All Rise - Fall 2014 by Moritz College of Law

All Rise

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY MORITZ COLLEGE OF L AW

FALL 2014

Inside the general counsel’s office IN-HOUSE LAWYERS OPEN UP ON CHANGES, CHALLENGES, AND OPPORTUNITIES

INSIDE

New Public Service Law Center opens When your professor is also “your honor” Then & Now: Historic photos put Drinko Hall in perspective

Exposure

JAY MALLIN

Just another day at the office for our Washington D.C. Summer Program students.

T H E O H I O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

Dean’s Letter

Editor BARBARA PECK Chief Communications Officer peck.5@osu.edu

Writers ELIZABETH WEINSTEIN Senior Writer KELSEY GIVENS Assistant Editor MICHAEL PERIATT Communications Writer SHAY TROTTER Communications Writer

Special to this edition T.C. BROWN KEITH DARSEE ’14 JONATHAN PETERS ’10

Design STUDIO 630 Studio630.net

All Rise is published by: The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law 55 W. 12th Ave. Columbus, OH 43210 Phone: (614) 292- 2631 moritzlaw.osu.edu Do you want to share your thoughts on a topic covered in All Rise? Send a letter to the editor by emailing Barbara Peck at peck.5@osu.edu, or mail a letter to the address above. Letters may be edited. Diverse viewpoints are presented in this publication, and they do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the law school.

TODD CALLENTINE

Executive Editor GARRY W. JENKINS Associate Dean for Academic Affairs jenkins.434@osu.edu

For generations to come n For most of us, a legal education changed our lives. It altered the way we think and approach problems. It created a lifetime of opportunities. The students entering law school today are just embarking on this transformational journey. While the entering class of J.D students (167 1Ls) is smaller than in years past, they are as accomplished as ever. In addition to bringing outstanding academic credentials from 83 different colleges and universities, 24 states and two foreign countries, they include entrepreneurs, CPAs, a professional hockey player and two professional ballerinas, numerous veterans from all five military branches (including three Bronze star recipients), those who served in the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and Teach for America, and many other impressive individuals. They tell us that they were drawn to Ohio State for law school because of the exceptional education experience we offer: a supportive, world-class faculty committed to teaching; an unrivaled sense of community; our exciting courses (see page 16), programs (see page 20), and services (see page 24). Financial matters, however, play an ever-growing role in student choices about if and where to attend law school. More than 90 percent of Moritz students receive financial aid. Higher education is expensive. Law school is no exception. We well recognize the substantial investment students make in their legal educations, especially considering that more than 50 percent of our students already carry student-loan debt from their undergraduate educations. Today, at Moritz, approximately 9 percent of all tuition expenses are funded by supporters of the College through endowed and current use gifts, with additional scholarship funding coming from the College’s general fund. Student support is among the college’s highest priorities. Scholarship support not only makes attending Moritz possible— it helps to spare graduates from restricting and burdensome debt. Furthermore, scholarship aid helps Moritz attract the extraordinary students who will become the leaders of our profession, our businesses, and our communities. In the rapidly changing environment for law schools, with which we must keep pace, we must increase our resources for scholarship support. In recent years, we have worked closely with our alumni to raise more than $7 million for scholarship support. This is a point of great pride, but we still have work to do to meet the scholarship and grant levels of our peers, including Indiana University and the University of Michigan. Here are three ways you can support our efforts in this critical area: gifts of any amount to the Law Annual Fund, direct contributions to existing scholarship funds, or through the establishment of a new named endowed fund. For those at the highest giving levels, the new Ohio Scholarship Challenge doubles the impact of each donation through a match on the yearly payout of any gift of $100,000 or more in perpetuity. With the generosity of our alumni and supporters enhancing our scholarships, we will continue and strengthen the flow of great students through Moritz and, equipped with their legal education, on to chart their own course to making a difference in the world.

Dean and Edwin M. Cooperman Professor of Law

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Contents FALL 2014

36 16

12th & High

Judges in the Classroom

Externship Programs

Ohio judges put down the gavel to teach students the ins and outs of trial practice.

Externships at Moritz provide more than just hands-on learning for law students; they provide a launching pad for future careers.

Public Service Law Center

Then & Now

T H E O H I O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

Marijuana Legalization Challenges

With states like Colorado and Washington legalizing recreational marijuana, legal reforms concerning the substance aren’t just the concern of criminal lawyers any longer.

A new space on the first floor of Moritz will provide a home base for the college’s public service projects.

The corner of 12th & High has been home to the Ohio State law school for more than 50 years. Take a journey through time to see how the school has grown and changed.

Features

Inside the General Counsel’s Office

Corporate legal department leaders discuss how their roles are changing and what it means for the law firms that handle their work.

IN EVERY ISSUE

3 Dean’s Letter

Alan C. Michaels discusses

making an impact on the next generation

7 Notebook

Catch up on news from the college.

52 48

Overheard in Saxbe

Office Hours

Guests offer fresh perspectives on current issues.

Mary Beth Beazley discusses

the effects of technology on legal writing.

In Print

Cinnamon P. Carlarne

co-edited the book, Oceans and Human Health: Implications for Society and Well-Being.

Alumni Profiles

Alumni Notes

All Rise tells the stories of Salvador Cicero ’98 and Derek Smith ’08.

Discover what is new with alumni from around the world.

1 Degree, 10 Careers

Alumni living and working in San Francisco share where they’re working now and how they ended up in the City By the Bay.

Pipeline Program Bursts with Success

The Law and Leadership Institute is using a unique educational model to help students from under-served communities reach their goals of obtaining a postsecondary education.

“When I went to Ohio State we had the mentorship program, which completely changed my life in such a positive way.” —Salvador Cicero ‘98, partner, Cicero Vargas & Karr, P.C., Chicago, IL

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What is the Annual Fund?

he annual fund is a current use fund that provides critical unrestricted financial support to advance the college. Yearly contributions by dedicated alumni are used to support the college’s most pressing needs—student scholarships, faculty support, and the many “extra” events and activities that bring law school to life, develop lawyering and professional skills in students, and help students launch their careers.

Now, more than ever before in its history, Moritz depends on the faithful and generous support of its alumni and friends to achieve its mission. One gift every year has an exponential impact on our resources. An annual gift of $100 has the same spending power as the earnings from a $2,300 endowment. Consistent giving is the cornerstone of the Annual Fund’s success. Every year the Annual Fund begins at $0 and we depend on your support to build it up. The Annual Fund allows everyone— no matter his or her means, no matter the size of the gift—the opportunity to give back and advance our great law school. The alumni pictured above are consistent donors to the Annual Fund. To learn more about how to support the Annual Fund, please contact Timberly Ross at ross.668@osu.edu or (614) 292-5049.

Notebook PEOPLE

• PROMOTIONS

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HONORS

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EVENTS

• QUOTES

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NEWS

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AND MORE

JAY MALLIN

ACS named student chapter of the year Professor Daniel P. Tokaji at the release event in Washington, D.C.

Tokaji releases campaign finance report n Professor Daniel P. Tokaji released “The New Soft Money: Outside Spending in Congressional Elections” at an event at the National Press Club in June. In the years since Citizens United, there has been a torrent of outside money flooding into election campaigns. While there has been considerable attention to raw numbers, much less was known about the real-world effects of such spending — until now. The book-length report was supported by a grant from Open Society Foundations. Tokaji, the Charles W. Ebersold and Florence Whitcomb Ebersold Professor of Constitutional Law, and research fellow Renata Strause wrote the most comprehensive report to date on the impact of independent spending, as told by those in the best position to know. Based on over 40 interviews with political players across the ideological spectrum, the book paints a vivid picture of how

outside spending affects contemporary elections and politics. The New Soft Money addresses these questions: • What kinds of outside groups engage in outside spending, and what are their objectives? • How has outside spending changed congressional campaigns, including candidates’ attempt to maintain message discipline? • Is independent spending used or perceived as a threat to congressional candidates who refuse to toe the line of outside groups? •Do outside groups and candidate campaigns cooperate? Do they engage in illegal coordination? For more information on the book, please visit: http:://moritzlaw.osu.edu/thenewsoftmoney or follow #newsoftmoney –Barbara Peck

n The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law’s chapter of the American Constitution Society (ACS) was named student chapter of the year at the organization’s national convention in Washington, DC. It was just one of several awards the chapter won at the event. “I think we received the award for a number of reasons. We had a lot of energy and excitement going into the fall semester and we just kept building off of that enthusiasm throughout the school year,” former Moritz ACS Chapter President Derek Clinger ’14 said. “We held nearly 40 high-profile events, we developed a really strong relationship with the ACS Columbus Lawyer Chapter – who also won an award at the convention – and ultimately we saw a big increase in our membership.” The student chapter was also presented with a Programming Award for holding more than 20 events throughout the academic year. This was the second year in a row the group has received the award. In addition to the chapter’s success as a whole, 3L Brian Jordan was also named the winner of the Constance Baker Motley National Student Writing Competition. Students were asked to submit essays to the competition, co-sponsored by ACS, the University of Pennsylvania Law School ACS Student Chapter and the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, on topics discussing progressive legal theory and discourse. –Kelsey Givens

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Notebook

Tobin named dean of the University of Maryland n The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law named Moritz professor and former associate dean Donald B. Tobin as its tenth dean. During 13 years on the Moritz faculty, Tobin held several positions including associate dean for academic affairs, associate dean for faculty, the John C. Elam/Vorys Sater Professor of Law, the Frank E. and Virginia H. Bazler Designated Professor in Business Law, founding co-director of the Program on Law and Leadership, and a senior fellow of law at Moritz’s Election Law @ Moritz Program. Tobin taught classes in tax, tax ethics, legislation, and legal writing. “Donald has been a great leader for Moritz and leaves his positive imprint on so many of our programs,” said Alan C. Michaels, dean and Edwin M. Cooperman Professor of Law. “Maryland law school is very fortunate to have him return to his home state and take the helm.” Tobin is native of Columbia, Maryland. Prior to joining Moritz, he served as a professional staff member for U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes (MD), the Senate Committee on the Budget, and the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. He began his deanship at Maryland Law on July 1. –BP

Daley honored with teaching award In March, Professor Richard Daley’s classroom received a surprise visit from the university provost, who stopped the class to announce Daley had received the Provost’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Lecturer for 2014. The award recognizes a maximum of three lecturers, senior lecturers, or auxiliary faculty for their teaching excellence. Daley, a senior lecturer in law, joined the Moritz faculty in 2006 after practicing real estate law for 28 years. He teaches Real Estate Development Law, Commercial Leasing, and Drafting Business Contracts. In 2013, graduating law students awarded him the Morgan Shipman Outstanding Professor Award. “Rick’s success and devotion to his students, his accomplishment in creating not only new courses in real estate, but also new types of courses generally, rife with role plays, simulations, drafting and so forth that bring both the skills and the problem-solving of lawyering in the world into the classroom, and his success in creating a casebook that has had his detailed methods adopted to benefit students elsewhere, all of these things made the nomination a simple one,” said Alan C. Michaels, dean and Edwin M. Cooperman Professor of Law. In 2011, Daley published Real Estate Development Law (West), a skill-oriented teaching and casebook on commercial real estate. - BP

T H E O H I O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

Student wins Burton award n In a ceremony at the Library of Congress, Jonathan Olivito ’14 received recognition for a note he published in the Ohio State Law Journal, entitled “Beyond the Fourth Amendment: Limiting Drone Surveillance Through the Constitutional Right to Informational Privacy.” Olivito is the second Moritz graduate to win a prestigious Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing; Noah Litton ’13 received a Burton Award in 2013. The Burton Awards were established in 1999 to celebrate achievements in law, ranging from legal writing to reforms in law. Olivito accepted his award at a black-tie event in Washington, D.C. before an audience of approximately 500 guests. Dignitaries included many of the managing partners and partners of the largest law firms in the United States, judges, law school deans, and professors from across the nation. Just 15 law students are honored with the award each year. “It was a great honor. I was happy to represent The Ohio State University in their second win of the Burton Awards,” Olivito said of the experience. “It is a testament to the strength of our legal writing program and to the education we receive here.” Another highlight of the evening according to Olivito: a stand-up performance by comedian Jay Leno. Olivito’s note focuses on privacy concerns posed by the widespread domestic use of drones for surveillance purposes. Olivito joined Dahman Law in Columbus for one year following the bar exam. After that, he plans to clerk for Judge Edmund Sargus, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. –Elizabeth Weinstein

Notebook BY THE NUMBERS

Summer

11,245 miles traveled by the average Oxford Summer Program student

passes through White House security by 2L Tremaine Phillips during the Washington D.C. Summer Program

Four moot court national champions - Jim Saywell ‘14, Whitney Siehl’ 13, Ariel Brough ‘13, and Nikki Baszynski ‘13 were honored at halftime of a men’s basketball game.

Moot court, lawyering skills victories n The 2013-14 academic year was another stellar season for Moritz moot court and lawyering skills teams. For the first year, Moritz was invited to the Andrews Kurth National Moot Court Championship. Only 16 teams are invited and invitations are based on overall moot court performances the previous year. Lisa Herman ’14, Colin Kalvas ’14, and Jim Saywell ’14 came in second for the Best Brief Award and third overall in the championship. The team had entered the tournament seeded 12th. The mock trial team composed of Gus Lazares ’14 and Katie Wallrabenstein ’14 won the regional round of the National Trial Competition in February and represented Region Six at the championship rounds in Austin, Texas in March. Of the 315 teams in the competition, Lazares and Wallrabenstein made it to the Final Four at nationals, where they lost by a 5-4 vote. Lazares was awarded the George A. Spiegelbert Award for Best Oral Advocate at the national competition. Jenna Grassbaugh ’14, 3L Ryan Harmanis, and 3L Hunter West were crowned champions of the Ruby Vale Interschool Corporate Moot Court Competition. In the competition, they beat teams from Penn, the University of Florida, William & Mary, and, in the final round, Georgetown. 3Ls Amy Factor and Madalyn Fairbanks finished second in the National ABA Representation in Mediation Competition held in Miami. The team advanced to the national competition after winning their regional competition held in Providence, RI. –BP

5,672 hours worked by Public Interest Law Foundation fellows

174 43

footnotes in the average law review article written by faculty this summer

pints of Jeni’s consumed by Moritz faculty and staff during summer gatherings

On the Class of 2017 Facebook page

responses to a recommendation for a good sushi spot

football ticket related questions

posts on parking pre-orientation get-togethers organized

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Notebook

Dressler named Distinguished University Professor n Professor Joshua Dressler has earned another accolade to his stellar career: the title of Distinguished University Professor. Dressler, the Frank L. Strong Chair in Law, was honored with the university’s highest professorial title this spring for his internationally recognized work in the field of criminal law and procedure as well as his dedication to educating students. The prestigious designation recognizes faculty who have been with the university more than five years and have demonstrated exceptional records in teaching, research, scholarly or creative work, and service during their tenure. No more than three faculty are designated distinguished university professors in a given year. Recipients of the permanent, honorific title also receive a grant to support their continued academic work. “Professor Dressler is – without

exaggeration or hyperbole – the country’s leading academic authority in the field of criminal law, and amongst the leading figures in criminal procedure. He is the leading scholar in one of the law’s five or six most fundamental fields,” said Dean Alan Michaels said. “Professor Dressler is also a gifted and devoted teacher. He was named a Distinguished University Lecturer at Ohio State in 2005, and won awards for effective teaching during his time with the McGeorge School of Law,

Wayne State University Law School and Hamline University School of Law. He is sought out by other leading law schools around the country, having taught as a visitor at Berkeley, Michigan and Texas, to name a few. At Ohio State, he is wellknown for being extremely accessible to his students and was a pioneer in using electronic communication methods to allow student-teacher contact outside of class time.” Over the course of his career, Dressler has published seven books and authored more than 50 scholarly articles and book chapters, which have been published in both the United States and United Kingdom. “It is no exaggeration to say that Professor Dressler is the architect of the current instruction and understanding of the criminal law field in the United States,” a nominator wrote. Dressler is one of the most widely cited authorities in his field. He joins Ruth Colker and Gregory Caldeira as law school faculty to carry the distinguished university professor title. –KG

Legal writing award takes student to Grammys Amid all of music’s brightest stars at the Grammy Awards was one of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law’s brightest minds. No, Matt Borden ’14 did not perform or take the stage, but he did accept an award for his paper in front of hundreds of the top lawyers in entertainment law. Borden’s paper on the law governing the inheritance of digital music collections after people die was selected as the winner of the GRAMMY Foundation’s Entertainment Law Initiative Contest. Each Matt Borden ’14 year law students from around the country submit papers about legal issues facing the music industry, and the winner receives $5,000 and an all-expenses-paid trip to the GRAMMYs in Los Angeles. In 2005, Kara M. Wolke ’05 was a runner-up in the contest, and the following year Kevin Bernardo ’06 was also a runner-up. Borden got the idea for his paper, “The Day the Music Died: Digital Inheritance and the Music Industry,” while doing research for a note he was writing in the Ohio State Law Journal. Its focus was simple: What happens to your music when you die? As the law stands now, passing digital music collections, which can sometimes be worth thousands of dollars, on to beneficiaries is extremely difficult because of license agreements users agree to when they buy a song off music stores like iTunes or Amazon. “You can’t even consent to passing it on to your beneficiaries,” he said. “Because of how strictly they’ve interpreted the Stored Communications Act to avoid liability, you essentially lose out. So that’s why I’m arguing there should be an express exemption in the act that says it doesn’t cover the estate fiduciary, heirs or beneficiaries.” The paper also argues that profits an independent artist makes after death should be given to the estate or beneficiary of the deceased. “Legal writing is the thing I love most about law school,” he said. “I like thinking creatively and drafting creative solutions to problems, then putting it on paper and describing it to people.” - BP

T H E O H I O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

Notable Quotables

“In the wake of Lockett, there is this persistently problematic feeling that states are unable to go through with executions without having problems…A part of calming down or getting back to normal will be judges and prosecutors less likely to seek execution dates.” –Professor Douglas Berman said on MSNBC about a recent string of botched lethal injection executions that have raised doubts for some that states will continue to be able to carry out capital punishment fairly and without complications.

“It doesn’t matter who appointed the judge. It doesn’t matter if they’re conservative or liberal. The judges here could go along with the other judges who have read the Supreme Court DOMA decision to stand for a broad, powerful and simple principle of equality.” –Professor Marc Spindelman in the Detroit Free Press on the gay marriage cases pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

“There is sort of a new wave of litigation involving section two of the Voting Rights Act and whether or not voting rules of any kind have racially discriminatory impact.” –Professor Edward B. Foley discussing litigation over early voting on NPR

“The appropriate response from our police is transparent accountability, not military tanks, and the hoped for response from our fellow citizens is one of solidarity and a singularity of purpose to get to that better us.” –Professor Sharon Davies in the Huffington Post writing on unconscious bias and the police shooting in Ferguson, MO

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Notebook

All in the family n When more than 220 graduates walked across the stage and stopped to be hooded, some members of the crowd knew exactly the sense of pride and accomplishments the graduates were feeling. They themselves had taken those exact steps 20, 25, or 30 years earlier.

