2 0 1 7 SPIRIT
OF JUSTICE CELEBRATION
O
c
t o
MARC GOLDTSTEIN STINSON LEONARD STREET LLP
b
e
r
6
SUE GREENBERG VOLUNTEER LAWYERS AND ACCOUNTANTS FOR THE ARTS
MARIE KENYON ARCHDIOCESE OF ST. LOUIS
,
2
0
PAULA FINLAY AT&T
KIMBERLY NORWOOD WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SCHOOL OF LAW
1
7
Written By: Susan Sagarra, Assistant Executive Director of Membership and Markerting - BAMSL
The Saint Louis Bar Foundation’s Spirit of Justice Awards annually recognize lawyers, non-lawyers and organizations who “have demonstrated accomplishments, leadership and integrity in fostering and maintaining the rule of law in and in facilitating and promoting improvement of the administration of justice.” The 2017 Spirit of Justice awardees are: • Paula Finlay – AT&T; Assistant Vice President - Senior Legal Counsel Labor and Employment • Marc Goldstein – Stinson Leonard Street; Associate • Sue Greenberg – Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts; Part-Time Executive Director • Marie Kenyon – Archdiocese of St. Louis; Director of Peace and Justice Commission • Kimberly Norwood – Washington University in St. Louis; Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law and Professor of African & African American Studies This is the 10th year for the Spirit of Justice Awards and the winners will be honored during the Saint Louis Bar Foundation’s Spirit of Justice Celebration, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 6, 2017, at the St. Louis Club (7701 Forsyth Blvd., Clayton, MO 63105). The following is a glimpse of each awardee’s professional experience and thoughts about their work that led them to be nominated for living the Spirit of Justice. Paula Finlay Assistant Vice President - Senior Legal Counsel Labor and Employment AT&T Finlay serves on the Board of Directors for the St. Louis Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), chairing its Pro Bono Committee. She also serves on the BAMSL Pro Bono Committee and the Board of Directors for Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM). She served as auction co-chair for the LSEM 60th Anniversary “Diamonds Are Forever” Justice for All Ball in 2016. Finlay graduated from Washington University School of Law in 1990. She started her career as law clerk to the Hon. Stephen N. Limbaugh, Sr., in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri. She then joined Bryan Cave’s Labor and Employment team, where she worked for nine years. Finlay returned to Washington University as an adjunct professor in Pretrial Practice and Trial Competition and later worked for Carmody MacDonald and The Lowenbaum Partnership. Since 2009, Finlay has been in-house with AT&T Services, Inc. She currently is Assistant Vice President-Senior Legal Counsel,
Labor and Employment and is a co-chair of AT&T’s regional Pro Bono Committee. “I am humbled and deeply honored to receive this award,” Finlay said. “Using my skills as a lawyer to give back through various pro bono and community service efforts allows me to continue to grow personally and professionally.” She strives to promote the Spirit of Justice in her professional work and community service. “At AT&T, it is my job to protect our company’s long-standing reputation as an ethical company,” Finlay said. “That means I work with business leaders to make the right decisions. I strive every day to execute sound legal analysis and judgment to help us do the right thing. One of our core values as a company is to participate in our communities to make them better places to live, work and grow. It is my goal to live that value. Finlay was one of more than 4,000 AT&T employees to receive the Presidential Volunteer Service Award this year for logging more than 100 volunteer hours. “I feel extraordinarily grateful to work for a company that truly values community service,” Finlay said. “AT&T believes that communities matter – to people and our company. It is at the core of how we do business. Thousands of AT&T employees and retirees give their time and talents to the communities where we live and work. Every year our leadership asks us to look for ways to give back. I’m proud to be part of a team that works to make our communities stronger.” Finlay also participates in AT&T diversity and inclusion events at St. Louis University Law School and AT&T-sponsored veterans activities at the Missouri Veterans Home. Through the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), she volunteers with Street Law and the St. Louis Urban Debate League. “I am continually inspired by the people I meet through these projects,” Finlay said. “BAMSL, ACC and the Pro Bono Institute are working together to recognize Pro Bono leaders in St. Louis, and to present a CLE on the Ethics of Pro Bono for In-house Lawyers. I am part of a team planning this event and I will be one of the panelists. Together with my colleagues at AT&T and ACC, we amassed the resources of 11 different corporations for the Street Law program, an initiative designed to help prime the pipeline to the legal profession for young people from underserved high schools in St. Louis. ACC-St. Louis is sponsoring a tournament for the St. Louis Urban Debate League, which develops and supports debate programs in underserved urban high schools. Our Chapter is providing support for transportation and trophies for the tournament, and providing volunteer judges to assess the hard work of the students and help foster their communication, critical thinking, listening and other key skills. And, of course, my Board service for Legal Services has the goal of fair and equal administration of justice.”
