Marshall on the people of AALL and the resources they provide
Marshall Voizard is a Reference Supervisor at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP in New York, NY.
WHY DID YOU JOIN AALL?
Early on in my career, my boss Patricia Barbone suggested I sign up. I’m grateful she encouraged me to become an active part of the law library community from the get-go.
WHY DO YOU STAY A MEMBER?
So many reasons. To start, I like to have access to AALL’s professional resources, such as AALL Spectrum, educational programs, and the listerv. I also appreciate having a link to the greater law library community outside of the New York area. Connecting to law librarians around the country has introduced me too so many great professionals and their work. For example, I’m a big fan of The Geek In Review podcast, by AALL members Marlene Gebauer and Greg Lambert.
WHAT ONE MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT IS MOST VALUABLE TO YOU?
If I had to pick one, it would be the educational resources. For example, the work done by Jean O’Grady, Diana Koppang, Jeremy Sullivan, Kevin Miles, and Tanya Livshits on comparing the different legal analytics products has been invaluable. There has been so much recent change in the analytics space that it would be a full time job for one person to track it, so it’s a great service provided by these librarians.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY ASSOCIATED WITH AALL?
Last year, when I was president of AALL’s New York Metro Chapter, LLAGNY, we welcomed former AALL Past President Femi Cadmus as the featured speaker of our June dinner and annual meeting. It was a pleasure to meet her and hear her speak to our membership on the state of our profession.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING OUTSIDE OF WORK?
I have three young kids, so most of my time outside of work is spent with my family. We like outdoor activities such as visiting parks and taking walks in the woods, as well as visiting public libraries. Outside of family time, I enjoy playing board games with friends.
WHAT BOOK(S) ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?
This is always my favorite question when I read these profiles. I’m going to cheat slightly and discuss books I’ve recently read. I really enjoyed Accidental Superpower by Peter Zeihan. It’s a what-if scenario laying out how the world might change if the United States returns to isolationism.
I also appreciated Yuval Noah Harari’s Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. It talks about the dangers and ethical issues around the corner with big data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence, all pertinent stuff for our field!
Bob Iger’s Ride of Lifetime is a very entertaining read if you are interested in the history of Disney and Pixar.
And finally, for those of us in or interested in Big Law, the book White Shoe by John Oller is a great history of the NY law firms from the late 1800 to early 1900s.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TRAVEL/VACATION DESTINATION?
Internationally, I took a memorable trip to Graz, Austria. It’s a beautiful, old, walkable city that hits the perfect combination of historic and modern. And the food and beer are great! More locally, our family likes to visit Lancaster, Pennsylvania for the peaceful farms and farm stands, homestyle restaurants, and historical railroad.