fall 2012
Practicing law in an incubator.
10
They Eke it Out!
12
Failing Law Schools...
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02 | Berks Barrister
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fall 2012
The Official Publication of the Berks County Bar Association
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Frederick K. Hatt, President
Eugene Orlando, Jr., President-Elect G. Thompson Bell, III, Vice President James m. smith, Secretary eden r. bucher, Treasurer Andrew S. George, Director Keith Mooney, Director tonya A. butler, Director andrew f. fick, Director karen h. cook, Director Alisa r. hobart, Director Jill M. Scheidt, Past President jacob a. gurwitz, President YLS
BAR ASSOCIATION STAFF
DONALD f. SMITH, JR., Esquire, Executive Director andrea j. stamm, Lawyer Referral/Secretary Karen A. Loeper, Law Journal Secretary Paula j. ziegler, Communications Manager Patsy Page, Bookkeeper Eric J. Taylor, Law Journal Editor Roarke Aston, Law Journal Assistant Editor Matthew M. Mayer, Barrister Editor
Please submit materials or comments to: Berks County Bar Association 544 Court Street, P.O. Box 1058 Reading, PA 19603-1058 Phone: 610.375.4591 Fax: 610.373.0256 Email: berksbar@berskbar.org www.berksbar.org
Thank You
Our thanks are extended to the numerous people who have contributed the Berks Barrister. Your time, energy and efforts are sincerely appreciated. Publisher: Hoffmann Publishing Group Reading, PA | 610.685.0914 | nhgi.net
For advertising information contact BerksBar@nhgi.net
5 6 8 10
The SORNA Nightmare: Trying to Make Sense of It All Practicing Law in an Incubator Courtrooms, Classrooms, and Crossings
20 26 28 30
Young Lawyers vs. Seasoned Lawyers & Judges The Bridge Fund Gives Hope to Local Families Legends of the Bar Program Presidential Award of Merit 2012 Annual Meeting
Departments:
President’s Message: Passing of the Seasons and the Passing of the Medallion ..... 3 Book Review: Failing Law Schools....................................................................... 12
Spotlight on New Members .............................................................................. 16 Miscellaneous Docket ....................................................................................... 18
Restaurant Review: The Pub at Wegman’s in Collegeville .....................................22 Applauding the Pro Bono Team......................................................................... 24 Foundation Updates........................................................................................... 23
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President's Message Frederick K. Hatt, Esquire, 2012 President
Passing of the Seasons and the Passing of the Medallion “Autumn is a Second Spring when Every Leaf is a Flower.” -Albert Camus
T
he Fall of the year brings with it some endings and some beginnings in the passing seasons of the Berks County Bar Association. It is a time to memorialize those Members of the Association who have departed their practice here on Earth, and to welcome, a few weeks later, those who are being admitted to practice for the first time as Members of our community of lawyers. It is also a time of year that the Bar Association commemorates the end of one Presidential Year and the beginning of the next. As I write this column, the Annual Meeting is three weeks away. The Bar Association’s Presidential Medallion will soon be coming out of the vault for the ceremonial passing of Presidential duties to the 80th President of the Association. The passing of the Medallion to the next link in the chain of Bar Presidents brings to a symbolic close the third year of the four year voyage that I, Jill Scheidt before me, and Gene Orlando after me, set out on when we, in our respective years, accepted the honor of nomination as Bar Association Vice President. The most often repeated question to me over the last months has been, “what has your year as
President been like?” My answer has been that the year is really four years. After I get a puzzled look in response, I explain that the Presidency is really a four year commitment, passing through the four offices of Vice-President, President-Elect, President and Immediate Past President. Common to all four years of service is attendance at the monthly meeting of the Executive Committee of the Association, which meets at the beginning of the month, and the monthly meeting of the Board of Directors, which meets at the end of the month. The year of service as Vice President, brings with it the excitement, enthusiasm and energy of beginning the first stage
of Bar Bar Leadership Leadership service. service. It It also also brings brings of with it the very sobering responsibility of with it the very sobering responsibility of chairing the the Berks Berks County County Bar Bar Association Association chairing
Berks Barrister | 3
Email: cwaszkiewicz@financialguide.com Website: www.financialguide.com/Colin- Waszkiewicz
Client Dispute Resolution Committee, and associated brushes with the disciplinary system. The Vice President’s year begins with attendance at the Conference of County Bar Leaders. This exposure to what other Bar Associations are doing around the State, is important to seeing what is on the horizon, but is also a reaffirmation that the Berks County Bar Association is in the forefront of County Associations across the State. Similarly, either as Vice President or President-Elect, the next stage in Bar Leadership training involves attending the American Bar Association Leadership Institute in Chicago. These days of seminars provide an alert to changes to the practice already experienced in some areas of the country, and serve as a guide to handling the issues that may arise in your year as President. As President-Elect the second stage of service begins, and the theme for your year as President begins to take shape. With the creation of the Strategic Plan approved by the Board of Directors in 2011, the President-Elect also has a framework of long term goals that need to be accomplished within the year as President. To accomplish those goals and the overall theme, an army of committee and section chairpersons must be enlisted in the last months of the year as President-Elect. When the year as President arrives as the third phase of the voyage, institutional memory has developed, and there has been some exposure to some of the trials that have faced the Association in the two prior years. Having had the opportunity to watch two Presidents before you lead the Association, makes it easier taking on the responsibility and time commitment of your
4 | Berks Barrister
year at the boat’s tiller. The year as President also gives you a great opportunity to come to know the work of the dedicated members of the Association serving on the committees, sections, and specially created task forces of the Association. It is these people for whom the Association has become intertwined with their practice of law, and with the advancement of their profession. They are the unsung heroes who take the time to get the job done, with few others in the Association realizing the time commitment and the service that was given. The Presidential Awards of Merit, presented at the Annual Meeting, provide the President an opportunity to recognize a few of the many who have served the Bar Association, the profession, the court system and the community. It is also in the year as President when the totality of all the work that the Association’s Staff accomplishes on a daily basis comes into focus. They are a team, and everyone is there to help in their own way with every deadline, every seminar or meeting, and even every phone call. The fourth year and the final phase of leadership service comes as Immediate Past President. I look ahead to that fourth year of service, and the contribution to be made by virtue of having survived the trials of the first three years of service. In the fourth and final year, the Bylaws also give the Immediate Past President one last duty, a vote on the Nominating Committee charged with placing into nomination at the Annual Meeting, the candidacies of the new slate of Officers and Directors of the Association. The Berks County Bar Association has achieved and will achieve much. In the years ahead, I plan to be among the number of Past Presidents, Directors, Committee Members, Section Members, Pro Bono Volunteers, loyal and devoted Staff Members, and Ambassadors of the Profession working to preserve the Association, and in so doing preserve our practices, preserve our honorable profession, preserve our system of justice, and preserve our leadership in the community. I look forward to the improvisation of each new slate of Officers and Directors and each new generation of lawyers in the Association. I know that the Association will continue to play the right notes, keep the right rhythm and set the right tone. This is possible so long as each generation is grounded in the legacy and respect for the timeless, indescribable core of experiences echoing from the past generations of lawyers, who have been the members of the Berks County Bar Association. When the legacy is remembered, each falling leaf becomes a flower, and each ending will transform into a new beginning for the Association.
