Saint Louis University School of Law Winter 2010
The Consummate
Professor The legacy of  Vincent C. Immel New SLU LAW Faculty J.D. Careers Professor Tim Greaney ArchCity Defenders
SAINT LOUIS
dean’s message
BRIE F
inside 10 The
Consummate Professor
On the Cover: Portrait of Vincent C. Immel (in the William H. Kniep Courtroom)
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hen I first arrived in St. Louis from the University of Florida in the summer of 1999, I knew very few alumni. As dean, one of my responsibilities is to nurture the School of Law’s relationship with its alumni, and I was naturally intent on getting to know them. As I recall, the Missouri Bar annual meeting was held in St. Louis in the fall of that year. Professor Roger Goldman gave me some good advice: “Stand next to Vince Immel.” On that September night, I stood with Vince for a good hour as together we greeted scores of alumni. Vince remembered names, often offering a recollection, and always displaying a smile and a chuckle. As we stood together, I could sense the special connection that continued to exist between the law professor and his students. They were still Vince’s students; they were part of his family. And the feelings were mutual. This issue of the Saint Louis Brief is dedicated to Professor Vincent C. Immel. You will find a feature story about Vince titled, “The Consummate Professor,” on page 10. The article perfectly describes this one-of-a-kind Midwestern gentleman who gave his life to the law, the School of Law and — most importantly — his law students. In my 40 years as a law teacher, I have seen many fine law professors. Professor Immel was the very best for what he achieved with and through his students — the very best!
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The Legacy of Vincent C. Immel, 1920 to 2009
Unlimited Options
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SLU LAW alumni exemplify how a legal education paves the way for countless career paths.
Dean and Professor of Law Jeffrey E. Lewis
Most of you who are reading this message were students in Professor Immel’s Contracts or Remedies class. I cannot in this small space even come close to matching the memories you have of this remarkably warm, kind, generous — and brilliant man. Most of us have stories about Vince. And we invite you to share your memories and tributes by visiting law.slu.edu/Immel. Please join our alumni, faculty and friends as we reflect on Professor Immel’s legacy at a special ceremony, which will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, April 5, at the Busch Student Center in the Saint Louis Room. Professor Immel passed away on the morning of last Thanksgiving. His passing at that moment in time was surely a reminder that his presence in our midst was a blessing for which we owe great thanks. Sincerely yours,
Jeffrey E. Lewis Dean and Professor of Law
Senior Associate Dean Nicolas P. Terry Editor Kim Gordon Graphic Designer E. Brook Haley Media Relations Specialist Courtney K. Irwin Contributors Isaak I. Dore, Ann Lever, ’79, Anders Walker Photography Dolan and Associates Photography, Jay Fram Photography, Kevin Lauder, Chad Williams Special Thanks Nick Brockmeyer, ’04, Dusty Deschamp, ’04, Bert Fulk, ’07, Thomas L. Greaney, John Griesbach, Stephanie Haley, Thomas Harvey, ’09, Timothy L. Kane, ’89, Mary Beth Luna Wolf, ’01, John McAnnar, ’09, Kenneth Powell, ’04, Katrina Shannon, ’00, Elizabeth Stookey, Michael-John Voss, ’03, Eric Westacott, ’01 Copyright © 2010 by Saint Louis University School of Law All rights reserved. Saint Louis Brief is published twice annually by Saint Louis University School of Law. The Office of Communications is located in Queen’s Daughters Hall, Room 320 3700 Lindell Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63108 E-mail address is brief@law.slu.edu
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6 Faculty Speak Out in the News Media outlets around the nation repeatedly seek out SLU LAW faculty.
8 New Faculty The School of Law announces 10 outstanding faculty members.
26 Faculty Profile
SLU LAW attorneys fight for justice with a holistic approach to criminal defense.
24 Alumni Profile
28 Faculty View
Ann Lever, ’79, discusses decades of public service work at Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.
30 Alumni Events 32 Class Notes
Professor Thomas L. Greaney positions the Center for Health Law Studies to shine in the national spotlight.
ArchCity Defenders
in every issue 2 Law Briefs
Major League All-Star
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SLU LAW Dedicates the Expanded Legal Clinics
Professor John J. Ammann
C. Griffin Trotter, M.D., Ph.D., delivered a presentation titled “Pandemic Medicine: Myths Behind the Ethical Dilemmas” on Oct. 9. Trotter, a professor of health care ethics and of surgery at SLU, is a leading expert on pandemic preparedness and disaster medicine. Professor Laurence B. McCullough, Ph.D., presented “Taking Professional Conscience Seriously” on Oct. 30. He is the Dalton Tomlin Chair in Medical Ethics and Health Policy and a professor of medicine and From left, Professors Tim Greaney, Judy Feder and Robert Gatter medical ethics at Baylor College of Medicine. Professor Judy Feder, Ph.D., one of the Health Law Speaker Series nation’s leaders in health policy — particularly Features Leading Experts in efforts to understand and improve the U.S As the nation’s premier health law program, health insurance system — gave a lecture the Center for Health Law Studies annually titled “The Shifting Landscape of Health Care attracts renowned experts who make significant Reform” on Nov. 2. Feder is a professor of contributions to the development of health law public policy at Georgetown Public Policy and policy for its Distinguished Speaker Series. Institute and a senior fellow at the Center for This fall, the center drew national health American Progress. Her expertise on health care policy and ethic experts to SLU LAW to insurance, Medicare, Medicaid and long-term discuss issues ranging from pandemic medical care is regularly drawn upon by Congress, and ethical dilemmas to the shifting landscape of government agencies and the national media. health care reform.
Visiting Professor Reflects on International Criminal Tribunal Law Students Support Make A Difference Day photos by Kevin Lowder
As part of its ongoing commitment to promoting community service and improving professional skills education, the School of Law officially dedicated its expanded Legal Clinics on Sept. 25. The 1,500-square-foot addition includes new student workspace, a state-of-the-art conference room and faculty offices. But most importantly, the recent expansion allows for a significant increase in the number of students who can enroll in the 15-plus in-house Legal Clinics. The Legal Clinics now offer more than 100 students every semester an array of opportunities to participate in a broad range of legal work, which offers students valuable professional experience while providing invaluable services to the community. SLU LAW professors and students annually provide more than 31,000 hours of free legal service to the community through SLU LAW’s Legal Clinics and public service programs.
Saint Louis Brief Winter 2010
Make a Difference Day — the University’s annual day of service — is the largest of its kind in the nation. This year, more than 2,500 students, faculty and staff volunteers assisted more than 100 local service sites, including schools, churches and community organizations. SLU LAW students, accompanied by Professor Brendan Roediger, painted, cleaned and set up a new computer lounge at Northwest Academy, a St. Louis Public High School. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that each hour of volunteering equals more than $19, making the monetary value of SLU’s participation in the 2009 Make a Difference Day an estimated $250,000, according to University officials.
Professor Albin Eser presented a lecture on Oct. 29 about his experiences as a former judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague. Professor Eser served as an associate judge of the Higher Regional Court in Germany. He also was the director of the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law and chaired the Humanities and Social Science Section of the Max Planck Society. His main areas of scholarship include German law, medical law and comparative and international criminal law. Over the years, he has taught as a professor and visiting professor at universities across Germany, including the University of Bielefeld, the University of Tübingen and the University of Freiburg, as well as the Ritsumeikan University College of Law in Kyoto, Japan. During his visit for the fall semester at SLU LAW, Professor Eser taught Comparative and Transnational Criminal Law.
Annual PILG Race Raises Funds for Public Interest Programs
photo by Kevin Lowder
The Public Interest Law Group (PILG) held its 5K run, “The Chase,” on Sept. 26. The proceeds from the race, which has been an annual event for more than 25 years, allow SLU LAW students to spend summers working unpaid in the public sector. The PILG stipend offers significant financial relief and provides incentive for students to pursue public service careers after they graduate from SLU LAW. The 2009 Chase attracted 118 participants and raised more than $2,000.
Employment Law Lectures Cover National Labor Issues
From left, Professor Susan FitzGibbon, Dianne Muccigrosso and Professor Marcia McCormick
Will Congress pass the proposed Employee Free Choice Act, strengthening the ability of workers to select a union and achieve a first collective bargaining agreement? What are the current challenges facing management clients? These issues headlined the Wefel Center for Employment Law Speaker Series this fall semester. Ralph R. Tremain, regional director of the National Labor Relations Board,
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Childress Lecture Discusses Enlightenment Jurisprudence The annual Richard J. Childress Memorial Lecture, sponsored by SLU LAW and the Saint Louis University Law Journal, is always one of the law school’s premier academic events. The 2009 Childress Lecture, “Remaking Law: Moving Beyond Enlightenment Jurisprudence,” assembled an array of national scholars for a unique symposium that challenged the persistence of centuries-old philosophical and scientific concepts that underpin American jurisprudence. The day-long symposium also explored the foundations of American thought and jurisprudence by discussing contemporary disciplines and concepts and examined how the law should be revised to meet the needs of 21st-century thought and principles. The keynote speaker was Professor john a. powell, the Gregory H. Williams Chair in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at
presented “Recent Developments at the National Labor Relations Board” on Oct. 7. From his perspective as a seasoned labor expert, Tremain addressed pressing questions such as: Is the National Labor Relations Board legally authorized to decide cases — as it has been since January 2008 — with only two members? He also discussed other current concerns facing the board. “Employment and Labor Law Practice from the Management Perspective” was the focus of the Nov. 4 lecture presented by Dianne E. Muccigrosso, senior labor and employment counsel of Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. Muccigrosso has represented management clients in labor and employment matters in a variety of positions, including as an attorney for a small law firm and as director of legal services and in-house counsel at major corporations. During the lecture, she discussed issues facing management clients and the legal challenges attorneys encounter in a wide range of employment law settings.
From left, Professors john a. powell and Joel Goldstein
Moritz College of Law and the executive director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University. He discussed the extent to which the U.S. legal system and much of its doctrine are based upon ideas rooted in the Enlightenment, and how recent developments in social and natural sciences have brought those principles into question.
Constitution Day Quiz Tests Students and Faculty Sept. 17 — Constitution Day — commemorates the day the founding fathers signed the Constitution in 1787. This year, first-year law students and faculty members celebrated the federal holiday by facing off against secondand third-year law students in a competition quiz. Each group’s knowledge of the Constitutional Convention and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution was put to the test. Professor Alan J. Howard organized the event and prepared a list of challenging questions that occasionally stumped both teams. In the end, the 1L-faculty team was victorious.
Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief
SLU LAW Moot Court Teams Make History
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Food for Thought Speaker Series Attracts Alumni The Food for Thought Speaker Series hosted by the Alumni Relations Office provided another opportunity this fall for law school alumni to share their insights and practical experience with a small group of law students over lunch. This fall, attorney Christopher Bailey, ’99, of Greensfelder, discussed labor and employment matters. If you are interested in becoming a Food for Thought speaker, please contact Liz Stookey at ebolen1@slu.edu or (314) 977-3978.
Incoming Students Experience Jesuit Mission at Orientation Saint Louis University School of Law implemented a new component to its 2009 Orientation Week — Service Day. First-year SLU LAW students assisted 14 various organizations throughout the city on Aug. 14 by performing community service work. “The moment students enter our doors we want to give them an introduction to the Jesuit Mission of ‘men and women for others,’” says Shannon Stinebaugh, assistant dean of student activities and leadership.
