Dear Fellow:

One of the benefits of traveling as President is to see, in person, the tangible ways the College remains true to its mission. Every year, the Foundation, guided by the Emil Gumpert Award Committee, awards an organization with a check of $100,000. In mid-May, I was in San Francisco to formally present the 2017 Emil Gumpert Award to the Immigrant Post-Conviction Relief Project at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC). The ILRC was selected from a pool of more than 30 applicants. This organization aligns with our mission by helping immigrant individuals and families with the legal hurdles they face due to unconstitutional criminal convictions. The gratitude shown me by this group of committed people was inspiring. ILRC joins other Gumpert Award winners including the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic at Loyola Law School (Los Angeles); Extra-Judicial Measures Pilot Project of Peacebuilders International (Canada); Human Trafficking Courts Project of New York’s Urban Justice Center, and the Miller Resentencing Project of the Florida State University College of Law Children in Prison Project.  

We continue pushing the promulgation of the White Paper on Campus Sexual Assault Investigations. We first made sure that the paper was sent to several different university and college General Counsels. We were advised that the best way to get this into the hands of decision makers at these institutions was to have it placed on the website that is used extensively by university and college General Counsel—we did that. Regent Liz Mulvey then volunteered to write an article about the paper which was published in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Task Force Chair Pam Mackey gave an interview to the ABA Journal. Liz and Past President Mike Smith have met with the editorial board of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. I appeared at Georgetown University to speak on a panel to a large group of educational writers about this topic.The paper has been mentioned or reviewed in at least twenty other media outlets. This is a controversial topic, and we have not been without our detractors. Twenty Fellows from Washington State wrote a letter of objection to us recommending a clear and convincing evidence standard. I wrote to those Fellows and had the kind of exchange with them that you would expect of Fellows.There was disagreement and collegiality within the same discussion. This paper represents what the College can do to help all parties in a difficult legal issue. We hope that the paper will be a roadmap that helps establish the basics of a fair disciplinary system.   

We are excited to return to Montréal for the 2017 Annual Meeting. The last time the College met in Montréal was in 2003. President-Elect Sam Franklin has planned an exciting lineup of distinguished speakers. I have been promised that the new website, where you will be able to register online for the meeting, will be up and running by June 15. I encourage you to register online as soon as registration opens. It will be a memorable meeting.

My travels on behalf of the College have taken me from East to West Coast as well as in between. I have been to Los Angeles and Michigan (in the same weekend) then on to Connecticut, San Francisco and West Virginia. I am pleased that the eBulletin continues to share the stories of our Fellows doing good work and sustaining our fellowship.

Thanks to all,

Change of Address for National Office

As of May 16, 2017, the National Office has a new address. Please note the new address: 1300 Dove Street, Suite 150 Newport Beach, CA 92660. Please use this address for all billing and correspondence. Phone, fax and email remain the same. To keep up with the College on social media, follow the College on  Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, @actl.

New Foundation Trustees Begin In July  

2017 Emil Gumpert Award Winner Selected

Take Action: Donate to the Power of An Hour Campaign

The Foundation’s Power of an Hour campaign this year has been a resounding success.  Fellows across the United States and Canada are responding to the call to contribute the equivalent of one billable hour.  Please join them and make your contribution today by visiting the College’s website at actl.com and clicking ‘Donate’ at the top of the page.

The Foundation accepts applications from College committees and organizations requesting funding for proposed projects that are consistent with the College's objectives. The Foundation's Trustees welcome project proposals with potential to leverage its investments through model programs capable of replication in other jurisdictions. The application must be completed and submitted to [email protected]. Click here to download the application.

If a State or Province Committee is interested in hosting a CLE program for public service lawyers, the Foundation can provide a grant of up to $2,000 without a formal application. A Chair should provide basic details and the amount needed in an inquiry to the National Office, [email protected].  

Committees Offer Fellows Opportunity to Serve

Each summer, the President and President-Elect appoint members to the College's committees. General committees each have a specific mandate that guides their work, while state and province committees focus on local outreach and the nomination of new Fellows. The work of the committees is the backbone of the College. If you are interested in serving on one of the College's 34 general committees and 61 state and province committees, please contact National Office, [email protected]. A list of committees and their mandates is available on the College website.