The SORNA Nightmare: Trying to Make Sense of It All By Alisa R. Hobart, Assistant District Attorney
B
y now, the criminal law practitioners are well aware that substantial amendments were made to Megan’s Law in December 2011 with the enactment of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, otherwise known as SORNA. These changes were made to incorporate the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection Act requirements purportedly before the looming deadline in an effort to avoid the loss of federal funding. As a result of the numerous Adam Walsh Act requirements, and the limited time in which to enact its many provisions, the lengthy legislation contained several unclear provisions. For those of you who attended the Criminal Bench Roundtable at the Bench-Bar Conference earlier this year, you may recall that the discussion on these factors became quite animated, with limited answers and significant concern. Primarily, SORNA closed several loopholes in existing Megan’s Law practice. Pursuant to case law, offenders who qualified as sexually violent offenders (“SVP’s”) in other states were not penalized for failing to register in Pennsylvania. See Commonwealth v. Arroyo, 991 A.2d 951 (Pa. Super. 2010). In addition, in 2009 the Superior Court held that those transient offenders who did not live at a residence for 30 consecutive days or more were not required to register. See Commonwealth v. Wilgus, 975 A.2d 1183 (Pa. Super. 2009), rev’d and remanded, 40 A.3d 1201 (Pa. 2012). SORNA closed both of these loopholes by making the registration requirements applicable in both of these circumstances. In addition, SORNA significantly reorganized the structure of Megan’s Law applicability. While previous Megan’s Law offenders were required to register for 10 years or lifetime dependent upon the nature of the underlying offense and/or SVP status, SORNA created a three tier system of 15-year, 25-year or lifetime registration. 42 Pa. C.S.A. §9799.14. While these new classifications are also dependent largely upon the underlying offense and SVP status, a greater number of offenses now trigger Megan’s Law applicability. For example, while Statutory Sexual Assault did not trigger Megan’s Law prior to SORNA at all, this offense is now a Tier II offense carrying a 25-year registration period where the defendant is at least 8 but less that 11 years older than the victim. Compare 42 Pa. C.S.A. §9795.1 and 42 Pa. C.S.A. §9799.14(c)(1). Thus we must closely review the text of §9799.14 to determine Megan’s Law applicability to the underlying offense. SORNA also restructured the elements of several of the offenses which now trigger Megan’s Law to track the applicability of SORNA by the Sentencing Commission. For example, the kidnapping statute found at 18 Pa. C.S.A. §2901 was amended to add subsection (a.1) regarding the kidnapping of a minor, which is now classified as a Tier III offense carrying a lifetime registration period. Thus even those crimes which are not classic sex offenses may now trigger Megan’s Law requirements. Significantly, SORNA made Megan’s Law requirements applicable to certain juvenile offenders, where previously no Megan’s Law requirements existed. Dependent upon the nature of the offense, the juvenile offender may now be required to comply with Megan’s Law requirements for life. However, the juvenile also has the ability
to petition for release from these requirements upon completion of 25 years without further offenses. Notably, the registry for juvenile offenders is only available to police, not the public, as it is for adult offenders. The most controversial elements of SORNA were the apparent retroactivity provisions. In a nutshell, 42 Pa. C.S.A. §9799.13(2) provides that the new requirements are applicable to any offender who will be serving a sentence of incarceration, probation or parole in largely any form for a sexually violent offense at the time the provisions go into effect on December 20, 2012. However, 42 Pa. C.S.A. §9799.13(4)(ii) provides that SORNA is applicable to any defendant convicted of a sexually violent offense or a felony, without further qualifying language. Thus on its face, the latter provision appears to indicate that the SORNA requirements apply to anyone who has ever had a conviction for a sexually violent offense or a felony as of the effective date. In addition, SORNA was silent as to whether defendants currently registered under Megan’s Law would get credit for this registration time against the longer registration periods required under SORNA. For example, if the defendant has already completed 8 years of registration under a 10-year requirement, do they get credit for those 8 years against the new 15-year or 25year requirements under SORNA? Needless to say, these nebulous provisions created significant questions and controversy for all parties concerned, as the applicability appeared to be almost endless. Fortunately, many of these questions were rectified by the passage of Act 91-2012, which became law on July 5, 2012. The apparent intent was to remedy some of these inconsistencies before SORNA went into full effect on December 20, 2012. In this remedial act, 42 Pa. C.S.A. §9799.13 was modified to make SORNA largely applicable only to current sexually violent offenses, thus removing many questions regarding retroactivity. Thus, SORNA does not apply to those offenders on probation or parole for as non-registration offense at the time of the effective date, even if there was a qualifying SORNA offense in their past. Likewise, if a Megan’s Law offender commits a non-registration offense in the future, after their sentence for the Megan’s Law offense is completed, the SORNA requirements would not be applicable. In addition, Megan’s Law offenders will be credited for any registration time completed against the longer registration requirements under SORNA. However, the additional registration requirements under SORNA are still applicable to any offender serving a Megan’s Law sentence on December 20, 2012. These modifications to SORNA appear to have eliminated most of the controversial questions created during SORNA’s original passage. However, as is the case with any piece of complex legislation, only time will tell if all of the inconsistencies have been remedied. Although I have hopefully hit most of the highlights, unfortunately, this limited article cannot summarize all of the various provisions contained within the hundreds of pages of legislation. Thus, for the time being it seems to be in the best interest of everyone who practices criminal law to become as familiar with many SORNA provisions as possible. Good luck to us all.
Berks Barrister | 5
Practicing Law in an Incubator By Donald F. Smith, Jr., Esquire
Start Incubator’s contract with Marilu includes a “Graduation Agreement,” setting forth a timeline of milestones she must meet so as to be able to graduate and move out of the program within two to three years.
She was required to recruit advisory board members willing to provide advice and guidance. Her board members are Julia Klein, Chairwoman and CEO of C.H. Briggs, Ernie Post, SBDC Director, Scott Schaeffer, Director of Jump Start Incubator, and David Brennan, Esquire, and Tina Raquet from Brennan & Associates, P. C.
Marilu Rodriguez Bauer
H
er law practice is in an incubator and beginning to grow thanks to the Jump Start Incubator initiative of the Kutztown University’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC).
Berks County Bar Association member Marilu Rodriguez Bauer and her law practice, RB Legal Counsel, LLC, entered the program earlier this year after going through a vetting process. As one who had just started a private practice in her home during the fall of 2011, “I pitched to them my business plan, how I was going to market, detailing my objectives, my targeted market and projected costs. I had to prove my potential,” explained Marilu. Once accepted in February 2012, she was offered office space on the third floor of the Berks County Community Foundation. With the Foundation as her landlord, the rent is reasonable and includes the support of the SBDC. She is able to call upon six graduate students for 20 hours of assistance each month to perform marketing research, financial analysis and clerical support. Other firms on the third floor taking advantage of the initiative are Seniors Helping Seniors; High Beta, LLC, a developer of applications and games; and Boxaroo, who leases boxes for moving supplies. Designed to either help a business begin operations or to provide help to a firm in the early stages of formation, Jump
6 | Berks Barrister
Since November of last year Marilu has developed a businessoriented law practice, helping with business formations, contract drafting, negotiating with the city and engaging in “soft” intellectual property law (trademarks, copyrights and licensing). She graduated with a business degree from the University of Puerto Rico, majoring in human resources. She then earned her law degree at Catholic University in Puerto Rico and subsequently earned a master’s degree in intellectual property law at the Franklin Pierce Law Center. Her time in Concord, New Hampshire, brought about other success as well. It was there that she met her future husband, Christian M. Bauer, who is now a patent attorney with Shire Pharmaceutical.
Prior to starting her own practice, Marilu’s work experience was varied. Initially, she worked for about three years as a junior litigator for a law firm in San Juan handling contractual, employment and collection disputes as well as trademark prosecution. Then, after earning her master’s degree, she worked on Medicare fraud litigation as a contract attorney with the U. S. Justice Department in Washington, D. C. Next, she moved to Berks County in 2003 and commuted to work for a Philadelphia law firm representing plaintiffs in security fraud litigation. Three years later she ended the commute and became corporate counsel at Enersys, supporting the business units with contracts and related matters, as well as handling IP issues. “Moving from D.C. to Berks County was a big shock. I really loved living in Alexandria. It has old charm with a modern twist.” What does she think of Berks County now that she
is a solo attorney? “The welcome I have received has been overwhelming. I am very grateful. The feedback has been very positive.”
Marilu’s marketing strategy has been to target the Hispanic community, and it is showing signs of success. “The clients feel relief upon learning they can communicate with me without a language barrier.” Half of her clients have found her through word-of-mouth, a quarter are referred by the SBDC and the balance are retaining her after attending workshops on how to start a business that she does in conjunction with the SBDC, the Latino Business Resource Center and the Latino Chamber of Commerce.
