October 2012
By Kathryn Alfisi
Chief Justice Roberts Hosts American Inns of Court Event
United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will host the American Inns of Court’s annual Celebration of Excellence awards dinner on October 20 at the Supreme Court, 1 First Street NE.
The event pays tribute to individuals who have given their time, energy, and resources to furthering the American Inns of Court’s ideals of elevating the level of excellence, professionalism, and ethical awareness among the bench and bar.
This year’s recipient of the Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Professional Service is Omar J. Alaniz, a senior associate at the Dallas office of Baker Botts. Deanell Reece Tacha, dean of Pepperdine University School of Law, will receive the A. Sherman Christensen Award, while Judge Lee H. Rosenthal of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas will be honored with the Lewis F. Powell Jr. Award for Professionalism and Ethics. The Warren E. Burger Prize will be presented to Derek A. Webb, a fellow at the Stanford Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School.
For more information, contact Cindy Dennis at 800-233-3590, ext. 104, or cdennis@innsofcourt.org, or visit www.innsofcourt.org.
Dorsen Discusses Judge Friendly Biography at GWU Law
On October 18 the George Washington University Law School will hold a program on Judge Henry Friendly, featuring David Dorsen, author of the recently published biography of the circuit judge.
Dorsen, of counsel at Sedgwick LLP, will talk about his book, Henry Friendly: Greatest Judge of His Era. Alan B. Morrison, the law school’s Lerner Family Associate Dean for Public Interest and Public Service Law, will moderate this first panel discussion.
Dorsen’s book is a biography of a man often considered as one of the greatest jurists of the 20th century and whose opinions are still highly regarded and often cited. Judge Friendly sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1959 to 1974, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. He took senior status until his death in 1986.
A second panel, to be moderated by GW Law School dean Paul Schiff Berman, will feature three former clerks of Judge Friendly: Judges A. Raymond Randolph and Merrick B. Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Judge William C. Bryson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The program starts at 4 p.m. in the Jacob Burns Moot Court Room of the law school, 2000 H Street NW. A reception sponsored by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, the law firm founded by Judge Friendly before he joined the bench, will follow.
For more information, contact Morrison at abmorrison@law.gwu.edu.
CLE Offers Litigation Series on Pretrial Skills, Rules of Evidence
In October the D.C. Bar Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Program will offer two courses that will examine different aspects of litigation.
The revised “Pretrial Skills Series” addresses critical pretrial topics in civil litigation, including depositions and written discovery, with a focus on strategies and effective practice techniques. This course will emphasize the rules, practices, and procedures of the local and federal courts in the Washington metropolitan area.
The series opens on October 11 with “Taking and Defending Depositions,” which will explore the practical considerations and tactical techniques available to the litigator in taking and defending depositions, including preparation, use of depositions at trial, and significant cases about depositions. This session also will cover the ethical issues that litigators face in the discovery process.
D.C. Bar legal ethics counsel Saul J. Singer and Michael Williams, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, will serve as faculty.
Part two, “Effective Use of Interrogatories, Document Requests, and Requests for Admission,” on October 18 will focus on effective ways of drafting and responding to written discovery requests, tactical considerations, discovery motions, and use of written discovery at trial.
This session will be led by Catherine D. Bertram of Regan Zambri & Long, PLLC and Thomas P. Murphy, a partner at Hunton & Williams LLP.
The series is cosponsored by the D.C. Bar Antitrust and Consumer Law Section; Corporation, Finance and Securities Law Section; Courts, Lawyers and the Administration of Justice Section; Criminal Law and Individual Rights Section; Family Law Section; Labor and Employment Law Section; Law Practice Management Section; Litigation Section; and Real Estate, Housing and Land Use Section.
The new, two-part “Working With the Rules of Evidence in Civil Proceedings in the District of Columbia” will tackle the differences between the federal rules and local “rules” governing the District. This course will use interactive exercises and hypothetical fact patterns to help attendees think on their feet so they can present evidence persuasively and object to evidence effectively.
Part one on October 23 will help attendees understand what is included in the definition of evidence and the limits on its admission, including when prejudice exceeds probative value, the necessary steps to get documents admitted into evidence, and hearsay—what it is and when it is admissible.
Part two on October 30 will cover impeachment evidence, including the use of depositions to impeach with prior inconsistent statements, expert witness evidence, and making and defending objections to evidence.
Judge Judith N. Macaluso of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and Daria J. Zane, special master at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, will serve as faculty.
The series is cosponsored by the D.C. Bar Courts, Lawyers and the Administration of Justice Section; Criminal Law and Individual Rights Section; Family Law Section; Government Contracts and Litigation Section; Health Law Section; Labor and Employment Law Section; Law Practice Management Section; Litigation Section; Real Estate, Housing and Land Use Section; and Tort Law Section.
All sessions of both series take place from 6 to 9:15 p.m. at the D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1101 K Street NW, first floor.
For more information, contact the CLE Program at 202-626-3488 or visit www.dcbar.org/cle.
Save the Dates
The Council for Court Excellence will hold the program “Police, Protests and Press Coverage” on October 2 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Georgetown University Law Center’s Hart Auditorium, 600 New Jersey Avenue NW. Patrick Madden of WAMU 88.5 will moderate the program. For more information, call 202-785-5917 or e–mail info@courtexcellence.org, or visit www.courtexcellence.org.
The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association will hold its 2012 convention from November 15 to 18 at the JW Marriott Hotel, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. For more information, visit www.napaba.org.
Equal Justice Works Holds Two Annual Events in October
Equal Justice Works, an organization dedicated to advancing public interest law and pro bono work, will hold both its annual awards dinner, and conference and career fair in October.
