Environmental and Land Use Law Section as varied as its members.

As she neared the close of her year as chair of The Florida Bar's Environmental and Land Use Law (ELUL) Section, Michelle Diffenderfer was trying to think of ways to boost membership.

It's not that the section is desperate for new members; it's more than 2,000 strong. It's more that its attorneys represent so many different fields and specialties that its leaders are always on the lookout for ways to bring everyone together, and new members into the fold.

She was thinking about it during the executive committee's most recent retreat in Costa Rica this summer, as she drank delicious local coffee in a cloud forest while cute forest animals tried to steal her lunch.

"I realized, this is it, I need to tell them about this," Diffenderfer laughed.

Cool outdoors experiences aren't the only good part of ELUL section membership. Section leadership by and large views its members' disparate specialities as a positive, not a negative.

"Largely due to the various interests represented by section members, we often disagree substantively on the policy direction of a particular law or regulation. However, t h a t practice-generated tension always generates well-presented and articulated presentations in both the section CLE programs as well as our written materials," says 2008-09 section Chair Gary Hunter, who takes the helm at the Annual Update meeting this month.

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"More importantly, it leads to a mutual respect for one another and in turn an increased level of professionalism when wearing our advocacy hats across the table from our section colleagues."

Hunter said the Costa Rica retreat served as a reminder of the importance of fostering the development of younger lawyers within section leadership.

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"I know I speak for section leaders throughout The Florida Bar in recognizing the lifelong relationships and friendships established through active section participation, which are equally rewarding on both a personal and professional level," he said.

Mentoring has been key this year, Diffenderfer said, as section leadership worked to forge bonds among section...