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Marilu senses a greater interest among Hispanics now to start their own business in the City of Reading. Marilu senses a greater interest among Hispanics now to start their own business in the City of Reading. She attributes it to the current state of the national economy and difficulty finding employment. “There are a lot more people willing to take the chance.” She sees her efforts with the workshops as a way to “turn the city around. I do not want Reading to end up in a bigger mess. My helping with any outreach helps everyone, not just me.”
Her educational endeavors in the community also include describing the limitations of notario publicos. “I hammer it at every workshop.” Already in her practice, she has had to fix problems arising from contracts prepared by notaries. She is concerned at the number of Hispanics going to notaries for business formation and even trademark registration and hopes to turn it around. Communication is a big issue and they “think notaries are cheaper, but in the end they get into so much trouble.”
The work she is doing for the community has been recognized by the Latino Chamber of Commerce with her recent election as its board’s vice chair. As for her family, they think she is really cool. Marilu and Christian are the parents of two boys, Gabriel, age 7, and Lucas, age 5.
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After seeing her on our “Ask a Lawyer” television program this past March, which was done entirely in Spanish along with George Gonzalez and Rolando Ramos-Cardona, son Gabriel was impressed. “You are very famous Mom,” he exclaimed! Having achieved some degree of fame, can a successful graduation from the incubator be far behind?!
Berks Barrister | 7
Courtrooms, Classrooms, and Crossings By Pam DeMartino, Esquire
O
nce upon a career, I worked as a Custody/Support Master for the Berks County Court of Common Pleas. On any scheduled hearing date, I walked into the hearing room and enjoyed the respectful greeting of “Your Honor” from a seasoned audience of my peers. I now walk into a different hearing room of sorts where my arrival is largely ignored by the callow offspring of my peers. I teach high school English. I was thirty-nine when I finally decided what I wanted to be when I grew up: a teacher. Not a banking executive or other financier – positions too volatile for my taste. Not an exotic dancer – lucrative pay and easy hours, but too much cosmetic surgery would have been needed. Not an information technology technician – I still don’t own an iPhone, need I say more. No, an educator of children became my vocation of choice because, among other considerations, its altruistic objectives seemed to promise a feeling of sense and sensibility. It is certainly not uncommon for the “mature” learner to realize that saucy titles matter only at cocktail parties with cold-handed strangers and prospective clients. At some point in the game, our legacy begins to preoccupy us more than the desire for celebrity or the ownership of material goods. We start to assess the merit of our daily tasks. Be it a self-reflective turning point or an unforeseen kick from the economy, there are a variety of reasons to open ourselves to the possibility of crossing from one career to another.
I became an attorney during the early eighties when the country had money and the doors to the legal community opened wide for women applicants. During my tenure as a Master, a serious misnomer as I never once considered myself a master at anything, I started to burn out from the legion of families who could not resolve their convoluted issues without the assistance of an overburdened court system. Returning to school to obtain a teaching certification,1 I walked out of my courtroom on a sunny Friday afternoon and into a kindergarten classroom on a stormy Monday morning; can’t get much more symbolic than that. I thereafter spent the next six weeks suffering a type of identity crisis. No longer a practicing attorney and not yet a fully inducted teacher, I couldn’t come to terms with my role in life. Why does our “job” define our status in society? Denote our sense of being? Gripping a Grey Goose one evening, I considered how much counseling I was going to need in order to get through this selfinflicted ordeal, when an epiphany of sorts seared its way down
8 | Berks Barrister
my throat. My conflict came as a result of the ultimatum I had given myself – lawyer or teacher – as if I had forfeited the right to Esquire when I chose to move my quarters into the classroom. However, in crossing over from lawyer to teacher, I had not surrendered my license nor my shingle. I remained an attorney in active status, and still served as counselor, mediator, and advocate, just viewed by the world in a different perspective. Although my legal career spanned sixteen years, I was happiest at its onset when I served as an Assistant District Attorney in Allegheny County. Each day I appeared in various courtrooms juggling guilty pleas, preliminary hearings, and miscellaneous motions. On rare occasions (it was never really like LA Law), I stood before a jury. Reminiscing of those days caused me to identify what aspects of that practice made it so appealing: the unpredictability of each day? the role of presenter? the thrill of victory? Yea, it was all that and some. So my mission became a search for a career where those talents could be best utilized. Hence, teaching.
Today, I have a jury trial everyday where the odds are heavily stacked against me. First, I never get to pick my jury; a computer fills my panels regardless of race or cognitive ability. Second, my case is always too complex for the forty minutes of allotted time. Evidence isn’t always available (depends on the year’s budget), and my jury demands concrete visual evidence presented in high-tech color and with accompanying audio. What made me think that as an English teacher I would be working with books?
Any objections to my case are heard by an administrator whose rulings I don’t always agree with, but whose decisions are binding. Finally, there is the surprise witness who appears out of nowhere to “observe” your case for its merits only to completely derail your timing and preparation. Fortunately, a unanimous jury verdict is not required, a/k/a 100% proficiency rate, until 2014 when all school districts in the country will be graduating inquisitive, selfdirecting, independent learners. Ah, and borrowing from the Bard himself, herein lies the rub. I tell my fellow teachers that if it had not been for the litigants, I would have stayed in the practice of law! So, too, the needs
of our students today exert so much pressure on educators that is often difficult to truly enjoy the art. During this past March, I had the opportunity to hear children’s literature author Pamela Munoz Ryan speak at the Teacher’s College in New York. Reflecting on the challenges of educating today’s students, she voiced her fear that our children’s bedrooms are now filled with trophies but no books. I share this same fear. The technology campaign has convinced a generation that communication should be cryptic, meanings need to be concrete, and response time must be immediate. Reading for understanding is of little necessity in a world where information can be Googled instantly and summarized on a sixth grade level by Wikipedia. Most of my academic students deem reading for pleasure as a ridiculous notion. Our honor students would pick up a book if they didn’t volunteer to be on ten committees, take every AP class offered, and play a varsity sport. Our students just resist focusing on any one idea for any length of time. Good luck empaneling a jury with this generation of arbiters!
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If you’re looking for a one-to-one relationship backed by a unique So when the dog bites and the bee combination of knowledge, experience and resources, you’ll stings and I’m feeling sad, I cross back appreciate the Connors approach. over to the legal side of my world by attending CLE workshops and various Bar Association functions. I am always in attendance at the annual Bench Bar Conference. I have also saturated myself in Special Education law because of my work with the ever-increasing number of Registered Investment Advisor students with special needs. This year, as 1210 Broadcasting Road, Suite 200 a member of our county’s local chapter of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania 19610 the American Inns of Court, I agreed to 610-376-7418 • www.connorsinvestor.com captain a team, which position granted me the discretion of choosing my team’s program. I found a presentation on oral fashion. I carry these intangible belongings now as I cross back advocacy skills set against the backdrop of the play Macbeth...I and forth between two professions landing safely, and quite teach Macbeth...I’ll just call this one a gift from God. happily, on either side. Crossings can prove challenging, especially mustering the courage to make the journey in the first place. However, my experience convinces me that we can journey out of our realm of familiarity and acquire experiences and insight that may result in a departure from our current professions, or they may work to expand and complement the work we now do. The past nine years of teaching have unraveled folds of mystery and intrigue that continue to call upon my lawyering skills, albeit in a different
1 For those of you who know or live with an educator, try explaining the practice of law with this analogy. Practicing law is like having parentteacher conferences every day, all day. Every conference is about a problem that the child is either having or causing, none of which the parents believe is their fault or responsibility. And your failure to swiftly and completely remedy the situation (in the parents’ favor) will damn you on all of the social networks as well as with your supervising partners.
Berks Barrister | 9
Young Lawyers eke Out Victory over the Seasoned Lawyers and Judges
Showing good form is Sarah Rubright McCahon
Top: Bill Rush with an impressive batting stance Right: Eric Gibson and Kevin Moore Below: Ron Cirba and Tim Bitting
Right: No bench for the Bench (L-R):Â Judge Fehling, Judge Lash, Judge Rowley and Andy Howe
10 | Berks Barrister
Surely the President Judge is not alerting the second baseman to a possible steal by Joe Bradica?