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Ryan Boda ’14 is the son of Daniel K. Boda ’74

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Julia Donnan ’14 is the granddaughter of Wayne Leatherman ’50

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Jocelyn M. Harrington’14 is the daughter of John E. Hoffman ’83

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Zachary Imwalle ’14 is the son of Randall J. Imwalle ’87

Parasidis fellowship

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Julie Keys ’14 is the daughter of Alice Gailey Keys ’82 and the

Professor Efthimios Parasidis was selected as one of three researchers to receive the Greenwall Faculty Scholars Program in Bioethics award earlier this year. The award provides three years of salary support to the winners allowing them to develop individual research programs and carry out research in bioethics. The goal is to support research that goes beyond the current work being done and to help resolve pressing ethical issues in clinical care, biomedical research and public policy. A joint professor at both the Moritz College of Law and the School of Public Health, Parasidis’ research project “The Military Biomedical Complex: How National Security Impacts Military Medicine and Research,” looks at the proliferation of innovative medical products and biomedical enhancements raising significant clinical, bioethical and legal concerns, particularly in the military context when a goal of the U.S. Department of Defense is to create soldiers with superior physical, physiological and cognitive abilities. Parasidis is under contract with Oxford University Press to publish a book on his research, which will aim to motivate a debate on military medical ethics by proposing public policy reforms. –KG

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T H E O H I O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

granddaughter of Jack G. Evans ’34 Maxwell Reisinger ’14 is the nephew of Michael Fusco ’79

“It was a very proud moment,” Julie Keys said. “It was always really important for me to get to Ohio State and it was little bit of a complicated route. Just a real sense of pride, and I’m carrying on the family tradition. Maybe someday my daughter or son will come here. It’s cool.” –BP

Civil Clinic wins civil rights, torts case n Moritz’s Civil Law Clinic recently won a creative civil-rights-tort suit against the state of Ohio for an incarcerated client Jane Doe (her name has been anonymized because of the nature of the suit). According to the suit, the Ohio prison system consistently failed to treat the HIV+ client’s medical records with the care required, and as a result, the entire prison learned of her HIV status, with many ostracizing and publicly castigating her. This breach led to Ms. Doe falling into severe depression, which fundamentally compromised her ability to function while serving her life sentence. The Court of Claims ruled in favor of the client, vindicating her interest in the form of admonishment of prison practices and a damages sum. “It goes to show how persistent and creative lawyering has the power to vindicate rights of the most marginalized,” said Assistant Professor Amna Akbar, who teaches in the Civil Law Clinic. “Ms. Doe was very pleased with the quality of the work from our students and the respect they afford her, always treating her like a partner in the process.” Four generations of clinic students worked on the case, passing the torch semester to semester, visiting the client, keeping her spirits up, listening, counseling, researching, writing, litigating, and taking careful notes to share with the next team of students. -KG

Notebook

GVP wins first case n The Captain Jonathan D. Grassbaugh Veterans Project has won its first case on behalf of two local veterans. Under the guidance of a supervising attorney, Moritz students working with the Grassbaugh Veterans Project were able to get monies returned to two Marine Corps veterans after a dispute with their landlord. The Grassbaugh Veterans Project was started in 2013 after Jenna Grassbaugh ’14 donated funds to Moritz in honor of her late husband to start a program to help veterans with their legal needs. The project is currently focused on helping service members in the central Ohio area with housing and consumer-related issues. In the past several months, the Grassbaugh Veterans Project has been contacted by more than 25 veterans in need of legal services and students are currently working on six outstanding cases. In early November, the program received a message from two veterans asking for advice on issues they were having with their former rental company. During a meeting with Moritz students Michalea Delaveris ’14 and 3L Suzanne Van Horn, “Six months the veterans described in detail how they had of working, struggled through a tough campus-area lease and just wanted to put the whole situation waiting, learning, behind them. researching and Delaveris and Van Horn quickly went to work drafting paid off in researching Ohio laws on tenant rights. They then employed the help of Student Legal Services the most amazing to issue demand letters to both the property way.” manager and property owner requesting pay—Michalea Delaveris ’14 ment for their clients. After several weeks went by without any word from either party, the matter moved forward into litigation. On April 15, they had their day in court. They were awarded for the full amount owed from the property owner and a default judgment for allowable statutory damages – set in place by the Ohio legislature to curb this type of tenant exploitation – against the property manager. “It was with a new kind of joy that we shook hands on our way out of the courthouse,” Delaveris said of the experience. “Six months of working, waiting, learning, researching and drafting paid off in the most amazing way. Working with the Grassbaugh Veterans Project has been an affirmation of my decision to pursue a career in the law and the highlight of my legal education.” For more information or to apply for legal aid through the Grassbaugh Veterans Project visit http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/grassbaugh/ or contact the project by email at grassbaughveteransproject@osu.edu or by phone at 614-292-0290. –KG

Searching for Moritz alumni coast-to-coast? Check out our new online alumni directory http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/alumni/

Berman awarded public health fellowship n Professor Micah Berman has been awarded a fellowship to participate in the Future of Public Health Law Education: Faculty Fellowship Program. The program is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to foster innovations and build a learning community among those who teach public health law at professional and graduate schools. The 10 fellows, chosen from across the country, will develop interdisciplinary courses and programs in public health law at their respective universities during the fellowship year. Their projects will strengthen interdisciplinary education in public health law and promote collaborations with public health agencies and organizations in the fellows’ communities. The course Berman will develop through the fellowship will engage both law and public health students. The students will work in collaboration with the Franklin County Public Health Department in reviewing and changing public health laws. –BP

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Notebook

Faculty promotions, appointments n The Ohio State University Board of Trustees approved a host of promotions and endowed positions for Moritz faculty. Professor Mary Beth Beazley was promoted to the rank of professor. Beazley regularly teaches Legal Analysis and Writing, Appellate Advocacy, and Advanced Legal Writing. Professor Beazley has authored a widely used textbook (A Practical Guide to Appellate Advocacy) and numerous articles.

Rogers honored with lifetime achievement in ADR n Nancy Hardin Rogers, the Michael E. Moritz Chair in Alternative Dispute Resolution (emeritus), was honored with the prestigious James F. Henry Award from the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR). The institute is an independent nonprofit organization comprised of global corporations, law firms, scholars, and public institutions dedicated to the principles of commercial conflict prevention and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Rogers received the award at a ceremony held in Charleston, South Carolina, for her lifelong leadership, innovation, and sustaining commitment to the field of ADR, and in particular, her work on the development of the Uniform Mediation Act. Rogers has an illustrious career in the field of ADR. She has co-authored an award-winning treatise on mediation; the leading textbook about dispute resolution, which is in its sixth edition; and a textbook on dispute system and process design. She served as the dean of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law from 2001 to 2008, when she was asked to serve as Ohio Attorney General. She was president of the Association of American Law Schools, the national educational association of 176 law schools and the academic learned society for law teachers, in 2007. –Monica DeMeglio

T H E O H I O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

Professor Edward B. Foley was named the Charles W. Ebersold and Florence Whitcomb Ebersold Chair in Constitutional Law. He is the director of Election Law @ Moritz and his teaching and scholarship focus on election law issues. He also serves as a reporter for the American Law Institute’s Election Law Project Professor Creola Johnson was named the President’s Club Professor in Law. She spent four years practicing bankruptcy law and worked as a staff attorney with Pittsburgh’s Neighborhood Legal Services Association. She teaches Sales, Secured Transactions, Debtor and Creditor Rights, Business Bankruptcy, and Consumer Law. Professor Efthimios Parasidis was promoted to the rank of associate professor with tenure. Parasidis teaches Health Law and Biotechnology Law and Policy. He holds a joint appointment with The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and the College of Public Health. His scholarship focuses on the regulation of medical products and human subjects research, the interplay between health law and intellectual property, and the application of health information technology to public health policy. Professor Paul Rose was promoted to the rank of professor. Rose teaches Business Associations, Comparative Corporate Law, Corporate Finance, Investment Management Law, and Securities Regulation. He has written extensively on sovereign wealth funds, corporate governance, and securities regulation, and he has consulted with and provided testimony on these topics to numerous regulators and other agencies. Professor Ric Simmons was named the Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer Professor for the Administration of Justice and Rule of Law. He teaches Evidence and Criminal Law and often writes on questions of search and seizure as well as jury selection and criminal procedure. –BP

Overheard IN SAXBE

“Thurgood Marshall warned us about this in one of the last civil rights cases he heard on the court. They are mixing the act of discrimination with what is a remedy for discrimination. These policies were never meant to protect the majority.” –Ret. Judge Nathaniel Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit during “Brown v. Board of Education at 60”

“Anything that you post on social media – tweets, Facebook posts that only can be seen by your ‘friends’ – are fair game and should be thought of as a public statement.” –Joel Gurin, senior advisor to the Governance Lab, during a conference on big data

“I want to prevail. If I’m in the majority, I want to stay in the majority. If I’m in the dissent, I want to embarrass my colleagues.” –Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit during “Judges as Leaders: Stories from Behind the Bench”

“I wouldn’t mind so much if they represented Native Americans as doctors, lawyers, or policymakers. But, no. We are always reduced to beads and feathers. As long as that is the image, it is marginalizing.” –John Low, assistant professor in Ohio State’s Department of Comparative Studies during a panel discussion about the Washington Redskins name controversy

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12th & High “They do quite well, and I take not a small measure of pride in their performance. As a teacher, I find it deeply satisfying to participate in their entry and growth in the profession.” - Judge Norah King ’75

“In the years I’ve been a federal judge, I’ve found myself adopting a different mission in my teaching.”

T H E O H I O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

-Judge Jeffrey Sutton ’90

Judge Jeffrey Sutton

TODD CALLENTINE

Judge Norah King

12th & High

Judges turn the courtroom into the classroom BY JONATHAN PETERS ‘10

n Jeffrey Sutton ’90 has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit since 2003, and I first appeared before him in 2009, when I was 25. I was appealing my client’s conviction of unlawfully possessing a firearm. Police officers had entered an apartment rented by my client’s girlfriend in connection with a robbery investigation. As the officers searched the apartment, my client walked out of a bedroom and was arrested. The officers found a firearm in the bedroom, and before asking any questions, they read to him the department’s Miranda consent and release form, which included the phrases: “You have the right to talk to a lawyer before answering any of our questions” and “You have the right to use any of these rights at any time you want during this interview.” The issue was whether it satisfied

Miranda to advise my client that he had the right to talk with a lawyer before questioning and that he could invoke that right “at any time … during the interview.” For his part, my client signed the form and swore he understood his rights and was willing to talk with the officers. Then he confessed he owned the firearm found in the apartment. He said he knew he was not allowed to own a firearm because he was a felon, but he purchased and carried it anyway for personal protection. Prosecutors charged my client accordingly (one count of unlawfully possessing a firearm), and at trial the interrogating officers testified that my client confessed he owned the firearm. I objected on Miranda grounds to the confession’s introduction, but the court overruled me — and ultimately the jury found my

client guilty. We appealed to the Sixth Circuit, arguing that the consent and release form violated Miranda, and our panel included Sutton, a tough questioner once described by The Washington Post as the “intellectual engine” of the Circuit’s conservative bloc. With my client serving 10 years, my job was to persuade Sutton that the warning my client received was flawed because the right to talk with an attorney before questioning is not identical to the right to talk with an attorney during questioning. I needed Sutton to believe that the consent and release form would suggest to a reasonable person in the suspect’s shoes that he may consult with a lawyer only before questioning. Sutton’s questions came fast. Is this warning substantively or otherwise

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12th & High different from the FBI warning that some believe was approved in Miranda? You want us to believe that your client, who decided to talk, even though he was told he could consult an attorney before questioning, and at any time during the interview, then he confessed—you’re saying if he had only understood he could have an attorney present during the interview, he would not have confessed. Is that right? Is there any malevolent reason the police would adopt this consent and release form? As the questions came at me, I bobbed and weaved and parried and covered up. I tried to protect my client’s position while embedding in my answers the idea that I was not only right on the law but also seeking a just result. I tried to take a beat before answering each question, to ensure I knew what I wanted to say

before speaking. And I tried to exude confidence, talking in a clear tone and standing tall. I had no idea how I was really doing as I completed my argument, until Sutton said, “OK, that was great, just a few things to work on …” “JUDGES HAVE A STAKE IN LEGAL EDUCATION” When I appeared before Sutton, I was a 3L in his Supreme Court Litigation seminar. He required us to draft a bench memorandum for a case pending before the Court and to defend our reasoning and conclusion in a presentation that operated like an oral argument. (I drew Florida v. Powell, decided in 2010.) It was a challenging exercise that forced us—the 20 students in the seminar — to think as an advocate and put ourselves in the place of a judge, by interacting with one on a substantive issue. The rest of the

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For many Trial Practice courses, the classes and final exams take place in the actual courtrooms.

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class would observe and offer constructive criticism. Not much has changed. Jordan Watrous, a 3L at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law who took Sutton’s seminar in State Constitutional Law, said the judge engages students by asking challenging questions and sharing stories from the bench and beyond, often drawing on his experience as State Solicitor of Ohio. “He brings a real-world approach to the classroom,” Watrous said. “It’s more like a conversation than a class. I’ll admit it can be intimidating to disagree with a federal judge, but that’s what he wants. He wants to discuss and debate important issues, and we do presentations. That kind of interaction is valuable for us as students.” Sutton has been teaching nearly 30 years, going back to his days at Columbus Academy, where he taught 7th-grade geography and 10th-grade history. He first taught at Moritz in 1993 when Frank Beytagh, then the dean, asked Sutton to co-teach a course on the Supreme Court. Beytagh had clerked 30 years earlier for Justice Earl Warren and thought that Sutton, who had just returned to Columbus after clerking for Justices Lewis F. Powell and Antonin Scalia, could use his fresh perspective to enliven the course. Since then, Sutton has taught half a dozen different courses at Moritz, three of them regularly. He also has taught at Harvard Law School and Vanderbilt Law School.

“Each class contains valuable and practical nuggets of wisdom and he provides terrific advice on many things. He really cares about his students and how well they’re doing.” –Jesse Lemon ’14

12th & High “It was a challenging exercise that forced us—the 20 students in the seminar — to think as an advocate and put ourselves in the place of a judge, by interacting with one on a substantive issue. ” –Jonathan Peters ‘10 “I come from a family of teachers: My mom, my dad, my grandparents,” Sutton said. “When I went to law school, leaving Columbus Academy, it wasn’t because I disliked teaching. I enjoyed it then and the students at Moritz are terrific. I still enjoy it very much, working with people who are trying to understand how things work.” He’s not alone. Sutton is one of 10 judges who teach at Moritz. In addition to Supreme Court Litigation, their courses range from Appellate Advocacy to Trial Practice to Evidence seminars to State Constitutional Law. And their day jobs range from trial, to specialty, to appeals courts — at the local, state, and federal levels. Some are Moritz alumni; others are not. Some had teaching experience before law school; others did not. Some maintain a full docket; others do not. All of them, however, share a commitment to help students — to help them develop their understanding of the law and legal process, with the goal of equipping the students to improve society. And to improve the judiciary, specifically. “In the years I’ve been a federal judge, I’ve found myself adopting a different mission in my teaching,” Sutton said. “You learn quickly that courts perform better when advocacy is of a high quality, so judges have a stake in legal education. I teach students in Ohio and many of them will stay in Ohio or in the Sixth Circuit — and I’m trying to improve the quality of the bar and by extension the quality of judicial decisions.” It’s not uncommon for the judges to hear cases involving their former students. Norah McCann King ’75 is a magistrate judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and has taught at Ohio State nearly 40 years,

first at the Fisher College of Business (as full-time faculty) and later at Moritz (as adjunct faculty). She normally teaches one course per year at the law school, right now Trial Practice, and a number of her former students have appeared before her. “They do quite well, and I take not a small measure of pride in their performance,” King said. “As a teacher, I find it deeply satisfying to participate in their entry and growth in the profession.” “HOW TO ADDRESS THE JUDGE” King said the most important change in legal education since she began teaching is the increasing emphasis on the practicalities and realities of practicing law without sacrificing a strong grounding in theory. Moritz in particular, she said, has developed clinics and practicebased courses to teach students how to use specialized materials and navigate successfully the processes relevant to certain practice areas. With that in mind, King views teaching as a collaborative effort (“We’re all learning jointly”) and uses her experience to assist and guide her students. Her students appreciate her approach. “She’s very hands on,” said Peter Berg ’14, who took King’s Trial Practice course. “She offers advice on where to stand, how to address the judge, how to handle a hostile witness, and so on, all based on her years of bench experience. It’s great for the students because she does this every day.” The same goes for Sutton. He tells students to approach each class session as a court appearance, and his lectures are filled with stories from the bench and his journey to becoming a judge. He even invites small groups of students to join him after class at Eddie George’s Grill 27 so

Judge Guy Cole in class

he can get to know them. Jesse Lemon ’14, who took Sutton’s State Constitutional Law seminar, said the judge also stresses personal development and takes pride in his students’ success. “Each class contains valuable and practical nuggets of wisdom and he provides terrific advice on many things, from getting cases before the Supreme Court to eliminating words that judges dislike,” Lemon said. “He really cares about his students and how well they’re doing.” I’ll second that. When I called Sutton to interview him for this story, the first words out of his mouth were, “How’ve you been? What are you doing these days? I hope you’re well.” Then he told me where I sat in the classroom and asked why I hadn’t argued a case yet before the Supreme Court. My answer? I bobbed and weaved and parried and covered up. AR

Jonathan Peters ’10 is the press freedom

correspondent for the Columbia Journalism Review. An attorney and assistant professor of journalism at the University of Kansas, he has written on legal issues for The Atlantic, Slate, The Nation, Wired, and PBS. Follow him @jonathanwpeters on Twitter.

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Escaping

the

classroom,

exploring the “real”

world

Expanded externship programs provide students with hands-on learning opportunities BY MICHAEL PERIATT n Whitney Braunlin ’14 could tell the woman in front of her was on the brink of tears. The preschool the woman ran was in danger of losing its governmental funding and now she was at an administrative hearing to tell her side of the story. Representing the state was Braunlin, then a 3L at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law working as an extern for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office with a legal intern certificate. She gave her opening statement and then waited for the woman to reply with hers. “She’s almost crying and then she delivers her opening and speaks directly to me like I’m the state, I’m the opponent here,” Braunlin said. “I just felt the gravity of that responsibility. You don’t get to

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feel that in a law school class. Exams are high pressure, but actually practicing law and having an impact on people’s rights and privileges was something that I only got from that experience.” The experience Braunlin describes is not unlike those dozens of students experience each semester at Moritz through the college’s externship program, which

places students with a variety of nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, and judges’ offices. Students earn course credit for performing supervised substantive legal work. That last bit is of central importance to the program, said April Davis ’03, Moritz’s director of student services, until July 2014 who also coordinated the

“My goal is to one day to work for the Attorney General full-time. Through the externship, I got to see the office from the inside. I learned the different sections and where I might fit in. You can’t do that in a classroom.” –Whitney Braunlin ‘14

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3L Liane Rousseau, extern at the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office

2L Miriah Lee, extern at the Supreme Court of Ohio

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3L Delaney Marsco, extern at the U.S. Attorney’s Office

3L Tim Hackett, extern at the Ohio Public Defender

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Judge Norah King provides feedback to 3L Marissa Black during her externship in the judge’s chambers.

externship program. The students are not making copies or getting coffee, and if they are, Davis addresses the issue immediately. “We make sure the students have a great deal of responsibility and it’s very time consuming to extern and take a full load of classes,” Davis said. Externships offer students real-world work experience and an inside look at the challenges and rewards of practice. Sometimes the experience affirms what direction a student may want to take their career, but, just as valuable, it can also show students that their interests might be best served in another field, Davis said. Moritz offers two different types of externships: a public interest externship and a judicial externship. Public interest Though the judicial externship program has been a staple at Moritz for years, the public interest program is new in comparison. It started in 2012. The program matches students with a government entity or nonprofit organi-

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zation that is approved as an externship placement by the law school. Students can also find their own placement, as long as it is approved. During the Fall and Spring semesters, students must work at least 150 hours at the organization, or 50 per credit hour they receive. Participating organizations have included the Legal Aid Society, Children’s Defense Fund, Southeastern Ohio Legal Services, NAACP, and Ohio Poverty Law Center. Braunlin completed her public interest externship for the education section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Though she had previously completed a judicial externship as well, her experience with the Attorney General’s Office confirmed that she wanted to work in the public sector. “My goal is to one day to work for the Attorney General full-time. Through the externship, I got to see the office from the inside,” she said. “I learned the different sections and where I might fit in. You can’t do that in a classroom.” During Braunlin’s time there, she

had the opportunity to deliver opening statements and a closing statement in an administrative hearing, question witnesses, and sharpen her writing and research skills. Because the externship is “very hands on,” as Braunlin described, she, and every public interest extern, has a supervising attorney to give advice along the way. “Whoever the supervising attorney is works with them all throughout, hears the types of questions that you would ask and then looks at the questions they are planning to ask,” said Mia Yaniko, an assistant attorney general at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and Braunlin’s supervising attorney. “It’s very interactive with whoever the supervising attorney is because practicing is very different from studying to be a lawyer.” Judicial externship experience As someone who was considering a judicial clerkship after graduation, David Twombly ’14 thought a judicial externship would be a good opportunity to polish his legal writing and researching skills and add to his resume.