New Regent for Region 3

Region 12 Presents First Trial Skills Program

With the help of many, many Fellows, the experimental First Region Twelve Trial Skills Workshop on Opening Statements at Suffolk Law School exceeded expectations by selling out. The one-day program had 147 participants for the small group workshops, with 160 participants for the large group demonstrations. Forty-five volunteer coaches from Region Twelve Fellows, some from as far away as Puerto Rico, were on hand for the small group workshops. The program included 4 presenters, 2 discussion facilitators and 3 judges all drawn from Fellows. Co-sponsorship and participation included members from the Atlantic Provinces, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island.The program was approved for CLE credit in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. A number of donations to the Foundation allowed the price for the event to be at a low, affordable cost, which resulted in providing more than 70 full and partial scholarships, and covered related expenditures for the event. Leading up to the event, the program had weekly full or partial publicity for two months with program partners, the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly, publications that reach almost 25,000 lawyers each week. Distant traveler awards go to: Fellow Maria Dominguez from Puerto Rico; attendee Michael Blades of Nova Scotia; Fellow Paul Mark Sandler of Maryland and Fellow Pam Mackey of Colorado. Early feedback from participants includes many responses such as, "This was a great way for young attorneys to get an opportunity to practice trial skills [an opportunity], which is disappearing" and "Wonderful program. Please do this again." Plans are already in the works for next year's program.

Arizona Fellows Hold CLE and Meeting, Launch New Chapter Website

On April 28, 2017, the Arizona Fellows sponsored a day-long CLE regarding “The Science of Decision Making” presented by a distinguished faculty of social science experts and a panel of Arizona Fellows.  The Arizona Fellows panel consisted of Diane Lucas, Pat McGroder, Georgia Staton, Joseph Mais and Tom Henze. The presenters included: John Campbell, JD; David Yokum, JD, PhD; Chrhistopher Robertson, JD; PhD Bernard Chao, JD; and Jessica Salerno, PhD.  The seminar was held at the Phoenix Convention Center and was attended by around 150 people, while many others participated via a live webcast. The materials from the seminar should be available on the ACTL website in the very near future.  Following the CLE, the Arizona Fellows hosted a reception at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, followed by a weekend meeting. The reception and dinner on Saturday night included a video tribute to five recently deceased Arizona Fellows. All who attended agreed that this tribute was beautiful and touching. The Arizona Fellows were honored that Regent Bob Warford and Treasurer Jeff Leon attended and shared time with them. All in all, this was a successful, educational and most enjoyable weekend. 

District of Columbia Committee Continues Work with Area Law School Communities

In April, as part of its continuing effort to reach out to the local law school communities, the District of Columbia State Committee, along with the American University School of Law, sponsored a discussion on “Leaks and the Law.” The panel featured Matt Apuzzo, a highly regarded reporter with the New York Times, who has himself been the subject of Department of Justice subpoenas in leak investigations; Stan Brand, a well-known white collar defense attorney at Akin Gump; and John Kiriakou, a former Central Intelligence Agency executive who wound up being charged in a leak investigation. The discussion focused on the debate between the societal benefits of leaks in informing the public about their government’s secret operations and the potential harm to national security that may result from the same leaks, and how the law has tried to deal with those conflicting policies.  It was a spirited discussion and well-attended by members of the College, along with other D.C. attorneys and American University law students.

Federal Civil Procedure Committee Urges Changes to Federal Civil Litigation

Oklahoma State Committee Planning 2018 Meeting in Mexico, Sends White Paper to College Presidents