Strategizing (L-R): Kurt Geishauser, Pat Barrett, and PJ Schmehl
Right: It took extra innings but the youngsters won again. Accepting the President Judge’s Cup is Jason Ulrich
Part of the winning team (L-R):Â Ken Kelecic, Bill Rush, Joe Bradica (have you seen what he drives?) and Eric Taylor
Yes, that is 50-year member Jack Linton in yellow. He is a player!
Book Review
Failing Law Schools By Brian Z. Tamanaha Reviewed by Peter G. Glenn, Esquire
P
rofessor Brian Z. Tamanaha’s Failing Law Schools, does not argue that American law schools fail to provide good education about the law or that they fail to equip young lawyers with fundamental professional skills, although Professor Tamanaha might agree to some extent with each of those criticisms. Instead, Failing Law Schools argues that American law schools are unnecessarily expensive and that there is a “disconnect between the cost of a legal education and the economic return it brings...” to the average law school graduate. This thesis is currently of interest because the recent economic recession has exposed some structural characteristics of the markets for legal services that have resulted in a decline in the number of legal jobs and the end of the era of ever increasing first year associate salaries. But, just as Professor Tamanaha predicted, there is concrete evidence, in the form of both declining law school applications and declining enrollments, that an understanding of the
12 | Berks Barrister
imbalance between the expense and the economic value of a law degree has become sufficiently widespread to have stimulated the beginnings, at least, of market-force corrections.
Professor Tamanaha’s argument should be understood with two important thoughts in mind. First, although he asserts that law schools “fail” their students by creating and perpetuating the “disconnect” between the cost and the economic return of a legal education, Tamanaha sensibly does not argue that the expense of legal education is a cause of the recent reduction in the number of legal jobs or in law firm associate compensation; Failing Law Schools is a description of correlation rather than an argument about causation. Second, apart from data derived from recent events and the clarity and thoroughness of his discussion, little of Tamanaha’s argument is new. As he acknowledges, the high cost of obtaining an American law degree has long been
correlated with a market based social problem: our inability to provide legal services for all of our citizens. Moreover, for years observers have argued that the costs of legal education have been driven higher by regulation, the pernicious effects of the competition for U.S. News & World Report rankings, and by the costs of acquiring and retaining large and well paid faculties who do too little teaching. And, although Tamanaha makes this point quite vividly, it is not news that the economic structure of legal education is supported by subsidies, from federal taxpayers to student loan markets, and, with borrowed funds, from law students to highly-paid law faculties, and from students with average or below average admissions credentials to more highly credentialed students who receive merit scholarships.
It might be thought that because law school annual tuition charges typically do not exceed the tuition rates of many private undergraduate colleges, there is nothing inherent in legal education that accounts
for high tuition rates. Professor Tamanaha ultimately concludes that both law schools and undergraduate schools can charge whatever the market will bear in return for the reputational and credential value of the degree being offered. But along the way he explores, in the most interesting parts of his book, what he sees as particular features of legal education that account for the high expense of operating law schools, especially the expense of maintaining a large and wellcompensated faculty.
Professor Tamanaha first argues that a system of selfregulation — the accreditation process of the American Bar Association — in which law professors and law school deans participate, historically created the entrenchment “of a culture within legal academia that presumes that a legitimate law school must be academically oriented”, which in turn, in Tamanaha’s view, means that “law schools are run for law professors...” who operate in an environment in which the ordinary “norms and incentives that govern workplaces” do not operate. Although overstated, this argument is based primarily on an interesting discussion of the largely successful 1995 United States Department of Justice antitrust attack on the ABA accreditation system and the changes that resulted from that litigation, which, as Professor Tamanaha acknowledges, put the use of accreditation to benefit faculty “in the past.” Failing Law Schools moves from a discussion of regulation to a very critical discussion of law faculties and from there to a description of some of the effects of the US News rankings. I would organize the discussion differently because I think an understanding of the world of law professors is best achieved by first understanding one of the possible effects of the US News ranking system on the culture of legal education and the decisions made by deans and faculties regarding hiring, faculty workload, curricula, and, ultimately, spending.
Professor Tamanaha structures his discussion of effects of the US News rankings by beginning with a thorough and very disturbing discussion of allegations of what can only be called corruption in legal education: claims that law schools have falsely reported postgraduate employment data and entrance credentials in order to gain points in the US News ranking formula. (Both the University of Illinois and Villanova have admitted to having falsified entrance credential data.) Tamanaha also discusses the use of a loophole in the US News formula: Until a few years ago, the only LSAT scores that counted in the rankings formula were the scores of the fulltime firstyear students. Several law schools cleverly decided that they could improve their reportable LSAT scores without significant loss of revenue by establishing a “parttime” program in which students with LSAT scores below the school’s target median would be invited to enter law school with a firstyear
curriculum reduced by one course. This gave the selected students “parttime” status which meant that their LSAT scores were not reportable; these students were then permitted to “catchup” with their classmates and to graduate in the typical three years. The effect of this gaming of the system was to improve the school’s reported LSAT scores and thus to misstate the test score credentials of the students actually enrolled in the school’s firstyear courses. A variation on this theme is what Tamanaha calls the “ubiquitous transfer phenomenon” in which schools seeking to maintain total revenue while maximizing their reported LSAT scores reduce the size of their entering classes and then admit many applicants as transfer students into their rising secondyear classes; again there is what has been described as “LSAT free tuition” revenue because second-year student LSAT scores are not reportable.
Although his discussion of the effects of US News on data reporting is interesting and sadly instructive, Professor Tamanaha also explores the relationship between the US News rankings formula and law school decisions about faculty hiring, expectations, and workload. Professor Tamahana’s critique of law faculties begins with the observation that for most of the 20th century the standard teaching load for most law professors was four semester long courses per thirty week academic year (12 or 13 credit hours). However, during the last two decades at many law schools the standard annual teaching load has been reduced to three semesterlong courses. The reason given for reduced teaching assignments is to increase the scholarly output of the faculty; the assumption being that time not spent preparing for class or with students will be spent on scholarly activity. Professor
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Tamanaha does an excellent job of establishing that, as a generalization, the assumption underlying the teaching-loadreduction is false: scholars are likely to continue to be scholars even if they teach four courses and nonscholars are not likely to become scholars because they teach three rather than four courses per year.
been in some degree of tension with the teaching mission of the law schools, has become solidly preeminent. Law faculties pride themselves on the number of their members who have earned Ph.D. degrees in other disciplines in addition to (or sometimes in substitution for) law degrees. Theoretical and interdisciplinary articles pour forth from the law schools but it is by no means clear that the torrent of writing has much of an impact on the practice of law or the distribution of justice. Professor
Teaching assignment reductions are part of the evidence that during the past 20 years or more, the “academic” or scholarly side of legal education, which always has
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Tamanaha reports on a study of 385,000 law review articles that found that 40 percent of the articles were never cited in other articles and that 80 percent of the articles were cited in other articles fewer than ten times.
It is not Professor Tamanaha’s purpose to argue that scholarship is not a valuable product of legal education. He argues instead that the publication of massive amounts of scholarship by law professors comes at a considerable cost. That cost, according to Professor Tamanaha, is the result of larger than necessary faculties who are unnecessarily paid more than equally well-credentialed faculty in other university departments, and who are given unnecessary reductions in teaching load in order to stimulate the production of scholarship, only a portion of which is especially valuable. And the cost of that scholarship is borne by law students in the form of higher tuition charges.
