September 2024

Dear Fellows:

It is difficult for me to believe, but this is my last eBulletin message as President of the ACTL. To serve in this role has been the greatest honor of my professional career. As I pen this farewell, I have only two more State Committee dinners to attend – and both will be special. Our transplanted Immediate Past President Susan Harriman will be hosting a late August dinner meeting of the Rhode Island Fellows at her home on Narragansett Bay. And on September 5, Pat and I will be traveling to Macon for the Georgia Fellows’ Annual Black-Tie Dinner. I am sure that the dinner will be extra special as it launches President-Elect Rick Deane, a Georgia native, on the road to Nashville, where he will take over the reins as our 75^th President. Congratulations in advance, Rick! I believe that we will have an amazing turnout of Fellows gathering in Nashville to honor Rick and all our new Inductees.

For those who have not been counting up the trip reports in the monthly eBulletins, the Macon event will be my 45^th trip on behalf of the College this year, which started with my journey to Casper, Wyoming last October. As Pat and I strolled through the Denver airport last week on our way home from the meeting of the Colorado Fellows, I noted that virtually every gate at DIA was designated for travel to a city that we had visited for the College. Over the course of this year, we were greeted with enthusiasm at every stop along the way, and met so many wonderful Fellows, spouses and guests. The collegiality and fellowship that are the trademarks of the College were in evidence during every dinner meeting, local program, the strategic planning workshop, and the moot court and trial competitions. Thanks to all of you who made us feel so welcome at these gatherings. And for the several meetings that were double-booked this year, I know that Rick Deane, Treasurer John Day, and Immediate Past President Susan Harriman experienced the same warmth and enthusiasm at the meetings they attended.

My efforts this year were supported by a dedicated Executive Committee, an outstanding Board of Regents, our wise and wonderful Past Presidents, and numerous State, Province and General Committee Chairs. Rick will be blessed with a strong EC team that will include John Day, Sandy Forbes, and our newest officer Katie Recker – as well as a seasoned Immediate Past President. And it should go without saying that the Executive Committee and Board are assisted in everything we do by our exemplary National Office Staff, consisting of Executive Director Dennis Maggi, along with Amy Mrugalski, Geri Frankenstein, Suzanne Alsnauer, Sarah Stokes, Kim Klingaman, and Cheryl Castillo. As many of you know, and have frequently commented to me, the College is blessed to have such a terrific staff.

In short, thanks to everyone who has made this year such a joy for Pat and for me. 

Some wise pundit once reflected that a calendar year really has only two seasons – “winter and baseball.” And so, as we approach the baseball post-season, let me close by saying – “Go Os!”  

Best regards,

William J. Murphy

ACTL President

Featured speakers include a former United States Vice President, a retired Four-Star Marine Corps General, a 60 Minutes and CBS News correspondent, the Former Executive Director at the National Basketball Players Association, and more. Happening September 26-29 in “Music City,” y’all don’t want to miss this one! To register now, click here.

Please take a moment to make sure your Fellow Profile is up to date. Contact information is used in the College Roster and the Find a Fellow directory on the website. Updates submitted by Sept. 15, 2024 will be included in the 2025 Roster. Please consider adding your home address, personal email address and mobile phone number, so we may stay in contact if your information changes and we are not notified. Personal information is not displayed in the Find a Fellow directory when firm information exists. Recent updates to the Find a Fellow directory make it easier to use and we encourage all Fellows to update their practice areas.

Address and Profile updates can be accomplished in one of two ways: 

ONLINE: It’s fast, easy and immediately shows in the online directory. Just log in at www.actl.com. Click on My Account, then select Fellow Profile. The edit button next to the section heading allows you to make changes in that section. Firm address changes can only be made by sending the new information to the National Office.

ROSTER UPDATE FORM: Download the Roster Update Form. The completed form can be printed and mailed or emailed to the National Office. 

For further assistance, please contact the National Office at nationaloffice@actl.com or 949-752-1801.

Manitoba Fellow Garth Smorang recently received the Manitoba Bar Association Distinguished Service Award as well as the Richard Scott Award for advancing the rule of law. These are the two most prestigious awards for lawyers in Manitoba.

The oldest practicing attorney in Alabama is Fellow Jack Livingston. Read about the celebration commemorating his 75 years of practicing law, along with his 98^th birthday, here.

The Foundation Annual Report (packaged with the next issue of the Journal) will be arriving in your mailbox soon! The report highlights recent grants given by both the U.S. and Canadian Foundations.

Until then, you can find an electronic version of the Annual Report here.

