–Dan Kelly, Attorney

After a nearly four-year run, I am hanging up my keyboard as a regular contributor to DuetsBlog. I have accepted new employment, so I am bidding bon voyage to Winthrop & Weinstine, and with it, my regular writing here. In my blogging career here, I have written some 140 posts on a wide variety of topics and, to be candid, I’m feeling a bit pressed to offer some weighty or wise thoughts at this parting. The weighty thought that keeps coming back is “gratitude.”

Thanks to all of the readers and especially commenters–colleagues in both the legal and creative communities, friends, families, clients, peers, former classmates–the list is nearly endless. When we launched, I think that we underestimated how warm the response would be to our efforts. I think that I speak for all DuetsBlog contributors when I say that we have tried to return your investment of time in reading this blog with an investment in offering thoughts worth reading. It has been a great exchange so far, and I look forward to more, especially as a reader, and perhaps as an occasional contributor.

Thanks to all of those people who make this blog go. The obvious names and faces are in the sidebar on the left–this is truly a collaborative blog, and having new content on a daily basis could never happen without many contributors. Next to the regular contributors stand our many outstanding guest authors and a number of people internally at Winthrop & Weinstine who work behind the scenes. Of these, Deb DuBois, Laura (Gutierrez) Toledo (formerly of Winthrop, now at Tenrec), Nancy Evans, and Angie Young, who assists in our trademark group, deserve special mention as having been fantastic supports to DuetsBlog during my tenure here. Natalie Brauer has recently taken over many of Laura’s former duties with respect to the blog, so things are in good hands going forward. Winthrop’s leadership has been supportive, along with countless others inside and outside of the firm. It takes many people pulling in the same direction to make a blog like this successful.

Last and certainly not least, I say thank you to my wife and family for their support for this endeavor. DuetsBlog launched about a month and a half before our wedding, and we now have two beautiful children. A person employed full time who commits to writing on deadlines (albeit ones probably not as dire as those in more mainstream media) is usually signing up to make some sacrifices. In my case, my wife sacrificed plenty of evenings, but she also did well more than her share as a reader and contributor of ideas that often came out in my posts. Nevertheless, she will be happy to have her husband back with the family on Thursday nights.

The great British writer G. K. Chesterton said, “because our expression is imperfect, we need friendship to fill up the imperfections.” Thanks to all who have filled up my imperfect expressions both at Winthrop and on this blog with your friendship. I hope that I have returned the favor.