Failing Law Schools does not completely explain why scholarship has become the predominant value in legal education. Part of the reason for the current culture of scholarship is that many law professors choose to believe that: (i) their status as professionals is tied to their law school’s rank in the US News list; (ii) the US News ranking of their law school appears to depend heavily on the law school’s reputation among academics; and, (iii) the law school’s reputation among academics in turn depends on the amount and quality of scholarship produced by the school’s faculty. There is a rational but ultimately superficial and faulty basis for this set of beliefs: the US News methodology gives reputation among academic respondents to the US News survey a weight of 25% in the overall ranking system. Thus if one believes that the academic respondents to the US News survey are knowledgeable about the recent scholarly output of every law faculty and respond to the reputational survey on the basis of that knowledge, it is easy to conclude that scholarship is essential to a high US News rank.
The problem with this line of reasoning, of course, is that it rests on a flawed assumption: the academic survey respondents cannot be expected to know in any detail about the publications of every
a seemingly objective and rational basis for concluding that scholarship should be the predominant value in the law schools. And once that cultural path has been chosen for that reason, the age-old process of hiring as self-replication acquires an external justification and faculties consistently hire, as Professor Tamanaha notes, by people who are more inclined to think of themselves as scholars than as lawyers or teachers and who have demonstrated their eligibility for faculty positions by the articles they have written rather than by the law they have practiced.
law faculty and most of their responses are more likely to be based on some general knowledge about existing reputation or on the basis of knowledge about student credentials, information that is far more accessible than information about the publication records of an entire faculty. Moreover, a careful analysis of the US News ranking formula suggests that it is LSAT scores rather than academic reputation that account for most of the variation in law school rankings. Professor Tamanaha cites a study showing that 90% of the variation in rankings results from differences in reported LSAT scores. Although LSAT scores nominally count for only 12.5% in the US News formula, the scores have greater actual value because there is some correlation between LSAT scores and law school grades and between law school grades and post-graduate employment opportunities and bar passage rates which are also factors in the rankings formula. The effect of this is, in effect, to count LSAT scores more than once in the final calculation. But so long as it is possible to believe that reputation among academics is the key to US News survey success, and that reputation among academics as measured in that survey is based on knowledge of current law faculty scholarship, the US News survey provides
Whatever the combination of reasons for legal education’s dominant culture of scholarship, it is, as Professor Tamanaha describes, expensive to support faculties that have expectations of reduced teaching assignments, who insist on the addition of seminars and courses to the curriculum that do more to support their individual scholarly interests than to provide a necessary component to student education, and who, because they are thought to have made a sacrifice by choosing academia over law practice, have persuaded law schools and universities that they should be paid accordingly, even if their salaries are considerably higher than salaries in other academic disciplines. Failing Law Schools persuasively argues that many law schools are unnecessarily over-priced. Professor Tamahana admits that he has no easy solution for the general problem. His book, however, includes some very good suggestions for how prospective law school applicants might perform cost/benefit calculations regarding their choices to attend law school at all and, if so, which law schools to attend. For those suggestions alone, Failing Law Schools is of considerable value and I would recommend it to prospective law students. The book is also of value to those of us who have completed law school. I confidently predict that within the next decade many of us will learn of some possibly surprising changes at our legal alma maters, many of which will be attempts by our law schools to deal with the challenges created by the disconnect between the cost and the economic return of a law degree. Although some of the
information and a few of the ideas in Failing Law Schools will be overtaken by events, familiarity with Professor Tamanaha’s observations will enable us to respond constructively to proposed changes in legal education.
There are no simple solutions to the dilemma described by Professor Tamanaha. However, the logic of his argument leads to the conclusion that a reduction in the size of law faculties, a reduction in individual faculty compensation, leaner curricula and higher teaching load assignments, even at the cost of some reduction in scholarly output, are components of a possible solution. Professor Tamahana suggests that consideration be given to a formal differentiation of law schools, with some law schools continuing to adhere to the culture of scholarship while others concentrate on teaching and skills training. More dramatically, but in my view, sensibly, he suggests that consideration be given to providing for two- rather than three-years of legal education or, more dramatically yet, that we consider whether the United States should join the majority of other nations in which law study is accomplished at the undergraduate level. Solutions to the problem are not, in my judgment, likely to be discovered or implemented by legal academics alone; members of our profession, acting as alumni, as donors, as judges, as regulators, as fiduciaries, and as advisors, will be called upon to help solve the problem of the disparities between the cost and the value of law education. If I am right about this, Failing Law Schools is a book that should be part of our collective professional conversations.
Editor’s Note: Peter G. Glenn is Stevens & Lee’s General Counsel, responsible for lawyer recruiting and professional development programs. He had served as Dean and Donald B. Farage Professor of Law at The Dickinson School of Law of The Pennsylvania State University for eight years, and has taught on the law faculties of the University of South Carolina, Case Western Reserve University, Washington and Lee and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Berks Barrister | 15
Spotlight on New Members By Donald F. Smith, Jr., Esquire Alexander J. Elliker has an undergraduate degree from The Pennsylvania State University and a law degree from Duquesne University. He is a certified teacher and is currently busy with substitute or guest teaching in Berks schools but has also been doing volunteer legal work. In the past, Alex has been a legal intern for sports and entertainment agent, tax and securities practicums and a criminal defense attorney. While in law school, he taught mathematics at a youth rehabilitation organization in Pittsburgh. Interestingly, while in high school Alex taught at a Guatemalan orphanage. His interests outside of work are tennis, golf, football weekends and “grilling great food.” A native of Lancaster County, David N. Peris is the law clerk to the Honorable Paul M. Yatron. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University with an undergraduate degree in geography and a Master of Public Administration. Before going on to law school, David worked for two years as an urban planner. While earning his Juris Doctor degree at the J. Reuben Clark Law School of Brigham Young University, he clerked with a general litigation firm in Utah, primarily focusing on zoning and municipal matters. David is married to Sarah, who is a freelance editor, and they have two beautiful daughters, Madeline, age 3, and Violet, age 1. He enjoys camping as a scout leader and commuting on bike from their home in Wyomissing.
In Memorium...
Mervin A. Heller, Jr. Mervin A. Heller, Jr., 65, passed away on August 21, 2012. Mr. Heller graduated from Reading High School, from East Stroudsburg University and then received his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Mr. Heller practiced law in Berks County for
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over thirty-five years and served as the Managing Partner of Leisawitz Heller from 2005 to 2008. In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Heller was also very involved with the sport of tennis. Mr. Heller began work with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in 1974 and ultimately served as Chairman of the Board and President of the USTA from 2000-2002. In 1995, Mr. Heller was honored with the USTA/MSTA Media Award for outstanding contributions to tennis through the media. In 1998, he was inducted into the USTA Middle States Hall of Fame and in 2003 he received the prestigious Samuel Hardy Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame for long and outstanding service to tennis. In 1992, Mr. Heller established the Berks County Tennis Association and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 1998. In 1999, the Reading Eagle-Times recognized Mr. Heller as one the 50 most influential sports figures over the past 50 years in Berks County
and in 2009, he was elected to the Berks County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Mr. Heller was also very active in his hometown of Reading and the surrounding community. For over ten years he served on the Board of Directors and as legal counsel to the Berks County Chamber of Commerce. He was also a former Chairman and former Finance Chairman of the Berks County Republican Party. Mr. Heller was also actively involved with numerous charitable and not for profit organizations including, the Greater Berks Development Fund, the American Heart Association, Leadership Berks, the Children’s Home of Reading, the American Red Cross – Berks County Chapter, the Berks Area Reading Transportation Authority and the Greater Reading Economic Partnership. Mr. Heller is survived by his wife, Jan, his daughters, Marnie Healey, Christina Heller, Katie Heller and Jenna Berninger and his grandchildren, Ana and Vieve Healey.
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Berks Barrister | 17
Chip Lutz won his second straight British Senior Open Amateur Championship, played at Machynys Peninsula in South Wales. Also, this past summer Chip had been low amateur in the Senior British Open at Turnberry. He is with Sentry Abstract.
to eline, was born A daughter, Mad , ife w s hi rmel and Thomas A. Rothe ith w is m To . ber 12 Jenna, on Septem s. Bingaman Hes
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Assistant Public Defender Amy J. Shaffer married Assistant District Attorney Igor Litinov on August 4. Could we have the making of a sequel to the film classic, Adam’s Rib starring Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy as husband and wife and as opposing attorneys in criminal court?