St. Louis Lawyer
Marc Goldstein
non-profit enlists lawyers from private firms to work on cases for the public defender’s office.
Associate Stinson Leonard Street Patti Hageman, of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM), nominated Goldstein for the Spirit of Justice Award because of his commitment to pro bono work. “He is actively involved in the community and in Stinson Leonard Street's pro bono program, including doing pro bono work for LSEM’s Community Economic Development Program,” Hageman said. “Year after year, Marc devotes significant time to a variety of pro bono matters. Marc has been a driving force behind a multi-year impact litigation matter before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. He works with a number of local non-profits to provide counseling on their bylaws and labor and employment matters.” Goldstein is a new member of the BAMSL Pro Bono Committee. He has served on the Michael and Barbara Newmark Institute for Human Relations, Jewish Community Relations Council and Young Leaders of the Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital Steering Committee. He is on the board of the Missouri Baptist Hospital Foundation, where both of his children were born and the board of the Jewish Family and Children’s Services. Goldstein graduated from Washington University School of Law in 2010. He is a member of Stinson’s Employment and Labor Law division. Goldstein regularly engages in all phases of civil litigation, and has bench trial, jury trial and appellate practice experience. He has represented clients before federal and states courts as well as administrative agencies and tribunals. Goldstein also has advised companies on immigration visa and compliance issues, and assisted companies secure working visas and permanent status for professional employees. “I was always interested in employment and labor law,” Goldstein said. “It’s a field that helps make workplaces better places. The first firm that hired me needed an employment lawyer.” His greatest satisfaction comes from his pro bono work. “I do a significant amount of pro bono work,” Goldstein said. “The reason I went to law school was to help people. Pro bono cases are different than the day-to-day law firm cases. I do some international work so I’m not only making a difference in my own community, but I’m helping around the world. It’s fulfilling.”
“It’s a group of private lawyers who stepped up because the state is low on public defenders,” Goldstein said. “The problem is cases get kicked down the road for months. People sit in jail for four months without seeing an attorney, or see an attorney and then go months without hearing anything again. It’s not how our system is supposed to work. I got our firm to agree to do it and we have four colleagues actively participating now. I’m the test case, I got the first case in the St. Louis office. We will see how the project goes. I feel we owe something and need to step up and help out if we can.” Goldstein said he was surprised and honored to learn he was receiving the Spirit of Justice award. One unique point about Goldstein’s selection is that Kim Norwood, another 2017 honoree, was one of his professors in law school. “It will be fun to see her again,” Goldstein said. “It’s wonderful being honored with her.” He said he tries to emulate the spirit of the award on a daily basis, but particularly in his pro bono work. “I obviously have a dedication to my clients in the day-to-day work,” Goldstein said. “But I’m guiding our firm on better ways to direct our pro bono work to lawyers who want to do it. It’s a time commitment but definitely worthwhile.” Sue Greenberg Part-Time Executive Director Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts Greenberg joined VLAA in 1986. During the summer, she is the company manager at The Muny in St. Louis. Greenberg also teaches legal issues in the arts for Webster University’s Arts Leadership graduate program. She is a graduate of Washington University, where she majored in Arts History and Urban Studies. St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts (VLAA) provides free legal and accounting assistance and a wide variety of affordable educational programs for the creative community. VLAA serves artists of every discipline and career level, non-profit cultural organizations and small arts-related businesses. Volunteer accountants and lawyers donate their time and expertise to help clients navigate the world of finance and law. VLAA also provides information and skills training designed to help the creative community develop sound business practices and protect their rights.