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Launching careers Braunlin and Twombly both credit their externship experiences as factors that separated them from the competition in finding subsequent positions. Braunlin will be a staff attorney for an appellate court in New York and said she

talked heavily about her externship experience during the interview process. “It definitely helped me get my job for

“I think seeing things from judges perspective is just incredibly helpful for when you step back and get back to the world of most lawyers of making arguments to the courts.” —David Twombly ’14

after graduation,” she said. Twombly, who is clerking for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the

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Twombly, like about 25-35 other students each semester, was paired with a judge and asked to work at least eight hours per week throughout the 14 weeks of the semester. With Moritz conveniently situated in Ohio’s capital, Ohio State students have a bevy of options to choose from for a judicial externship. United States circuit, district, bankruptcy, and magistrate judges all take externs from Moritz. So do the Ohio Supreme Court justices and the Franklin County Domestic Relations and Juvenile Court judges. Some judges have been working with Moritz students for more than a decade. Twombly was placed with Judge Algenon Marbley of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, where he worked closely with a team of about seven people to assist the judge as he ruled on cases and wrote opinions. “I think seeing things from judges perspective is just incredibly helpful for when you step back and get back to the world of most lawyers of making arguments to the courts.” Twombly said. “You have a sense of like ‘Oh I see what a judge would be looking for from me.” Twombly was particularly struck by how quickly yet carefully judges have to make important decisions. “Basically he’s making these huge decisions about these people’s lives and he’s got like 10 minutes to do this,” he said. “Just seeing how seriously he takes that responsibility gives you a greater respect for the law.” Both the judicial and public interest externships have a classroom component as well. Students must submit weekly journal entries, meet for a monthly class, and submit one written example of their work during their time working the externship.

Fourth Circuit in North Carolina, had a similar experience. “One of the questions the judge asked me during our interview was ‘So why do you want to do this instead of a trial court judge?’” he said. “Having the externship experience made it easy to answer that question because I had experienced the differences first-hand.” Davis, who completed a judicial externship when she was at Moritz, acknowledged that students need many opportunities to succeed and develop skills in a challenging legal market. Applicable work experience is often what makes the difference. “Externships are great opportunities for students to get real world experience, which is increasingly important given the profession today and the state of legal market,” Davis said. AR

Whitney Braunlin discusses her plans with counselor Liza Larky

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The space that once held the copy center and student lounge was rebuilt in the summer of 2014.

Doing good: A mission to serve

BARBARA PECK

Smith, the director since the position was

New public service law center opens this fall BY SHAY TROTTER

n The fact that the law school’s new Public Service Law Center is located in the epicenter of Drinko Hall is no accident. The new center brings together all of the college’s public service projects in one collaborative, high-functioning space. “Our students really are making a difference in so many ways and it is essential to our mission that we bring all of these activities together in a more vibrant and visible space,” said Alan C. Michaels, dean and Edwin M. Cooperman Professor of Law. The space underwent construction and opened with the start of the Fall 2014 semester. It will replace what was previously the copy center and student lounge. Many activities previously set in the student lounge now take place in Lou’s Café and the newly renovated

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Dinsmore & Shohl Student Commons. The center will be home to public service student organizations, post-grad fellowships that are public-service oriented, and the Grassbaugh Veterans Project. “I think this is going to be such a better functioning part of the law school,” said Michael Finn ’67, the donor who brought the project to fruition. “We have such an opportunity to organize it in a way - located right across from the student center, bringing together different groups, and having a place where people can come – it has all come together so well.” The space will include tables and chairs, a white board, projector screen, plenty of outlets, space for student organizations, and a meeting area. The office of the director of public service and public interest programs will also be relocated to the area. Cybele

created in 2008, has played a key role in the development of the project. “I think it’s really important for prospective and current students to see that we really do value public service work,” Smith said. Many premier law schools, including the University of Michigan, New York University, University of Virginia, and the University of Pennsylvania, have dedicated centers to public service. Several schools have gone as far as to make public service a graduation requirement. Michelle Eiler, a 3L and 2013-14 president of the Public Interest Law Foundation, said she was pleased to hear about the college’s decision to develop a center with this unique purpose. “Obviously public service is important to me so I think it’s great that the school’s taking more of an interest in it,” she said. “It is going to be a great use of the space.” Through the Public Service Fellows Program, each Moritz class typically performs about 15,000 pro bono service hours during law school. One purpose of the center is to help students learn early on in their law school careers about the many opportunities available to gain legal experience through volunteer work. “My advice to law students is to take advantage of this in every way you can. You will learn something about being a lawyer and you will learn something about yourself,” Finn said. There are currently 10 student groups that include a significant public service aspect in their mission. Many groups, including the Truancy Mediation Project and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, work directly in Central Ohio communities. In addition, many students find individual projects to work on through the public service externship program. Until now, projects such as the Grassbaugh Veterans Project, which provides key legal services to Central Ohio military veterans, had no dedicated space for client meetings, legal research, planning meetings, or other activities. “By bringing all of these projects together, we hope students will take an

12th & High interest in public service right from the start,” Michaels said. “Regardless of the final career path chosen, public service in law school is a great way to start lawyering and start understanding the client relationship.” Ohio State law also offers four public service post-graduate fellowships – the Reinberger Fellowship in Prosecution, the Greif Fellowship in Juvenile Human Trafficking, the student legal services fellowship, and the Ohio Attorney General Saxbe Fellowship in Environmental Enforcement, which began in the fall of 2014. While some fellows primarily work off-site, others, like the Greif Fellowship in Juvenile Human Trafficking, are housed in Drinko Hall. Through the center, alumni can learn how to refer clients to the Grassbaugh Veterans Project, as well as the college’s clinics. The Pro Bono Research Group also supports alumni who are working on pro bono legal projects. “I hope everything we define as public service outgrows this facility,” Finn said. “I hope it grows because it is great for the community, great for the clients, and great for the students.” AR

Supporting the Public Service Law Center Because it is an umbrella entity for all of the college’s public service activities, there are many ways for alumni to financially support the Public Service Law Center. Donations can be made to: THE PUBLIC SERVICE LAW CENTER FUND: this fund supports all of the public service initiatives collectively GRASSBAUGH VETERANS PROJECT: founded by a former law student, this program provides legal services to Central Ohio military veterans. Donations pay for law student support in representing these clients SCHOLARSHIPS: beginning in 2014, Moritz offers dedicated scholarships for students committed to public service work LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: recent graduates with student loan payments working in public service positions benefit from this program PUBLIC SERVICE CAREER START GRANTS: this innovative program provides grants for recent graduates who are exploring careers in public service PILF SUMMER GRANTS: these grants support law students working in low or non-paying public service positions during the summer POST-GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS: these elite fellowships employ recent graduates in public service fields for one-year termed positions To learn more on how to support public service programs at Moritz, please contact Erin Neal at (614) 247-2538, neal.277@osu.edu

Michael Finn:

Leaving his mark on the world BY BARBARA PECK

Finn meeting the Dalai Lama

n Michael Finn ’67 owes his life to a cheap, folding card table and a (likely stolen/don’t ask any questions) Afghanistan War-era Russian helicopter. While the Himalayan Mountains battled one of the worst early season winter storms the region has ever seen, Finn and his wife Janet, with a group of trekkers, perched contently on a mountainside campsite waiting out the flakes with storytelling, hot meals cooked over a camp stove, and jokes and teasing about “answering

nature’s call” as the snow built up. It was all fun and games until a huge section of mountain above decided to let loose and send an avalanche tumbling their way. Hearing the roar, Finn and his wife dodged under a card table and held on while the avalanche barreled through camp. Finn says the card table saved their lives. All 10 members of the trekking team survived unscathed. The same could not be said for the trail that was their only way down the mountain. They tried to navigate their way down through eight feet of snow, but were promptly stuck. A few hours passed. The group – still pumped up on the adrenaline that comes with surviving – didn’t worry. By day four, that changed. Two Sherpas, native to the area and acclimated to the elements, had set off earlier to try and find their way down the buried trail, scaling mountain passes as they went, in an effort to find help for the group. Since

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12th & High Finn and wife Janet on the search for tigers in India.

Finn and wife Janet met a new friend in Nepal

they left, there had only been silence. It was cold. They hadn’t anticipated a blizzard. Half the tents were lost in the avalanche so they crammed together as best they could. The adrenaline high had long passed. Jokes weren’t funny anymore. The group didn’t know it, but 26 climbers died on a nearby mountain that day when the snow broke away. Nearly a hundred more were dead in the villages below. People throughout the region were panicked and overwhelmed as lives and infrastructure had been crushed. That happens when it snows eight feet in a 36-hour period. The storm had been fueled by a late season cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. As it turns out, the two Sherpas did make it down the mountain. They found another Sherpa who knew a Russian pilot with a helicopter that somehow had made its way to Nepal after the Russians retreated from Afghanistan in the 1980s. He flew it to where he thought the trekkers might be. The helicopter breaking over the horizon at the camp is a great moment for Finn. But, actually, this is not his best cocktail-party story. It isn’t the pinnacle of his lifestory. He’s climbed Kilimanjaro. He and his wife recently scoured through jungles of

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India following tigers. He helped discover a rumored lost community of people in the Mustang District high in mountains of Tibet (true story). He has stood 22,000 feet above sea level in the Argentinian Andes. Once he ran in to Tom Brokaw on a little-worn, barely recognizable footpath halfway around the world. The man you hope finds you when you are lost in a foreign airport What Mike Finn’s life story is really about is the people he has met. He talks about his fellow travelers – the native Sherpas and guides he has walked side-by-side with for hundreds of miles – like they are his brothers. He has not summited Everest

and he never will. Would you ask your brother to risk life and limb to haul your gear up an infamously dangerous mountainside just so you could say “been there?” Everest? No. But he and Janet support a school in a remote Himalayan village for Tibetan refugee children. When asked about a recent trip to India, Finn told the story about how on one flight back, he noticed a young man looking woefully underdressed for the vicious winter weather and out of place. Finn struck up a conversation. The traveler was an exchange student from Dubai on his way to Athens, Ohio for the first time. “How are you getting from Columbus to Athens?” Finn asked. “I am not sure,” the student replied. “Do you have a phone number to call or anything?” Finn asked. “No.” Finn sensed trouble. As flights were delayed and gates changed, Finn kept an eye out for him, moving him along in the chaos that is O’Hare on the coldest day of the year. Upon landing in Columbus five-hours late, Finn was guessing he was about to have an overnight house guest. “I couldn’t just leave him in the airport,” he said. “Of course I was going to take him home and figure out how to get him to Athens the next day.” There was no one at the gate; baggage claim was deserted. Ahh, but there

12th & High Finn on the record: Why adventure travel: “For me, it is like a meditation. Whatever is going on back home – no matter how stressful – there is no way to bring it with you. You have to be fully immersed in what you are doing. It is very cleansing, very centering. For me, there is very clearly a spiritual component to this.” On globe-trotting:

Recently, Finn and wife Janet ventured to the school they support in rural Tibet.

“It’s just another educational experience. It expands my consciousness of so many things – the way people think, their values. There are so many varieties of humanity, yet they are all so interesting.” Advice:

“I couldn’t just leave him in the airport. Of course I was going to take him home and figure out how to get him to Athens the next day.” —Michael Finn ’67 in the corner, Finn spotted someone who looked like he had been sitting there for hours and had no idea who he was looking for. Adding two and two, Finn inquired, and, yes, the benchwarmer was to pick up an exchange student from Dubai. Oh, and now back to the reason this story started in the first place: What about the tigers he travelled halfway around the world to see? “Oh, truly amazing,” he said. The start of a center It is not obvious why Finn donated the funds to start the Public Service Law Center. Although an Ohio State law grad, Finn is clearly a business man, not a practicing lawyer. He hires lawyers when business requires. He admits he started law school in the 1960s with a grand vision of changing social policy and the world. That was quickly lost when he took his first business class and was hooked. He started an M.B.A. program right after taking the bar. The path not taken? A lingering regret? No, he says, he just really loves business.

Finn is the president of Central Power Systems, a company he has owned since the early 1970s. Its talent? Productivity and problem-solving. It “moves parts and products with speed, precision and efficiency down the supply chain from the people that make them to the people that sell them.” Since Finn has owned the company, there has been great growth, acquisitions, mergers, and, of course, change. An incredibly detailed inventory system that measures productivity to the second allows the team to process more than 2,000 orders a day and provide next day delivery 98 percent of the time. It is quite possible that lawn mower part you ordered from HomeDepot.com shipped from Finn’s group in Columbus. So, how exactly does one go from growing a modest business into an industry leader to founding a Public Interest Law Center? “It is really simple: I asked the dean what he needed,” Finn said. “We are always trying to build an ever-better institution and I am forever in favor of that as much as I could possibly be.” AR

“Don’t wait too long to open yourself up to things outside of your career and your immediate surroundings. Don’t wait too long to experience things outside of the place you live, the people you know, where you work. Don’t become complacent.” On leadership: “It is about presenting a vision, getting people to buy in, and organizing to accomplish something. You have to be strong, but you also have to listen, be flexible, and be open to ideas.” Secret hobby: “Journaling. I faithfully journal when I am on a trip and then open up the pages again a year to the day to relive the experience. Sure, there’s going to be evidence of what you did here. But, the stories make it come alive.”

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Then & Now BY LISA EGGERT n For more than 50 years, Ohio State law students have called the corner of 12th & High home. Additions, remodels, and upgrades have changed the space, but the mission and spirit endure. Roam the halls, peek in a classroom and see how we have grown.

Saxbe Auditorium The William B. Saxbe Auditorium brings together students, faculty, and staff for engaging guest lectures, stimulating symposia, and spirited community events. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s students start their law school careers in the Saxbe with orientation and end them in the Saxbe with 3L-Sendoff in between learning from judges, mediators, senators and other leaders who come to Moritz during the more than 150 events hosted by the law school each year. One thing they wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do during those events: light up a cigarette (previously there were built-in ashtrays on the back of the chairs).

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12th & High Thompson Library Law students at Ohio State are part of one of the largest and most dynamic universities in the entire world. Rich in traditions and spirit, Buckeyes can be found all over the globe and are eager to answer your call of O-H. The Thompson Library has served as an anchor for generations and will continue to do so for generations to come.

Library Mezzanine The mezzanine level of the library is one of the few spots of the law school that looks nearly identical in structure today as it did when the building opened in 1957. Our student body, however, has changed considerably. The class of 2017 is the first to have a female majority, a number that has increased steadily over the decades.

12th & High The High Street side of Drinko Hall is the gateway to The Ohio State University from the southeast. The building was dedicated on April 23, 1960 by Chief Justice Earl Warren. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart was also in attendance. The weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s festivities included the Annual Conference of the Federal Judges of the Sixth Judicial Circuit and a Symposium on the Advancement of the Legal Profession. In recent years, Justices Ginsburg and Scalia made visits to Drinko Hall and Justice Roberts was on campus for a Sixth Circuit conference.

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Lounge Fortunately, law school is not all classes and studying. The student lounge, and now the Dinsmore & Shohl Student Commons, provide students with informal space to relax between classes, make weekend plans, and catch up on the news. This space underwent a major transformation in 2012. In addition, Louâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CafĂŠ, which is located adjacent to this space, offers casual lounging space, coffee, and light breakfasts and lunches.

Library Reading Room As always, the third floor reading room is the heart of college and is a popular spot for students to read in the glow of natural light. Study carrels and large tables provide students options in how to set up camp in those long pre-finals study sessions. If you study the photo carefully, you will see that the library used to have a fourth floor, which today houses offices for staff of programs like Election Law @ Moritz and the Program on Law and Leadership. Fear not, however, during the expansion in the early 1990s, the library was expanded considerably and today houses more than 750,000 books, up from 150,000 when the space was built in 1959.

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12th & High Old entrance The main entrance to the law school was on High Street and students ascended stairs to a main hallway. The dean’s suite was located to the left and a student services desk (pictured) and a lounge area (pictured) took center stage. Today, this space is primarily a classroom hallway and the Frank Woodside Moot Courtroom, which contains stateof-the-art equipment to support the practice of lawyering skills in a realistic environment, occupies much of the space on the right. The student services suite remains in an upfront and prominent position near the new entrance off of 12th Avenue and now includes space for more than a dozen career counselors and student services staff members.

Classrooms At Ohio State law school, one thing has always been clear: Teaching is priority one. With professors like the late Morgan Shipman (far right) and Sharon Davies at the helm, classrooms have always been lively places filled with spirited debate designed to push the status quo. Today, all of our classrooms are “smart classrooms” with the capabilities for electronic polling, internet streaming, electrical outlets for every student, and improved sound.

Library While at first glance, the pictures look different, the main library space is surprisingly the same. Large study tables and small individual carrels are the main focus. The new addition to the library, located where the right side wall once stood, includes many other alcoves and nooks for quiet research and study. In addition, dozens of group study spaces were added to encourage small group study.

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Office Hours with Q& Mary Beth

Beazley

Mary Beth Beazley, professor of law, is a wordsmith. She thinks not only about what she is writing, but, more importantly, how it will be read. She authored the widely used textbook A Practical Guide to Appellate Advocacy; a new book, Legal Writing for Legal Readers (co-authored by Assistant Dean Monte Smith ‘90) as well as articles on ballot design and “conspicuous type.” She was awarded a Burton Award for Outstanding Contributions to Legal Writing Education. She was also recognized with the Thomas F. Blackwell award by the Legal Writing Institute and the Association of Legal Writing Directors.Here, she talks to All Rise about trends in legal writing.

“When the Navy recently ended its century-long practice of sending messages in all caps, a jealous army guy said, ‘there is nothing worse than trying to read crap in all caps.’” –Mary Beth Beazley, professor of law

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How has technology impacted the way practicing lawyers should write appellate briefs?

For years, I have taught my students to distinguish between “readers” — who read the document sequentially, seeing what it has to say – and “users” — who have an agenda, and who forage through the document, looking only for what they are interested in. Research on “digital readers” indicates that when we read digital documents, we are much more likely to act like “users” — skimming and scanning — than when we read hard-copy, or tangible, documents. Because judges and clerks often have an agenda when they read, we should be sure that we use our key terms (the “phrases-that-pay”) effectively and consistently, and make sure that it’s very easy for users to find what they are looking for.

Office Hours

“I have become a real ‘behavioralist’– I try to make my writing decisions based on how readers really behave, not on how I wish they would behave. ” –Mary Beth Beazley, professor of law

word or a sentence I don’t like — e.g., I’ll say “blech” or “gbw” (which means “get a better word”). That way, when I revise, I remember the things I want to be sure to focus on.