At its October 25 dinner, Equal Justice Works will honor Randal S. Milch, executive vice president and general counsel of Verizon, with its Scales of Justice Award for his commitment to equal justice.
The event, which will be held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, begins with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner and program at 7:15.
The conference and career fair, the largest public interest law fair in the country, will take place on October 26 and 27 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia. The fair connects more than 1,200 students from 200 law schools with nonprofit organizations and government agencies from around the country.
In addition to skill-building and career–advising opportunities, the fair will feature a conversation between U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Judge David Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
For more information on either event, visit www.equaljusticeworks.org. For more details on the awards dinner, contact Equal Justice Works at 202-466-3686, ext. 116, or events@equaljusticeworks.org.
Law Firms Go Casual for Justice on National Pro Bono Week
The National Pro Bono Week Celebration returns this month, and in the District of Columbia, the legal community is bringing back its Go Casual for Justice fundraiser on October 26 as one of the week’s highlights.
Now in its fourth year, the Go Casual for Justice campaign allows attorneys and staff at participating law firms, corporate law departments, and other offices to wear jeans to work for a day in exchange for a small donation. Funds raised go toward the D.C. Bar Foundation’s Poverty Lawyer Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which helps attorneys serving the District’s most vulnerable residents meet their educational debt payments while earning a public servant salary.
Last year 96 participating firms and other workplaces raised $84,000. This year’s goal is to have more than 100 workplaces raise $100,000.
For more information on Go Casual for Justice, contact Paul Lee at 202-261-3428 or paul.lee@dechert.com. To know more about the National Pro Bono Week Celebration, which runs from October 21 to 27, visit www.probono.net/
celebrateprobono.
October CLE Offerings Cover Wide Range of Ethics Issues
The D.C. Bar Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Program has lined up several ethics courses in October that address a wide range of topics, from avoiding malpractice and bar complaints to government attorneys having to comply with dual sets of rules to knowing the ethical pitfalls of changing law firms.
The October 4 course “When Lawyers Change Law Firms: Ethical, Practical, and Legal Issues” will help attorneys understand how changes in employment can trigger a multitude of legal and ethical concerns and how they can navigate these job transitions properly.
Led by Arthur D. Burger, director at Jackson & Campbell, P.C. and chair of the firm’s Professional Responsibility Practice Group, and Hamilton P. “Phil” Fox III of the Office of Bar Counsel, this course will provide guidelines to help attorneys avoid missteps that can lead to bar discipline or civil liability.
Faculty will discuss when attorneys should alert clients and what they may tell clients, when their current legal employer must be given notice, the proper balance between the need to disclose and confidentiality, fiduciary duties of partners to their current firms, rights to fees in pending matters, and prohibitions on penalizing lawyers who compete with their old firms.
The course takes place from 6 to 9:15 p.m. and is cosponsored by all sections of the D.C. Bar.
On October 10 the CLE Program will offer the course “Ethics and Professional Conduct for Government Attorneys: Complying With Dual Sets of Rules,” a practical guide for government lawyers on how to comply with the dual schemes of ethical obligations imposed upon them. Not only do government attorneys have to comply with the same ethics rules as their private practitioner counterparts, they also must deal with the ethical rules and considerations applicable only to those in government service.
Faculty members Jerri U. Dunston, director of the Professional Responsibility Advisory Office at the U.S. Department of Justice, and Peggy Love, attorney and former deputy ethics official at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, have many years of experience with the ethics rules and their applicability to government practice. Both experts will discuss the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct and will examine government ethics rules that affect the ethical obligations of lawyers in government service.
This class also will explore what ethics rules govern, the duty of confidentiality, ethics rules that apply to outside activities such as pro bono work, and conflicts of interest. The course takes place from 6 to 8:45 p.m. and is cosponsored by all sections of the D.C. Bar.
The October 15 course “Litigation Ethics: Duty to Disclose Unfavorable Facts and Law and Other Court Issues” is an interactive class that will use hypotheticals to examine ethical issues related to litigation.
Thomas E. Spahn, a partner at McGuireWoods LLP, will discuss issues such as disclosing unfavorable facts, the prosecutors’ duty to disclose, disclosing directly adverse law, disclosing unpublished case law, disclosing statutory law and affirmative defenses, timing of disclosure obligations, ex parte communications with the court, manipulating the choice of judges, and triggering the recusal of judges.
The course takes place from 6 to 8:15 p.m. and is cosponsored by the D.C. Bar Courts, Lawyers and the Administration of Justice Section; Criminal Law and Individual Rights Section; Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Section; Family Law Section; Government Contracts and Litigation Section; Labor and Employment Law Section; Law Practice Management Section; Litigation Section; and Real Estate, Housing and Land Use Section.
The CLE Program also will teach daily practice and risk–prevention techniques with the course “Avoiding Malpractice and Bar Complaints” on October 24. This class will provide experienced attorneys with practical new ideas to implement and, for newer attorneys, the skills they can use throughout their legal careers.
From choosing clients and cases to avoiding conflicts, communicating effectively, and handling client funds properly, faculty members will provide examples and practical advice to help attorneys focus on problem areas that so often lead to complaints. The major differences in relevant ethics rules in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia also will be discussed.
Julia L. Porter, senior assistant Bar Counsel, and Dennis J. Quinn, a member of Carr Maloney PC, will serve as faculty.
The course takes place from 6 to 9:15 p.m. and is cosponsored by all D.C. Bar sections.
All courses will be held at the D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1101 K Street NW, first floor.
For more information, contact the CLE Office at 202-626-3488 or visit www.dcbar.org/cle.
Reach D.C. Bar staff writer Kathryn Alfisi at kalfisi@dcbar.org.