Goldstein’s firm did 23,000 hours of pro bono work last year. He also is in the first group of private lawyers to step up to be part of the Missouri Coalition for the Right to Counsel. The S E P T E M B E R
2 0 1 7
1 3
“I can’t imagine a society without the civilizing and joyful influence of the arts,” Greenberg said. “I’ve been fortunate to run an organization that enhances the region’s cultural fabric while offering rewarding pro bono opportunities. More than 200 attorneys are on our roster, and many have volunteered for decades.” In discussing the work that earned her a Spirit of Justice award, Greenberg focused on the work of the organization instead of herself. “Members of the arts community often express gratitude for services that they couldn’t otherwise afford and tell us they have a better understanding of their rights and/or responsibilities after working with our volunteers,” Greenberg said. “Without VLAA's services, hundreds of St. Louis area artists would be denied the opportunity to fully develop their creative capabilities, and emerging arts organizations – where the cultural fermentation that make our region so vital truly begins – would not have the peace of mind that allows them to concentrate on ‘dancing their dance.’ ” While VLAA has collaborated with several organizations over the years, Greenberg said she is most proud of the ongoing presentations at the St. Louis Central Library, which focus on legal issues of concern to individual artists and forming new non-profits. The latter is co-presented with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri’s Community Economic Development Program. “We also partner with Saint Louis University School of Law and Washington University School of Law by providing internships and other opportunities for students to learn about how the law relates to the unique issues raised in the arts and introduces them to pro bono service,” Greenberg said. “Several former students are now VLAA volunteers.” Health care is one component of their work that Greenberg said is important to artists. “For artists, the challenges of obtaining and maintaining health insurance often are exasperated by their relatively low incomes, episodic work and high rates of self- and part-time employment,” Greenberg said. “While we have launched many programs over the years, I’m very proud of our grassroots Every Artist Insured campaign, which is helping artists navigate the changing health insurance landscape and comply with the law.” Greenberg also serves on the Patent Pro Bono steering committee. The program connects financially-constrained individual inventors and small businesses in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska with pro bono patent services and resources. And Greenberg supports the arts outside of her legal pursuits, serving as company manager at the Muny each summer.
“I’ve enjoyed a long career at The Muny,” Greenberg said. “It’s been an honor to be part of an organization that is beloved by our community.” Marie Kenyon Director of Peace and Justice Commission Archdiocese of St. Louis Kenyon is a past president of the Saint Louis Bar Foundation and the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, served with the Peace Corps in West Africa and has served on numerous community boards. Kenyon was named director of the newly formed Peace and Justice Commission of the Archdiocese of St. Louis in January of 2015, a few months after Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson. She also joined the Office of General Counsel for the archdiocese. She previously was managing attorney of the Catholic Legal Assistance Ministry (CLAM), an agency that is part of the archdiocese’s Catholic Charities Community Services, which offers legal assistance to families and individuals who do not have the means to hire an attorney. Kenyon founded and then directed CLAM for nearly three decades. She graduated from St. Louis University School of Law in 1986. “I have been blessed to have the support of many, many people and most importantly, the Archdiocese of St. Louis in my vision for justice in our community,” Kenyon said. “Archbishop Carlson and his brother bishops before him, beginning with Archbishop May, agree with me that our faith demands that we work for justice for all, especially the poor and vulnerable. Not only does the Church believe it but for 30 years they have strongly, both spiritually and financially, supported me and my colleagues in my work.” Kenyon said her greatest contribution to the community “are my two children, who lead lives of compassion and service.” “Professionally, (my greatest contribution is) having the wisdom and insight to hire an amazing group of attorneys over many years who have worked so hard to make the world a better place,” Kenyon said. “Also, thanks to St. Louis University School of Law, I have the opportunity to mentor students early in their legal careers, who have such a passion for justice, on how to make a positive difference in the world through our legal system.” Kenyon said her current position gives her a platform and voice to fight for a fair justice system. “I am looking at justice from a systemic perspective,” Kenyon said. “With my colleagues on the Commission and throughout our many agencies, parishes and schools, I am working to improve dialogue, collaboration and action in the
