters.
I could go on to tell you about our plans for January’s
issue, but the way things are changing, I don’t
want to make promises that I can’t keep.
Robert
C. Powell III
Editor
rpowell@va-business.com
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