In a long legal memo or brief, which areas are most read and how does that impact the overall structure?

Readers always pay more attention before and after white space, and that’s true in digital reading and tangible reading. I have always advised writers to install a virtual “template” on their documents; the template items are headings, topic sentences (which should be the first sentence in the paragraph, always), roadmap paragraphs, and internal conclusions. And indeed, eye-tracking studies show that readers tend to see those items, even when they are skimming and scanning.

What is your advice for clearly communicating through electronic methods like email?

How does writing that appears in all caps impact the reader’s ability to comprehend the writing?

All-caps writing usually brings the reader to a stop; as a result, most people skip writing in all caps – or they want to. When we read, we are seeing only a few letters clearly with our direct vision. At the same time, our peripheral vision is scanning forward to see what is coming (to help our comprehension). (You’re probably aware of this if you have ever read a book aloud to a child and felt yourself scanning ahead to see what kind of pretend voice you should be using. ) While our direct vision is clear, our peripheral vision is blurry. Capital letters are almost indistinguishable from each other when blurry, because they all take up a similar, full-line, rectangular footprint. Lower-case letters, in contrast, have “ascenders” (e.g., the letter “k”)

and “descenders” (e.g., the letter “g”), so we can tell them apart, even when they are a little blurry. All-caps writing brings us up short because we can’t scan ahead. When the Navy recently ended its century-long practice of sending messages in all caps, a jealous army guy said, “there is nothing worse than trying to read crap in all caps.”

Q A

What methods do you use to improve your writing?

I have become a real “behavioralist” — I try to make my writing decisions based on how readers really behave, not on how I wish they would behave. I also try to recognize my own writing behaviors, and not to get so stuck on one word or sentence that will slow myself down during the early stages. I will drop myself a footnote if there is a

First, I recommend that the formality of the message should be dictated by the relationship to the recipient, not by the medium of communication. So if it’s a more formal relationship, I will write more formally. Second, if it’s an important or sensitive message, I will remove the address line while I am composing – or I may even compose in a word processing system. I do this to increase the space between my foot and my mouth and to make sure that I don’t send the message without thinking. It also ensures that I don’t send a private message to an email group. Finally, because I can’t tell the size of the screen my reader will be reading my message on, I include lots of paragraph breaks. As readers, we are constantly seeking a way to refresh our attention, and a paragraph break does that. A full screen on your phone looks intimidating, even if it would be only a line or two of text on your computer. AR

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In Print

Oceans and Human Health: Implications for Society and Well-Being (Wiley Blackwell, 2014) EDITED BY ROBERT E. BOWEN, MICHAEL H. DEPLEDGE, CINNAMON P. CARLARNE, LORA E. FLEMING

n This book explores how human health and well-being are tied to the vitality of the global ocean and coastal systems. This unique volume brings together experts from diverse disciplines and builds a workable understanding of the breadth and depth of the processes—both social and environmental—that will help to limit future costs and enhance the benefits of sustainable marine systems. In particular, the authors have developed a shared view that the global coastal environment is under threat through intensified natural resource utilization, as well as changes to global climate and other environmental systems. All these changes contribute individually, but more importantly cumulatively, to higher risks to public health and the global burden of disease.

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“If the goal of the global community is to create more effective systems of governance at the intersection of seas, society, and human well-being, it is critical that not one but multiple pathways be pursued in order to create a more joined-up and comprehensive set of multijurisdictional, multi-issue governance tools.” —Cinnamon Carlarne

Each chapter includes its own detailed bibliography and accessible charts and boxes to convey information in a readerfriendly format. From the choices of recreational fisherman, to sea levels over the past 240,000 years, to observation

systems for human exposure to waterborne pathogens, there is extraordinary coverage here. In addition to serving as an editor for the book, Professor Cinnamon Carlarne also wrote, with John S. Carlarne of The

In Print

Other Publications Ohio State University Mershon Center for International Security Studies, chapter nine on “Globalization and Human Health: Regulatory Response and the Potential for Reform.” “While international law carves out legal rights and protections for human health and offers a plethora of mechanisms for determining rights and responsibilities with regards to ocean and coastal ecosystems, it fails to provide effective mechanisms for responding to the intimate relationship between the health of our ocean ecosystems and the health and well-being of the humans who rely upon these ecosystems,” Carlarne wrote. In the chapter, Carlarne reviews the history of social movements and international governance agencies and the attendant evolution of environmental regulation. “The fragmented and inflexible nature of many existing legal systems means that they fail to provide effective mechanisms for recognizing direct or indirect links between ecosystem quality and human health and well-being. This is particularly true with regards to the relationship between the quality of marine environments and the health and well-being of humans who depend on them,” she wrote. Carlarne hypothesizes that the two main barriers to action on global climate change are fragmentation of governance systems and ongoing processes of global social change. While some progress is made by groups with narrow focus and narrow reach, the effort is not coordinated enough to have widespread impact. “If the goal of the global community is to create more effective systems of governance at the intersection of seas, society, and human well-being, it is critical that not one but multiple pathways be pursued in order to create a more joinedup and comprehensive set of multijurisdictional, multi-issue governance tools,” Carlarne concluded. AR

ELECTION LAW AND LITIGATION: THE JUDICIAL REGULATION OF POLITICS (Aspen, 2014) By Edward B. Foley, Michael J. Pitts, Joshua A. Douglas The book is divided into four parts “designed to reflect what might be considered the natural lifecycle of the process that governs any particular election.” Thus, the book starts with the law of districting, which defines what is at stake in a particular election and includes study of the crucial one-person one-vote concept. The second part, brief in comparison to the others, covers the law of nominating candidates. The third part covers the massive topic of the law of campaign practices, which includes campaign advertising and campaign finance. The final part covers the law of voting, where voter eligibility and registration, early voting and counting disputes are found. Election Law is very much a subject of the past half-century, with both statutory and case law that have developed in the lifetime of those old enough to remember the first lunar landing. The authors pay consistent attention to the overarching issues of the federal/state balance that underlays election law, as well as with the fundamental question: “to what extent, if at all, should the judiciary attempt to resolve election disputes, being as they are often contests between the two major political parties,” given, the authors say, that “it is important that judges be seen as independent of partisan politics.” MEDIATION THEORY AND PRACTICE (LexisNexis, 3rd edition, 2013) By James J. Alfini, Sharon B. Press, Joseph B. Stulberg In this newly updated, enriched edition, the authors have retained the primary content of their previous text while making significant changes to the manner in which they present and organize the materials. The result is a timely, current publication that has been effectively streamlined without any sacrifice in important substance. The new edition provides: 1. important updates to relevant mediation case law; 2. a rich description of the social and legal strands that shaped the development of contemporary dispute resolution theory and practice; 3. comprehensive new study materials and discussion questions examining ethical issues for mediators; 4. state-of-the-art analyses of the advocate’s role in mediation; and 5. expanded treatment of how the mediation process is used to deal with major societal problems.

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[ Marijuana Reform ]

Weeding legal world through the

marijuana reform BY KEITH DARSEE ’14

arijuana reform is not something most lawyers outside of the criminal law arena have likely spent much time thinking about. Sure, we’ve seen headlines of cancer and chronic pain patients in search of medical marijuana, and it was hard not to notice, or chuckle, when Colorado and Washington legalized recreational use in 2012. But, that really has little to do with us, right? Think again. The legal dimensions of marijuana law reform alone are enough to warrant an independent legal certification program just to begin to unpack them. This past academic year Moritz offered one of the first law courses in the country on Marijuana Law and Policy. The Supreme Court of Ohio recently held a law lecture on the topic. The ways marijuana’s legal issues unfold have and certainly will continue to reshape the American legal landscape. Whether supportive, outraged, or indifferent to marijuana reform, the issue ought to capture the attention of legal practitioners in the country. The battle between federal and state law is epic, the business questions for these budding new businesses is unprecedented, and developing a regulatory scheme

on a state-level for something that was for decades illegal is monumental. “I was adamantly opposed to proposition 64,” said David Blake, Colorado’s deputy attorney general for public policy and government affairs, who spoke on the panel sponsored by the Supreme Court of Ohio. “There is very little precedent in this area. We are making it up as we go. My message is not not to do it. But, if you do go down this path, realize that the complexity of the legal issues is amazing.”

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[ Marijuana Reform ]

Professor Douglas Berman in the classroom

A New Course Moritz offered a course last fall, taught by Professor Berman, entitled Marijuana Law, Policy and Reform with the explicit purpose of providing students the opportunity to explore the complexity, relevance, and influence of the legal side of marijuana law, and its current and future potential reforms. “The reform conversation from virtually every perspective has been, and will inevitably continue to be, heavily influenced from all sides by attorneys, who will frame the debate,” Berman said. “The best lawyers working within and around this legal landscape will be the well-informed smart lawyers who keep looking forward to spot all these dynamic regulatory issues that state-level reforms create.” Berman also created the blog Marijuana Law, Policy & Reform. The blog, which includes guest commentary, presents dialogue on emerging and developing issues of marijuana reform from all over the country, links to related stories from around the web, and invites and hosts discussion on all relevant topics. “One of the things the new course explored was the fit of the various historical legal reform analogies that are often used for comparison, such as alcohol Prohibition, state reform of marriage laws, and the modern development of tobacco and alcohol regulations,” Berman said. “Interestingly, none of these possible analogs actually seem to fit all that well across all issues. There are some striking similarities, but marijuana reform issues are genuinely unique from a legal, historical perspective in this country. Students now get to be here when the legal future remains uncertain and in flux, and we all get to watch these issues as the story unfolds. It is a real privilege to witness a developing law reform story that will almost certainly impact the legal and social universe in our lifetime.”

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A change in the tides Of late, the marijuana policy reform story has been splashed across the news, saturating every medium from the new-wave blogosphere, to television, to traditional print. As political pundits and analysts strove to grapple with the significance of legalization in two states, Gallup released polling data collected in October 2013 showing that a majority of Americans, a full 58 percent, now favor marijuana legalization. Following a spike in support for legalization in the mid-‘70s, support for marijuana reform slumped into a plateau so stable that Gallup lost interest in polling the question for most of the ‘80s and early ‘90s. In 1996, California became the first state to allow the sale and use of marijuana under some circumstances when voters passed an initiative to legalize medical marijuana. In 1998, Alaska, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington all followed suit by passing some form of marijuana reform initiative, ranging from decriminalization to legalization for medicinal use. More and more states began to follow the lead of these western states, and by the time Colorado and Washington voted to legalize recreational marijuana in November 2012, 21 states had legalized medical marijuana. The poll numbers supporting legal reforms continue to rise, but statistics on marijuana usage show significantly smaller numbers. In 2011, about 18 million Americans aged 12 and older reported using the drug within the last month, which is seven percent of the population. In addition, 58 percent of Americans have never tried marijuana. As for marijuana’s short-term and long-term health effects or usage patterns in reform-minded states, even in relation to other vices like tobacco or alcohol, questions abound. “There is very little reliable data and statistics on usage and effects because it has been illegal for decades,” Blake said. “The DEA tightly controlled the ability to study marijuana. It is really a battle of the experts, which makes it difficult to create good public policy.” Federal and state criminal law Under traditional criminal law, the federal government focused its drug enforcement efforts on largescale distributors and sellers while local and state governments handled possession and small sales. Who really goes to jail for marijuana crimes is a point of contention. While the White House and anti-drug proponents point out that less than one tenth of one percent of prisoners in state or federal prison are jailed for first-time marijuana possession crimes, advocates for marijuana legalization put the num-

[ Marijuana Reform ] ber more around 12.5 percent for both federal and state prison. However the head-count is done, those in prison for drug-related offenses often had pleaded guilty to a lesser crime as part of a plea deal. In addition, U.S. Sentencing Commission data shows that most persons serving time in federal prison for marijuana distribution were trafficking more than 100 pounds when arrested. “There are lots of ways to process and spin the criminal justice data, depending on your viewpoint,” said Professor Douglas A. Berman, the Robert J. Watkins/Procter & Gamble Professor of Law, who taught Moritz’s new seminar. According to study released by the American Civil Liberties Union, marijuana accounts for half of all drugs arrests in the country, with police making over 7 million marijuana possession arrests between 2001 and 2010. Despite comparable usage data, African-Americans are 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for simple possession than whites. In some communities that statistic grows to more than 30 times more likely. “Almost all arrests for marijuana are local,” said Dan Riffle, the director of federal policies at the Marijuana Policy Project, at the Supreme Court of Ohio panel discussion. “Federal enforcement personal are only involved in trafficking and other big cases. The feds are doing what they have always done – they are only using their resources for big cases and are relying on state and local officials for possession and small sales.” Marijuana reform has already begun to effect a nascent shift in federal criminal sentencing practices with respect even to persons prosecuted outside the reform states – even for non-marijuana related cases. For example, in a recent federal opinion, Judge James Browning wrote: This observation seems particularly true in light of the DOJ’s recent policy announcement not to spend its resources going after the marijuana dealers and growers who are acting consistent with Colorado’s new marijuana laws. This decision not to prosecute wealthy large-scale Anglo distributors in Colorado – on New Mexico’s northern border – calls into question whether the Court should mete out large sentences to poor backpackers from Mexico – on New Mexico’s southern border – bussing over bundles of marijuana.

state level and banking laws are often written at the federal level, banks have found themselves forced into making business decisions about how, and if, they should serve clients involved in state-sanctioned drug activities. The banking industry has been reluctant to handle monies from businesses that the U.S. Department of Justice has the right to seize and prosecute. Despite assurances from the Treasury Department and DOJ that state-compliant businesses are not a federal enforcement priority, banks have almost invariably opted to avoid

“There is very little reliable data and statistics on usage and effects because it has been illegal for decades. The DEA tightly controlled the ability to study marijuana. It is really a battle of the experts, which makes it difficult to create good public policy.” —David Blake, Colorado’s deputy attorney general for public policy and government affairs

Running into federal hurdles If criminal law were the only arena affected by state decriminalization of marijuana, the story would be simple. But, there are thousands of federal laws and regulations that cross paths with drug-use or illegal activity. Because marijuana reforms are occurring on a Moritz College of Law | FA L L 2 0 1 4

[ Marijuana Reform ]

KATIE RIEDEL

federal irrigation waters in 17 western states, said marijuana growers in Colorado and Washington would not be permitted to use federal waters to irrigate crops. The agency delivers water to about 1.2 million acres of irrigated lands in both Colorado and Washington through a complex system of damns, power plants, and canals. The agency itself has little in the way of enforcement mechanisms, but stated it will refer any use of federal resources that are inconsistent with the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 to the U.S. Department of Justice.

David Blake, Douglas Berman, and Dan Riffle discuss reform at the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Forum on the Law Lecture Series on Marijuana Legalization and the Law of Unintended Consequences.

handling marijuana industry funds. As a result, many small businesses owners in the marijuana industry must move through the streets of Denver clutching briefcases full of cash proceeds. Cashonly transactions and the absence of bank access provides an obviously untenable situation for the aspiringly state-law-abiding marijuana entrepreneurs who need to manage payroll and track tax liabilities. Among other regulatory challenges facing this industry is the development of responsible and dependable industry-specific, money-handling enterprises, such as the ones the Denver Post is already reporting have begun to crop up in Colorado. “Because of the banking issues, businesses are holding accounts in personal names, or are using a subsidy of a subsidy of a subsidy,” Riffle said. “One of the purposes of the law is transparency and there is no transparency now because of the banking regulations. The reaction to the treasury department’s guidelines by the big banks is still reluctance. Saying you are not likely to prosecute is not enough.” State-compliant marijuana businesses also have unique problems with federal tax laws. These businesses must pay taxes on their gross revenue instead of their net revenue because, due to a unique provision of the tax code intended to prevent illegal drug dealers from deducting their drug-acquisition expenses, marijuana businesses cannot deduct regular business expenses under federal tax law. And the conflicts between state and federal laws extend beyond standard business matters. In May, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages

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Building a new regulatory scheme Attorneys should be closely following the marijuana reform story not only because of the potential for changes to be effected in nearly every conceivable discipline of law, but also because of the important role attorneys will inevitably play in shaping that transformation. “It is easy for the federal government to say ‘no, no one can have marijuana at any time,” Riffe said. “Once you start opening that door, the regulatory challenges are profound.” In many instances, a state’s approach toward marijuana could be viewed as a choice between tax and regulate versus criminalize. But while criminalization has a legal history, states have very little experience regulating this type of product. For example, policies surrounding consumer-product processing and commercial distribution — issues concerning the permissible packaging, labeling, and potency — usually fall within the federal government’s domain. “There are no potency limits in Colorado because we didn’t want to create a black market,” Blake said. “There is testing of products to ensure their advertised levels are correct and a consumer protection action is filed if they are not. This, along with strict labeling and childproof packaging requirements, has been eye opening for local growers.” The regulations surrounding the new industry in Colorado are intense. “In Colorado, we did not remove marijuana from title 18,” Blake said. “Marijuana is not legalized across the board and it is easy to get out of the scope of legalization. No jurisdiction in the world has regulated and licensed the distribution of marijuana. We don’t know what to expect.” Regardless of whether one anticipates the marijuana reform movement will continue to gain steam and continue to expand its legal relevance or be ultimately squashed in the same way as alcohol prohibition, the interest and influence it has already generated in the law will likely be the subject of study for legal scholars, lawyers, and law students for generations to come. AR

What are Scholarships?

cholarships are used to help deserving students offset the cost of tuition and living expenses while in law school. Because of reductions in state support, tuition has risen to over $28,000 a year for Ohio residents, and our students often graduate with an average of $75,000 in student loan debt. Many students strongly consider debt when selecting a law school and starting their careers, Yet nearly a quarter of our students come from families that make less than $50,000 a year.

Scholarships are a top priority in the college’s fundraising efforts. There are funding opportunities available for all gift sizes. While some donors are generously able to fund full or partial named scholarships, others donate to the many scholarship funds already established. Moritz offers scholarships for: • Academic merit

• Diversity enrichment

• Leadership potential

• Public service

These scholarships help us attract the best and brightest students and allow our students to follow their passions when mapping out a career path. The alumni pictured above have taken the step to make this type of donation. To learn more about how to support student scholarships, please contact Timberly Ross at ross.668@osu.edu or (614) 292-5049.

[ General Counsel ]

Pulling back the corporate

veil

[ General Counsel ]

The Great Recession leaves its mark on corporate general counsel offices and the law firms that serve them BY T.C. BROWN

he Great Recession of 2007 had many widespread ripple effects. Businesses were shaken to their core. Companies cut employees and scaled back visions. It did something else, too. Large corporations began to make new demands on their in-house legal departments, in many cases expanding those roles. CEOs, desperate to control costs, began to call on their legal units to cut back expenditures like other departments in the company. This shift in emphasis created its own momentum, changing the balance of power between outside law firms and their corporate clients. In the new business model, corporate counsel started to cut back on the amount of work sent to outside counsel, and in many instances ended relationships with law firms. General counsel cast

a sharper eye toward the work exported, increasing demands on law firm partners and negotiating for new fee structures. In some instances, companies inaugurated a bidding process for their outside work. And while legal costs may have been higher on the scrutiny list at some companies and not others prior to December 2007, the recession and its aftermath definitely prompted bean counters to peer at their legal bills more closely. “There is a ‘new normal’ since the economic downturn and many of the old ways of doing business had to be revisited and re-imagined,” said Christie Hill ’86, Dun & Bradstreet’s chief legal officer and corporate secretary. “Both the consumer and provider of legal services realize that you have to rethink how you engage each other.”

