His friend and NABE colleague Paul Nickell, of the Oregon State Bar, broke the news in a post to the NABE Comm Listserv. Nickell linked to an obituary in the Quad-City Times of Iowa, where Lipsman was born.

"He loved his work, and it showed. LA Lawyer has always been, to my mind, one of the finest bar journals in the country," Nickell said. Lipsman was LACBA director of publications, and publisher and editor of Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine.

Speaking for his fellow Communications Section members, Nickell added: "I think I can also say that every single one of us has benefitted at one time or another from Sam's advice, whether by Listserv or a personal one-on-one sidebar at our annual workshop."

Tributes from other section members followed quickly. A sampling:

• "Sam was the smartest guy in the room. Any room. And the most honest. Whenever I had a serious question about the business of publishing, I reached out to him. A lot of us did, obviously." –Mark Mathewson, Illinois State Bar Association.
• "He was a real friend of the Section and a helluva good guy, a mensch." –Brad Carr, Alabama State Bar.
• "Sam will truly be missed by all of us who knew him. He brought intelligence, warmth, humor and creativity to all that he did." –Chris Cendagorta, Washoe County (NV) Bar Association.
• "Although our bar associations were friendly rivals when I first started, Sam and I were always able to put that aside in the usual NABECOMM collegial way. So sad to know that he won't be around to answer that pressing question." –Ann Murphy, The Bar Association of San Francisco.
• "Sam was a class act, and I regret not getting to know him better. His candor and his smarts showed through in any conversation." –Bonnie Sashin, Boston Bar Association.
• Joyce Hastings, of the State Bar of Wisconsin, spoke with Lipsman a few weeks ago. "Sam reminded me, as he has many times over the years, that I was his NABE buddy, the one assigned to welcome him during his first workshop. While I regret I don't remember the details of that first meeting, what matters is he did, and each of us can have that impact on another NABE member. He called me his "NABE sister," and today I am missing my brother."
• "It's very telling about a person when you only see or talk to him/her only every so often, yet their words guide you during those times in between. It's not a stretch to say that Sam gave me the confidence to succeed at my job during those shaky first few years – and here I am 10 some odd years later." –Dominick Alcid, District of Columbia Bar.