Saint Louis Brief Winter 2010
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Governor Nixon Appoints Johnson to Advisory Council In an effort to promote the use of electronic health records statewide, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon established an Advisory Council and appointed Professor Emerita Sandra H. Johnson to its board. State officials aim to develop the infrastructure of the statewide exchange of health information between 2010-2015, with widespread adoption of electronic health records by 2015. Professor Johnson will serve as the co-chair of the Legal and Policy Workgroup to discuss key aspects of health information exchange, including who will pay for it, how it will be regulated and how consumer privacy will be protected.
From garden maintenance and landscape repair at Gateway Greening and Operation Brightside to sorting and processing donations at Operation Food Search and St. Vincent De Paul Society, students assisted with an array of community service projects. The SLU LAW students who volunteered at Operation Brightside were even featured on a KSDK-TV segment called “Hero Central.” “We received an incredible amount of positive feedback from both the students and the service sites,” Stinebaugh adds. “This is definitely an event that will become an annual tradition for our 1Ls.”
photo by Chad Williams
From left, SLU LAW students Kristin Dougherty, David Buishas and Sherin Joharifard
The SLU LAW Moot Court team made history last month when it placed fourth in the country at the National Moot Court Competition in New York City. Led by 3Ls David Buishas, Kristin Dougherty and Sherin Joharifard, the team advanced to the semi-finals before succumbing to the University of Arkansas by only two points. “The faculty recently came together and collectively we don’t remember one of our teams ever getting this far,” says Professor Christine Rollins, director of the legal writing department. “While this is the third year we’ve had a team advance to the nationals, this is the first time we made it to the semi-finals or placed fourth out of 28 competitors at the national level.” For the first time ever, two of the SLU LAW Moot Court teams advanced to the final round of the regional competition last fall, taking first and second place. However, due to competition rules, only one team was allowed to compete in the national competition in February. Sheena Hamilton, Amanda Tessmer and Meredith Webster were members of the Moot Court team that was unable to advance due to competition rules. The SLU trio of Buishas, Dougherty and Joharifard has worked together since their first year of law school. The team attributes its success to being well prepared, relaxed and, most importantly, being well matched by Professors Paige Canfield and Christine Rollins. “Our team is like-minded, in terms of working styles, and we trust each other,” Dougherty says. “That speaks to how thoughtful our professors were in matching our personalities.” Currently in its 60th year, the National Moot Court Competition is an inter-law school event designed to promote the art of appellate advocacy. Teams write a brief based on a problem set forth by the National Moot Court Competition, which is then submitted and blindly graded. The second part of the competition consists of the teams presenting oral arguments in front of attorneys who act as judges. The overall score for each team is based on their brief score and oral skills. In the weeks leading up to the competition, Coach Dan Schramm, a SLU LAW adjunct professor and an attorney at Timothy E. Hayes & Associates, worked with the team members on improving their writing skills and arranged for them to be quizzed by SLU LAW professors and area attorneys. Before each round, the teammates would “pummel” one another with tough questions the judges might potentially ask. Buishas explains the team’s perseverance and dedication attributed to its success. “We were open enough with one another to give positive feedback and reinforcement,” he says.
SLU LAW Hosts ABA Fall Leadership Summit SLU LAW served as the site for the 2009 American Bar Association Law Student Regional Leadership Summit on Oct. 2-3. Law students from across the country took part in roundtable discussions about the law, leadership and marketability after graduating law school. After the summit, students networked at a St. Louis Cardinals game.
Professor Goldner Awarded Fellowship at the Brocher Foundation Professor Jesse A. Goldner, the John D. Valentine Professor of Law, was awarded a four-month fellowship to conduct research at the Brocher Foundation in Hermance, Switzerland, next summer. His scholarship will focus on comparative conflicts of interest policies. Professor Goldner was also elected to a threeyear term as the public member of the Board of Directors for the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. The National Register, based in Washington, D.C., is the largest credentialing organization for licensed psychologists.
Law Students Receive Prestigious Awards Tyler S. Gibb, ’10, was recently awarded the 2009 Liaison Award by the American Bar Association’s Law Student Division. Gibb was chosen by the ABA for his work on the Commission of Mental and Physical Disability Law. The St. Louis Bar Foundation named Samuel Sung H. You, ’10,
as the recipient of the Spirit of Justice Award. The award is intended “to recognize lawyers and non-lawyers who have demonstrated accomplishments, leadership and integrity in fostering and maintaining the rule of law and in facilitating and promoting improvement of the administration of justice.”
From left, Professor Robert Gatter, Joseph Impicciche, Lewis Morris, Joan Killgore, John Munich and Professor Tim Greaney.
Controlling Waste, Fraud & Abuse Headlines Health Law Symposium More than 100 attendees filed into the William H. Kniep Courtroom for the 2009 Center for Health Law Studies Symposium, “Controlling Waste, Fraud & Abuse After Health Care Reform,” on Oct. 23. Co-sponsored by the law firm of Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP, the conference explored policy and legal issues involved in controlling abuses in the payment and delivery of health care services in the current era of reform and financial crisis. Speakers from a wide array of backgrounds offered their perspective on the extent of waste, fraud and abuse and the possibility of controlling costs by improved law enforcement and
regulatory measures. Leading federal and state prosecutors also discussed priorities and enforcement methods, and representatives of the provider and payor community commented on the effect of regulations on medical care and delivery. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster served as the symposium’s keynote speaker, and he spoke at length about the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Other prominent speakers included: Terry I. Adelman, U.S. Magistrate Judge, Eastern District of Missouri; Lewis Morris, Chief Counsel of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services; and Dorothy McMurtry, Assistant U.S. Attorney, who has been involved in the prosecution of Medicare fraud cases on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Alum Mark Moran Hosts Book Signing of The Redeemer Author and attorney Mark Moran, ’86, returned to his alma mater on Sept. 24 to sign and discuss his book, The Redeemer, which is based on the case Waldemer v. U.S. Moran’s legal thriller revolves around the fictional character of Michael McRain, a Harvard-educated attorney, who is unwillingly appointed to represent the most dangerous union leader since Jimmy Hoffa. Joining Moran to discuss the topic of social justice, was special guest Dennis Fritz, who served 12 years in prison before being exonerated and released. Author John Grisham’s novel and soon to be released film, The Innocent Man, is based on Fritz’s life story. Both Moran and Fritz spoke about their work with The Innocence Project, a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief
facult y speak out in the news
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SLU LAW Hosts LSAC Workshop
ensure the success of students enrolled in LSAC member law schools. The School of Law hosted the SLU LAW’s Joyce 2009 Law School Admission Savio Herleth, director of Council (LSAC) Academic academic advising, served Assistance Training Workshop on the planning committee on June 3-6. The workshop for the 2009 conference, was designed for faculty and along with representatives administrators who either from Southwestern Law have responsibility for or School, Loyola Law School, a desire to create academic Marymount University, assistance programs. This is Whittier Law School and the ninth training workshop University of Maryland subsidized by LSAC for School of Law. faculty and staff who work to
FACULTY
SPEAK OUT
in the news SLU LAW Lights the Night SLU LAW students and Public Interest Law Group (PILG) members teamed up for a charitable, two-mile evening walk through Forest Park for the annual “Light the Night” event on Sept. 11. The annual walk raises funds to support lymphoma, Hodgkin’s Disease and other cancers for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This year, the 20-member team raised nearly $3,800.
SLU LAW Assists Local Veterans School of Law faculty, students and staff joined forces with volunteer attorneys to assist dozens of homeless veterans at the annual Stand Down for Veterans event. More than 50 volunteers gathered at the City Municipal Court downtown on Oct. 9-10 to provide local veterans with a range of services, from job counseling to legal assistance with minor criminal matters. Assistant Clinical Professor Brendan Roediger helped make this year’s Stand Down for Vets program one of the most successful in SLU LAW history. Over Thanksgiving weekend, students from the Public Interest Law Group and Veteran’s Law Students Association served a traditional turkey dinner to more than 100 homeless veterans at St. Nicholas Church downtown on Nov. 21. At the annual Homeless Veterans Thanksgiving Dinner, students also distributed clothing and other items raised during the fall Sweats for Vets campaign to provide each veteran with warm winter clothing.
Saint Louis Brief Winter 2010
by Courtney Irwin
Media outlets around the nation repeatedly seek SLU LAW faculty for their expertise on a wide range of legal, social and historical issues. The following are just a few of the many press clippings from slu Law’s distinguished faculty.
“Sexual harassment is about using power in a way to hurt somebody ... It’s really hard to say what motivates someone to harass except a desire to humiliate the person being harassed.” — Marcia L. McCormick NEWSWEEK: Abuse of Power: An Increase in Male-on-Male Sexual Harassment Shows Larger Truths About Abuse in the Workplace, Jan. 13, 2010 “It would be useful to recall Jack Kemp’s impressive performance in the 1996 vice-presidential debate. Although some conservatives criticized him for failing to attack President Bill Clinton on moral issues that night, Mr. Kemp and his opponent, Vice President Al Gore, raised the standards of political discourse by engaging in one of the most substantive and civil national debates in our history.” — Joel K. Goldstein THE NEW YORK TIMES: When Kemp (and Gore) Raised the Civility Level; Letter to the Editor, May 6, 2009 “With everything available on the Web and with search engines that take us directly to what we want, there is no adventure in finding an answer, no chance of getting lost and happening upon stray pathways far from the beaten trail. Worst of all, there is no longer the satisfaction of using our own wits to find an answer.” — Chad W. Flanders CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Look What You Missed by Googling; Opinion Editorial, Aug. 9, 2009 “The Hawaii case might be the first where an apology resolution received legal weight. Governments on rare occasion have paid restitution, but only through separate legislation.” — Eric J. Miller THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Regrets Only: Native Hawaiians Insist U.S. Apology Has A Price, March 12, 2009 “Some of the consolidation that took place was not challenged by the Justice Department, maybe because of a lack of will rather than a lack of legal authority.” — Thomas L. Greaney THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Experts Say Congress’ Move to Strip Federal Protection Has Little Downside for Insurers, Oct. 22, 2009 “The personal investments neighborhood residents have made as they go about their daily lives should merit more than a token acknowledgement … They deserve a seat at the decision-making table both now and in
the future, for the success of the North Side redevelopment.” — Peter W. Salsich Jr. ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: Neighborhood Groups, Residents Should Be Part of the Conversation; Letter to the Editor, May 30, 2009 “If you do have some kind of paid leave — like if you have sick leave or vacation leave — you can opt to substitute some of that paid leave for the unpaid leave. Or, your employer might require you to use your paid leave as part of your FMLA time period.” — Marcia L. McCormick OPRAH.COM, Can I Stay Home with My New Baby? Nov. 24, 2009 “Prison officials and other government officials are just dragging their feet, working on this [California’s prison litigation] for years and are still not alleviating the problem. Sadly, that is very common.” — Lynn Branham CALIFORNIA DAILY JOURNAL: Cuts to Inmate Population Don’t Meet Judges’ Demands, Sept. 21, 2009 “For some people, religion is totally separate, and if you pray, that means you’re really religious. To me, religion is an important part of my life. It’s something I do during work and at home.” — Amany Ragab Hacking MISSOURI LAWYERS MEDIA: So Help Me God, July 24, 2009 “I’ve pushed hard in Massachusetts for those kinds of [decertification] regulations. Why should a cop fired for lying in Boston get to work as a cop in, say, Chicopee?” — Roger L. Goldman BOSTON HERALD: BPD’s Lying Ban Sits Well, Sept. 29, 2009 “Shooting 50,000 volts of a conducted electrical device to incapacitate a child who is running away from a property crime is not the answer. Is this the message we want to send our children who need to learn how to make better choices and to trust the police? Does a child need to die before we evaluate if these devices are being used properly by police offers?” — Patricia Harrison ST. LOUIS AMERICAN: Yes to the Taser Moratorium; Opinion Editorial, May 21, 2009 “Considering the [Maine] ballot loss, along with last year’s equally humiliating loss in California on Proposition 8, it would not be unfair to characterize gay civil rights
organizations’ decade-long focus on marriage as near-sighted, if not disastrous. As with any battle, goals, tactics and strategies must be evaluated when losses accumulate so severely.” — Jeff A. Redding THE MIAMI HERALD: In the Wake of Maine Vote, Gay Rights Movement Must Change Goals, Tactics; Opinion Editorial, Nov. 9, 2009 “It’s definitely an economic issue as well … That is perhaps why these other banks decided they want to settle.” — Constance Z. Wagner PORTFOLIO.COM: Showdown: The Lawsuit Filed by New York’s Attorney General Against Charles Schwab & Co., Sept. 18, 2009 “I have been ashamed of many communities and their attitude that they don’t want ‘those people’ living in their neighborhoods …‘Those people’ are people with Alzheimer’s, or developmental disabilities or addiction problems. I’ve seen situations where people have opposed group homes for these groups and years later the same people will try to get their loved one into those homes.” — John J. Ammann ST. LOUIS BEACON: Living Apart: Despite Decades of Court Cases St. Louis Remains One of the Most Segregated Cities, Oct. 6 2009 “Running a red light is a crime. At best, the signs are a service to the public.” — Anders Walker ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: St. Louis Ignored Own Law Warning Motorists about Red-light Cameras, July 19, 2009 “Many [students] are living on very tight budgets, so even when universities offer insurance, many don’t take it. It becomes a question of paying rent or getting health insurance. If they think they’re healthy, they’ll opt to pay the rent.” — Sidney D. Watson COLUMBIA DAILY TRIBUNE, Cancer Fight Seen as Battle for Insurance, July 16, 2009 Where do you go for the latest legal news? Our new media relations specialist Courtney Irwin features recent media hits on Facebook and Twitter. We invite you to become a SLU LAW fan on Facebook and to follow us on Twitter. Courtney can be reached at cirwin4@slu.edu.
Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief
S L U LAW Announces
10 Outstanding New Faculty Members By Courtney Irwin
Saint Louis University consistently attracts outstanding scholars and clinicians who combine their extensive academic research and practical experience with the ability to work closely with students as they guide them through the complexities of the law. SLU LAW welcomes the following 10 new faculty members: Erica K. Bredehoft
Assistant Professor of Legal Writing Saint Louis University School of Law, J.D. Truman State University, B.A. Professor Erica K. Bredehoft joins SLU LAW to teach legal writing after serving as an assistant attorney general for the state of Missouri and clerking for Missouri Supreme Court Judge Patricia Breckenridge. Professor Bredehoft’s interest in public service began when she interned at the Missouri House of Representatives. After graduating from law school, Bredehoft worked in the Litigation Division of the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. There, she managed all stages of civil litigation, primarily in federal court, on issues ranging from constitutional challenges to discrimination claims.
Chad W. Flanders
Assistant Professor of Law Yale University, J.D. University of Chicago, Ph.D.; M.A. Hillsdale College, B.A. Professor Chad Flanders joins the School of Law after clerking for the Hon. Michael McConnell on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit and Justice Warren Matthews of the Alaska Supreme Court. During law school, Flanders served as an editor and senior editor of the Yale Law Journal and as submissions chair for the Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics. Flanders has published articles and reviews in the areas of election
Saint Louis Brief Winter 2010
law, punishment, religion and the philosophy of Adam Smith. He has written opinion-editorials for The San Francisco Chronicle, Hartford Courant, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His work on Bush v. Gore has been cited in federal and state court cases and in The New York Times. Flanders is also a member of the Alaska Bar.
Leah Chan Grinvald Assistant Professor of Law
New York University, J.D. The George Washington University, B.A. Before joining SLU LAW, Professor Leah Chan Grinvald served as global corporate counsel at TaylorMade Golf Company, Inc. She advised on a variety of legal issues including trademark, copyright, contract and employment law arising within TaylorMade and its affiliated entities located outside of the United States. Previously, Professor Grinvald was a corporate associate with Latham & Watkins LLP and Clifford Chance US LLP. Professor Grinvald’s latest scholarship provides a comprehensive and comparative analysis of Chinese trademark law. She argues that the United States views Chinese trademark law through an American theory of trademark law and ignores that China has adopted its own theory of trademark law. During law school, Professor Grinvald was an editor for the Journal of International Law & Politics. Following law school, Grinvald served as a law clerk for the Hon. Frank Sullivan Jr. in the Indiana State Supreme Court.
Dana M. Malkus
Assistant Clinical Professor of Law
contributor to the “Workplace Prof Blog,” which provides daily information and scholarship on developments in the law of the workplace. Professor McCormick began her legal career as a staff attorney with the International Human Rights Law Institute, where she directed analysis and research on allegations of sexual violence committed during the war in the former Yugoslavia. She then went to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, where she litigated civil appeals in state and federal courts. She left the Illinois Attorney General’s Office to join the faculty at Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology. McCormick then moved on to Cumberland Law School at Samford University. While in law school, McCormick was the managing editor of the Iowa Law Review and was named the Outstanding Woman Law Graduate.
Saint Louis University School of Law, J.D. Indiana University-Bloomington, B.A.
Amy B. Meyers
Professor Dana M. Malkus is an assistant clinical professor of law at the SLU LAW Legal Clinics. She began her legal career as a law clerk to the Hon. E. Richard Webber of the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, where she performed research and writing assignments, managed daily motion filings and supervised the work of student interns. Professor Malkus later moved into the private sector as an associate attorney with Lewis, Rice & Fingersh and focused her practice in the areas of commercial real estate and general business law. She drafted and negotiated agreements, advised clients and closed various complex real estate and business transactions. After completing her undergraduate education, Professor Malkus spent a year as an AmeriCorps volunteer, working at the St. Louis City Circuit Attorney’s Office helping women obtain orders of protection.
Washington University, J.D.; B.A.
Marcia L. McCormick
Assistant Professor of Law
Associate Professor of Law
University of Iowa College of Law, J.D. Grinnell College, B.A. Professor Marcia L. McCormick joined the SLU LAW faculty as an associate professor. Her recent scholarship explores the areas of employment and labor law, federal courts as well as gender and the law. A prolific blogger, Prof. McCormick is a co-editor and
Assistant Professor of Law Professor Amy B. Meyers joins SLU LAW to teach legal writing after spending nearly a decade in both the private and public sector. Before entering the field of law, Meyers was a research assistant and laboratory manager, working with DNA, RNA and protein manipulation in bacteria yeast and plants. Meyers began her law career as a trial attorney for the Missouri State Public Defender, where she defended indigent criminal clients at the misdemeanor and felony levels in the City of St. Louis. She moved on to the firm of Moser and Marsalek, P.C. and defended medical malpractice and pharmaceutical litigation in state and federal courts as well as proceedings before the Missouri State Board of Registration. Most recently, Meyers was a senior health law litigation associate for the firm of Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard, P.C.
Efthimios Parasidis University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D. University of Pennsylvania Medical School, M.B.E. The College of New Jersey, B.A. Professor Efthimios Parasidis is the newest faculty member to join the Center for Health Law Studies. His scholarship examines bioethical and intellectual property issues in biotechnology law and policy. Prior to joining the faculty at SLU LAW, Parasidis was a visiting
assistant professor at Hofstra Law School, where he taught courses in intellectual property, health law and bioethics. In 2008, Professor Parasidis was selected as a Health Law Scholar by the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics. Parasidis is a consultant to the American College of Physicians, where he provides advice as to financial conflicts of interest in the medical and pharmaceutical professions. He was also recently awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research on the legal and ethical issues of medical informed consent policies and practices in Greece. In addition to his scholarship, Professor Parasidis served as an assistant attorney general for New York State under former Governors Eliot Spitzer and Andrew M. Cuomo. He served as lead counsel for more than 300 cases in state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels. Parasidis also worked as an associate in the litigation group of Jones Day and the intellectual property group of Dickstein Shapiro. At both law firms, Prof. Parasidis focused his practice on intellectual property counseling and litigation as well as mass tort and commercial litigation. Parasidis has also counseled biotechnology companies on corporate and intellectual property issues.
Brendan Roediger
Assistant Clinical Professor of Law Washington University, J.D. University of Minnesota, B.A. Professor Brendan Roediger is one of the faculty supervisors in the Civil Advocacy Clinic, and he coordinates the SLU LAW Pro Bono Program. He previously served as a lecturer in law and as a managing attorney for the Civil Justice Clinic at Washington University. After graduating from law school, Professor Roediger joined the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance in Illinois, litigating in the areas of housing preservation, housing discrimination, predatory lending, domestic relations and welfare rights. He served as the Land of Lincoln regional specialist on low-wage worker issues and as co-coordinator for the agency-wide Task Force on Health and Economic Security. He continues to serve as the housing law editor for Illinois Legal Advocate, a statewide technology center providing information and resources for legal services and pro bono attorneys.
Laura K. Schulz
Assistant Professor of Legal Writing Saint Louis University, J.D.; B.A. Professor Laura K. Schulz returns to her alma mater to teach legal writing, after spending several years at the firm of Shook, Hardy, & Bacon, LLP in Tampa, Fla. As an associate, Schulz conducted in-depth legal research, argued hearings and trained associates, paralegals and support staff in team-centered litigation. While pursuing her J.D. at SLU LAW, Professor Schulz served as a faculty fellow under Professor Roger L. Goldman. Her many roles included researching state statutes, regulations and cases pertaining to peace officer standards and training commissions. In addition, Professor Schulz received several Excellence Awards, including legal research and writing, employment discrimination and constitutional law.
Thomas L. Stewart
Assistant Clinical Professor of Law Saint Louis University, J.D. Southeast Missouri State University, B.S. Professor Thomas L. Stewart joins SLU LAW as an assistant clinical professor of law and director of the Trial Advocacy program. He spent the last 12 years as an adjunct professor at SLU LAW teaching Trial Advocacy and Evidence. For the past 23 years, Professor Stewart has engaged in private practice as a trial lawyer, specializing in products liability, medical negligence, class action litigation and toxic torts. Professor Stewart is also on the teaching faculty of the Missouri Judicial College and has served as a past president of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys. He is a certified neutral and has served as a mediator in more than 100 cases in state and federal court. Professor Stewart is a past recipient of the Lon O. Hocker Award for excellence in trial advocacy from the Missouri Bar Foundation. He also has guest lectured for Washington University MBA programs, Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, the Lawyers’ Association of St. Louis, the Missouri Bar Trial Institute, the Kessler-Edison Program for Trial Techniques at Emory University School of Law and Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief
The Consummate
Professor “There is no other discipline that touches more facets of human life than the law.” — Professor Vincent C. Immel By Kim Gordon
Teachers impart an incredible influence on shaping the minds of students — but the great ones sculpt the
fundamental ways their students think, reason, work and live.