General Committees

Mentoring: Over the summer, nearly ninety Fellows mentored ninety federal judicial interns working with judges through the Just The Beginning – A Pipeline Organization and the Sonia & Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program. The feedback from the mentors and the interns confirmed the powerful impact Fellow mentors are having on the next generation of lawyers. From providing support and guidance to the interns in pursuing their next job, to including the interns in networking events, inviting them to CLE events, and even teaching them yoga, our Fellows enthusiastically embraced their role as mentors. In recognition of the Foundation’s support and the Fellows’ mentoring for the past three years, JTB is awarding the College its 2024 Social Justice Leader Award this October. The Mentoring Committee is grateful to everyone who has made this program such a success.

State and Province Committees

Michigan: The Michigan Fellows will be hosting their Annual Black-Tie Dinner on Saturday, October 5, 2024 at the beautiful Crystal Downs Country Club in Frankfort, Michigan. 

Iowa: For the second time in just over a year, the Iowa State Committee made a public statement defending the independence of the Judiciary. The inciting attack against the Judiciary was a letter to the editor of the Des Moines Register, dated August 9, 2024, headlined as “IOWANS ARE TALKING ABOUT FIRING JUDGES AGAIN. THEY MAKE A GOOD CASE,” based on an Iowa Supreme Court opinion upholding a 6-week abortion ban as constitutional. One week later, the Des Moines Register published a response titled “The Iowa State Committee of the American College of Trial Lawyers Opposes Attacks on Iowa State Judges and Justices.” Read the public statement here.

New Jersey: The Great Trials of New Jersey Program held last March in the Newark Courthouse was a success, leading to a second such program to be scheduled for February 2025. This program will be held in the federal courthouse in Camden and will focus on five or six of the famous trials held in Camden. The presenters will include judges and several Fellows of the College.

New York, Downstate: On July 15-16 the Downstate State New York Fellows co-sponsored with FBC a trial training program for lawyers interested in handling pro bono matters. It was held at the SDNY courthouse and was an enormous success. The use of the courtrooms was a major plus in simulating the feel of a real trial. Special shout out to those Fellows who volunteered to serve on the faculty: John Siffert, Bob Jossen, Sandy Litvak, and David Tulchin. 



North Carolina: The Fellows will be putting on two professionalism seminars at the University of North Carolina School of Law and the Wake Forest University School of Law this fall. In December, three North Carolina Fellows (Kirk Warner, David Kirby and Leslie Packer) will comprise the professionalism panel for a CLE program put on by the North Carolina State Bar and the Chief Justice’s professionalism program. North Carolina Fellows Brian Beverly and Sara Lincoln nominated two candidates (Nana Asante Smith and Jonathan David Patton) who participated in the August Trial Advocacy Program hosted in Chicago. 

Oklahoma: In August, the Oklahoma Fellows hosted a Boot Camp Trial Training Program based on the murder Trial of Al Capone, written by Boot Camp Committee Chair Paul Sandler. For the fictional trial vignette, Al Capone (played by Fellow Jerry Durbin, pictured at right) took the stand and testified. One of his trial counsel (Fellow Joe White) told the jury in opening statements, “You will hear direct from Mr. Capone himself and he’ll tell you that he was in Florida vacationing at the time of the murders and he had absolutely nothing to do with the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” And so, for the first time, Al Capone on direct examination by his attorney (Fellow Stan Monroe), told the world his alibi and professed his innocence. A jury of over 100 attendees observed a live demonstration of every aspect of a trial, from Opening statements to Closing arguments. Additionally, the attendees heard valuable feedback from a faculty of twenty-six, which included Oklahoma Fellows as well as some of the state’s most distinguished state and federal trial judges. 

DID YOU KNOW that forty years ago this past June, Past President Andy Coats took on the NCAA and changed college football forever? In 468 U.S. 85, 1984, Coats argued before the Supreme Court that the NCAA's control over television rights to football games amounted to a violation of the Sherman Act. The Court agreed and found, "...that by fixing a price to television games for all games, the NCAA creates a price structure that is unresponsive to viewer demand and unrelated to the process that would prevail in a competitive market. And, of course, since as a practical matter all member institutions need NCAA approval, members have no real choice but to adhere to the NCAA's television controls." Not bad for a first oral argument by Coats. Go Sooners!

Applications for the 2025 Emil Gumpert Award are due September 13, 2024.

This award, accompanied by a $150,000 grant from the Foundation, is given to a worthy program or organization committed to maintaining and improving the administration of justice. Past winners have focused on areas such as sentencing fairness, record expungement, human rights abuse, immigration, fair housing issues, and children in prison, among others.