[ General Counsel ]

Christie Hill ’86, chief legal officer and corporate secretary at Dun & Bradstreet in Short Hills, NJ

Clearly reflecting this new normal was a survey conducted by the Association of Corporate Counsel, based in Washington, D.C. Released in January, it surveyed 1,200 chief legal officers and general counsel from 41 countries. The results showed that at least 63 percent of those respondents said they now use in-house lawyers for work that was previously handled by law firms or other legal service providers. Hill said Dun & Bradstreet seeks fairness in its approach to using outside counsel, trying not to over or under spend, aiming instead to “hit the sweet spot.” There’s a heightened sense of responsibility to ensure every dollar spent is done so in the most efficient way possible, she said. Creating a partnership beneficial to both sides can help accomplish that goal. “If I went into an engagement thinking I’m going to gouge, gouge, gouge, that is not likely to lead to a sustainable or productive relationship for that firm,” Hill said. “Both sides realize we each have our

T H E O H I O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

own financial objectives and we try to strike a balance to create a win-win for both sides.” More than ever, corporate counsel is expected to be plugged into operational aspects of its business, while embracing the goals of the company’s other departments to keep a constant eye on the bottom line. In-house lawyers needed to better grasp the totality of their roles as gatekeepers for their businesses, said David Bialosky, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s senior vice president, general counsel & secretary. When he was general counsel at TRW, where he worked until 2009, Bialosky pushed for in-house lawyers to expand their business perception. And that was before the recession even struck. “I thought there was a need for the attorneys to understand what is going on in their business and understand the financial implications, to be closely integrated with their businesses so they understood what was going on,” he said. The recession also helped general counsel sharpen its focus on why it needed outside legal counsel in the first place, Bialosky said. He added: “You want to make sure you are getting the right value out of them and you want them to be knowledgeable of your business model so they will focus on questions that are important to the company and not waste their time sweating the stupid stuff.” The recession may be over officially, but economic recovery has yet to find the fast track. Nonetheless, an HBR Consulting Law Department survey of 280 companies released last year indicated that global spending for in-house legal departments increased three percent. Spending for outside counsel rose two percent. Lauren Chung, the survey’s director, told Business Wire the response indicated that corporate efforts to control legal costs were working, despite a rising demand on the cost of legal services. Furthermore, in-house legal departments have begun hiring more lawyers at a pace more comparable to pre-recession days, according to a survey sponsored by LexisNexis CounselLink and released last year. The survey of 70 corporate legal counsel departments by ALM Legal Intelligence showed that 59 percent had hired new lawyers in the past year, up from 51 percent in 2012 and 44 percent and 39 percent respectively from 2011 and 2010. Those numbers at least hint at the shift from companies exporting their legal work to sending it upstairs to their own law departments. That operational modification occurred at American Electric Power in the wake of the recession-induced economic tumble and it has continued, said David Laing ’81, the company’s assistant general counsel and chief litigation counsel. What it means is more work for everyone.

[ General Counsel ] “Our numbers have stayed fairly constant in house, but generally we have less people overall doing about the same amount of work, so people have a little more on their plates than they did five or six years ago,” Laing said. At the same time AEP has reduced the amount of outside counsel work, it has increased its demands and expectations in terms of the fees law firms charge, and it requires more from outside counsel in the way they present their invoices. “We have specific requirements for outside counsel on the format of the bills. We get them electronically and they must be itemized in a certain way,” Laing said. “We use software to make the review of legal bills more efficient and less time consuming. We are able to do it more efficiently, which helps when you’ve got a full plate.” In some instances, AEP will ask law firms to assign associates or paralegals who are capable of doing the company’s work in order to reduce the fees that a partner might charge. “We did make a conscious effort to reduce outside counsel spending and that’s been ongoing for the past several years,” Laing said. “We have been more communicative about freezing rates and fees or of them offering discounts to us. We have gotten more aggressive in terms of the expectations and requests from outside counsel who have been more than willing to meet us halfway on this in terms of containing costs.” Appreciating the new business climate, many law firms are accepting these changes and working with companies by cutting their hourly charges, capping fees and bidding for work. Alternative fee arrangements – fixed fees for particular tasks, setting volume limits, contingency fees and flat rates replacing hourly fees – have become standard operating procedure for some law firms. The most common type of alternative fee arrangement used last year was a flat fee for an entire legal matter, according to the Association of Corporate Counsel’s survey of chief legal officers. Of the 1,200 respondents, 48 percent used that method. As corporate legal departments worldwide reduced their reliance on outside counsel, some also consolidated the work they did with law firms. That opened the door for more corporate leverage and it introduced a new element into the mix - competition, said James Merklinger, vice president and general counsel for the Association of Corporate Counsel. “To be more cost effective, some law departments requested bids” Merklinger said. “In some cases law firms got a little too complacent and that opened the door for other firms to be considered for new work. In other situations, it just made business

Association helps firms become “value champions” More than ever, companies are looking to get more bang for the legal dollars they spend on both in-house and out-of-house counseling services. To help corporations and law firms reach those goals, the Association of Corporate Counsel created the ACC Value Challenge, an initiative that is aimed at reconnecting the value and cost of legal services The association provides online resources, hosts a virtual community for those interested in this process and organizes in-person programs that highlight success stories as a learning tool. The idea is to promote the use of management practices to reduce internal and external corporate law department spending and cut the time to complete projects in order to increase predictability and better results. The link: http://www.acc.com/valuechallenge/index.cfm The ground work for the launch of the challenge was started prior to the Great Recession. “ACC did not anticipate the poor economy, but it likely contributed to the fast-growing interest in the initiative,” said James Merklinger, vice president and general counsel for the association. The goal was to pack the site with resources and tools to assist general counsel and outside counsel in finding ways to work efficiently together. “It didn’t get gravitas until the economy started tanking and then it started taking off,” he said. “It’s since taken on a life of its own because there is so much emphasis on reduction in costs.” Creative solutions can benefit both corporate and outside counsel and lead them to find ways to reduce costs and have successful outcomes. “It’s not just one size fits all. There is no one answer for all problems, there are many ways to solve issues,” Merklinger said. “ACC provides a variety of examples of how firms can be successful. Legal departments get value from a legal standpoint and law firms make a profit – no one is suggesting they should work for free.” The challenge focuses on providing resources and training in these key areas: • Aligning relationships • Value-based fee structures, which is not based on billable hours • Staffing and training • Budgeting • Project Management • Improving processes • Technology • Data management • Knowledge management • Change management Each spring, the association names “Value Champions,” which are inhouse law departments or those departments in tandem with their outside counsel that achieve the most efficient and effective value for their work. The Champions link: www.acc.com/valuechallenge/valuechamps/

Moritz College of Law | FA L L 2 0 1 4

[ General Counsel ]

“It created a pool of really talented new or more junior lawyers we could take advantage of to recruit from.” –Patricia Hatler

sense to send more work to fewer firms or to at least evaluate if the value of the service was worth the cost. Mirroring the long standing practice of business units in the company, more legal departments began using RFPs.” Just because companies gained an upper hand, however, it is still wise for them to proceed with caution and common sense. “It’s not always simply about who offers the cheapest price, the outcome is what matters,” Merklinger said. Nationwide Insurance Co. began to reduce the number of outside counsel it used a decade ago, but the recession “definitely enabled us to get the attention of the law firms we were working with,” said Patricia Hatler, Nationwide’s chief legal and governance officer and an adjunct professor at Moritz. When companies do engage law firms for legal advice, the outside firm must understand how quickly issues develop in a corporate environment. The firm’s attorneys also must have the ability to communicate clearly, Hatler said. “They may think we need a three hour discussion on something, but I know a particular executive is not going to give us more than 20 minutes,

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hence the emphasis on communication skills,” she said. “Occasionally I’ve decided not to keep using very good lawyers who could not speak English and who could not communicate effectively with nonlawyer executives.” The daily rush and plethora of complicated business issues and requests makes clear communication and speed are critical elements for any partnership with outside counsel, said Jill Sutton ’97, Tim Horton’s executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. “The demands at this level on general counsel are extensive and when you are dealing with issues they need to get to key matters quickly with short summaries or bullet points, as opposed to three page email treatises,” Sutton said. “There just isn’t time. I really want external counsel to get to the heart of the matter about what the critical issues are in a fairly concise number of words.” In the wake of the recession, the role of general counsels continues to evolve in ways that incorporate a bigger picture view of their businesses. The questions asked and the advice sought address much more than legal advice these days. The corporate counsel association’s survey last year indicated that 78 percent of the 1,200 chief legal officer respondents spent the majority of their time advising executives and participating in strategic corporate issues. “So much more of the day is involved in strategic thinking about the business and about the plans and initiatives we are undertaking,” Sutton said. “There are obviously legal issues that surface and there are the general duties of serving the corporation, and the very important task of managing your in-house talent. As general counsel you also have to deal with administrative matters, similar to a managing partner at a law firm.” The recession provided at least one unexpected benefit for companies — an increase in the number of talented young lawyers available for hire, Nationwide’s Hatler said. “It created a pool of really talented new or more junior lawyers we could take advantage of to recruit from,” she said. “That turned out very positive for us, we’ve seen the caliber of that pool just become terrific.” And for those budding corporate lawyers, AEP’s Laing proffered some free advice: “You need to have a good practice background prior to coming here to be an in-house counsel. The expectation within most corporate legal departments is that there really can’t be much of a training process. People need to be able to come in and pick up the load and run with it. And they need to know our business.” AR

What is Gift Planning?

ift planning is finding ways to make charitable gifts now or after your lifetime while enjoying financial benefits for yourself. Planned gifts, unlike cash donations, are typically made from assets in your estate rather than disposable income, and come to fruition upon your death.

The most common planned gift is a bequest in your will or living trust. Other planned gifts include: • A charitable gift annuity

• Retirement plan assets

• A charitable remainder trust

• Life insurance policies

• A charitable lead trust

• A remainder interest in your home

• An endowment fund A misconception is that gift planning is only for the “wealthy.” The truth is, even people of modest means can make a difference through gift planning! The alumni pictured above have taken the step to make this type of donation. Call Timberly Ross at (614) 292-5049 to learn how you can support our mission while ensuring your family’s financial security.

[ 1 Degree, 10 Careers ]

1 Degree, 10 Careers In the City By the Bay San Francisco is home to the Golden Gate bridge, iconic Victorian homes, amazing cuisine, and Buckeye lawyers proudly sporting their Scarlet and Gray on bike paths and beaches throughout the valley. All Rise headed 2,446 miles due west of Columbus to catch up with 10 alumni making a name for themselves in the land of start-ups and venture capital. 48

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Jerome Joondeph ’90

Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel XOJET, Inc.

On the job: I am responsible for all aspects of XOJET’s administrative operations (inclusive of human resources, risk management, company policy, etc.) and legal matters. XOJET, Inc., a TPG portfolio, is the industry’s premier private aviation company, serving more than 5,000 clients worldwide. Our unique business model combines the flexibility of on-demand flying with a world-class service and operations infrastructure that is dedicated to providing the highest levels of client service at every point of their travel experience. I am also responsible for the oversight and management of our shuttle subsidiary, our $50 million dedicated six aircraft shuttle service for a Fortune 100 Company. How I got this job: After 18 years in private practice (most of which as a partner with Squire Patton Boggs) and tours of duty in many of Squire’s overseas offices (London, Hong Kong and Taipei) in 2002 I decided to permanently locate in Squire’s Palo Alto offices. There, through my private equity and venture capital focused practice, I got to see and experience first-hand the pace and intellectual capacity of Silicon Valley and in 2006 decided to make a transition to the commercial sector. After a two-year stint at ThinkEquity Partners, I was approached by a former client about coming to XOJET to be the company’s general counsel and a member of the executive management team. XOJET had been widely successful since its 2006 launch and I was tasked to get it into a position for a major growth phase.

The Bay Area is a great place to be a lawyer because: The incredible diversity of the people, the geography, the businesses, and the technology serve as a daily canvas for life in the Bay Area and no area is impacted more by that canvas than the legal profession. Working here one can be assured that no two days are alike and that one is continually challenged by the work before them and the opportunity for success and growth.

On the weekend, you’ll find me: constantly on the move, whether it be playing golf, cycling, hiking with the dogs, spending time with family or pursuing my latest hobby (well hopefully something more in the long run) wine making, the weekends are as busy as the work weeks. Though, as the saying goes, if you love what you’re doing, you really never feel like you’re busy!

[ 1 Degree, 10 Careers ]

Ryan Opeka ’05 Bill Ruettinger ’88 Planned Giving Officer American Red Cross

On the job: I cultivate donors who are considering including the Red Cross in their estate plan. Although I’m not acting as an attorney in my current role, my law practice background is very useful as I discuss charitable remainder trusts and gift annuities with our donors. How I got this job: I practiced corporate law with firms in San Francisco for 11 years. Planned giving fundraising seemed an appealing alternative to practice and I went on informational interviews to find out more. I’ve been with the Red Cross for 10 years now.

The Bay Area is a great place to be a lawyer because: This is a very dynamic metropolitan area set amidst great natural beauty. The cost of living is steep but it’s hard to contemplate leaving. On the weekend you’ll find me: outdoors, hopefully!

Michelle Ravn Appelqvist ’99

Senior Director – Global Trademark, Advertising and Brand Protection Legal SanDisk in Silicon Valley

Counsel Macquarie AirFinance

On the job: I strive to find ways to balance business needs with legal considerations in order to achieve wins for the business.

On the job: I negotiate and document cross border acquisitions, dispositions, leases and financings involving commercial aircraft. I also support the general counsel in managing all of the corporate matters that arise with our company.

How I got this job: SanDisk was first a client and now is my employer. I first started as outside counsel for SanDisk, while a member of the Technology Transactions team at Wilson Sonsini in Palo Alto. As the work I did for SanDisk grew, the general counsel asked me to move in-house. I saw it as an amazing opportunity with a high growth company enabling the future of storage technology – and I’ve never looked back.

How I got this job: I started my legal career in the transportation finance group at Vedder Price in Chicago where I became familiar with the in-house legal team at Macquarie. During a bleak Chicago winter the opportunity arose to join this legal team and I could not pass it up.

The Bay Area is a great place to be a lawyer because: the Bay Area is founded on innovation. Things evolve so quickly that you never lack a challenge. There are so many amazing people and companies here – it would be impossible to be bored!

The Bay Area is a great place to be a lawyer because: it has a dynamic economy and is a great location to have an internationally focused business. Being in San Francisco permits me to speak with people in Europe during the morning and Asia in the afternoon.

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On the weekend, you’ll find me: hanging out with my husband, dog, family and friends, either in SF at a dog park or beach, renovating our turn of the century victorian, or driving up to Napa to visit relatives and partake in some wine tasting. Most recently, we are setting up the nursery as we are expecting our first child in September!

On the weekend, you’ll find me: outside enjoying all the activities that Northern California has to offer.

Moritz College of Law | FA L L 2 0 1 4

[ 1 Degree, 10 Careers ]

Stuart Casillas ’99 Partner Kirkland & Ellis LLP

On the job: I am an M&A partner focusing my practice on the representation of private equity funds and their portfolio companies. I typically spend my days structuring and negotiating transactions for my clients - there are plenty of opportunities for me to advocate for my clients’ positions (which is the most enjoyable aspect of my practice). My practice has allowed me to negotiate transactions in a wide variety of industries, including software, manufacturing, consumer products, computer hardware, postsecondary education, food service, retail, airline, financial services, oil and gas services, and logistics. How I got this job: I was an associate at another large law firm in San Francisco for five and a half years. Toward the end of my tenure at my prior firm, I decided to take stock of my career and contemplated whether I wanted to stay on the law firm track or pursue an in-house job. I obviously decided to continue with law firm life, but was not sure if I wanted to continue that journey at my prior firm. The K&E San Francisco office was, at the time, a small office with great potential and I decided to make the change. I’m very happy with my decision - our office has tripled in size and I enjoy my private equity M&A practice immensely.

Harry-Todd Astrov ’90 Principal, Astrov P.C.

Peggy Bennington ’74 Law Offices of Peggy L. Bennington

On the Job: I enjoy dealing with a variety of legal issues that arise from my focus on complex family law matters. I am privileged to be able to help people with difficult life transitions. How I got this job: I hung out my shingle 38 years ago and became certified as a Family Law Specialist in 1982.

On the job: I help businesses plan to minimize taxes arising from cross-border activities and represent businesses and individuals with disputes with the IRS. How I got this job: After 12 years in-house at Chevron (and traveling the world), I wanted more independence. I perceived there to be a niche for an attorney who is familiar with non-U.S. taxation as well as U.S. Because business is now global, advisers need to be globally minded as well. In mid2012 I started my practice.

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The Bay Area is a great place to be a lawyer because: I am able to be involved in very sophisticated transactions while living in such a beautiful and diverse area.

The Bay Area is a great place to be a lawyer because: it is a place where intense artistic and business creativity thrive, with attendant challenging legal problems to solve.

The Bay Area is a great place to be a lawyer because: of Silicon Valley. There is a tremendous amount of emerging businesses and entrepreneurial activity. Of course, the weather is usually pretty good as well.

On the weekend, you’ll find me: out and about with my family. My three children are very active in sports and we always seem to find ourselves spending the weekend on the soccer or rugby pitch.

On the weekend, you’ll find me: in Sonoma wine country, on my bike, or hiking the trials of beautiful Mt. Tamalpais.

On the weekend, you’ll find me: spending time with my wife and our 2½ year old daughter, hopefully on our bikes.

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[ 1 Degree, 10 Careers ]

Kenesa Ahmad ’09 Privacy Associate Promontory

Lee Freedman ’97

Director of Investigations & Senior Security Counsel Apple Inc. On the job: I lead a team of people who investigate matters such as internal and external frauds against iTunes, the Apple Retail Stores, the Apple Online Store, and AppleCare; intellectual property leaks; cargo and other thefts; and cybercrime. We also advise various business groups on security law matters and create related policies. How I got this job: A person with whom I worked with at the Department of Justice got a job at Apple and recruited me. The Bay Area is a great place to be a lawyer because: Silicon Valley is a fascinating place to be. New businesses, and novel legal issues, constantly arise here. You get to be at the center of the new economy. Plus the weather is always great.

Sujata Pagedar ’98 Director of Regulatory Affairs Pacific Gas & Electric Company

On the job: I work on regulatory proceedings relating to energy policy for California, including renewable energy, greenhouse gas reductions, and energy markets. How I got this job: I originally started at PG&E as a tax attorney, but over time, have taken opportunities to grow within the company. I moved into Regulatory Affairs in 2010.

On the job: I help clients manage the regulatory risks and requirements associated with handling data. Many of the issues surrounding data protection and information privacy are cutting edge and freighted with wide-ranging implications for society. It’s a forward-looking field, and with that comes a lot of excitement. How I got this job: Good timing, great mentorship, and a willingness to take risks. Following graduation from Moritz, I obtained a masters in tax law from Northwestern University. I had lingering doubts about finding fulfillment as a tax attorney, however, and took a detour to explore the area of information privacy. Fortunately, I connected with former Mortiz Professor Peter Swire, who in turn connected me with the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), a think-tank at which I served as a Legal and Policy Fellow for two years. While representing FPF at a privacy conference, I was introduced to my current employer, Promontory. The Bay Area is a great place to be a lawyer because: The famed entrepreneurial spirit is contagious - even attorneys catch the bug here. It’s a dynamic environment in which people feel less bound by their traditional occupational roles, and more willing to collaborate on projects that may be outside of their comfort zones.

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On the weekend, you’ll find me: spending time with my wife and young son hiking, exploring Yosemite, playing T-ball, or gardening.

The Bay Area is a great place to be a lawyer because: California is a great place to be working on energy issues because many of the policies are cutting edge for the country. In the Bay Area, I love the diversity here (and the great food)! There are also plenty of Buckeyes around!

On the weekend, you’ll find me: on the sidelines cheering on my kids!