I
f teachers are the masons in the building of a student into a professional, then Vincent Immel has been providing to his students the very foundational stones of the building process for decades, expressed the late attorney Henry Lay, ’64, who initiated the fundraising campaign to name the School of Law atrium after Professor Immel. “It is from this complicated and lengthy development process that a lawyer is made.” A brilliant and legendary teacher, Professor Vincent C. Immel possessed the three key talents needed to build exceptional lawyers: intellectual energy, discipline of work and generosity of spirit. For six decades, Professor Immel exemplified the consummate law professor and personified the critically important role a teacher plays in the development of young minds. “Professor Immel was the solid rock, thrown across a perfectly still pond, whose impact continues to ripple on and on, never stopping,” says attorney Thomas Q. Keefe Jr., ’78, who established the Vincent C. Immel Professorship in 2005. “When those ripples affect attorneys, prosecutors and judges as well as business, political and University leaders, the timeless mark of Professor Immel’s legacy on the entire legal community is stunning.” The fact that the atrium, two scholarships and a professorship are named in honor of Professor Immel provides evidence of his unparalleled influence on the School of Law and generations of its graduates. From 1958 to 2004, Professor Immel touched the minds and imaginations of School of Law students. For many
10 Saint Louis Brief Winter 2010
of those years, no student graduated without passing Professor Immel in Contracts and Remedies. “The impact Vince had as a teacher on the way that law is practiced in this town is simply extraordinary,” says Joel K. Goldstein, the Vincent C. Immel Professor of Law. “I suspect no other teacher has so influenced legal practice in any major city anywhere in the United States. If Yankee Stadium is the house that Ruth built, the St. Louis legal community is in a large part the bar that Immel taught and trained.” Professor Immel was born to be a teacher. From leading soldiers on the battlefield in World War II to educating five decades of law students at the School of Law, Professor Immel served as a personal and professional role model, who led and taught by example. “Professor Immel was the quintessential law professor, especially at a Catholic University,” says Dean Jeffrey E. Lewis. “He exemplified the Jesuit tradition of academic excellence, service to others and genuine interest in the whole person.” The venerable Professor Immel is the School of Law’s most revered professor whose inspiration touched an entire legal community. “In a lot of ways, Vincent Immel is the face of this institution and our law school’s greatest teacher,” says Professor John M. Griesbach. “The School of Law and Vince Immel will always be inseparably and positively connected. His life was the University and his students and colleagues were his family — and Saint Louis University School of Law is his legacy.”
The Legacy of Vincent C. Immel 1920 to 2009 Learning from a Legend
Professor Immel defines the classic law professor, a historic teacher with an everlasting vision of legal education. By force of his example, he taught generations of students to think like lawyers. From his intimidating intellect and exacting standards to his humorous discourse and hearty shoulder laugh, Professor Immel impressed upon his students the important aspects of the law and life. “Toughness is exactly what we needed in the classroom,” explains attorney Doreen Dodson, ’74. “But his compassion, deep interest in students and willingness to talk with and encourage us is exactly what we needed outside the classroom. Professor Immel represented everything that is good and true about our profession – I think he taught Atticus Finch how to be a lawyer.” Professor Immel realized that he best served students by setting the bar high, pushing them to find the answers themselves and allowing them to realize their full potential. He understood that the role of the law professor was to help students develop the skills to navigate through the complexities of the law.
“His great strength was that he challenged us to use our knowledge of the law to solve a problem,” explains Professor Peter W. Salsich Jr., ’65. “When you entered his class, you knew you were in law school — and that you better start thinking like a lawyer.” An imposing figure in the classroom, Professor Immel insisted students reason their way through problems, not around them. He pushed students to think analytically and precisely and to justify their conclusions in clear, defensible terms. Once during a Contracts class, a student responded with an answer that was “more or less” his conclusion. Immel fired back: “Well, which one is it: More or Less?” Professor Immel’s daunting standards of excellence engendered in his students an unyielding confidence. He toughened them up so that they were never afraid to appear in court or before a judge. “Students were petrified of him in the beginning because of his rigorous teaching, but they realized quickly they were learning a lot,” says Professor Josef Rohlik. By the time they graduated they’d say he was the best thing that ever happened to them — they truly loved him.”
Although he spent four years in the navy as an officer, the late Hon. H. Franklin Waters, ’64, admitted he was scared to death of Professor Immel. “His method of teaching, while not much fun at the time, was a great educational experience for me,” wrote Waters in a tribute to Immel. “He taught us that mushy thinking was not only bad but also would result in a seemingly irate scream and ridicule from him. To this day, when I hear a lawyer say that something is ‘ir-re-vocable,’ I cringe because I expect to hear Professor Immel scream.” Professor Salsich also recalls slinking down in his seat when he was next to be called upon. “You knew you better be prepared, he was tough and intimidating but fair,” he says. “He was the classic law professor, our very own Professor Kingsfield.” On the surface, Professor Immel’s austere, unrelenting approach appeared synonymous with the infamous Paper Chase professor: Immel’s impervious manner illustrated the tough, demanding Socratic style of teaching. However, comparing him to the Paper Chase’s Professor Charles Kingsfield made him growl and grumble. A young law student once asked Professor Immel: “What do you think of Professor Kingsfield because he reminds me of you?”
Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief 11
“We all wanted to be as good as he was and most of us spent our lives trying to do that. He was an immense inspiration to those around him. The people who had him as a teacher, their Saint Louis University law degree is better than those ones who didn’t.” — Michael A. Wolff, Missouri Supreme Court Judge
“Staff Sergeant Immel is the most intelligent enlisted man I have ever seen.” — Commanding Officer Captain Robert E. Glazebrook
“Students and alumni revere him and Missouri lawyers and politicians have the highest respect for him.” — Josef Rohlik, Professor of Law, Saint Louis University School of Law
“Please don’t forget that I was better than Joe Bartholomew, but you were better than all of us. If Saint Vince isn’t in heaven, we’re all in big trouble.” — Attorney Thomas Q. Keefe Jr., ’78
“Uncle Vince led a simple life, but it was rich with the things that really mattered.” — Sue Noel, Professor Immel’s niece
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“I think he is a pompous ‘bleep’” Immel responded, gruffly. Professor Susan A. FitzGibbon, ’84, explains that there was a rough immediacy in his class, which traced back to the life-or-death mentality of the battlefield. “He was a terrific teacher and a force of nature,” she says. “His teaching style had a dash of basic training and it kept us all on our toes.” And like a disciplined army sergeant, Professor Immel enforced strict rules — no food or drinks in class, prompt attendance and active participation were expected for the entire class. Professor Immel’s exacting approach even manifested in the finer points of grammar and style and these “Immelisms” still haunt many of his students — “the proper pronunciation of condition precedent; there is no “r” in Washington; and irregardless’ is NOT a word.”
next door could hear me, even with the doors shut his booming voice crashed through. That was Vince. He put his whole body and soul into teaching. I bet that booming voice still echoes in his students’ heads.”
From left, Professor Joel K. Goldstein, the Vincent C. Immel Professor of Law; Professor Immel; Thomas Q. Keefe and Father Lawrence Biondi.
An Inspiration to Generations
Vincent C. Immel was born in 1920 in Gibsonburg, Ohio, a small rural town in the northwestern corner of the state. The Immels instilled a strong work ethic in their children. His father held down several jobs, as a carpenter, factory worker and cemetery caretaker, while his mother worked as a seamstress, barber and paperhanger. The Catholic church where his father worked provided the Immels a plot of land to grow vegetables to help put food on their table during the Great Depression. Even though neither of his parents graduated from high school, the Immels stressed the importance of family and a good education. The oldest of eight, 19 years older than his youngest sibling, Immel served as a role model and helped raise some of his brothers and sisters, even putting some of his family members through college. “He was always there for our family,” says Sue Noel, Immel’s niece. “We had big family reunions every year, and he never missed one.” When Noel’s father, Willis Immel, died at the age of 49, Immel essentially adopted his brother’s children and served as the patriarch of the family. “He has 28 nieces and nephews, and Uncle Vincent came to all of our weddings,” she says, adding that her uncle walked her down the aisle. er). ue Noel’s fath (S “Behind the piercing scowl and booming is ill W d an n, Vince others, Warre voice, he had a wonderful, generous heart and laughed The Immel br Nor did he tolerate tardiness, with his shoulders, a family trait,” she says. “His great but he did hold himself to the same standards. sense of humor and sharp wit made it hard to tell Professor Immel was put to the test when his car when he was pulling our legs, even as adults. He had would not start following a morning mass at the high standards and always held us accountable, but we Cathedral Basilica. Class began at 8 a.m. sharp, and always knew we were very loved.” time was running short. He charged across the street, It wasn’t until his funeral that Noel and her stopping a car heading east down Lindell Boulevard. siblings fully realized the incredible impact their uncle The surprised woman agreed to give him a lift to had on so many prominent people. “We knew he was the law school. He arrived seconds before class and an important law professor,” she says, “but to hear delivered his lecture promptly at 8 a.m. politicians and Supreme Court justices talk about how “In the classroom he was like a wild animal, he touched their lives was amazing — but to us he’ll he reminded me of a tiger,” says Emeritus Professor always be Uncle Vinnie.” John E. Dunsford, ’56. “He was so passionate about After graduating valedictorian from his high teaching and cared deeply about his students.” school class, the young Immel earned a bachelor’s Emerita Professor Eileen Searls will never forget degree in education from Bowling Green State “his blasting voice — like a sergeant yelling drill University and planned to teach history after college. calls at the top of his lungs. He truly came alive in Instead, the Army drafted him to serve as a field the classroom.” artillery officer in World War II. He was quickly Emeritus Professor Joseph J. Simeone explains promoted to first lieutenant and commanded soldiers that “he would shout so loudly that no one in my class
photo by Dolan &
on the frontlines. The Army recognized his ability as a natural educator and assigned him to teach surveying and trigonometry to his fellow soldiers. He was later awarded a Bronze Star for his military service. “Vince’s experience on the battlefield left him with a sense of what is really important in life,” Professor Griesbach says. “He thought he had a duty to lead and prepare people to succeed, which began in the Army and then continued with his students.” With the assistance of the GI bill, Professor Immel enrolled in law school at the University of Michigan after leaving the Army. After graduating law school with distinction in 1948, Ohio Northern University hired him as an assistant professor. He taught for a decade at Ohio Northern before SLU LAW recruited him in 1958. Within three years, the School of Law promoted Immel to full professor — and within four years he was appointed dean in 1962. As dean, Immel was impressed by a bright, law student, the late Henry Lay. Dean Immel inquired about Lay’s finances for the upcoming semester, explaining he had access to “a fund” designed to help with cases like Lay’s. Throughout law school, money would be delivered to Lay in cash, with no promissory notes or loan applications. After a few semesters, Lay realized there was no fund, instead the money was coming from Immel himself. “The tradition of caring and sharing is the most important thing Professor Immel taught us,” wrote Lay in a tribute for a fundraising campaign he led on behalf of the Class of 1964 to name the law school’s new atrium in honor of Professor Immel in 1999. “That anonymous and almost bashful generosity of spirit is a wonderful cornerstone in building a successful life.”