Fellows of the College are our best source of applications for this prestigious award, and many past winners were nominated by a Fellow. Please share information about the award with your contacts at worthy organizations. More information, including the application, can be found on the Emil Gumpert Award page of the College website. 

Minnesota Fellows Summer Event, Golden Valley, Minnesota: July 23, 2024



President Murphy attended the Minnesota Fellows Summer Event, held at the Golden Valley Country Club. The event was organized by State Chair Joe Dixon and Vice Chair Manny Atwal. Present were former Regent Kathleen Flynn Peterson, National Trial Competition Committee Vice Chair Sally Ferguson and Jan Conlin, the Immediate Past Chair of the Committee. President Murphy spoke to the crowd on numerous topics, from the need to locate even more younger and diverse candidates, to the volunteer opportunities available through the Just The Beginning internship program as well as our initiative to teach civics to middle and high school students through our partnership with the National Constitution Center. 

Iowa State Meeting, Iowa City, Iowa: August 10-11, 2024



President Murphy and his wife Pat attended the Iowa State Committee meeting at the Graduate Hotel in Iowa City. A cocktail reception on Friday, August 9 kicked off the event, which was attended by former Regent Greg Lederer, State Chair Jerry Spaeth, Vice Chair Bill Graham, among others. The following morning, the Iowa Fellows conducted their business meeting, introducing two new Fellows who will be inducted at the Annual Meeting in Nashville. President Murphy then delivered remarks, which included his preview of the 75th anniversary of the College celebration in Washington, DC, at the 2025 Annual Meeting, and ended with a well-received lecture on civil procedure. Regent Rob Adams, Fellow Tom Waterman, and Fellow Sharon Greer also spoke. The Fellows and guests then all boarded buses for a trip to the home of Fellow Jim Hayes, which at one time was the home of artist Grant Wood. After touring the home, along with several other restoration projects, the group reconvened for a social dinner to conclude the weekend event.

Colorado Fellows Dinner, Cherry Hills Village, CO: August 17, 2024



President Murphy and his wife Pat, shown in the photo at right in a sling as she recovers from shoulder surgery, attended the Colorado Fellows Dinner at the Chery Hills Country Club. Cherry Hills is the site of the 1960 US Open when Arnold Palmer rose to fame by holding off the rising young star Jack Nicklaus and the aging pro Ben Hogan to take the title on the final day. Outgoing Regent Dan Folluo and incoming Regent Carolyn Fairless, along with Past President Mike O’Donnell and his wife, Brett, were in attendance. The meeting included heartfelt tributes to four recently passed Denver Fellows and short remarks from President Murphy. A special plaque was presented to Colorado Fellow Pat Ridley who had provided a template for nominee investigations that Regent Folluo has shared with other state committees within his Region.

The College has been notified of the passing of the Fellows listed below. The date after each name notes the year of induction into the College, and the date following the city is the date of his or her passing. A tribute to each will appear in the In Memoriam section of a subsequent issue of the Journal.

Alabama

William S. Yerger, ’82, Fairhope, August 1, 2024

Alberta

Donald R. Cranston, KC, ’08, Edmonton, August 7, 2024

California

Robert G. Steiner, ’78, San Diego, June 8, 2024

Colorado

Gerald Caplan, ’82, Boulder, June 26,2024

John S. Pfeiffer, ’74, Castle Rock, March 9, 2024

Florida

Patrick G. Emmanuel, ’83, Pensacola, July 31, 2024

Illinois

George L. Saunders, ’88, Chicago, June 12, 2024

Minnesota

Deborah A. Ellingboe, ’19, Minneapolis, August 5, 2024

Missouri

Michael D. O’Keefe, ’83, Saint Louis, July 31, 2024

Oklahoma

Bruce W. Robinett, ’87, Bartlesville, May 1, 2024

Pennsylvania

Cody H. Brooks, ’81, Scranton, August 7, 2024

G. Daniel Carney, ’97, Pittsburgh, August 18, 2024

William D. Phillips, ’96, Washington, August 19, 2024

Texas

G. Michael DeGeurin, ’17, Houston, August 10, 2024

James R. Leahy, ’03, Houston, June 23, 2024

West Virginia

Dan Callaghan, ’98, Summersville, August 4, 2024

1300 Dove St., Suite 150

Newport Beach, California 92660

Phone: (949) 752-1801

Email: nationaloffice@actl.com@actl.com



Copyright © 2024 American College of Trial Lawyers, All rights reserved.