St. Louis Lawyer
hope of implementing real world solutions to the many issues of racial and socioeconomic injustice that we find in our community today.” Kimberly Jade Norwood Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law; Professor of African & African American Studies Washington University in St. Louis School of Law Norwood has been a professor at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law since 1990. During that time, she has traveled all over the world, including China, Japan, The Netherlands as well as the University of Missouri-Columbia for visiting professorships. She previously was with Bryan, Cave, McPheeters & McRoberts and initially was a law clerk for the Hon. Clifford Green of the U.S. District Court-Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She has written several books, articles and essays and appeared in numerous media articles, too many to mention here. She also has won an impressive amount of awards and honors and has served on an extensive list of boards and organizations. Norwood graduated from the University of MissouriColumbia School of Law in 1985. “As a black woman, a lawyer, a law professor and a person who grew up in a household of limited means, I have learned to appreciate the value of education as the great equalizer and also to appreciate the importance of the concept ‘and justice for all,’ particularly in the areas of social justice,” Norwood said. “Aside from teaching traditional law school classes, I also teach courses designed to help my students understand how others have historically been and today continue to be treated differently because of their immutable characteristics (race, ethnicity, skin color, gender) and other characteristics such as ability/disability and socioeconomic status.”
“Just a handful of law schools in the country offer this course,” Norwood said. “The course specifically focuses on unconscious biases we all have and I focus on the following biases in particular: race, skin color, ethnicity, gender, gender identity/expression/orientation, disability, ageism and socioeconomic status.” Norwood lectures throughout the United States and the world on implicit bias and colorism (the effects of the preference for light skin over darker skin). She is editor and co-contributor on two books that are premised on the idea of changing hearts and minds and thus create a world that produces thinking and outcomes based on fairness and justice for people all over the world. “I am probably most proud of my high school to law school pipeline program, which works closely with high school students in underperforming schools and provides the foundation for them to believe in themselves in spaces where they often do not have people or resources to support their dreams,” Norwood said. She is working on two more books: one on race and bias and a second on community healing models. She also continues her work as a member of the Monitoring Team in U.S. v. Ferguson, which is intended to provide a workable model that can be scaled for use in other communities around the nation. She also is working on a Race Training Conference. Norwood is a Commissioner on the American Bar Association Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. “The legal profession has been behind the eight-ball on racial, ethnic and even gender diversity gains for all of its tenure,” Norwood said. “I hope my multi-year appointment on this Commission will help bend our arc towards justice in these areas.”
As example, Norwood developed a course titled, “Race, Class, Education and the Law.” “That class was designed to teach future lawyers how race and class dictate law, policy, behavior and result in tremendous outcome determinative disparities in K-12 education,” Norwood said. “This course focused on a high school class in an underperforming school. High school students worked with law students, lawyers, myself, and even judges, to learnwhat law can do; how it impacts and changes lives; how the student can be a vehicle for change; and how to get there (how to become a lawyer). The program, started just a decade ago now, has won both local and national awards.” Norwood also developed a course on implicit bias and its effects on society, the law, and the legal profession. S E P T E M B E R
2 0 1 7
1 5
Written By: Susan Sagarra, Assistant Executive Director of Membership and Markerting - BAMSL
