In our cover story, Sarah Kellogg follows the high-tension drama—and mea culpas—involving professional sports leagues as Capitol Hill takes on a no-holds-barred approach to further unmasking the now open secret of steroids abuse in sports. The juicing scandal is riding high on the names of star players whose reputation might end up in the dumpster after the smoke has cleared. But will the congressional probe—now running eight years, on and off—accomplish more than just twisting the arms of sports czars to order an inventory of their athletes’ medicine cabinets as part of house cleaning? How long this story stays in the headlines remains to be seen.
Forty years after a wave of civil unrest in the 1960s prompted a group of lawyers to band together for a common cause, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs continues to live up to its mission of providing pro bono work to the District’s poor and disadvantaged. Director Roderic Boggs looks back at the organization’s humble beginnings and credits its success to the high sense of volunteerism among lawyers—both young and old hands—and law firms. Armed with an expanding suite of legal services and a diverse network of lawyers, the committee remains as relevant as ever.
In his column, D.C. Bar President Melvin White brings another historic organization to the spotlight—the Just The Beginning Foundation, which continues to make significant headway in bringing diversity to the judiciary since its inception in 1992. White’s column is timely, as the foundation will be convening in September in Washington, D.C., for its eighth biennial conference.
In the world of charges and countercharges, patience is more than a virtue—it can save both the attorney and client from a legal bind. Columnists Jacob A. Stein and Saul Jay Singer underscore the importance of caution and restraint before signing up for a legal battle. In “Not So Fast With A Defamation Suit,” Stein presents the case of Alger Hiss and the famous “pumpkin papers” as a prime example of the benefits of self-check. A challenge to present solid evidence did not end well for the plaintiff Hiss. Singer, on the other hand, outlines the risks of treading the fine line of ethics in “How Substantial Is Your Relationship?” Lawyers might be better off thinking twice than testing the gray areas of the law.
The New Deal government, borne out of political shifts beginning in the 1930s, gave way to a countermobilization by conservatives opposed to the pervading liberalism. Reviewer Ronald Goldfarb provides an in-depth summary of this battle for control of the agenda, the subject of Steven Teles’ new book, The Rise of the Conservative Legal Movement. Goldfarb traces the origins of the movement and its impact, if at all, on America’s legal landscape. Meanwhile, James Srodes gives us a sampling of the lineup of wacky characters we are bound to meet in Michael Farquhar’s A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans. The eccentrics who star in Srodes’ review—from the Mayflower Murderer to professional con artist Gaston Means—are fascinating enough for readers to pick up Farquhar’s latest tome. Now folks finally have a name to blame for the budgetary strains imposed upon them on Mother’s Day.
This month’s issue also features the candidates to the D.C. Bar’s Board of Governors for the 2008–2009 term. D.C. Bar members have until June 6 to vote, and election results will be announced at the Bar’s Annual Business Meeting and Awards Dinner on June 26.
News and notes on the D.C. Bar legal community, attorney honors and
announcements, and a review of upcoming events round out the May issue
of Washington Lawyer, online at www.dcbar.org/washingtonlawyer.