Assistant Public Defender Roarke Aston is the father of Annabella, born on July 30. Roarke is also Assistant Editor of the Berks County Law Journal.
Exchanging wedding vows on August 3 was Masano Bradley’s E. Michael Zubey, Jr. and Catherine DelPrete.
On October 15, Jacob Gurwitz and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed their first child, daughter Gabrielle Nechama. Her application to join the PBA’s YLD Section in 2037 is pending. Jacob is the president of the Berks County Young Lawyers’ Section while also serving as chair of the PBA’s Young Lawyers Division.
John M. Stott of Brumbach, Mancuso & Fegley, P. C., was recently honored by the Reading-Berks Basketball Old-Timers with an honorary member award. Old-timer?
Karl P. Voigt, IV is the father of Romeo, born on September 9. His son’s name is pronounced “RoMAYo” and means “citizen of Rome.” Karl is with Prince Law Offices.
While John was a student at Reading High School, he played basketball under the legendary Pete Carril. He continued to play hoops at Gettysburg College where he captained, and then during law school at Dickinson, John officiated games in the Harrisburg area for extra money. Following graduation in 1972, he played in Reading leagues and was on several city championship teams. A frequent loser to the teams John played on, Clifford LePage, says that John “was the best all-around player in the City.”
This year’s recipient of the Berks Connections/ Pretrial Services’ s Forrest G. Schaeffer Court System Award is the Honorable Peter W. Schmehl. He was recognized for “his 20 years of outstanding leadership within the local justice system and community, in particular for his advocacy and commitment to Berks County Treatment Courts.” Judge Schmehl has previously been honored with the Berks County Prison Society’s W. Richard Eshelman Award, the Caron Foundation Legal/Law Enforcement Professional Award and the Pennsylvania Psychological Association Public Service Award.
Joseph A. and wi Guillama fe, Dan ielle, welcom ed Alexan son der on Septem ber 1. J oe is with B ent Offices, ley Law P. C.
Alexa S. Antanavage of Antanavage, Farbiarz & Antanavage has been appointed to the Advisory Council of Women2Women.
Berks Barrister | 19
The Bridge Fund Gives Hope to Local Families In 2003, the Berks County Community Foundation and what was then known as the Berks County Bar Foundation created a charitable fund to help children, teens and families find their way out of the Berks County court system. The idea was that, in some cases, a small amount of money could make the difference for a child or family at risk of foster care placement or a life of delinquency.
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ince that time, the fund has provided more than $55,500 in grants to more than 150 families. Grants from the Bridge Fund are recommended by social workers or agents of the court system and are approved by a judge on a case-by-case basis. The fund is not meant to provide continual support, but rather to “bridge” a gap in service, spark passion for a hobby, and, ultimately, keep families together or young people out of trouble.
Keeping Families Together It was nearly Christmas in 2009, when Amanda Zerr, a social worker from Berks County Children and Youth Services, reached out to a judge about an eightyear-old girl who needed to see a hearing specialist because she failed a hearing exam at school. The girl’s mother didn’t have health insurance or the money necessary
20 | Berks Barrister
for the appointment, and because of their citizenship status, neither the mother nor the girl were eligible for government assistance. If the mother couldn’t pay for the exam, the girl would be placed in foster care.
Zerr asked the judge to recommend a grant from the Bridge Fund for $120 to pay for the girl’s appointment.
“The child really struggled before she was able to see the hearing specialist,” Zerr said. “The grant not only helped her at school, but also at home.” Grants from the Bridge Fund have helped hundreds of children stay with their parents since it began almost a decade ago. For example, one early grant went to a single father who was worried about losing his three, four-and-six-year-old daughters to foster care. Each night, he dropped the girls off at the Second Street Learning
Center while he worked full-time on the graveyard shift. While he could pay for their overnight care, he couldn’t afford the extra payments that would allow the girls to stay at the center until noon so he could sleep.
The father applied for assistance through the Berks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU), but the waiting list for funding was up to three months long. His social worker sent a letter to the judge asking for help from The Bridge Fund to pay for childcare until BCIU funding came through. The judge signed off on a $300 grant, providing five weeks of childcare and allowing the girls to stay with their father.
Helping Juveniles Find a New Path Earlier this year, a young man who was part of the juvenile probation system
faced a setback that could have pushed his life into a tailspin. His parents were in a serious car accident that left them alive, but critically injured. The young man’s caseworker recognized his passion for art and asked the judge to recommend a grant from the Bridge Fund to pay for art supplies. A judge recommended a $137 grant to pay for an easel, paint and brushes. “The grant greatly helped my son,” said the child’s mother, who was unable to work for a period of time after the accident. “It gave him a positive activity to do instead of doing the things he used to do. He still enjoys painting and is now out of the juvenile court system.”
How The Bridge Fund Works The Bridge Fund provides grants to meet critical needs for children or those responsible for their care who are under the
jurisdiction of Berks County judges. Over the years, the fund has provided grants for counseling services and evaluations, security deposits, bed bug extermination, school uniforms, heating oil and other critical, immediate needs.
The criteria was recently expanded to include items, activities and rewards for juveniles where the judge believes the grant will increase the likelihood that the child will remain on the path to becoming a lawabiding, successful adult. Grants are requested in writing by a judge, probation officer, or an agent from children and youth, mental health, legal or domestic relations services, and mailed to the family or juvenile court judge directly involved. The judge evaluates the request, and if appropriate, signs off and faxes a recommendation to Berks County Community Foundation. The Community
Foundation reviews the request and, if approved, processes the grant and sends a check to the provider of the service.
How You Can Help The Bridge Fund is able to make a difference in our community because of continuing donations from the Law Foundation of Berks County and Berks County Community Foundation. Your gifts to the Law Foundation in response to its annual giving campaign and your support for the Holiday Benefit Luncheon on December 7, 2012, allow for these important grants to continue.
A direct tax-deductible donation to the Bridge Fund may be made by mailing a check to The Bridge Fund at Berks County Community Foundation, 237 Court Street, Reading, PA 19603-0212. Donations can be made online at www.bccf.org.
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Berks Barrister | 21
Enjoy Fine Dining in a Grocery Store By Susan N. Denaro, Esquire
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couple of weeks ago, my father asked me if I could help him pick a restaurant between Philadelphia and Reading to meet some family for dinner. The look of surprise and “why didn’t I think of that” was obvious when I suggested they hook up at the Pub at Wegman’s in Collegeville.
Although Wegman’s has lots of great options for eating in the store, eating in the Pub has become a favorite routine of ours. When I worked as an attorney in Rochester, NY in the late 1980’s, Wegman’s was my local grocery store so shopping at Wegman’s is a little like going home again. The in-store Chinese Buffet was very popular because it was run by the best Chinese restaurant in town, The Wokery, and the dishes served hot and fresh there were based upon those served in the restaurant. Decades later, the eat-in/carry-out foods are as good as I remember but the options now seem unlimited. While the oriental food is still pretty tasty, I trend toward the fairly new Indian food buffet. Wegman’s spends a lot of time researching food trends and according to my in-store source, Indian food is going to be one of the next popular trends in the U.S. While it’s not the8best Indian food I’ve had, the cauliflower and the chickpea dishes are very tasty. For hearty appetites, another option worth checking out is the submarine sandwiches served on freshly baked rolls. I have a college friend who must have one whenever she is near a Wegman’s store. One night, when we didn’t feel like schlepping our food around on trays to a table, we meandered into the Pub and our experience was so surprisingly good, we’ve gone back several times since. My favorite dish there is an appetizer plate of fresh asparagus with lump crabmeat and triangles of warm Naan bread. Just a squeeze of a lime wedge is all that is needed to make
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the light dish zing. My only complaint is that it needs to be a bigger serving than just an appetizer size. When the blood orange beer is on tap, I am a happy camper. With food this good, it’s easy to forget that one is eating in a grocery store.