SAINT LOUIS BAR FOUNDATION: PRESIDENT SEEKS POSITIVE RIPPLE EFFECT WITH COMMUNITY OUTREACH INITIATIVES Random acts of kindness have a way of creating a ripple effect. From simply saying something nice to elicit a smile or paying for a stranger’s morning boost in the coffee shop drive-through to caring for a loved one with a long-term illness, it can profoundly alter a person’s day or perspective. Such acts of kindness may even alter the path of someone’s life. Patrick Chavez, the new president of the Saint Louis Bar Foundation, has a similar vision for the organization that serves as the philanthropic affiliate of The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. Albeit in a more planned and deliberate manner. “As lawyers, we need to get away from strictly looking at ourselves,” Chavez said. “We need to focus on entities in the community to help them. And when we get out into the community, we can focus on not only improving our communities, but also improving ourselves. It’s a way to focus less on the business side and really see what we can do to help others.” The Bar Foundation’s principle pillars are promoting and providing fair and equitable justice within the community while promoting professional and civility within the legal profession. To that end, Chavez and others who have been involved with the Foundation believe that the programs can significantly and positively impact individuals and the community as a whole. “The Bar Foundation is really the community outreach component of BAMSL,” Chavez said. “For example, our Mock Trial program allows high school students to learn critical thinking, strategic thinking and public speaking. None of that necessarily benefits lawyers directly. But it does benefit the community because they learn important life skills.” Chavez said the legal profession as a whole needs to return to the ideals that lawyers are here to help people in need. “As we get more and more young lawyers, the law profession is becoming diluted and becoming more of a business,” Chavez said. “But we are a law profession. I believe there is something different about being considered a profession. The difference between being a business and a profession is that it is very different than having just a job. When we take an oath as lawyers, we have to adhere to that oath every single day, 24/7. I have to act and remain professional whether I am at work or not. We have to do things with a professional response all the time. The idea of acting this way gets lost in the billable hours culture.” The Saint Louis Bar Foundation celebrates its 61st anniversary this year. Under then-president James McDaniel, the 2008 Gala Committee held the first Golden Gala event, which was renamed the Spirit of Justice Celebration in 2009 under then-president Jack Barsanti.
Chavez said. “It’s not just a celebration of our own people. It’s people who want and work hard for fair and equal justice. We have city defenders who go above and beyond, there are corporations and organizations, anyone who promotes what we hold as values as lawyers. It could be senators and representatives, city leaders, first responders, educators. It is people who seek fair and equitable administration of justice.” Chavez, who has been a member of BAMSL since 1996 when he was a law student, became actively involved in BAMSL and the Bar Foundation because of those ideals. He joined the Young Lawyers’ Division board in 2000, eventually chairing YLD. He also has served on the BAMSL Board of Governors and chaired the Minorities in the Legal Profession committee. He was president-elect of the Bar Foundation for two years, serving under his former boss, Paul Venker, before becoming president of the Foundation in May. Chavez graduated from the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law in 1998. He previously practiced primarily on the litigation side, mostly as a partner at Williams Venker & Sanders. His areas of expertise included medical malpractice, product liability and cybersecurity. In December of 2014, he became chief privacy officer and associate general counsel for Edward Jones. Among other things, Chavez was responsible for overseeing the build-out of the company’s e-discovery program. As president, Chavez said he plans to further boost the mission of the Bar Foundation. The stated mission is “to promote the importance of the Rule of Law and the administration of justice in our society, both in the community at large as well as in the legal profession.” The concept is to help attorneys reach the highest levels of civility and professionalism in their practice and daily lives as well as participate in meaningful community service. The Foundation has two significant annual outreach programs: Motion for Kids and the Missouri High School Mock Trial Competition. Motion for Kids is an annual holiday party for area children whose lives have been impacted by the justice system. The Bar Foundation also conducted a Cornerstone Campaign to fund renovations of St. Louis City’s Civil Courts Building. Additionally, scholarships and grants have been provided to promote diversity in the legal profession. Ultimately, Chavez hopes to witness positive ripple effects within the community as a result of all of the Foundation’s endeavors.
SAVE THE DATE
Chavez, who serves as emcee of the celebration, said it is a chance to honor the collaborative efforts among lawyers and others in the community who work each day to promote civility, professionalism, leadership and integrity in the application of justice. “It’s a way to recognize people and organizations in the community – not just lawyers – who are promoting the idea of the rule of law,”
St. Louis Lawyer
KIDS MOTION FOR
HOLIDAY PARTY DEC 02, 2017