On the weekend, you’ll find me: Trying to cross off items on my Bay Area bucket list – the longer I live here, the larger the list grows! I enjoy checking out the city’s many great restaurants, taking a day trips to Sonoma wine country, hiking in Muir Woods, and exploring the charms of SF’s distinct neighborhoods. I try to balance relaxation with adventure during my weekends. Moritz College of Law | FA L L 2 0 1 4

Pipeline program bursts with

success

[ Law and Leadership Institute ]

Law and Leadership Institute students heading to college at amazing rate BY KELSEY GIVENS

n a time when most Americans see a college education as a necessary step toward attaining quality employment, Moritz is playing an integral role in helping first-generation students and students from underserved communities reach their goals of obtaining a post-secondary education. One hundred percent of the Law and Leadership Institute (LLI) graduating classes in 2013 and 2014 from the Columbus site are now on their way to earning a college degree. “All of our kids are graduating from high school and are going to college. We have a few exceptions of students going into the military, but our graduation numbers alone are much, much higher than what is typically seen from the schools we draw from. The results are amazing,” said Steve Jemison ’75, LLI chief executive officer and board president. LLI is a statewide collaborative effort between the legal and educational communities that prepares high school students from educationally underserved communities for post-secondary and professional success. Participants begin LLI the summer following eighth grade and continue with the program through their senior year of high school. The comprehensive fouryear curriculum focuses on the study of law, analytical thinking, problem solving, and writing — all while giving students the opportunity to develop leadership skills and professionalism both inside and outside of the classroom. LLI started in 2008 on a pilot basis at two Ohio law schools, Moritz and Cleveland State University’s Marshall College of Law, following a discussion at the annual Bench-Bar-Law Deans Retreat on ways the legal community could help students living and studying in underserved areas obtain a college education. After some research into the idea, the Supreme Court of Ohio, the Ohio State Bar Association and all nine Ohio law school deans partnered together to create a pipeline program inspired from the successful Legal Outreach program in New York. Within a year of its inception, LLI was able to expand to other law schools across the state and today hosts students at eight of the nine Ohio law school campuses, with the ninth school providing off-site program support. Reaching students at the right time LLI has a goal of reaching students at the right time and in the right way to give them the tools, knowledge and skills necessary to succeed not only in the academic world, but the professional one as well. “When we looked at the research the American Bar Association did, it was clear the educational pipeline was leaking before college and leaking to the greatest Moritz College of Law | FA L L 2 0 1 4

[ Law and Leadership Institute ]

“When you take one kid at a time, expose them to what is possible and give them the skills to make it happen, the results can be amazing. That is what is special about LLI. I can’t imagine a better use of my retirement time than supporting this wonderful program” –Steve Jemison ’75

Jemison devotes full-time efforts to lead LLI BY BARBARA PECK Steve Jemison ’75 understands the pressures facing many of the high school students in the Law and Leadership Institute. “Although I came from a very poor background I learned early on that failure was not an option. For me there was no going back if college didn’t work out,” Jemison said. And, work out it did. After graduating from Moritz, Jemison headed to the National Labor Relations Board for a few years before joining Procter & Gamble. He moved up the ranks, working his way up to general counsel for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, corporate secretary then deputy general counsel before being named chief legal officer in 2008. He retired a few years later, satisfied with a stellar career and ready to soak up the good life. Steve always made volunteering and charity work a part of his life. When then-Dean Nancy Rogers called to invite him to serve on the board of the newly formed Law and Leadership Institute, it was an easy decision. He has watched the organization grow and the students move through the program and on to college with pride. Last year, when the Board was searching for a replacement for Executive Director Hope Sharett ’03, the pressure was on. It is a pivotal time for LLI – student lives have been impacted, the program is building, but funding remains unstable. At a board meeting, Jemison stood up and said he would take on the position of executive director if a permanent replacement couldn’t be found right away. He didn’t want the decision rushed. Oh, and he would do it for free. The LLI board did find what it was looking for in Heather Creed, who was working for Legal Outreach, a pipeline program in New York that LLI has looked to for inspiration. But, there was a move to be made, networking to

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be done and contacts to be built. “I was enjoying retirement, but I stayed involved because we are talking about our kids,” Jemison said. “When you take one kid at a time, expose them to what is possible and give them the skills to make it happen, the results can be amazing. That is what is special about LLI. I can’t imagine a better use of my retirement time than supporting this wonderful program.” Jemison is currently serving as chief executive officer and board president and Creed is working as chief operations officer. Jemison’s unpaid service will end in the spring of 2015. Growing up on the far south side of Chicago, Jemison knows the struggles of being the first generation to be college-bound. His parents dropped out of high school and started a family immediately. The family grew to five kids in a short time and to say things were tight would be an understatement. Steve’s father Willie Jemison, however, was not a typical man. He worked as a laborer during the day and on the weekends to put food on the table. At night he went to school. First earning his GED and then class by class, credit hour by credit hour, earning a bachelor’s degree from Moody Bible Institute. “My dad set an example by the way he lived his life,” Jemison said. “He did not accept what his life should have been according to statistics; he wanted more. Then he went about doing what was necessary to get him there.” As a child, Jemison was busy. There was football, a paper route, and a part-time job selling shoes. With his dad gone most of the time working or at school, his mother Bessie was the one making sure homework was done and commitments were met. And, of course, as the son of minister, there was a lot of time

[ Law and Leadership Institute ]

spent in church. “There were a lot of people in the church who were looking out for us,” Jemison said. “I didn’t have a program like LLI, but I had a series of smaller interventions that helped me. If someone believes in you and decides you are worth it, it can really change your life.” While he did what he needed to do, initially academics were not his strong suit. He went to Elmhurst College in suburban Chicago. After heading back home for holiday break, his first semester grades came back as Cs. “The bell didn’t ring for me until after that first semester,” Jemison said. “Then I realized that if I worked hard enough, I could compete with anyone. I then simply made up my mind that was exactly what I was going to do. Not only was I not going to fail, I was determined to be the best I could be. From that point on both in college and law school, that is what I did. If I had to read a case five times and my classmates only had to read it once or twice, that is what I did. If I had to read it ten times, that is what I did. I just couldn’t fail.” He earned nearly all As after that first semester in college, which led to a scholarship offer from Moritz. He claims his career success has a lot less to do with smarts than it does with finding a way to get things done. “My simple definition of a leader is someone who knows how to work with other people to get things done,” Jemison said. “I have always tried to mirror people who are known for getting things done. My dad was that way.” The elder Jemison stepped into the pastor role at Oakdale Covenant Church when there were barely 50 members. By the time he retired, it had grown to a congregation of more than 1,500. The Reverend saw education as the way out of the old neighborhood, founding a K-8 school in the church. He was well known in the community for using every available resource to help local kids continue their education in college. In addition to Steve, the other Jemison siblings hold several doctorates and other advanced degrees. “If I wouldn’t have gone to law school, I would have been a teacher,” Jemison said. “What I am always trying to do is help people get through the problems they face, whether they are a big corporation or a child. That is what I am trying to do. I am so grateful that my success has allowed me to give back to our kids. It is truly a blessing.”

extent in high school. Students were either dropping out or turning off of school and therefore wouldn’t be able to compete at the college level,” Nancy Hardin Rogers, the Michael E. Moritz Chair in Alternative Dispute Resolution (emeritus) at Moritz and member of the LLI board of directors, explained. “The research shows that students aren’t dropping out because they can’t make it in high school. Most of those who drop out think they can make it, or are in fact making it, academically in high school,” Rogers said. “They drop out for other reasons and those reasons have to do with peer groups and a lack of a plan and hope and a feeling of success, and those are all things the Law and Leadership Institute attacks and tries to turn around.” Jemison said it’s also hard sometimes for students living in underprivileged areas with families who never attended a post-secondary school to fully imagine themselves in the college environment. “It is so hard for first-generation kids to make it because it can be hard to see the possibilities when you have so little,” he said. In addition to the academic work the program does in the classroom, LLI talks to students and their parents about how to prepare and sign up for college admission tests, like the ACT, and takes them on tours of college campuses to help prepare them for what lies ahead in their academic careers. Jason Holmes, a 2013 LLI graduate who is now studying at the University of Michigan, said he felt the program went beyond just preparing him to attend college, however. He said it prepared him to take on any challenge he may face in life whether that be academically, professionally, or personally. “The LLI program prepares you for life and college. The program helped me with my high school studies and with ACT prep. It helped me to be a leader in my school and within the community. The Law and Leadership Institute provided me with the tools necessary to be an outstanding, successful leader in today’s society and to succeed in the professional world. Every day I use the skills and practices that I learned from the program in different areas of my life,” he said. “After the program, I also understood the importance of confidence and perseverance. You have to be confident as a lawyer, and in any other career field for that matter. You have to be confident when presenting and speaking, when taking an exam, or when preparing for and completing any type of assignment. Confidence ensures that you are putting 100 percent effort into whatever you are doing. Perseverance aids in that same process. You have to be able to stick through your task in order to accomplish a goal. Not every assignment, mission, or goal is going to be easy to achieve. Without perseverance one’s confidence can easily fade. However, with perseverance and confidence together you will be able to make it through whatever challenges you may face.” Holmes said he has been inspired by his experience with LLI to one day pursue a career in intellectual property law, which would give him the opportunity to combine his passion for engineering with the study of law. “If you take a kid from an underserved community and you give them the skills, you can entirely change the course of their lives. I just cannot imagine anything better than taking a kid and showing them a better life,” Jemison said. Why it works A study conducted by Ohio University, which surveyed LLI students but is not involved with the program (it does not have a law school), found that students felt one of the greatest things they had taken away from LLI following graduation was that they had become better writers as a result of attending the program. But that wasn’t just a feeling. OU administered writing tests to the students each year they were in the program and reportedly found that there was a notable difference in their skill level even after just the first summer of study. “We in legal education know that the Socratic dialogue commonly used in the Moritz College of Law | FA L L 2 0 1 4

LISA EGGERT

[ Law and Leadership Institute ]

The LLI Class of 2013 from the Columbus site proudly poses with LLI leaders during a graduation ceremony.

“What LLI needs is money. The quality, intensity, and design of this program is terrific. We need to make sure we have the funds to continue to exist.” –Steve Jemison ’75, LLI chief executive officer and board president 56

first year of law school is a powerful tool for developing analytical abilities and problem-solving skills. In LLI, law student teachers who have just been exposed to this method use a Socratic teaching approach to develop critical thinking among these young people. It’s also a fresh approach for kids who may be tired of traditional school methods. The analytical and problem-solving abilities they develop will help them in their own lives, whatever career they ultimately choose,” said Dean Alan C. Michaels, member of the LLI board of directors. Rogers said another part of what has made the program so successful is the fact that they replicated and built on several key aspects of the Legal Outreach program in New York. By not only coaching students on their writing and analytical thinking skills, but by fostering a peer group focused on academic success and encouraging self-disciplined study and work, LLI has created a supportive environment to help students reach their goals. “The key to success was looking at a program that was successful and figuring out why it was and trying to be sure our program retained all of those ingredients of success,” Rogers explained. “Legal Outreach in New York was the program we ultimately settled on as a model that was producing success and we were able to talk with them and talk through what it was they felt were the main ingredients and then make some of our own decisions.” Also attributing to that success may be the opportunities LLI students have to intern with local law firms during the course of the program, which Rogers said gives the students yet another chance to better envision themselves in the professional world.

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“It helps them to understand what their future could be and why they need to challenge themselves constantly to learn so that they’re prepared for that future that they now believe in. The students often talk about the fact that they started in the program very shy as students with little self-confidence and they now feel comfortable speaking in front of a group and that they have some confidence in their abilities. And the teachers see that,” Rogers said. Victoria Efetevbia, a 2013 LLI graduate, agreed, adding that the program goes beyond just preparing students for their academic and professional futures. It builds a life-time support network for the students they can always turn back to for advice and guidance. “The relationships that I made, being exposed to kids from all around the city, all the teachers, the mentors — they’re still there for all of us now, I think that was my favorite part,” she said. Efetevbia is now studying sociology at Georgetown University. She is also pursuing a minor in African American studies and is considering taking on a second minor in theatre and performing arts. She said she plans to attend law school. “It’s a great program, it teaches you a lot. And even if you don’t want to go to law school afterward, the skills you gain there are great to have in any career. We learned all of these skills that are applicable to every part of your life and the connections we made were great. You’re always learning, it never hurts to learn more,” she said. Importance of programs like LLI LLI focuses on not only increasing college and law school graduation rates, but preparing students to become future leaders in their communities.

[ Law and Leadership Institute ] As part of that mission, increasing the diversity of those attending law school and entering today’s workforce is also at the top of the program’s priority list. “Diversity in the legal profession is particularly important because people often don’t have confidence in a system when they don’t feel something important about themselves is being reflected in it. So if it feels that only a portion of the population are the judges, the leaders of our country or lawyers, then it’s hard for people to have respect for those institutions. They don’t feel represented by the people who are there,” Rogers said. “The reality is that America is getting browner. For people to have confidence in the system, they need to have people that look like them in the system. Even if they do not become lawyers, they are citizens who understand how the system works. We teach a lot of professionalism so whatever field they choose, it will be beneficial and they will be ready. It is a pipeline for lawyers, but it is also a pipeline for citizens who are going to participate in our society in a great way,” Jemison added. And other organizations and universities are recognizing the immense potential students coming out of LLI possess. Bryan Quijada, a 2014 LLI graduate, has been awarded a Gates Millennium Scholarship, which will provide for his undergraduate education and graduate school funding in certain fields. The award is given to 1,000 minority students across the country annually to help provide opportunities for outstanding students to overcome tough financial barriers to reach their greatest potential. “From the start I have been dedicated to school because to me, that is my job and I only have one so might as well be good at it. I knew both my parents couldn’t afford OSU no matter how hard they worked because of course other bills existed as well as three siblings. During my junior year I promised my mom that I would do everything in my power to have them not pay for me when I went to college. The Bill Gates Scholarship was that single opportunity; it was either all or nothing,” Quijada explained. “I worked hours and hours on eight essays. I would say each essay had about four to five drafts edited by my AP English teacher, and we become really close during the school year. Once I realized that I had won the Gates scholarship I knew that all those long hours I had spent on every essay had paid off in the end. I was simply astounded that I will have the opportunity to pursue my goals without a financial barrier.” Jemison said stories like Quijeda’s are the perfect example of what the LLI program can help students accomplish.

“Bryan isn’t even my child and I have a hard time telling this story without choking up. He came home and saw the letter from the Gates Foundation and the first thing he did was write Kathy Northern a note. These scholarships are tremendous and can follow a student all the way through a Ph.D. program, paying for almost everything along the way. This will profoundly impact his life forever. That one story alone makes this whole program worth it,” Jemison said. Continued success Today there are more than 400 students enrolled in LLI across the state. Inspired by LLI’s success, the legal community in Illinois recently started its own program modeled after LLI. “We would like to see the legal profession in many more states combine to do this type of program,” Rogers said. Looking to the future, Jemison said a priority is ensuring they have the proper funding in place to continue helping students in underserved areas. “What LLI needs is money. The quality, intensity, and design of this program is terrific. We need to make sure we have the funds to continue to exist. We also need volunteers to expose the students to different people from different backgrounds with different jobs. We need short-term internships for our students so they can see how a professional place of business operates,” he explained. “My vision for LLI is that we have enough money that comes in on a sustained basis that we can make a difference. In an ideal world, we don’t have ghettos. What I really want is for everyone to have the same chance to make it on their own merit, but that is not how it works. I want to see the program expand to other cities in Ohio and I want to see professionals and lawyers who came through the program making it.” AR

“Even if they do not become lawyers, they are citizens who understand how the system works.” –Steve Jemison ’75, LLI chief executive officer and board president

2014 LLI graduates (Columbus site) enrolled in the following college and universities this fall: • • • • • • • •

Bowling Green State University Columbus State Community College (2) Howard University Northern Kentucky University The Ohio State University (6) The University of Akron (3) University of Cincinnati University of Pennsylvania

For more information on LLI or to learn how to donate to the program, visit www.lawandleadership.org.

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Alumni News

Predicting

a crisis

Cicero not surprised by influx of immigrants at border.

T H E O H I O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

BY KELSEY GIVENS

Class Notes

he recent immigrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border that has captivated the nation’s attention didn’t simply appear overnight. It’s something those who have been carefully following the country’s immigration problems have seen coming for years, says Chicago attorney Salvador Cicero ’98. “I wrote a law review article years ago — the first I ever wrote — and it linked immigration policy to the criminal effects of deporting all of these gang bangers to Honduras, oddly enough, and causing a crisis there because we basically deported all of these highly trained criminals who knew how to use weapons better than the police officers there. So what we’re seeing now is a recognition by the U.S. government that we have a part to play in all of that. This is something that anyone who’s been looking at the immigration problem would have seen coming for years. It’s not anything new,” Cicero said. A founding partner at Cicero, Vargas & Karr, P.C., Cicero handles a variety of cases in his Illinois practice, but focuses mainly on international, corporate, and immigration issues. In the past he served in various positions as a career member of the Foreign Service of Mexico including as advisor to the under-secretary for multilateral affairs and human rights; director for political and community affairs at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and as chief of legal affairs at the Consulate General of Mexico in Chicago. Over the course of his career, first as a diplomat and now in private practice, Cicero’s work has brought him into contact with a multitude of different clients, from children coming into the country from South America to adults who have been in the U.S. for 10, 15, 20 years. Cicero explained that he’s seen many discrepancies in how similar immigration cases are handled on a state-by-state and case-by-case basis. “I’ll give you an example. Let’s say you are detained and you have marijuana. You can get bail under the current immigration rules. If you are found with cocaine, however, you can’t. So you can have a really small amount of cocaine and you won’t get any bail, but if you have marijuana you can. So that’s one situation where both of you are either consuming drugs, or selling small amounts of drugs, but because Congress has said cocaine is worse than marijuana, for immigration consequences you’re treated completely different,” Cicero said. Even with the children he represents who come here from another country, Cicero said they have to rely on the discretion of the presiding judge as to whether or not they can get a continuance in the case to have time to show the government that the children can do well here and should be allowed to stay. “Right now we are taking advantage of the fact that the government has taken this line of we’re going to help these kids. And all of the kids I represent who come over, I am very proud to say, are doing great in school. These kids are amazing. We’re talking about getting As and Bs with kids

1970s Marty L. Steinberg ’71 received the Judge Learned Hand Award, which recognizes lifetime achievement in and dedication to individual rights and democratic values, from the American Jewish Committee. Steinberg is a partner and co-litigation chair in the Miami, Fla., office of Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP. He was presented with the award for his philanthropic work, which includes founding a nonprofit organization to establish and support a school dedicated to providing a nurturing environment for students with neurological and socialization disorders. John Beavers ’72, of counsel in the Columbus office of Bricker & Eckler LLP, was named “Lawyer of the Year” in the area of corporate compliance by The Best Lawyers in America 2014. Beavers spent more than 11 years as managing partner with the firm, and he established and directs its Counsel for Boards and Executives, which advises and represents governing boards and their committees and executives on the duties and responsibilities. Steve M. Nobil ’72 was featured in the Chambers USA 2014 edition of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Nobil is a regional managing partner in the Fisher & Phillips LLP Cleveland office, where he represents both public and private sector employers in traditional labor law matters.