Associates Photo
graphy
Dean Immel also had a life-changing impact on Lou Garr, another young law student in the Class of 1964. “If it wasn’t for Dean Immel, I would have never gotten into law school,” says Garr, who also worked with Lay to name the new atrium in Professor Immel’s honor. “I’m not sure whether Dean Immel needed another first-year student to fill a University quota or saw my potential, but in any event he took a chance on me. He let me in on probation, but he gave me the confidence and inspiration that I could succeed.” Garr went on to serve as executive vice president and general counsel of The May Department Stores Company, retiring in 1999 after 14 years in that position. “I’m still in awe of Dean Immel’s humbleness, generosity and teaching ability,” Garr says. The classroom was Immel’s true calling, and he resigned as dean in 1969 to return to full-time teaching. Although, he chose to make his mark through teaching, he also wrote questions for multi-state bar exams, published more than a dozen law journal articles and wrote several book chapters. His essay, “The Use of Contracts Courses as a Vehicle for Problem Solving,” still serves as a masterful guide to teaching a first-year course. “He was a steward of the law, and taught us how to think like lawyers,” Keefe says. “He inspired thousands of lawyers with his values and strength of character. He was an extraordinary teacher who inspired us to do the right things and his influence will never end. He made all of us that much better.” In 2005, Keefe established a professorship in honor of Professor Immel, which Professor Goldstein holds. “I can’t think of a greater, higher honor a teacher can have except for a former student to have thought so much of him and what he has done as to endow a professorship
“Vince dedicated his 89 years to the law, the legal profession and to teaching thousands of students by instilling in them not only knowledge but also a true love of the law. For almost 60 years, he lectured, cajoled, shouted and imparted in all those students seated before him a dedication to our profession.” — Emeritus Professor Joseph J. Simeone, an excerpt from a tribute he wrote in honor of Professor Immel.
“I never worked harder for a C in my life — and I never learned more about anything than I did from Professor Immel.” — Attorney Anthony DeWitt, ’93
“There is no greater evidence of his influence on me than the fact that we named our son after him.” — Attorney Joe Bartholomew, ’84
“Vince was a generous man. He gave so much to his students, family and the University — not just money, but his time and wisdom and that’s irreplaceable.” — Stephanie Haley, Clerical Supervisor, Saint Louis University School of Law
Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief 13
“Professor Immel represents everything that is good and true about our profession — I think he taught Atticus Finch how to be a lawyer.” — Attorney Doreen Dodson, ’74
“Vince Immel embodied and exemplified the Ignatian vision of rigorous demands and genuine interest in the whole person. He communicated those values to generations of students through personal example.” — Rudolph C. Hasl, ’67, Dean, President and Professor of Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law; and former Dean of Saint Louis University School of Law, 1979-1991
in my name,” Professor Immel said at the ceremony. In a moving speech at the installation, Professor Goldstein expressed that “none of us will ever approach the impact Vince has had on graduates of this law school. Vince was dedicated to teaching. I have often heard professionals say that they love their job so much they would do it for free. I have only met one person who practiced that sentiment.” Professor Immel donated 13 years of unpaid time to the School of Law. In 1990, he reached the mandatory retirement age at the University, but he wasn’t ready to stop teaching. He took emeritus status and taught a full course load without pay until 2003, continuing to serve as the endearing father figure at the oldest law school west of the Mississippi River. Over the years, Professor Immel received numerous awards, including the First School of Law Senior Faculty Award in 1973, the Excellence in Teaching Award in 1995 and the Governor’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 1999. In 1981, the University recognized him as the Teacher of the Year, and three years later, the law school established the Vincent C. Immel Scholarship endowment. The Lawyers Association of St. Louis honored him in 2000 with its annual Award of Honor, the association’s most prestigious award. “He was so excited about being recognized by the Lawyers Association and was proud to be honored by trial attorneys, especially because he had never practiced as a trial attorney,” recalls Professor FitzGibbon. Even at the end, Professor Immel would come to the law school every Tuesday to visit and talk with faculty and students and to catch up on correspondence. “He was a fixture at the School of Law,” Dean Lewis says. “Vince was fully engaged. He was sharp as a tack and quick with a smile and a chuckle up to the end.”
Vintage Vince
ent C. Immel Professor Vinc
and Professor
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Peter W. Salsich
The keen mental acuity that made him a strategic soldier and master teacher also parlayed into a proclivity for playing blackjack. Just weeks before he died, Professors Thomas L. Greaney, Sandra H. Johnson and Alan M. Weinberger took Professor Immel to the Casino Queen. “For hours he did not make one mistake, or hesitate once, and that cannot be said about the rest of us,” Greaney says. “His amazingly clear analytical mind and quick wit never faded.” While the dealer was shuffling, the SLU LAW professors asked their mentor where he developed his penchant for cards. Professor Immel explained he was stationed at the
bottom of a ship headed across the Atlantic during World War II. A single, red bulb cast a faint glow in the pitch-black bowels of the ship, allowing the troops just enough light to play cards for three days before heading to battle. “He loved scotch, blackjack and his rosary — a classic Vince combination,” says Professor Johnson. He also had an affinity for classical music, boasting a collection of more than 2,000 classical records and discs. As a lifelong bachelor — whose heart belonged to the elusive Esmeralda — Professor Immel led an active social life, which often centered around his students. “He had amazing relationships with his students,” Professor Johnson explains. “He loved them, and they loved him back.” He went to their parties, weddings, happy hours and even served as a character witness in court for a few of them. Each and every March 15, students would help Professor Immel celebrate his birthday with a sheet cake and a bottle of single-malt scotch. Students also performed at the annual talent show in his honor as the Vince Immel Dancers, the Rockette-esque chorus line dressed like him (short-sleeved white shirts, skinny ties and high-waisted pants) grinned like him and kicked their feet in high honor of him. And no one laughed louder or longer than Professor Immel. The evidence of that enduring student-teacher bond is compelling: How else could he vividly remember the names of students 40 and 50 years after he taught them? His encyclopedic memory instantly recalled not only the names of students whom he taught but also their résumés. “My most rewarding times are when I was invited by former students to their installations as judges or to their award ceremonies,” Immel once said. “It’s a joy to bask in their glory.”
An Eternal Influence
Beneath that gruff German demeanor, there was a deeply humble man with a heart of gold and a devout spirit. “Outside of class he was a sweet, gentle man,” says Stephanie Haley, the School of Law clerical supervisor, who worked for Professor Immel for more than 25 years. “I never experienced his wisdom in the classroom, but I learned from him the importance of family, faith and friendship. He was one-of-a-kind and an amazing man. I loved our talks and time together. People asked me how I could work for him because he was so gruff, and I’d say he’s really just a big teddy bear.” Rather than withering in fear (like his young law students) children melted the scowling stare and stern
exterior and brought out Professor Immel’s playful, kind-hearted spirit. “After meeting Vince, my (then) 4-year-old daughter would ask if we could see that man who growls then laughs like a bowl full of jelly,” Professor Johnson says. Professor Johnson’s affection for Professor Immel began when she joined the faculty in 1978, during an era when there were fewer female law professors nationally. “He went out of his way to make women, both faculty and law students, feel like we belonged and were valued,” she says. “He would make a point to mention female judges and attorneys in class and conversation. He was really an advocate for women.” Professors Johnson — along with Professors Salsich, FitzGibbon and Goldstein — explain that Immel served as a sage mentor to them as new faculty members, offering guidance and insight, but never imposing his approach on them. “He always told me to ‘teach from my own personality — be the teacher you are, that is the only way to be a good teacher’,” Professor Johnson recalls. Professor FitzGibbon adds she’ll always be indebted to Professor Immel as a student and colleague. “As I prepared to teach my first Contracts classes, I was amazed at how often and vividly Vince’s presentations sprang to my mind,” she says. “He was generous with his time, advice and perspective. From insight on exam questions to sharing his syllabus, he gave me invaluable counsel and support.” Professor Immel also served as an inspiration
beyond the classroom, explains Joe Bartholomew, ’84, who served as a pallbearer at his funeral. “He honored the law and its importance to society and lived by an unwavering code of ethics,” he says. “He was extremely dedicated to the University and to God, both of which were very evident in his life.” A pronounced spiritual side dwelt within Professor Immel, touching everything he did. “He was a deeply religious man, but he never forced his values on others,” says Haley, who grew to become like a daughter to Immel. “He went to daily mass at the Cathedral and sat in the same pew for 40 years. He was truly a Christian man, extremely kind and giving and he never wanted recognition or anything in return.” Professor Immel, deemed by many as the “Patron Saint of the Law School,” symbolizes the soul of Saint Louis University School of Law. Vincent C. Immel died on Nov. 26, 2009 — Thanksgiving Day — but his generous spirit and inimitable inspiration will live on for an eternity. “It was the last gift he gave us — dying on the morning of Thanksgiving Day,” says Keefe, who also was a pallbearer at Professor Immel’s funeral at the Cathedral Basilica. “It’s a poignant metaphor because it serves as a great reminder of how thankful and blessed we are that Vince was part of our lives. God created Vince Immel to teach, and he shared that extraordinary gift — which allowed generations of us to become great lawyers — until the very end.”
“There are a vast number of lawyers around the world who credit Professor Immel personally for a large measure of their success — he put the fire in the bellies of many who started law school to simply bide time. He infused in so many of us an enduring love of the law. Vince, my friend, we are all in your debt.” — Attorney Robert Ritter, ’68
“When you have difficult decisions to make you see the head of one of your professors over your shoulder and you listen to his advice and counsel. I think no greater tribute can be paid to a former teacher than to see his head everlastingly over your shoulder. I suspect many of you have occasions when you see Vince there everlastingly over your shoulder.” — Joel K. Goldstein, the Vincent C. Immel Professor of Law
* Quotes are a compilation of recent interviews, past articles and letters.
Celebration of Life Ceremony April 5 at 5:30 p.m., Busch Student Center, Saint Louis Room Please join alumni, faculty and friends as they reflect on Professor Immel’s legacy. We are collecting memories and tributes to be presented to Professor Immel’s family. To submit your memories of Professor Immel and to R.S.V.P. for the ceremony, visit law.slu.edu/Immel.
Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief 15
by Kim Gordon he law is everywhere — and there are few situations that don’t have legal implications. A strong legal education provides invaluable and transferable skills that allow law graduates to excel in numerous careers. Law school teaches students to understand complex issues from multiple vantage points and offers a competitive advantage in almost any field. Across the nation, SLU LAW alumni work at both large and small firms, succeed as CEOs, financial advisors and human relations directors, and serve in national, state and local government organizations. From entrepreneurs and entertainment agents; to prosecutors and public policy experts; to legal aid lawyers and partners at national firms, the School of Law educates its graduates to succeed in a variety of professions — but not all of those entail traditional legal practice. According to the American Bar Association, slightly more than 60 percent of attorneys in the United States practice law as defined by “delivering legal services to clients for profit.” The remaining 40 percent serve in legal positions at corporate or governmental agencies, and a large portion of those people work in positions that do not require a law degree, reports the ABA. The job market today, now more than ever, presents wide-ranging opportunities that extend far beyond the scope of traditional law. Corporations and small businesses need talented professionals to manage and recruit their staff. Strong communication skills and a solid knowledge of the legal industry open doors in employment and human resource management. The banking and finance industries involve complex legal, regulatory and compliance issues, positioning legal professionals to excel in these highly regulated fields. Consulting for corporations and law firms on business and law-related issues also allows attorneys to leverage their knowledge of the law into challenging career options.