Another Pub favorite of mine are the thinnest battered green shards they call zucchini fries. Had the asparagus and crab serving size been larger, I would never have thought to order the zucchini fries to augment my meal.zWhile I blame Wegman’s 7 for my lack of will-power, it’s really not a complaint as these fries are really enjoyable if you like zucchini. The Pub menu is segmented into several tasty categories: Best of the Season which features things highlighted in the store’s Menu Magazine and some unusual offerings such as a grilled peach and tofu salad which is served over arugula with shaved parmesan. The Snacks, Sharings and Pairings section heavily features all the fried things that are not good for us but hard to resist. The Sandwiches section ranges from corned beef on rye to lobster rolls. The Naan Pizzas section is pretty self-explanatory. Diners with bigger appetites would be well served to pay attention to the Pub Plates offerings ranging from scallops to lamb chops. The heartiest and most satisfying offering is probably the prime rib, which has always been served to us exactly as ordered. For those who are not interested in the beers on tap, there are Signature Cocktail offerings and a decent bar selection. The only unnerving part of the menu is that all the calorie counts for the food are listed. Those zucchini fries with the horseradish cream dipping sauce come in at a whopping 340 calories, which you can justify by telling yourself you will share them with the others at the table.
Wegman’s certainly knows how to market itself. All the sauces and most of items served in the Pub are available for sale in the store, which is a great place to walk off some of the calories counted and consumed in the Pub. The thought that the ingredients are so fresh I think helps add to the perfection of the meals we’ve eaten there. The burgers are always juicy and the crab cakes are noteworthy too. The only disappointment we’ve been served was a chicken breast sandwich which was over-cooked and more than a little dry.
The prices 10are reasonable, probably because the food supplier cost most restaurants have to incur has been eliminated. Also keeping the cost down is that no tipping is allowed. The seating, however, is a little cramped and the staff works hard to keep the tables turning. It is not really a place to linger during peak meal times. Ironically, when the family member called Dad to finalize their plans to meet, before Dad could state the Pub as his choice, the party on the other end of the phone suggested it. The best part about sending him there for dinner was that he remembered to pick up the dozen bagels I requested. Editor’s Note: Susan N. Denaro, Esquire, is a partner at Rabenold Koestel Scheidt and a gourmet cook.
Law Foundation of Berks County 2012 Annual Giving Campaign
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The Law Foundation of Berks County’s 2012 Annual Giving Campaign is continuing. As of October 24, those listed below have graciously given to the Foundation. If you have not already given, contributions may be sent to Law Foundation of Berks County, P. O. Box 1058, Reading, PA 19603. Law Foundation of Berks County and The Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants Reading Chapter cordially invite you to attend the 5th Annual
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1741 Papermill Road, Wyomissing, PA 19610
G. Thompson Bell, III Howard and JoAnn Lightman (in memory of Judge Arthur Ed Saylor) Jeffrey K. Sprecher
Featuring keynote speaker, Larry Andersen former Phillies relief pitcher and current radio broadcaster Proceeds in part this year benefit the Children’s Home of Reading’s Educational Program.
Jim & Kathy Snyder John C. Bradley, Jr. Terry D. Weiler
Partner ($100 to $249) James Polyak Antanavage, Farbiarz & Antanavage, PLLC Jesse L. Pleet, Esquire Bonnie Hartman Jill Scheidt Chris G. Kraras Joanne Judge Connors Investor Services, Inc. Judge Scott D. Keller Daniel & Jennifer Nevins Mark S. Caltagirone, CPA Daniel P. Becker, Esq. and Dr. Stephanie R. Mary Ann Ullman Becker Mauro & Angel Cammarano East Penn Manufacturing Co. Inc. Merle & Wendy Dunkelberger (in Frances Aitken memory of the Hon.Thomas M. Golden) James A. Gilmartin
Miller Law Group, PLLC Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Martell Ned Ehrlich Pamela A. DeMartino Patrick Donan Scott C. Painter, Esquire Sodomsky & Nigrini Susan E.B. Frankowski
Associate
Berks Barrister | 23
APPLAUDING THOSE ON THE
PRO BONO TEAM On October 23, as part of national Pro Bono Celebration Week, the BCBA honored its Pro Bono Team members with a special luncheon featuring Governor Dick Thornburgh as keynote speaker, an afternoon of seminars and a concluding reception. The team includes those members who volunteer their services to represent the indigent, those who pay the optout fee and those who serve as conciliators in the Foreclosure Diversion Program.
Below: President Judge Schmehl conversing with the former Governor and United States Attorney General
Top: BCBA President Fred Hatt, Governor Dick Thornburgh and PBA President Tom Wilkinson
Right: President Wilkinson presenting the PBA 2012 Pro Bono Award to Amy B. Good
Below (L-R): Mike Boland, John T. Forry, BCBA Vice President Tom Bell and Tom Beaver
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MidPenn Managing Attorney Carrie Bowmaster, Pro Bono Coordinator Eileen Blekicki, Alexandra Roberts and Kerlyn Ceballos of MidPenn’s support staff
Scott Jacobs and Aaron Bell
Dave Miller and Scott Hoh John Carlson, BCBA Secretary Jim Smith, Gary Dorsett, Shawn Lau and Kim Lengert
More MidPenners: Sitting – Nolan Meeks and Rose Horne (Paralegal); StandingJudy Kline and Maureen Belluscio
MidPenn Paralegal Marie Becroft-Sweitzer, Steve Antwine and Rolando Ramos-Cardona
Herb Karasin, Liz Ebner, Ryan McAllister and Dan Nevins
Amy Miller, Andy Fick, Adam Levin and Eric Winter
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Tales of an Overpriced Ring and a Lost Transcript Make for a Legendary Evening By Matthew M. Mayer, Esquire
T
he Bar Association’s famous Legends of the Bar Program continued on September 20, 2012 with The Honorable Albert A. Stallone and Jay N. Abramowitch being honored. These two legends regaled a standing room only crowd with their renowned stories from atop the bench and as a trial lawyer in front of the bench.
Judge Stallone started the afternoon off by recounting the definition of a “legend.” As defined by Webster’s Dictionary, a legend is a story coming down from the past, especially one popularly regarded as historical although not always verifiable. This was a perfect backdrop for the litany of “legendary stories and anecdotes” that the Judge and Jay recounted for the members in attendance. After being introduced by Jay, Judge Stallone recounted the early days of his career under the tutelage of his preceptor, Dave Levan. Dave Levan made many lasting impressions upon the then young lawyer, the first of which was when he gave him a spiral notebook with the instruction to meet every lawyer in the Bar Association and take notes on each in the notebook. Dave’s lessons continued with a late night trip to Dave’s basement where he and the future judge stood by the light of a flashlight as they watched Dave’s electric meter spin round and round while the preceptor explained the concept of “overhead.”
When Judge Stallone opened his Reed Street office, he had a client who was seeking to borrow $75 from then-attorney Stallone as the client was broke and his job would not pay him until the end of the summer. Over his secretary’s protests, the Judge met with the gentlemen and his first question to him was “why did you come to see me?” The gentleman’s response was, “did you ever think the Lord sent me to see you?” Not wanting to tempt fate for a mere $75, Judge Stallone quickly gave him the money! Another comical anecdote shared by Judge Stallone involved “Lily” a widow in Shillington for whom then-attorney Stallone was managing her financial affairs. Lily hounded Judge Stallone about the fact that he hadn’t given his wife a diamond ring yet. She even offered to give him her old diamond ring, but the Judge refused and advised her to get it appraised and he would
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buy it from her. Lily went to Diller’s Jewelers and then showed the appraised value to Judge Stallone, who was shocked! Lily was prepared for this reaction and offered to allow the Judge to pay her $100 a month until the ring was paid off. After paying the ring off, Judge Stallone and his wife took the ring back to Diller’s to have the diamond reset and have the ring reappraised. Much to the Judge’s surprise, the appraised value came back significantly lower. After mustering the courage to ask Mr. Diller about the differing appraisals, Mr. Diller explained that jewelry can be appraised for various different reasons, each of which will provide a different value. Mr. Diller also explained this to Lily when Lily initially had the ring appraised and her response was simple, “Make it as high as you can, I’m selling it to my lawyer!” The final story involving Judge Stallone was relayed by audience member, Bill Bernhart. Bill was representing a criminal defendant who was accused of assaulting a woman. Two female members of the woman’s church who sat on the Defendant’s side of the courtroom were very vocal in their support of the woman, including as Bill stated, “cackling and hissing at him during the trial.” During a sidebar with Judge Stallone on a separate issue, the Judge asked Bill if there was anything else he could do. Seeing his opening, Bill requested, “Yes, you can make those two witches cackling behind me in the 3rd row move over behind the District Attorney.” Judge Stallone replied, “You know Bill, you have a real sick sense of humor as one of those ladies is my mother!”