Thomas A. Dillon ’73, a partner at Roetzel & Andress, LPA in Columbus, was named to the 2014 Ohio Super Lawyers list. He focuses his practice on medical defense, commercial litigation, and product liability, representing clients that include hospitals, physicians, and nursing homes. Charles J. Faruki ’73, one of the founders of Faruki Ireland & Cox P.L.L., has been named to the 2014 Ohio Super Lawyers list. He is a trial lawyer who focuses on business litigation. Faruki also is a past president of the Dayton Bar Association and the Dayton Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and he has chaired the Ohio Supreme Court’s Commission on Continuing Legal Education, the Bar Examination Committee of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and the Board of Governors of the Antitrust Law Section of the Ohio State Bar Association. Stephen C. Fitch ’73 was designated in the Chambers USA 2014 edition of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a leader in the general commercial litigation practice area in the state of Ohio. He is a partner in the Columbus office of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, where his practice focuses on commercial litigation.

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Alumni News who are just beginning to learn English. And I emphasize to their parents, keep these kids in school, bring me their grades and the judges do what they can. If they don’t have any other avenues for relief, sometimes they’ll give you a continuance for two years, so you have enough time to go to the government and show them how well a kid is doing, then we try to get them to exercise some prosecutorial discretion. And that is the way that we’re dealing with it. But you have to understand, the government having a policy saying ‘we’re going to exercise our prosecutorial discretion’ is not a law. We’re basically in their hands,” he said. To solve the problems arising from these sorts of cases, Cicero suggests the formation of a panel of immigration experts, people who have extensively studied the topic and the laws, who can make recommendations to Congress on comprehensive immigration reform legislation. “Right now the laws are a piecemeal of ideas, and that approach doesn’t work. It doesn’t solve the problem,” he said. In addition to his practice, Cicero has now taking on a new role as chairman of the human resources board for the city of Chicago.

“The great part about being a lawyer is being able to help people. No kid thinks, ‘oh I want to go to law school to make a lot of money,’ they think of going to law school in and I want to save the world kind of way.”

The three-member board is appointed by the mayor of the city of Chicago and is tasked with conducting hearings and rendering decisions in instances of alleged misconduct by career service employees. The board also presides over appeal hearings brought about by disciplinary action taken against employees by individual city departments. Cicero was confirmed as chairman of the board in February by the Chicago City Council. He is the first Latino to preside over the board in its 17-year history. “It’s a completely different thing for me, it is very exciting to serve on that board because it gives me the opportunity to learn what being a judge is like,” Cicero said. He said he truly enjoys being involved in his community. He also currently serves as president of the Hispanic Lawyers of Association of Illinois (HLAI) Charities and in the past served as president of HLAI. Additionally, he served on the Ohio State Alumni Association Board from 2005 to 2010 and has been an

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active member of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a national civil rights organization, since he was in high school and still serves as their legal advisor in Illinois. “I’ve always been very involved with my community. In fact when I was at Ohio State I was a Public Service Fellow. I have oriented my entire career toward helping people,” he said. “The great part about being a lawyer is being able to help people. No kid thinks, ‘oh I want to go to law school to make a lot of money,’ they think of going to law school in and I want to save the world kind of way.” Cicero said he plans to continue finding new ways to remain involved. It’s a tradition that was fostered by his mentor Bert Kram during his time as a student at Moritz, and one he says he plans to carry on in the future. “When I went to Ohio State we had the mentorship program, which completely changed my life in such a positive way. When I became a practicing lawyer, I became a mentor and I have a great relationship with the people that I have had as mentees. I always feel I get so much more from my involvement than I put in,” he said. On the weekend, Cicero often spends time with his daughter Maya and girlfriend Domenica Biondolillo. AR

Class Notes Frank A. Ray ’73 was awarded membership into the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. Established in 2008, the academy is a professional association made up of attorneys distinguished by their hands-on experience in the field of civil & commercial conflict resolution, and by their commitment to methods of alternative dispute resolution. Ray, a former adjunct professor at Moritz, and past-president of the Columbus Bar Association and of the Columbus Bar Foundation, is the 15th Ohio lawyer to achieve this honor. George W. Rooney Jr. ’73, a partner at Roetzel & Andress, LPA in Akron was named to the 2014 Ohio Super Lawyers list. He practices in the areas of business tort, contract litigation and arbitration, international litigation, and product liability litigation. Louis E. Tosi ’74, a partner in the Toledo office of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, was named to the 2014 Ohio Super Lawyers list in the areas of environmental law, administrative law, and class action/mass torts. He serves as chair of the firm’s environmental practice group and is a former member of its management committee. Frederick S. “Fritz” Coombs III ’75 was named to the 2014 Ohio Super Lawyers list in the field of business bankruptcy. This is the fifth

consecutive year he has been named to the list. He chairs the creditors’ rights practice of Harrington Hoppe & Mitchell, Ltd. in Youngstown. Karen Moore ’75, a partner in the Columbus office of Bricker & Eckler LLP, was named “Lawyer of the Year” in the area of trusts and estates by The Best Lawyers in America 2014. Moore is a current regent emerita and a past president of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and she is a current member of the executive committee and past chair of the Ohio State Bar Association Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law Section. She also served as an adjunct professor at Moritz for the past two years. Charles R. “Rocky” Saxbe ’75 was designated in Chambers USA 2014 edition of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a leader in the general commercial litigation practice area in the state of Ohio. He is a partner in the Columbus office of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP where his practice focuses on civil litigation. Retired Navy CDR John J. Chernoski ’76 was selected to serve on the Board of Directors for the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), the nation’s largest veterans association for active duty, National Guard, reserve, former and retired officers and their families. Chernoski served on active duty as a JAG officer assigned to Naval Legal Service Office, Philadelphia, and Naval Support Activity, Philadelphia.

Upon his release from active duty in 1980, he affiliated with the Navy Reserve, serving in various units until he retired in 1996. Chernoski worked for the New Jersey Attorney General’s Division of Law for more than two decades, concentrating on administrative law and charitable trust matters. He retired in 2002 as a senior deputy attorney general. He resides in Sahuarita, Ariz. Christopher R. Meyer ’77 has been appointed to the board of directors for First Federal Savings in Newark. Meyer is a partner in the firm Reese Pyle Drake & Meyer, P.L.L., working primarily in the area of litigation. He also is a member of The Ohio State University at Newark board of trustees, a member and past president of the Licking County Bar Association, member of the Newark Rotary Club, and a member of the Licking County Chamber of Commerce. Ronald S. Kopp ’79 was named as one of the top 100 lawyers in Ohio and one of the top 50 lawyers in Cleveland by Super Lawyers in 2014. Kopp is a partner in the Akron office of Roetzel & Andress, LPA and he practices in the areas of business and commercial litigation.

1980s Chester C. Christie ’81 was presented with the 2014 HR Excellence Award for Lifetime Achievement by Columbus CEO magazine. Christie has served since 2000 as the City of Columbus director of human resources. The award was part of the magazine’s 2014

HR Excellence Awards for Achievements in Human Resources. Garth Gartrell ’81 has formed his own consulting firm, StreeterWyatt Governance LLC, in which he advises boards of directors of public companies on executive compensation matters. Gartrell previously worked at firms such as Pillsbury Madison & Sutro, Fenwick & West, and Heller Ehrman. Gartrell also has written three books on executive compensation for Thomson Reuters, including Executive Compensation for Emerging Growth Companies, which was cited by the Delaware Chancery Court in denying a plaintiff’s shareholder derivative suit for an alleged failure of the company to maximize its Internal Revenue Code Section 162(m) liability (Freedman v. Adams). He and his wife, attorney Josephine Gartrell, spend their time between San Diego and San Francisco. Tony Mollica ’83 returned to practicing law after 25 years of teaching. He opened an office in Athens that focuses on criminal work in municipal court and civil protection orders. He is also doing some online facilitating for the Ohio University Sports Administration program. William M. Phillips ’83 was designated in the Chambers USA 2014 edition of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a leader in real estate law in the state of Ohio. He is a partner in the Cleveland office of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.

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Class Notes Catherine T. Dunlay ’84 was designated in the Chambers USA 2014 edition of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a leader in the area of healthcare law in the state of Ohio. She is a partner in the Columbus office of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP as well as co-chair of Taft’s Health and Life Sciences Practice Group. Susan S. Box ’85 was named as one of the top 50 women lawyers in Ohio for 2013-14 and one of the top 25 women lawyers in Cleveland by Super Lawyers. Box is a partner in the

Akron, Ohio office of Roetzel & Andress, LPA and her practice focuses on product liability defense. Douglas P. Currier ’85 was recognized as a leading lawyer in labor & employment by London-based Chambers & Partners. He is a partner at Verrill Dana LLP in Portland, Maine. Anne Marie Sferra ’85 has been named 2014 president of the Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys. Sferra is a partner in Bricker & Eckler’s

Congratulations to the 2014 Moritz Alumni Award recipients • Distinguished Alumnus: Ed Cooperman ’67, principal Edmarc Investments • Outstanding Recent Alumnus: Erika Schoenberger ’04, associate general counsel, Everyware Global, Inc. • Distinguished Jurist: Hon. Evelyn Stratton ’79, former justice, Supreme Court of Ohio • Community Service: Steve Chappelear ’77, member, Frost Brown Todd LLC • Public Service Leslie Varnado ’74, managing attorney, Legal Aid Society of Columbus

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litigation group and chair of the Appellate Advocacy group. Sferra was also named “Lawyer of the Year” in the area of appellate practice by The Best Lawyers in America 2014. She is experienced in insurance cases, including class actions, ERISA, bad faith claims, and coverage issues. She is a certified appellate law specialist by the Ohio State Bar Association. Elizabeth (Whiteside) Whitman ’85, executive vice president and general counsel for Wilkinson Corporation, was featured in the “Day in the Life” section of the March 2014 issue of the ACC Docket, published by the Association of Corporate Counsel, a professional organization for in-house counsel with more than 30,000 members. Linda L. Ammons ’87 announced her retirement as dean of Widener Law in April. She served in the position for eight years and will be remembered by faculty, staff and students as an intelligent and committed leader who was a champion for the law school during her tenure. Ammons is the first woman and the first African American to lead Widener University School of Law. In recognition of her service, the university announced the creation of the Linda L. Ammons Diversity scholarship award. Miles Scully ’88 is with Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP. Based in Southern California, Scully is assistant managing partner of the firm, which has grown from a 100-attorney operation

to include more than 500 attorneys and 30 offices nationwide. He joined Gordon Rees in 1988 and moved to San Diego in 1992 when the firm opened its first branch. He led the creation and execution of the firm’s expansion strategy, first growing throughout California and then branching out nationwide in 2004. The firm now is ranked 95th on the list of America’s largest law firms by The National Law Journal and 21st on The American Lawyer Diversity Scorecard. Todd M. McKenney ’89 was appointed by Ohio Governor John Kasich to serve as a Barberton Municipal Court judge. Prior to taking the bench, he was in private practice with the law firm of Leiby, Hanna, Rasnick, Towne, Evanchan, Palmisano & Hobson, LLC in Akron.

1990s Drew Campbell ’90, partner and chair of Bricker & Eckler LLP’s litigation and class action practice teams, was named “Lawyer of the Year” in the area of litigation (banking and finance) by The Best Lawyers in America 2014. Campbell practices in the Columbus office, focusing on complex commercial litigation, class action defense, insurance, energy, and fiduciary litigation. He regularly appears in state and federal courts throughout the U.S.

Alumni Event

PRE-HOODING COCKTAIL RECEPTION

JODI MILLER

The night before Hooding, the Class of 2014 gathered at the Franklin Park Conservatory for one last event together. Families and significant others were invited to mark the end of books, exams, and long hours in the library (that is until it was time to study for the bar exam).

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Alumni News

NORMAN Y. LONO

Moritz grad scores job as MLB analyst BY MICHAEL PERIATT

hen Derek Smith ‘08 was applying to law school, his personal statement made his career aspirations unwaveringly clear. He wanted to work in professional baseball. Four years after graduation, Smith has seen those ambitions come to fruition through his role as an analyst for Major League Baseball’s Commissioner’s Office in New York City. It wasn’t always a smooth path. There were periods of unemployment and of time spend in jobs that in no way utilized his law degree from Moritz, or his math and science degree from the University of Colorado. At times the battle was just to get his foot in the door and then do whatever it took to make sure that door didn’t close. If that meant throwing batting practice to the Scottsdale Scorpions or hiring PA announcers, then that’s what Smith did. But the hard work, combined with a little bit of luck, eventually landed Smith in the league office. “My personal statement to law school was written in 2005 and you would have thought I’d written it yesterday because I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to continuously pursue this dream over the course of so many years.” In his role as analyst, Smith’s work helps protect the integrity of the game of baseball. He’s worked on investigations into steroid use and helped develop systems to curb age fraud in

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players from Latin American countries. This past year, he joined a salary arbitration team at the Commissioner’s Office that helps settle salary disputes between players and teams. As someone who wrote about the baseball arbitration process in several different classes while at Moritz, he has particularly relished this role. “Being part of the salary arbitration support team was especially rewarding because that is what I was working toward pretty much my whole career,” he said. “To me, it’s always been the most fascinating part of baseball because it’s the combination of baseball, statistics, and law. To finally get there and do the kinds of things I’ve always wanted to do, I really felt the self-satisfaction of knowing that a lot of hard work, and some lucky breaks, have paid off.” Smith will admit there were some times he wondered if he’d ever reach this point. After graduating from Moritz, he took a legal counsel job with the Cleveland Browns. It was an experience he said he enjoyed, but baseball remained his focus. His goal at the time was actually to be a general manager for an MLB team. He used to familiarize himself with the resumes of MLB executives and knew the road to the top was anything but easy. Many general managers started as low-level interns with a franchise and then slowly worked their way up. So that’s what Smith decided to do.

Class Notes He worked two stints as an intern with the Arizona Fall League, a seasonal job that included working with minor league players and doing random assignments around the ballpark. Between the two stints, he interned for the Department of Investigations at the Commissioner’s Office “Baseball is one of the most competitive industries out there so anything that I could do to make myself more versatile, or more impressive, I had to do it,” he said. Finally, in April 2011, one of Smith’s bosses at the Department of Investigation offered him a full-time job and he’s been there ever since. It’s not a general manager’s job, but Smith said his priorities have changed. “The amount of job security in a GM job is not that good, the hours are ridiculous, and it’s a strain on your family,” he said. “So I really see the commissioner’s office as a way to satisfy my passion for baseball, have great work-life balance, and really work on the types of things I like.” For Smith, a large part of that balance includes baseball. When the Ohio-native returns home from a day at work, his routine during the season is to turn on the Cleveland Indians game while eating dinner. He also enjoys traveling. His job has taken him around the country and around the world, including trips to the World Series, All-Star Games, Venezuela, the Dominican

“My personal statement to law school was written in 2005 and you would have thought I’d written it yesterday because I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to continuously pursue this dream over the course of so many years.”

Susanna M. Brown ’91 has joined Chicago-based Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP as counsel in its commercial leasing practice group. She focuses her practice on commercial leasing transactions, representing both landlords and tenants in the drafting and negotiation of retail, office, and industrial leases and related documents. Laura Holleman ’92 was featured in The Guardian newspaper’s article celebrating International Women’s Day 2014 in London. The photo gallery, “10 Women Who are Changing the Face of the City,” was part of a wider project by photographer Leonora Saunders celebrating women in traditionally underrepresented professions who are “breaking through the glass ceiling and beating the boys at their own game.“ Holleman is general counsel of the investment banking division at Goldman Sachs. Ginger F. Mlakar ’92 has been named senior counsel and director of

donor relations for the Cleveland Foundation, which has assets of $2 billion and distributed $91 million in grants in 2012. Mlakar manages the foundation’s donor stewardship program, connecting donors to their charitable passions and providing support as they plan purposeful gifts. Additionally, she serves as in-house legal counsel on charitable giving and estate administration issues and facilitates the acceptance of complex gifts. She joined the foundation in July 2009 after 16 years practicing law in the area of estate and charitable gift planning and administration. Doreen DeLaney Crawley ’94 was named the 2014 Executive of the Year for a midsized organization by Columbus CEO magazine. She currently serves as Chief Human Resources & Administrative Officer for Grange Insurance. The award was bestowed upon her as part of the magazine’s HR Excellence Awards for Achievements in Human Resources. Erika L. Haupt ’94 was named as one of the top 25 women lawyers in Columbus in 2014 by Super Lawyers. Haupt is a partner in the Columbus office of Roetzel & Andress, LPA and her practice focuses on wealth transfer and estate planning matters, including business succession planning.

All Rise

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Republic, and even Australia. But Smith has traveled extensively in his free time as well, traveling to 26 of the 30 MLB stadiums and all the continents of the world except Africa. Yes, even Antarctica. But Smith is perfectly content staying at home as well. Baseball surrounds him at the office, with memorabilia decorating the office and games being broadcast during work hours. To Smith, it doesn’t get much better. “I probably have the only job in the world where I get to watch baseball during the day and you don’t get yelled at,” he said. AR

Bradley A. Wright ’90, partner-incharge of the Akron office of Roetzel & Andress, LPA, was named to the 2014 Ohio Super Lawyers list. He also leads his firm’s transportation law group, which has been recognized as a National Tier practice by U.S. News & World Report.

Miss an issue of All Rise, and you miss a lot. Update your address at moritzlaw.osu.edu/alumni/address.

MORIT Z COLLE GE

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WINTER 2014

Reforming HEALTH CARE AMERICA IN AFFORDABLE CARE ACT RIPPLES THROUGH LEGAL COMMU NITY

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Leading Ohio’s Legislature College launches distance learning innovations International connections in the classroom

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Class Notes

Bill Hedrick ’96 was named the Ohio Justice League’s Models of Justice Prosecutor of the Year for 2014. He is the chief of staff and first assistant city prosecutor at the Columbus City Attorney’s Office. Timothy J. Lambrecht ’96 has joined the Wladis Law Firm, P.C. in East Syracuse, N.Y. He is a member of the firm’s litigation and environmental law practices. Lambrecht routinely counsels clients on environmental and land-use matters affecting their businesses. He advises them with respect to compliance with environmental laws and regulations, as well as land-use issues including permitting, zoning and SEQRA. He has litigated on behalf of clients in environmental regulatory enforcement actions and environmental cleanup matters stemming from New York’s Oil Spill Act and the federal Superfund law. Prior to entering private practice, Lambrecht was a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York for the Honorable Daniel Scanlon Jr. and the Honorable Howard G. Munson.

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Andrew S. McIlvaine ’96 and his wife Patricia Moran celebrated the birth of their daughter, Caroline Frances McIlvaine, on December 20, 2013. They live in Cambridge, Mass., where McIlvaine is an attorney at Bennett & Belfort P.C. Christine Wheatley ’96 has been named secretary and general counsel of The Kroger Co., which is one of the world’s largest retailers. Wheatley joined Kroger in 2008 as corporate counsel and became its senior counsel in 2011 and a vice president in 2012. She previously worked in private practice, including as a partner at Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP in Cincinnati. Wheatley is a Kroger representative for the Greater Cincinnati Minority Counsel Program and serves as a fellow in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. Marc Blubaugh ’97 was elected president of the Transportation Lawyers Association (TLA), an independent international association of attorneys, serving the transportation industry since 1937. Blubaugh is a partner at Benesch and is a co-chair of Benesch’s Transportation & Logistics Practice Group. He has litigated a wide variety of transportation- and logistics-related cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States as well as before administrative bodies. In addition to litigating matters, Blubaugh also regularly consults with clients regarding contracting practices and operating procedures, the changing regulatory landscape, and strategic business advice.

HOODING CEREMONY By 1 p.m. there was a swarm of black and purple robes anxiously gathering outside of the Mershon Auditorium on campus. Classmates posed for pictures, introduced families, and, for what is probably the last time in their lives, lined up alphabetically for the 2 p.m. ceremony.

