How time flies!
This Forum has been online for over 12 years and six months now and this message of mine marks exactly the 9,100th posting in this Forum's discusssion boards.In retrospect I'd like to hark back to this very auspicious early posting by one of the Forum's pioneer members and enthusiastic contributors, Davao-based law student and aspiring writer Arvin Antonio Ortiz, who made this opening salvo on May 19, 2009: "Aside from professional writers, should other professionals learn how to write well?" At that time Arvin was an active online blogger ("The Free Lancer").
This was my reply to Arvin: "Yes, absolutely! Of course, not everyone may possess or be able to develop the ability to write pieces that others would be willing to pay for to read, but it's important to at least write clearly, accurately, and convincingly about one's day-to-day needs, wants, and desires. In short, everyone must learn to communicate effectively in writing--not only as an exercise of a craft or art but as a means for getting oneself understood and for getting things done in a social setting."
This started a lively correspondence in the ensuing years between Arvin and me and several other Forum members, glimpses of which can be seen from
this sampling of Forum posts up to November 26, 2009.
I am elated to report that when I last heard from Arvin sometime in 2020, he was already a full-fledged lawyer (AV Ortiz Law Office) and was then teaching at the College of Law of the University of Mindanao. He had already authored a book,
Legal Writing Plain and Simple: A Practical Guide for Law Students and Beginning Lawyers, that was to be published the following year.
Let me end this retrospective by extending my best wishes to Arvin and to all Forum members and friends for a Happy and Safe Christmas Season and a Prosperous New Year in 2022!