As the evening progressed, the spotlight shifted to Jay Abramowitch who provided his stories and anecdotes from the other side of the bench. Jay began by discussing the start of his legal career with the firm of McGavin, DeSantis & Koch. One of Jay’s initial memories involved his preceptor, Fred McGavin, sending him to court before Judge Hess to have a master appointed. As if that task were not daunting enough, since Jay had never done it before, Judge Hess advised Jay that he was bringing a defendant down at 1:30, who was charged with burglary and that Jay was going to be his court appointed counsel, since Manny Dimitriou, the public defender was conflicted out. Jay immediately sought refuge and advice in the lawyer’s lounge, which he found in John S. Speicher, father of John J. Speicher. After the elder Speicher finished joking around with Jay, he gave him sage advice that Jay took to heart and followed to a tee. Mr. Speicher told Jay to tell the jury it was his first case, that he was scared s---less, that he would make mistakes and the judge would likely yell at him, but not to take it out on his client. Jay took Mr. Speicher’s advice and achieved a not guilty verdict. A number of Jay’s anecdotes involved Judge Fred Edenharter. As Jay relayed, he was a very intelligent lawyer, one of the best cross-examiners he has ever seen, but on the bench he had a temper that could rival any! Jay recalled the Cohen case, which he was working on with fellow attorney, Jay Tract. In order to prepare for cross-examination the next day, the two Jays asked Judge Edenharter if they could take that day’s transcript home to review. Judge Edenharter was very reluctant to grant their request as there was only one copy of the transcript and to provide it to counsel was a very risky proposition. Nevertheless, Judge Edenharter granted their request. As the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished! At 3:30
a.m., as the two Jays were completing their preparation for court the next day, Jay Tract left the transcript on top of his sports car and drove away – only to realize a half hour later that he did not have it. At 7:30 a.m., the two Jays slinked into Judge Edenharter’s chambers, nervous and weary of what the hot-tempered judge would do to them. Thinking and prepared for the worst, Jay was surprised when a calm and collected Judge Edenharter told them, “Don’t worry, we’ll get through it.”
Jay continued with his stories and lauded Cal Lieberman, Manny Dimitriou and the other “WWII guys” from whom he learned so much as a young attorney. While these senior attorneys were legendary in their own right, in Jay’s eyes they were invaluable to our
Legend of the Bar Jay N. Abramowitch and previously honored Legend, David M. Kozloff
Judge Scott Lash, David Eshelman, Justin Bodor and Adam Levin
Bar Association as they were always there for each other and for other members of the Bar Association. More importantly, they went out of their way to help new attorneys, such as Jay. One example of such help was when a seasoned Manny Dimitriou (who also had an argument before the PA Supreme Court) called young Jay, the day before Jay’s first argument before the same court and offered him a ride down to Philly. Jay knew of Manny, but did not “know” Manny, so this offer caught him by surprise. Nevertheless, Jay accepted Manny’s offer and during the ride, during court and after the argument over lunch at Bookbinder’s, Manny imparted his wisdom and knowledge upon Jay.
of the law, which was a fitting end to a program focused on the bench and trial law. Jay noted that a trial has a life of its own, that you, as the attorney, are not part of it, that you have to observe it and can try to nudge it, but in the end to be successful, you have to try and find and illustrate the commonality between your client and the jurors so that the jurors are compelled to rule in your favor.
In order to keep the legacy of our Bar Association evolving, please contact our Executive Director with any nominees you may have for the next installment of the Legends of the Bar Program.
As the Legends event came to a close, Jay summarized one of his favorite descriptions
A past honored Legend, William R. Bernhart, and Dawn M. L. Palange
Kathleen Dautrich
Jesse L. Pleet and Peter S. Schiaroli Enjoying the repast (L-R): Osmer Deming, Michael Wieder, Bill Blumer, Joan London and Past President Chuck Phillips
Legend of the Bar, Retired Judge Albert A. Stallone, and Olympian Legend, Judge Stephen B. Lieberman
Peter Schuchman and Charles Younger
Retired Judge Elizabeth Ehrlich and Jim Rothstein
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Ten Members Recognized with Presidential Award of Merit
At the Berks County Bar Association’s Annual Meeting on October 25, 2012, President Frederick K. Hatt recognized these ten members for their outstanding work on behalf of the Bar Association this year.
Jana R. Barnett for her dedicated service to the community by researching and writing the Voter Photo ID Guide
Andrew S. George for his dedicated service as chair of the golf tournament for many years and for planning and executing the 2012 picnic at a new venue.
Kenneth Millman for his dedicated service to the community by conceiving and leading the Voter Photo ID Task Force.
Osmer S. Deming for his dedicated service to the legal profession as Law Explorer Post Advisor
Gregory A. Shantz for his dedicated service to the members of the Berks County Bar Association for conceiving and executing creative events for our entertainment.
Andrew F. Fick for her dedicated service to the community in faithfully executing the Naturalization Ceremony for many years.
Jason C. Glessner for his dedicated service to the legal profession as chair of the Mock Trial Competition Committee.
Karen H. Cook for her dedicated service to the lawyers of Berks County as Chair of the Law Journal Committee, especially in the year 2012 when rates had to be raised, an Assistant Editor had to be hired and the Law Journal moved online.
Margaret Kaiser Collins for her dedicated service to the community in faithfully executing the Naturalization Ceremony for many years.
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C. Robert Rice for his dedicated service to the Berks County Bar Association as Treasurer and thereafter continuing his service on the Executive & Finance Committee as financial advisor.
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2012
ANNUAL MEETING
Mark Merolla and Jack Mancuso
Eric Winter and Warren Prince
Ben Leisawitz, Barrister Editor Matt Mayer and Dan Nevins
Alan Miller and Brett Huckabee
Clem Page and Jim Greene
Law Foundation President Terry Weiler delivering his report to the membership
Chris Hartman, Dominic DeCecco, Michelle Mayfield, and Board 50-YEAR MEMBERS (L-R):Â Jack Linton, Clinton Najarian and Director Tonya Butler Scott Huyett
Ryan McAllister and his firm’s new associate, Julie Marburger
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District Attorney John Adams and his First Assistant Theresa Johnson
Eleni and Kurt Geishauser
President Hatt with newly elected Board Director Liz Magovern
Law Foundation Trustee Franki Aitken (L) with Seidel Scholarship Awardees: Dickinson School of Law 1L Jennifer Reed (center) and third-year Jessica Brown
President Hatt presents President Judge Jeffrey Schmehl with a jumbo gavel
President Hatt presenting the LeRoy Hyman Award to Past President Jim Snyder while President-Elect Orlando looks on
President Hatt presenting Judge Linda Ludgate with the Justice William Strong Award
Kim Lengert, Joan London, Matt Kriebel and Mike Kochkodin
For their work on the BCBA’s new Web site, George Cardenas and Jeff Franklin each received a golden mouse
President Hatt passes the Presidential Medallion to President-Elect Gene Orlando
Anna Ferguson, Lara Glenn Hoffert, Melissa Noyes and Board member Alisa Hobart
Bob Hobaugh and Judy Kline
Eric Gibson, Joe Guillama and Rebecca Smith
Toby and Bernie Mendelsohn John Bradley, Jr. believes in the philosophy: “Life is short; eat dessert first.”
Berks Barrister | 31
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