TODD CALLENTINE

Brian G. Miller ’94 of Brian G. Miller Co., L.P.A. was recently selected to the 2014 Ohio Super Lawyers list in the field of plaintiffs’ personal injury law. Miller has been honored with this selection each year since 2010. Additionally, Miller also was named to Super Lawyers’ 2014 Top 50 List of Columbus lawyers and its Top 100 List of Ohio lawyers.

Alumni Event

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Alumni Event HOODING RECEPTION

JODI MILLER

After the Hooding Ceremony, held at the Mershon Auditorium on campus, graduates and their families headed to Drinko Hall for snacks, drinks, and tours around the building. And, of course, photo ops.

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Class Notes Betsy Luper Schuster ’97 has been appointed by Ohio Gov. John R. Kasich to the Tenth District Court of Appeals, filling the vacancy left behind by the late Peggy L. Bryant ’76. Schuster must run in the November general election to retain the seat for the remainder of the unexpired term, which ends in February 2019. She most recently served as chief elections counsel at the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office and has taught classes as an adjunct professor Moritz and Capital University Law School. Julie M. (Rowe) Young ’99 joined Worley Law, LLC. She specializes in human resources and employment law and serves the firm’s clients by actively partnering with employers to guide them through increasingly complex state and federal workplace rules and regulations. She says her “passion is to help employers proactively avoid employmentrelated problems by focusing on compliance and best legal practices.”

2000s Thomas Wyatt Palmer ’00 was elected partner of Thompson Hine LLP. Palmer is a member of the business litigation group in the Columbus office and advises on matters involving commercial contract disputes, consumer finance litigation, oil and gas rights and lease disputes, breach of fiduciary duty, director and officer liability, trademark and copyright infringement, employer intentional tort, CERCLA, construction contract disputes,

real property tax appeals, shareholder derivative actions, breach of warranty and product defect, FDA regulations, product liability, premises liability, real property tax appeals, and pro bono criminal defense. Byron Dailey ’01 was named a partner in the Seattle office of DLA Piper LLP and was listed as in the Washington edition of Super Lawyers in mergers and acquisitions for 2013 after being listed as a Rising Star from 2010 to 2012. Amie L. Vanover ’01 and her husband, Rick, welcomed their son, Ryker Nathaniel, on Sept. 26, 2013. Ryker joins big sister, Rilee Grace. Vanover is a partner in the Columbus office of Thompson Hine LLP, practicing in estate, trust, and charitable planning and administration. Susan KenneyPfalzer ’02 moved to the Washington, D.C. area to pursue her dream of working with refugees. She works at the nongovernmental organization Ethiopian Community Development Council, assisting in resettling refugees in communities across the United States. Scott Kim ’02 joined Lee Anav Chung White & Kim LLP as a partner. Kim practices M&A, financing and corporate transactions and is based in Los Angeles. His practice is heavily focused on U.S. - Korea cross-border transactions and financing,

renewable energy and on-line game industries. Anthony M. Sharett ’02 recently was reappointed to the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure for a three-year term through 2016. The commission reviews all rules governing practice and procedure in the courts of Ohio and recommends rules and amendments for adoption to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Saber Williams VanDetta ’02 and her husband, Joe, welcomed Luca Thomas to their family in January 2013, joining big sister Olive. VanDetta is a senior associate in litigation in the Cleveland office of Squire Sanders LLP. Sheree M. Edwards ’03 was featured in Essence Magazine’s Bridal Bliss column, which includes a large photo gallery. Edwards married Duriel Q. Garner in a vintage-inspired elegance affair in September.

BIG CASE, BIG DEAL Alan G. Brenner ’83, a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York, was part of a team that recently represented Citigroup and Deutsche Bank and the other initial purchasers in connection with a project bond offering by Fermaca Enterprises, S. de R.L. de C.V. (“Fermaca”) of $550 million aggregate principal amount of 6.375% Senior Secured Notes due 2038 pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S. The Simpson team also represented Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, as lead arrangers, and the other lenders in connection with a $140 million short-term loan incurred in connection with Fermaca’s acquisition by Partners Group, a global private markets investment management firm. Fermaca focuses on the development, ownership and operation of mid-stream natural gas infrastructure in Mexico. Experts reported that the May 2014 deal was the first time project bonds have been used in Mexico to finance a project sponsored by CFE, Mexico’s state power company. Brenner’s corporate practice focuses leveraged finance, project finance, aviation finance, and foreign direct investment. He has broad experience in international project and corporate finance transactions, and has advised financial institutions and sponsors in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Australasia and South Africa. He practiced in Simpson Thacher’s Hong Kong office in the 1990s, and then headed the firm’s Singapore office for six years. Do you have a Big Case or Big Deal to share? Send information to peck.5@osu.edu

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Class Notes Matthew C. Steele ’03 was recently inducted into the Cincinnati Academy of Leadership for Lawyers (CALL). A senior attorney with the Cincinnati office of Miller Canfield P.L.C., Steele and others in this year’s class are working to create a youth court in conjunction with the Hamilton County Juvenile Court, the Chase College of Law, and the University of Cincinnati College of Law. The youth court will work as a diversionary program that allows juveniles charged with certain minor misdemeanors to be “sentenced” by a jury of high school students to community service punishments, rather than be subject to the juvenile court system.

Matt Besser ’04 is thrilled to announce he and his wife, Gayle, welcomed their first child, Sam, in September 2013. Besser is a principal at Bolek Besser Glesius LLC, a Cleveland-area employment discrimination firm representing individuals. Meredith Smith ’04 is the lead Title IX investigator/deputy Title IX coordinator for the University of Connecticut. She is responsible for the investigation and resolution of student-on-student sexual assault, sexual harassment, relationship violence, and stalking reports at the main campus in Storrs as well as six regional campuses across the state. In her role of deputy Title IX coordinator, she will be involved in UConn’s efforts to prevent and

Are you at least 70½? Would you like to help the law school?

Those who are 70½ or older are eligible to transfer up to $100,000 directly from an IRA to The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law without paying income tax on the distribution. This opportunity is available for a limited time! Contributions must be made by Dec. 31, 2014. For more information, contact Senior Director of Development Erin Neal at (614) 247-2538 or neal.277@osu.edu.

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remediate the harm of sexual violence in the undergraduate and graduate student community. She recently completed a Masters in Science in Higher Education Administration in Policy at Northwestern University and previously worked at Dartmouth College in Undergraduate Judicial Affairs. Jason A. Storipan ’04, an associate in the New Jersey office of Fisher & Phillips LLP, was appointed to the board of trustees for the Somerset County Bar Foundation. The foundation, through its board of trustees, oversees activities, fundraising, and the awarding of donations to local nonprofit organizations and scholarships to deserving local New Jersey law school students. Natalie Hostacky Stevens ’05, a senior associate in the Cleveland office of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., was named a 2014 Rising Star by Super Lawyers in the category of employment litigation defense. Stevens focuses her practice on representing employers in all areas of employment law. Kellie Swift ‘05 and Ben Wright ’05, along with big sister, Anna, welcomed Alexandra Nicole to their family on Aug. 27, 2013. They live in Alexandria, Va., where Wright was recently promoted to senior manager with Ernst & Young LLP and Swift practices commercial real estate finance law with Riemer & Braunstein LLP.

Brian A. Bulson ’06 was elected partner in the Cleveland office of Baker & Hostetler LLP. He is a member of the business group, focusing his practice on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, and commercial financing transactions, as well as transactions involving intellectual property. Asim Z. Haque ’06 was named vice chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Haque also had two recent noteworthy speaking engagements in Washington, D.C. The first was at the Bipartisan Policy Center, where he spoke about energy efficiency opportunities for states in meeting the EPA’s greenhouse gas emission reduction regulations, and the second at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, where he testified about reliability of the bulk power system. Gretchen L. Lange ’06 was elected partner in the Cleveland office of Baker & Hostetler LLP. Lange is a member of the litigation group and practices in complex commercial litigation. She previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jack Zouhary, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio. Steve Roach ’06 received the American Numismatic Association’s Presidential Award in recognition of his work as editor-in-chief of Coin World magazine and “for his lifetime of achievements in numismatics.”

Alumni Event BARTON SCHOLARS EVENT

JODI MILLER

In the spring, recipients of the Robert K. Barton Memorial Scholarship gathered with its creator-golf legend Jack Nicklaus. Over the years, the scholarship has helped more than 240 students fund their legal educations. Nicklaus established the scholarship in memory of his good friend Robert K. Barton â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;62, who died in a plane crash en route to see Nicklaus play in the 1966 Masters.

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Alumni Event JUDGE SUTTON EVENT

TODD CALLENTINE

Over the summer, Judge Jeffrey Sutton ’90 of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit sat down with recent Moritz grads from the Columbus area for a frank discussion on the law and legal profession. Sutton was interviewed by Ali Haque ’11 in a lunch hour event hosted by Bricker & Eckler.

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Class Notes Paul Stecker Jr. ’06 is the new law director of Martins Ferry, Ohio. He also serves on the board of directors for the Belmont Technical College Foundation, as a member of the Martins Ferry Lions Club, and as volunteer legal counsel for the Greene County Community Foundation. Jaya White ’06 joined Quarles & Brady LLP as an associate in the health law practice group in its Chicago office. White represents a wide range of healthcare clients on regulatory and transactional matters with a significant emphasis on HIPAA/ HITECH compliance, pharmacy law, and issues involving Medicare conditions of participation and reimbursement. Paul Gaige ’07 married Katherine Britton on May 3, 2014, in Washington, D.C. Peter Merrick ’07, David Easwaran ’07, and Ashik Jahan ’07 were in attendance. Gaige is an account supervisor at Hill + Knowlton Strategies. Katherine is an attorney. The couple lives in Dallas, Texas. Jamie LaPlante ’07 and Timothy LaPlante welcomed boy/ girl twins, Bryson Craig and Kendall Brooke, to their family on July 22, 2013, joining big sister Hadley. Laura G. Readinger ’07 joined the Wilmington, Del. office of Morris James LLP as an associate in the business litigation practice group.

Derek Somogy ’07 joined Caterpillar Inc. in Peoria, Illinois as a patent attorney. He is responsible for business units that develop mining and earthmoving machines. Somogy previously worked for intellectual property boutique firms in Ohio. Casey W. Baker ’08 joined the law firm of Meyers & Neville, LLC in Lawrence County, Ohio. Baker’s practice concentrates in business and corporate matters, contracts, real estate, taxes and estate matters. Sam Hamilton ’08 is the managing attorney for North America for the Voith Group, based in Appleton, Wisc. Hamilton leads the legal team that supports Voith’s business in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Voith is a leader in the energy, oil and gas, paper, raw materials, transportation and automotive markets. Lee D. Heckman ’08 was named partner at Reese, Pyle, Drake & Meyer, PLL in Newark. Heckman maintains a general practice that includes real estate, estate planning, probate, business law, and litigation. He also counsels local banks on a wide variety of issues. Erin Wright Lothson ’08 joined Groupon, Inc. as corporate counsel of intellectual property. She came from DLA Piper LLP, where she was an associate in the intellectual property and technology group.

Tim Clayton ’09 joined the legal department at JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as a vice president and assistant general counsel. Clayton supports the performing servicing area of Chase’s mortgage bank. He previously worked for the Columbus law firm of Luper Neidenthal & Logan, LPA. He and his wife, Dominika, also recently welcomed their first children, twin boys William and Alex. Brian Hoffman ’09 received a passing score on the Ohio Supreme Court Foreign Language Court Interpreter certification exam in December. Hoffman said he is only the second attorney in Ohio to also be a certified court interpreter in the English-Spanish language combination. He is the principal of Brian J. Hoffman LLC, based in Columbus. Michael Jackson ’09 joined the legal department of the McDonald’s Corporation in Oak Brook, Illinois. In his new role, Jackson serves as counsel in the global labor and employment law

department where he counsels the company’s human resources division, franchise owner/operators, and executives on day to day labor and employment matters. Jackson also oversees and manages employment litigation and claims. Prior to joining McDonald’s, Jackson worked as an associate in the Cleveland office of Fisher & Phillips, LLP, a national law firm representing management in all aspects of labor and employment.

2010s

2010s William L. Bartos ’10 and fiancée Andrea C. Testa plan to marry in August in Hubbard, Ohio. Bartos is the director of public services for the City of Canton. Andrew M. Massara ’11 joined Long & Levit in San Francisco as an associate. Massara’s litigation practice focuses on the defense of lawyers and other professionals.

BIG CASE, BIG DEAL Edward S. Toth ’86, a partner in the Troy, Michigan law firm Driggers, Schultz and Herbst, was part of a team that obtained a defense verdict for a major automotive supplier in a federal court lawsuit. The plaintiff, a multinational competitor, sought damages for alleged misappropriations of trade secrets, tortious interference, and unfair competition. Toth’s practice focuses on litigating for and consulting with large and small businesses. Do you have a Big Case or Big Deal to share? Send information to peck.5@osu.edu

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Class Notes Danielle GadomskiLittleton ’11 is a fellow at the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, advocating on behalf of children in foster care. Godomski-Littleton also advocates for foster children with immigration and special education issues. Rob Robol ’12 and his writing partner have attached Cuba Gooding Jr. (“Jerry Maguire,” “Men of Honor”) to their latest film “Gridlocked.” He sold his previous film “Tapped Out,” for which he served as associate producer, staring Michael Biehn (“Aliens”), Cody Hackman and Krzysztof Sosynski (UFC superstar), to Lionsgate. Chelsea Croy ’13 joined the Cleveland office of Tucker Ellis LLP as an associate. Her practice focuses on all aspects of product liability defense and business litigation. Marleen Kindel ’13 joined Faruki Ireland & Cox P.L.L. as an associate. Her practice focuses on business and commercial litigation. Kindel served as a summer associate in 2012 at the firm, which has offices in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. J.T. Larson Jr. ’13 joined the Indianapolis office of Barnes & Thornburg

LLP as an associate and member of the firm’s litigation department. He previously was a summer associate at the firm. Monika (Perry) Luken ’13 married Christopher Luken ’13 on March 29, 2014 in Cincinnati. They currently live in Cleveland. Chris works in real estate and business transactions at Baker & Hostetler and Monika works in franchise law and compliance at Merrymeeting Group. Harrison Markel ’13 joined AmeriCorps VISTA in Buffalo, N.Y., tracking poverty rates in the northwestern part of the state. The data is used to evaluate how past legislation has affected poverty in different communities. Caitlin Murphy ’13 joined the Cincinnati office of Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL as an associate in the firm’s litigation group. Her practice focuses on commercial and securities litigation and class actions. Micah E. Kamrass ’14 is running for state representative in the 28th district of Ohio. He currently works for the Cincinnati firm of Manley Burke and is a small business owner. He has been endorsed by Rep. Connie Pillich and the Ohio Democratic Party.

Catch up on what’s new with classmates all year long. See class notes by year at moritzlaw.osu.edu/alumni/notes.

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YOUNG ALUMNI MIXER Recent graduates from the Central Ohio area braved the Polar Vortex to take a break from their busy legal practices to catch up at the Hubbard Grille in the Short North Arts District.

JODI MILLER

Alumni Event

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Alumni Event PILF AUCTION

JODI MILLER

The PILF Auction this year took over the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Shoe, where the bidding was fierce but the camaraderie was warm. In total, the auction raised more than $30,000, which was used to fund student internships at nonprofits and government agencies over the summer.

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In Memoriam

The Moritz College of Law has received word of the death of the following graduates and former faculty. We express our sympathy to relatives and loved ones.

Beth Ray ’72

Joseph A. Giampapa ’83

Beth Ray ’72 of Corvallis, Ore., died March 21, after an

Joseph A. Giampapa ’83 of Columbus, Ohio passed

extended battle with lung cancer. She was 67. Ray is a former business law professor, academic counselor, and assistant dean of academic advising at The Ohio State University. She graduated from Rice University in 1968 with a bachelor of arts in English and philosophy before going on to attend law school at Stanford University. It was there she met her husband of 44 years Ed Ray, while he was a Ph.D. student in economics. The two were soon married and moved to Ohio, where Beth completed her law degree at Ohio State. In 2003 the couple moved to Oregon after Ed was offered the position of president of Oregon State University. There Beth delved into volunteer work with the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation board, the local symphony, and as a mentor to students at the university. She also served as chair of the Women Investing in Samaritan Health giving circle, which provides support for projects helping women and children in the community. The Oregon State University Student Success Center was renamed the Beth Ray Center for Academic Support in January as a tribute to her lifelong commitment to students. In addition to her husband and, she is survived by their three children, Michael Ray, Katherine Hall, and Stephanie Pritchard, as well as their three grandchildren.

away on March 22. He was 56. After graduating from law school at The Ohio State University, Giampapa practiced law at Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP; and Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, LLP; before joining JPMorgan Chase as a corporate attorney. Outside of the office, Giampapa was an avid cycler and his love for the sport was well known amongst his family and friends. He rode many of the famous Tour de France mountain stages, and in one day climbed all three ascents of Mont Ventoux in the Provence region of southern France. He also climbed the Stelvio Pass in the Eastern Alps of Italy, and, with Thelma, his wife of 16 years, climbed Alpe d’Huez in the Central French Alps. Giampapa and Thelma shared their love of cycling and were often known to ride their tandem bicycle to Yellow Springs, Ohio, to enjoy lunch together at the Winds Café. He also enjoyed music, food, cooking, and windsurfing. He is survived by his wife, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, and cousins.

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Why I give…

Jim Fondriest ’11 The Ohio State University pumps through Jim Fondriest’s blood. He spent a quarter of his life as a Buckeye student. Fifteen of his relatives – siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles – are alumni. As an undergraduate on a path to medical school, he made the switch to law his senior year and has never looked back. His summer spent in the Washington D.C. Summer Program added polish to his resume, and he landed his dream job after graduation. Even though he is early in his career, Fondriest has made it a point to stay connected to Moritz through donations to the law annual fund, visits back to campus to speak to students, and service on the Recent Graduate Council.

“I feel like I received so much from Ohio State that anything I can give, no matter how small, is the least I can do.” HOMETOWN: Massillon, OH CURRENT JOB: Patent counsel in the Beauty and Grooming Division of Procter & Gamble

WHAT YOU WON’T FIND ON HIS RESUME: As the lead North America P&G patent attorney focused on hair color, he often checks out the competition while on a Kroger run. “You’ll often see me in the beauty aisles reading the hair color boxes. I get some interesting looks,” he said.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS: Fondriest is a graduate of the Cincinnati Chamber C-Change Class of 2013, a leadership development program. His class planned projects focused on recruiting and retaining young professionals in the Cincinnati region. Fondriest is also a member of Cincy IP, an organization focused on intellectual property education.

COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS: Fondriest serves as chairman of the board of the Accelerated Achievement Academy of Cincinnati, which focuses on providing a path to high school graduation for students who have dropped out of the Cincinnati Public School system. “I think this is a cutting edge approach to what is happening in education. Without our schools, these students would not have had a high school diploma.” Fondriest also serves on the board of Faces without Places, a nonprofit that provides educational programs to thousands of children experiencing homelessness in the Cincinnati region.

PASSIONS: Science and education. “More than 20 percent of Cincinnati’s students drop out of high school and Cincinnati ranks second in the nation for childhood poverty. I believe that prioritizing education and changing educational policy is the solution to this vicious cycle.”

T H E O H I O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

TO GIVE There are dozens of ways to give back to The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. For more information, visit giveto.osu.edu/moritz. Or send your gift directly to the College at 55 W. 12th Ave., Columbus, OH, 43210. THE LAW ANNUAL FUND Scholarships, clinics, student activities, career services, and faculty scholarships are just a few areas that benefit from this current-use fund. It allows the College to be nimble in meeting needs and create new opportunities. LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIPS A component of our Program on Law and Leadership, these scholarships attract talented students from diverse backgrounds who have demonstrated leadership abilities.

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