Pennsylvania Fellows Strengthen Bond Between College, Public Interest Bar

On March 21, 2017, Fellows Joseph C. Crawford, John P. McShea III and Timothy R. Lawn and Pennsylvania State Committee Vice Chair Catherine M. Recker made presentations at the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network’s Regional Training Seminar in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN) is a consortium of agencies and programs that provide legal representation in civil litigation matters to low income individuals and families throughout Pennsylvania. The public interest lawyers from the various organizations that make up the PLAN network get involved in, among other things, securing Veterans’ benefits, fighting wrongful evictions, advocating for farm workers and protecting low income earners from wage theft.  Noted civil trial attorney and now Judicial Fellow, Gerald A. McHugh Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania served as Chair of the Board of PLAN while in private practice. He has encouraged Fellows in Pennsylvania to not only financially support the excellent work done by these public service agencies, but to also become actively involved with assisting in the training and development of PLAN lawyers across the Commonwealth. Crawford and Recker gave a 90-minute presentation on negotiation skills, during which they shared advice and suggestions on how to effectively resolve cases through negotiation. McShea gave a 60-minute presentation on conducting direct and cross-examination of expert witnesses. Lawn gave a 60-minute presentation on effective trial advocacy techniques. Before preparing their materials and making their presentations, the Fellows discussed with PLAN’s Executive Director and Training Coordinator the negotiation and litigation issues commonly faced by legal aid lawyers in their network. Each year PLAN surveys their members to learn what litigation issues they are facing in their practices. The Fellows’ presentations at the training seminar were tailored to address the issues these public interest lawyers face, which are not the issues the Fellows see in their respective practices. For instance, Recker and Crawford spent considerable time addressing the ethical dilemmas presented in negotiating with unrepresented opposing parties and in negotiating cases where legal aid programs have a statutory right to receive an attorneys’ fee. McShea’s presentation was designed towards examining expert witnesses that public interest lawyers see in their practices; such as a child’s treating physicians and psychologists. In his presentation Lawn discussed the importance of developing sound case themes, and tailoring persuasion and advocacy skills to the finder of fact for that particular setting; be it a jury, administrative law judge or arbitrator. All three sessions were designed to be interactive and encouraged questions from the attendees. The result was lively question and answer formats that covered issues important to these lawyers, and went far beyond the prepared written materials. The goal envisioned by Judge McHugh, and shared by these Fellows, is the College’s assistance in providing interesting seminars and insight to less experienced public interest lawyers will help them in their representation of the less fortunate members of our society.

Court Acknowledges Problems In Veterans' Appeal of Denial of Benefits

Task Force Recognized in Chronicle of Higher Education

The work of the Task Force on the Response of Universities and Colleges to Allegations of Sexual Violence continues to receive attention from the higher education audience.  A commentary written by Regent Elizabeth N. Mulvey, a member of the Task Force, appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Click here to read the article.

Texas Fellows Offer First-Time CLE - Ethics & Litigation: A Radically Different Approach

For the first time, the Texas Fellows will offer an all-day Ethics Litigation CLE program on Thursday, September 28, 2017 at the Marriott Marquis in Houston, Texas. The program, “Ethics and Litigation: A Radically Different Approach”, will consist of real-life trial demonstrations conducted by widely known lawyers and ethics experts. Attendance will be limited to ACTL Fellows and lawyers from their firms. The cost is $250, and six hours of ethics CLE credit will be provided. Agenda and more details to come.  

West Virginia Fellows Meet With Law School Dean To Discuss Strengthening Ties

Sopinka Cup, March 17-18: President Bart Dalton and his wife Eileen traveled to Ottawa, Canada for the final rounds of the annual Sopinka Cup, the national trial advocacy competition,and presented the College awards. This year’s victors were from the University of Saskatchewan. Earlier in the day, President Dalton and Treasurer Jeff Leon had the additional pleasure of attending a ceremony involving the Stanley Cup, the most coveted award in Canadian sport.  

New York, March 22: Over 100 Fellows and guests met at the Century Association in Manhattan for this annual event. New York has provided several College Presidents of the College, and two Past Presidents from New York, Bob Fiske and Mike Cooper, attended as well as Chilton Davis Varner. The highlight of the dinner was the presentation of the Leon Silverman Award to Federal District Judge John Keenan. Judge Keenan offered brief and witty remarks, but was clearly touched by being given this honor.  

National Trial Competition, March 24-26: Returning from New York with enough time to change clothes, President Dalton traveled to Fort Worth, Texas to assist in judging the finals of the National Trial Competition. He also presided at the final trial. This year’s winner was the Pritzker School of Law at Northwestern University and the runner-up was Georgetown University Law Center. Best oralist was Amarto Bhattacharyya of Georgetown. This competition–and the National Trial Competition Committee that supports it–is a very important part of the College mission.  

North Carolina, March 23-26: The laws of physics instruct us that one cannot be in two places at the same time. The practical result of this is that while President Dalton was in New York and Texas, President-Elect Sam Franklin and his wife Betty traveled to North Carolina for the annual meeting of North Carolina Fellows. Some 60 Fellows and guests convened at the Inn on the Biltmore Estate in Ashville for most of three days. This meeting combines CLE and social events, including the annual update of appellate decisions by Fellow Leslie Packer. A highlight of the event was a discussion of the ongoing power struggle between the governor and the legislature that is now in the courts. The discussion was led by Fellows Eddie Speas and John Wester.

Noel M. Ferris, ’73, Sacramento, California, May 21, 2017

Lionel H. Perlo, ’82, Boston, Massachusetts, February 27, 2017

Melvin J. Sykes, ’73, Baltimore, Maryland, May 22, 2017