16 Saint Louis Brief Winter 2010
ERIC [founder]
unlimited OPTIONS FOUNDER T AGENT MANAGER DIRECTOR PARTNER ADVISOR
SLU LAW alumni exemplify how a legal education paves the way for countless career paths
The digital age offers an open frontier for the tech-savvy legally minded, with positions in the fields of litigation support, e-discovery and computer forensics. While writing and researching provide the gateway and core skills into the world of legal publishing. “The reality is that alternative careers have always been there, but now people are starting to open their eyes to them,” says Mary Pat McInnis, assistant dean of career services. “More and more students are deciding not to practice traditional law and are pursuing careers in public policy, regulation or business.” A legal education provides an intense training ground where students are armed with highly marketable skills — critical thinking, strategic analysis, issue identification, conflict resolution — all backed by strong research, writing and communication abilities. The rigors of law school also allow students to gain confidence, discipline and the ability to work under intense pressure. “Law school teaches a new set of analytical and problem-solving skills that transfer across many career paths,” McInnis says. “It also allows you to think outside of the box and affords greater creativity and confidence in the work force.” A love of the law draws most students to law school — and a strong legal foundation provides key skills that prepare graduates to succeed in numerous fields. The following SLU LAW alumni showcase the flexibility and versatility of a legal education and demonstrate how a law degree leads to unlimited career options.
ERIC WESTACOTT, ’01 Founder & Owner, Invision
Eric Westacott thrives on taking risks. As an athletic pre-med student at Southwest Missouri State University, Eric Westacott, ’01, was holding down an 18-hour course load, coaching baseball 20 hours a week
photo by Jay Fram
and serving as president of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Then three weeks shy of his 21st birthday, life threw him a curve ball — and his world changed forever. At a college softball game, he went for it. Trying to extend a triple into an inside-the-park homerun — he slid into home plate, breaking his neck. The life-changing injury snapped his fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae, leaving Westacott a quadriplegic. After months and months of intensive rehab, Westacott met Washington University Professor David Gray, a nationally renowned disability researcher who is also a quadriplegic. “I was working on a project with Professor Gray that involved classification of disabilities, and I needed to figure out how to apply the law in those areas,” he says. The medical-legal research sparked Westacott’s interest in studying law, and he saw a chance to combine his biology degree with the law by practicing personal injury defense. “I’ve always been competitive because I’m an athlete,” he explains. “The fast pace, high energy and immediacy of the courtroom excited me and working on the frontlines of medical malpractice litigation seemed like a great fit. I also knew earning a law degree would result in strong practical and professional skills that would open many career opportunities.” After graduating from SLU LAW, Westacott built a successful career as an attorney at Rynearson, Suess, Schnurbusch & Champion, where he focused on the medical aspects of insurance defense cases for insurance clients such as Liberty Mutual and State Farm. However, when a business opportunity to start his own company with a college friend came his way, Westacott saw another chance to go for it. And they founded Invision, a full-service electronic document management company, in 2006. With services ranging from e-discovery and electronic document capture to the production of high-impact, court-ready
exhibits, the St. Louis-based company assists law firms and businesses — such as Shell Oil, Anheuser-Busch, Emerson and high profile national law firms — turn information into knowledge. “As electronic document experts, we ensure that attorneys and businesses find the information they need effectively and efficiently,” Westacott says. “Legal teams and companies harbor massive volumes of documents and archived files that contain vital information, often hidden within pages of unsearchable paper, that’s critical to representing their clients — one lost fact or poorly presented evidence in the courtroom could have serious detrimental effects.” Westcott explains that his law degree and courtroom experience lend considerable credibility to the company. “Our clients know I understand the multiple pressures attorneys face in the courtroom because I’ve been there and done that,” he says. “In law school, you learn a unique set of problem-solving skills and how to apply complex concepts to arrive at smart solutions — and those abilities have served me very well in this field.” In addition to Invision, Westacott established the Eric Westacott Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the study and cure of spinal cord injuries. The foundation hosts a series of motivational programs, fundraising events and stem cell awareness efforts. Westacott explains that the School of Law’s emphasis on public service helped inspire him to serve as a motivational speaker and to help others with spinal cord injuries, including raising more than $30,000 to fund groundbreaking physical therapy for an 11-year-old boy. “The School of Law taught me how to be an effective advocate,” he says. “I realized the impact I can have on spinal cord research — and how one person can truly make a difference.”
Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief 17
KATRINA A. SHANNON, ‘00
Manager of Regulatory Compliance & Patient Safety, Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital Even as a little girl, Katrina Shannon knew she wanted to be an attorney. By the time she was an undergraduate at SLU, Shannon was drawn to health law, tailoring her college curriculum to prepare for the rigors of law school and working as a health care administration intern at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and a legal services intern at BJC HealthCare. After earning a health law certificate from the Center for Health Law Studies, she took a position as an associate attorney at Lashly & Baer, P.C. She spent three years at the firm, working with major clients such as Metro and the Saint Louis Public Schools. When an opportunity to serve as a patient safety specialist in the Risk Management Department at BarnesJewish Hospital came her way in 2003, she jumped at the chance to combine her passion for health care and the law. In 2009, Shannon became the manager of regulatory compliance and patient safety at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital. In this role, Shannon ensures that the hospital complies with federal, state and local regulations relating to patient care. She also investigates patient safety incidents, manages patient complaints and serves as the communication liaison between in-house and external counsel, patients and hospital staff. “There’s a lot of mental gymnastics in compliance and risk management,” she explains. “Compliance is a big word, but to break it down simply, my main focus is to ensure that the hospital is doing the right things right.” Whether it’s adhering to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid or Missouri Department of Health and Human Services regulations, or weighing in on whether the Emergency Department is prepared to handle a flu pandemic, maintaining patient safety is the hospital and Shannon’s utmost priority. 18 Saint Louis Brief Winter 2010
“At BJC, we strive do so much more than what is required by federal, state and local law or other accrediting bodies — if the floor is where we need to be to comply with these regulatory provisions, we’re aiming for the ceiling.” With health care comes an inherent risk — and if a serious patient safety incident occurs, it’s Shannon’s job to investigate the situation and get to the bottom of why it happened in the first place. “The impact I can make on the preventive end is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job,” she says. “We break down the issues until we can determine the root causes leading up to the incident and how to fix the process so the situation does not reoccur.” And it’s those skills — critical thinking, strategic analysis, issue identification, negotiating resolutions — that allow Shannon to mediate and diffuse difficult situations that could potentially result in lawsuits against the hospital. Shannon not only uses these tools in her role at BarnesJewish West County Hospital, but she is also an adjunct faculty member in the Legal Studies programs at Maryville and Webster universities. “The skills you learn in law school are transferable to many career paths,” she says. “Law school armed me with the tools I use every day to be a great advocate for the hospital.”
TIMOHTY L. KANE, ‘89
First Vice-President of Investments and Senior Partner, Merrill Lynch Kane Fasanello Group The fields of banking and finance are fiercely regulated — one mistake can lead to massive disaster for companies. It’s a field of constant legal change and an extensive understanding of the complexities of the law is vital, explains Timothy L. Kane, first vice-president of investments and senior partner of the Kane Fasanello Group at Merrill Lynch in Buffalo, N.Y. With a client portfolio boasting more than $400 million in corporate, family and individual assets held at Merrill Lynch,
Kane has extensive experience assisting high-net-worth clients with financial advice, investment strategies and global wealth management. “We believe that a successful wealth management strategy scrutinizes all aspects of a client’s financial life,” Kane says. “By serving as our clients’ essential partners, we understand all of our clients’ situations, needs and goals. We place a lot of value on the disciplined approach we bring to each client relationship.” Kane explains his legal education provided him the strategic and analytical skills required to successfully oversee the complicated legal issues involved in sophisticated financial planning and asset management. “Just as a lawyer has to prepare an argument or a brief to present to a panel of judges, as a financial advisor I have to prepare sophisticated plans and present them to groups of trustees, family consultants, lawyers and accountants,” he says. “I have a tremendous advantage when it comes to communicating with those groups because I have practiced law and understand the legal complexities of the relevant financial transactions.” Long before Kane decided to apply to law school, he knew that he wanted to work on Wall Street, which led him to major in finance at Cornell University. Back then, Kane couldn’t have foreseen the interconnectedness of the financial and legal worlds — and how his interest in both finance and the law would ultimately combine. After earning his law degree at SLU LAW, Kane served as an associate with one of Buffalo’s largest law firms. “The first few years were enjoyable,” he says. “But toward the end it became monotonous and mundane. It paid well, but I felt like a glorified research clerk.” Then after six years of practicing law, Kane wanted a change. When Merrill Lynch approached him about working in the company’s Global Wealth Management division in 1995, he was intrigued. Merrill Lynch’s commitment to working directly with and creating strategies for clients impressed Kane — and he made the career move from attorney to financial advisor.
DUSTY [director]
TIMOTHY [partner]
KATRINA [manager]
photo by Jay Fram
Now as a first vice president and senior partner, Kane specializes in sophisticated estate and investment planning and professional money management. He also serves as a portfolio manager in the Merrill Lynch Personal Investment Advisory Program — a distinction held by fewer than 15 percent of Merrill Lynch advisors throughout the nation. He explains that his law degree has helped leverage his legal knowledge into a prominent position in the financial services industry. He also credits SLU LAW for providing the foundational skills behind his successful career. “Law school taught me to listen, analyze and write succinctly and to be very focused and efficient,” he says. “If a law school is doing its job, students are taught to read, write and think exceptionally well — and those skills are always in great demand and highly transferable to numerous fields.”
DUSTY DESCHAMP, ‘04
Director of Human Resources, Saint Louis Zoo The excitement of the courtroom first drew Dusty Deschamp to law school. The School of Law’s Trial Advocacy courses, coupled with his competitive nature, further confirmed his desire to practice civil litigation. After graduation, Deschamp pursued his ambition of working as an associate attorney at Greensfelder and then went on to serve as an associate trial attorney at Copeland, Thompson Farris P.C. But he soon realized that arguing in court was only a fraction of the job. Around that time, an opportunity arose for Deschamp to serve as the director of human resources at the Saint Louis Zoo. “From CEOs to part-time clerks, the laws governing employment issues affect everyone in every field,” he says. “The intersection of employment and the law offers wideencompassing career opportunities.” At the Zoo, Deschamp supervises a broad range of non-legal duties, from managing employee issues and disputes to handling compensation and benefit programs to accessing risk, safety and security concerns. He also
oversees legal matters, such as drafting vendor and employee contracts and consulting legal counsel on an array of labor and employment issues. The fundamental skills he learned in law school — critical thinking, problem solving, balancing issues, resolving disputes — define Deschamp’s strengths. “SLU did an exceptional job of teaching me how to think and resolve conflicts like a lawyer. The Saint Louis Zoo is basically my client now — and those skills allow me to consistently come to solutions that are in the Zoo’s best interest.” During trials, attorneys must make quick decisions on their feet, which is exactly what Deschamp does daily at the Zoo. Whether it’s placating simple visitor complaints or resolving complex disputes between the Zoo’s disparate departments, his legal education honed his ability to quickly and effectively resolve conflicts. “The Zoo is like a small city with people from all walks of life in wide-ranging positions — animal keepers, accountants, marketing executives, facilities management and volunteers — and all those groups have unique sets of issues and concerns. I have to balance their interests to reach fair compromises. There is never just one solution — I definitely learned that in law school.” In addition to collaborating with diverse groups, another benefit of working at the Zoo is in-house stress management. “Not a lot of people have cheetahs, elephants and giraffes outside their offices,” he says. “If I’m having a stressful day here, I take a walk and watch the animals.” The 90-acre world-class Saint Louis Zoo is home to nearly 18,000 animals, many of which are endangered or threatened. The Zoo’s mission to strive for conservation, support the care of animals and educate the community about conservation circles back to the same spirit of community service that SLU embodies, he explains. “Both the University and the Zoo strive to make the world a better place,” Deschamp says. “Working at the Zoo is so rewarding because everyone is passionate about what they do and they’re devoted to supporting the Zoo’s mission.”
photo by Jay Fram
PLATINUM SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT MANAGEMENT
Agents Nick Brockmeyer, ‘04, Kenneth Powell, ‘04, & Bert Fulk, ‘07
Platinum sports agent Kenny Powell’s phone has been ringing off the hook since midnight when Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Juan Abreu became a free agent on Nov. 19. The next morning at Platinum Sports & Entertainment Management — the largest baseball agency in the Midwest — Powell and Platinum president Nick Brockmeyer — are still fielding calls from dozens of Major League teams, eventually negotiating a lucrative contract for the hard-throwing reliever with the Atlanta Braves. Dozens of autographed pictures of MLB players frame the walls of the international full-service sports agency, which represents and advises more than 50 Minor and Major League baseball clients, including San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Thatcher, Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dinkelman and Florida Marlins pitcher Brad Stone. In addition to representing players, Platinum Sports negotiates endorsement contracts and provides legal counsel, career development and financial planning services. “As a baseball agency, our goal is to support our clients in every way possible so they can put their focus and energy toward developing their baseball careers,” Powell says. “This individual attention, coupled with our agency’s intensive knowledge of the baseball industry, offers our clients the best chance to succeed both on and off the field. This business is all about building relationships and taking care of our players.” From negotiating multimillion dollar contracts to procuring endorsements, the SLU LAW graduates explain that in the business of sports, their law degrees often are what seal the deal.
Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief 19
MARY BETH LUNA WOLF, ‘01
Vice President Public Affairs, Fleishman-Hillard As an elementary education teacher Mary Beth Luna Wolf knew that earning a law degree would open doors she never before thought possible. 20 Saint Louis Brief Winter 2010
MARY BETH [VP]
BERT, NICK, KENNY [agents] “A legal education is a valuable commodity,” Brockmeyer says. “Our J.D.s give us so much credibility. If another agency is going after a player, and I’m the one with the law degree — I’m the one who signs him.” Being backed with a legal education is an invaluable asset to the Platinum agents because everything boils down to negotiating. “Whether it’s a shoe deal with Nike, a player’s monthly salary or even how many cards a player will autograph after a game, it’s all about negotiating,” Powell says. “Having a law degree gives our clients confidence they we can handle their careers.” Brockmeyer founded the agency in 2004 while finishing his third year at the School of Law. The following year, Powell, who’s fluent in Spanish and serves as the international vice president, and Bert Fulk, the agency’s executive vice president, joined their SLU LAW classmate to create the Platinum team. Although the Platinum agents credit their legal education for honing the negotiation and transactional skills that are priceless in their field, SLU LAW also stressed the importance of ethics, especially in the highly lucrative (and sometime unsavory) business of sports, which can be tainted by greed and cut-throat competition. “We are all Christian and ethical guys who do the right things the right way,” Brockmeyer says. “SLU and especially our experiences in the Legal Clinics further enforced the importance of ethics in the law and in life.”
“When I applied to law school, I was interested in working with children and families because of my experience in the classroom,” she says. “The idea of law school intrigued me. I was drawn to the challenge of completing a rigorous degree program. I knew it would be a trade that would lead to numerous opportunities.” Law school taught Wolf the foundational skills of strategic and analytical thinking, but her upper division courses and experience on family law cases with the Legal Clinics and Catholic Legal Assistance Ministry allowed Wolf to realize her true strengths: communication and conflict resolution. “I realized in law school I enjoyed working under pressure, developing a compromise and then communicating the result — I like to put out fires,” she says. And she does that nearly every day as a vice president in public affairs at Fleishman-Hillard, an international public relations agency headquartered in St. Louis. There, she works on a variety of projects, from sustainability practices to health care issues, and assists clients with communications, grassroots outreach and incorporating social media into their efforts. Her clients range from local nonprofit organizations to international corporations. Wolf explains that her law degree offers considerable credibility when dealing with clients, the media and the public. “Fleishman-Hillard frequently partners with law firms to help clients deal with a particular issue or lawsuit,” she says. “Lawyers express situations in legal matters, and I help communicate those statements in a way the public can understand the issues. It’s a great partnership because many times the method we use to proactively communicate or to respond to media inquiries can defuse a situation and help a client’s case.”
After she graduated from SLU LAW, Wolf quickly realized how her law degree made a profound difference on her résumé. She began her public policy career in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Department of Education. She went on to serve as counsel to former President George W. Bush’s White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth. From there, she worked as an advisor on labor, pension, education and child welfare issues for U.S. Senator Mike DeWine (OH). She served as general counsel of his Subcommittee on Substance Abuse and Mental Health and negotiated for language to be included in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that would assist children in foster care. “My passion to help children in foster care began in the Legal Clinics and during law school when I served as a CASA volunteer,” she says. Before joining Fleishman-Hillard in 2008, Wolf served as a senior policy advisor to Missouri Governor Matt Blunt, where she helped draft legislation — which ultimately became Missouri law — to increase funding to Missouri public schools and to assist children with disabilities. “Law school taught me the problem-solving skills necessary to analyze legislation and spot shortcomings in the law,” she says. And it’s those skills that allow Wolf to identify important issues and communicate effectively to the public and media on issues that profoundly impact hundreds of lives. “I would not be where I am today without my J.D. — it’s opened so many opportunities throughout my career,” she says. “My experience at SLU really shaped my life and moved me down a career path that may not have been in the practice of law but capitalized on my skills and abilities.”
major league all-star BY COURTNEY IRWIN
As a media authority, leading policy advisor and prolific scholar, Professor Thomas L. Greaney positions the Center for Health Law Studies to shine in the national spotlight.
T
o the casual observer, Professor Thomas L. Greaney’s office is not much different from that of any other law professor. As co-director of the Center for Health Law Studies, multiple volumes of legal textbooks line the walls near his meticulously organized desk. Throughout the office are traces of his East Coast roots — a blue New Jersey license plate nailed to the wall hangs alongside a faded Bruce Springsteen baseball hat. And as a devout member of Red Sox Nation, stapled to Greaney’s bulletin board is a postcard of Fenway Park while an autographed Ted Williams photo adorns the nearby wall. “You see that stack there,” says Greaney, as he points to a gargantuan mound of papers piled up so high that it rivals Fenway’s Green Monster. “That’s the House (health care reform) bill. That’s all 1,990 pages of it.” Greaney, the Chester A. Myers Professor of Law, then nods his head toward another voluminous text (this one a mere 1,600 pages in length) which he
photo by Kevin Lowder
identifies as Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems. The book, which he coauthored with Emerita Professor Sandra H. Johnson in 1987, still serves as the nation’s leading health law textbook at more than 150 universities across the country. “We put out the sixth edition two years ago, and we just decided that we have to put out a newer edition,” Greaney explains. “I would say 30 percent of the book has to be radically changed; it has to be edited very closely because of what’s been happening over the past three years. One of our co-authors suggested that the next issue have wheels put on it for students to carry it directly to class.” It is Greaney’s ability to take extremely complex and abstract policy issues and translate them into relatable and comprehensible subject matters that has gained him national recognition among policy makers and media pundits. Professor Johnson, his longtime colleague, believes she knows the source of Greaney’s success: “Must be his Irish heritage,” she jokes.
— Courtney Irwin contributed information to this story.
Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief 21
this is going to be simple or anything other than a bureaucratic mess, I can’t deny that.” When asked if the onslaught of social media outlets, such as the blogosphere, Facebook or Twitter, helps or hinders the health care reform debate, Greaney acknowledges that it has been a positive contribution.
photo by Kevin Lowder
“The lack of competition is the rationale, after all, for the ‘public option’— to install a competitor whose incentive is not to go along with the monopolists.” Los Angeles Times, Nov. 2, 2009 22 Saint Louis Brief Winter 2010
“In all seriousness,” she continues, “Tim has a way with words. Whether in writing or speaking, he can take complicated ideas and make them accessible without losing a sophisticated understanding of the issue.” That ability is due in large part to 20 years of extensive scholarship exploring the need for competition in health care reform. “My main interest has been competition in health care and how it works,” Greaney says. “And most recently in the health care reform debate, those issues have become front and center because it’s a matter of how much can you rely on competition and markets to control costs after we’ve had reform.” In line with this philosophy, Greaney was invited to submit written testimony to the U.S. Senate on competition policy and health care reform last July. In his statement, Greaney expressed his belief that injecting a new player, in the form of a public option, would invigorate the health insurance market. Specifically, that “competition among private insurers (perhaps augmented by a public plan option) will drive hospitals, physicians, pharmaceutical companies and device
manufacturers to offer their goods and services at reasonable prices and will reduce excessive and wasteful expenditures.” Last November, Greaney delivered a presentation about concentration and competition in health care to the National Health Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. The nonpartisan organization offers educational programs designed to aid congressional and federal agency staff to become better informed about current health policy issues. In attendance for Greaney’s talk were staff members of the Senate and House, the Department of Human Health and Services, the Government Accountability Office and Congressional Research Service — multiple major players of the Washington, D.C. infrastructure. “That’s the kind of participation that I really enjoy,” Greaney explains. “For me, the most interesting thing, having written about this, is to talk to the people who are now going to be charged with somehow fixing it.” However, with so many undefined pieces of health care reform legislation and so much uncertainty, Greaney remains a realist about the painstaking process that accompanies major change. “The idea that
“Repealing the exemption is not the silver bullet that I think some proponents are claiming. It certainly is not going to make a big difference in terms of the competitiveness of the markets.” Bloomberg.com, Oct. 23, 2009 “People are instantly commenting in a very sophisticated way,” he says. “Ezra Klein [domestic policy blogger for the Washington Post] has been so far ahead of the game. I read his articles and think, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that.’ And there are a few critics I read regularly. So, I’ve learned from both sides.” And with such a barrage of health care reform coverage, Greaney admits that there is very little that the media has not reported about. “It’s hard to say that they’ve neglected anything,” he explains.
“There is somebody talking at all levels.” In addition to translating the policy language in health care reform legislation, Greaney is continuously called upon to provide analysis of antitrust enforcement issues that arise from health care mergers. Most recently, Greaney has been a preferred commentator regarding the McCarron-Ferguson Act for publications such as the Associated Press, Bloomberg. com, Los Angeles Times, National Journal, PBS.org and The Wall Street Journal. Passed by Congress in 1945, the act allowed states rather than the federal government to regulate insurance companies. This past fall, the House Judiciary Committee voted to revoke the health insurance industry’s antitrust exemption. Proponents of this move argued that it would promote competition among health care insurers and protect consumers from skyrocketing premium costs. While agreeing that it was time to remove the outdated law, Greaney asserted that in the broad scheme of health care reform, it was not much of a solution. “My bottom line is that ending exemption won’t do any harm, but it probably won’t make much difference,” Greaney explained in recent media interviews. “The main problem as I see it has been that the Justice Department hasn’t challenged some of these mergers, but it’s not a lack of power, so much as a lack of will.” As he reflects on the media hoopla and tumultuous debates in Congress that have accompanied health care reform, Greaney is cautiously optimistic. If the legislation passes, he believes there will be signs of improvement, though perhaps not as quickly as Americans are hoping. “People look at their watches and say, ‘Okay, I don’t see things getting better.’ What’s hard with the media and the 24-hour news cycle is trying to explain they’re going to see some benefits down the road — their kids are going to see the benefits. That’s the hard part because everybody wants proof that it’s working. The real challenge for the media will be how to present this as a work in progress and not a failure.” For Greaney, giving countless interviews with the media has been an ideal opportunity to further promote
SLU LAW’s nationally acclaimed health law program. However, it’s not just the reporters who’ve impressed Greaney with their extensive knowledge of the health reform debate, his SLU LAW students also continue to astound him. “At a place like the School of Law, what’s interesting is you’ve got this range of sophistication that is unbelievable,” he explains. “In terms of integrating what’s going on, I just make a point of telling students that they should be reading
“It’s a historical anomaly. The rationale for the exemption has dissipated.” The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 9, 2009 The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal everyday. It’s not just preparing for what’s on the final. Your life has to be staying ahead of your clients in terms of knowing what’s going on in the field.” Professor Johnson says she’s continually impressed with the tremendous effort Greaney invests toward developing career opportunities for SLU LAW students. “His leadership of the Center has been creative, collaborative and effective,” she says. “When you work with Tim, you are working with the best.” Professor Robert Gatter, co-director of the Center for Health Law Studies, agrees that Greaney is a tireless advocate for SLU LAW students, faculty and staff. “And that — along with his sense of humor — makes it a real joy to work with him,” he says. “Tim is an enormously talented health law scholar with a love of the law, politics and baseball.”
Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief 23
T
he ArchCity Defenders are determined to slow the notorious revolving door of the criminal justice system. After graduating SLU LAW last spring, Thomas Harvey, John McAnnar and Michael-John Voss co-founded the ArchCity Defenders, a nonprofit corporation that provides legal services to the indigent through holistic legal advocacy. This longpracticed approach brings together experts from a variety of disciplines — criminal and civil attorneys, social workers, investigators and community groups — to address all the client’s legal needs and provide services to mitigate the underlying issues that lead to repeat recidivism. “Holistic defense offers the best chance of improving the lives of our clients and our community,” Harvey says. Indigent defendants frequently face multiple issues — unemployment, mental illness, homelessness, substance abuse — that compound the criminal charges. Dedicated to changing more than their clients’ immediate legal troubles, the ArchCity Defenders provide long-term advocacy to help clients lead or transition back to productive lives. The ArchCity Defenders credit SLU LAW and the Legal Clinics for introducing them to the principles of holistic advocacy. The School of Law stresses the education of the whole person — not just learning the law — along with the importance of public service, Voss says. “We feel a moral and ethical obligation to take on this project and be a part of the solution.” At the Legal Clinics, the ArchCity Defenders learned to view their clients not as cases, but as people, explains McAnnar, who drafted briefs and presented oral arguments to the Missouri Court of Appeals for clinic cases. “It’s not just about the legal issues,” he says, “it’s about helping them with housing and unemployment problems, even little things like explaining to an immigrant how to get a driver’s license.”
From left, John McAnnar, ’09, Thomas Harvey, ’09, and Michael-John Voss, ’09
“Most students in the Criminal Defense Clinic are shocked when they actually see the criminal justice system in motion,” explains Professor McGraugh. “On their first day, students see a docket of confined defendants — a line of African-American men brought into the courtroom on a chain — that impression never leaves them. It colors everything they do afterwards.” The Sixth Amendment guarantees the accused the right to counsel. But for years, the Missouri Public Defender System has been in serious crisis — too few attorneys handling too many cases threaten to potentially collapse the system, report legal and justice system experts. Missouri currently ranks at the bottom nationally in supporting indigent defendants, according to a study by the Center for Justice, Law & Society. And as Missouri criminal caseloads continue to increase, policymakers seriously doubt if the state can meet its constitutional duty to provide effective legal representation. Missouri’s underfunded, overburdened system prompted the three SLU LAW attorneys to form the ArchCity Defenders to serve as a supplement to the Public Defender System. ArchCity is modeled after the Bronx Defenders, a nonprofit group that provides free legal representation to people charged with crimes in New York City. “Our clients — the otherwise forgotten poor — don’t qualify for the services of other organizations, are underserved by existing overwhelmed public defender systems and cannot afford private counsel,” Harvey says. The Public Defender System is limited when it comes to helping indigent clients — only criminal charges can be addressed because public defenders
doesn’t meet indigent guidelines, but can’t afford an attorney. He ends up sitting in jail for months, until he’s declared indigent — now he’s out of work and homeless. I’ve seen plenty of people get tickets for not paying MetroLink fares and it ends up destroying their lives.” Cathy Kelly, deputy director of the Missouri Public Defender System, adds that there are thousands of borderline people who the system is unable to serve because they earn just above statemandated guidelines. “No one can deny there’s a gap between those who qualify for defender services and those who can truly afford to hire an attorney,” Kelly says. “The ArchCity Defenders fill a need for those who might otherwise fall between the cracks.” And for many clients, criminal charges are sometimes the least of their concerns. “They are often homeless, jobless and have drug problems,” Harvey says. “We can fix the acute problem (the criminal charge), but you can’t put a band-aid on someone who’s bleeding to death and expect to save them.” The three young attorneys were also struck by the number of people in the system who suffer from mental illness or substance abuse issues, which often must be handled across a maze of multiple agencies that fall out of the realm of the criminal courts. “Failing to address what brought them into the system in the first place is treating the symptoms of a disease and never the disease itself,” Kelly says. “Holistic advocacy is the most effective approach if you truly want to make a difference in the lives of those who come through the criminal justice system.” As the ArchCity Defenders move into their recently donated office on Laclede’s Landing, the
ArchCity DEFENDERS
“Holistic defense offers the best chance of improving the lives of our clients and our community.”
— thomas harvey
FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE: SLU LAW attorneys provide a holistic approach to criminal defense BY KIM GORDON
As an intern at the Public Defender’s Office in St. Louis City, Harvey handled the docket for the SLU LAW Criminal Defense Clinic under the direction of Professor Sue McGraugh. He conducted preliminary and revocation hearings, but representing the homeless truly opened his eyes to the needs of people facing criminal prosecution.
24 Saint Louis Brief Winter 2010
are statutorily restricted from handling civil charges, which often exacerbate the clients’ problems. During law school, the ArchCity Defenders saw firsthand how minor violations can snowball into major issues. “There are many invisible problems that arise over the course of a criminal case,” McAnnar says. “Take the defendant who
attorneys will begin handling a limited number of pro bono cases. “We are optimistic about our future careers, and we are passionate about this project,” McAnnar says. “There is an incredible need out there. Holistic defense is the best chance of breaking the cycle of revolving door justice.”
photo by Jay Fram
Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief 25
facult y profile
Anders Walker, Assistant Professor of Law
faculty profile
photo by Jay Fram
Legal History Lessons
Anders Walker The job of an attorney “ is not to impose his or her
views onto others, but to listen to clients, give prudent advice and work within the realm of the possible. 26 Saint Louis Brief Winter Spring 2009 2010
”
St. Louis is an incredible place to teach and research American legal history. Though widely recognized as the Gateway to the West, the city is also an important crossroads between the North and the South. During slavery, St. Louis courts became known for respecting the legal claims of African Americans attempting to purchase their freedom. This explains why Dred Scott returned to St. Louis from Wisconsin, even though his owner had left him there and he could have continued north to Canada. Scott’s eventual freedom suit succeeded at the trial level in St. Louis, but lost in the U.S. Supreme Court, speeding the nation’s descent into civil war. During the Civil War, St. Louis Germans formed the backbone of the Union army in Missouri. As skilled craftsmen, Germans in St. Louis opposed slavery as a matter of economic principle and embraced President Lincoln’s struggle to preserve the Union as a logical extension of their own struggle to unite Germany during the failed Revolution of 1848. German unionism haunted much of the Supreme Court’s docket during the infamous Lochner era, even as xenophobia animated legal campaigns to eradicate German culture during World War I. Recovering local history is important to show how context can influence legal outcomes. Though students often apply to law school thinking that a J.D. will enable them to affect social change, legal history suggests the opposite is often true: Social change tends to determine legal results. In class, I try to emphasize the impact of popular politics on legal outcomes, whether it be the enforcement of minority rights or the imposition of grand schemes to resolve longstanding social problems. Once students understand that the success or failure of such measures is ultimately contingent on what a majority of voters are willing to accept, they immediately become better lawyers. After all, the job of an attorney is not to impose his or her views onto others, but to listen to clients, give prudent advice and work within the realm of the possible. Often, the possible and the perfect are two very different things — a lesson that legal history teaches all too well. — Anders Walker
A Sterling Scholar What is the precise relationship between popular democracy and legal rights? This is one of the questions that interests Professor Walker. Voted Teacher of the Year in 2009, Professor Walker uses American legal history to illustrate how electoral politics, national security concerns and vigilantism determine the enforceability of legal rights, even those deemed inalienable or fundamental. The author of a new book on how southern moderates undermined black-rights claims in the American South, Professor Walker became interested in what he calls
“democracy’s double edge” while pursuing a Ph.D. in African American Studies and history at Yale University. “When people think about minority rights,” Walker posits, “they often think about racial minorities. Yet, our nation’s founders stressed the importance of minority rights as a check against majority misrule. It is what makes our Republic unique.” Since coming to St. Louis, Walker has expanded his scope of inquiry to include criminal defendants, gun rights advocates and proponents of property rights at the turn of the 20th century. In his next book, Rights & Reactions: Herbert Wechsler and the Art of Reform, Professor Walker examines how Columbia law professor Herbert Wechsler reconciled minority rights and majority rule from the 1930s-1960s. Writing against scholars who have pilloried Wechsler for criticizing Brown v. Board of Education in 1959, Professor Walker demonstrates how Wechsler consistently advanced the cause of racial minorities and criminal defendants without incurring popular backlash. Professor Walker’s most recent piece on Wechsler’s transformation of criminal law teaching won the 2009 Junior Scholar Award from the Association of American Law Schools on Criminal Justice.
Résumé • Assistant Professor of Law, Saint Louis University School of Law, 2006 to present • Assistant Professor, City University of New York Graduate Center, 2005-2006 • Assistant Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2003-2006 • Golieb Fellow in Legal History, New York University School of Law, 2002-2003 • Law Clerk to the Hon. Howell Cobb, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, 1998-1999 • Research Fellow, North Carolina Attorney General, Special Litigation Division, 1996-1997 • Summer Intern, Chief Justice Stephen H. Grimes, Supreme Court of Florida, 1996 • Legislative Liaison, Children’s Advocacy Center, Florida State University College of Law, 1994-1995
Education • Yale University, Ph.D., African American Studies & History, 2003 • Duke University, J.D., 1998 • Duke University, M.A., History, 1998 • Wesleyan University, B.A., Economics, 1994 Spring Winter 2009 2010 Saint Louis Brief 27
faculty view
Civilians & Combatants: Dilemmas in law and the new morality by Isaak I. Dore Professor of Law Professor Isaak I. Dore is a globally recognized scholar on international law and the philosophy of law. While his earlier scholarship focused on public international law and international commercial arbitration, his most recent research has expanded in the direction of law and philosophy. Born in Zambia, Professor Dore holds multiple law degrees from Yale University, where he obtained a LL.M and JSD; from the University of Zambia School of Law, where he obtained a LL.B and LL.M; and an honorary doctorate from the University of Orleans, France. Professor Dore is fluent in French and speaks four Indian and two African dialects. Before coming to SLU LAW in 1982, Dore served as a human rights officer and later as a special consultant to the United Nations Division of Human Rights. As a SLU LAW faculty member for more than two decades, Dore was instrumental in establishing the Center for International and Comparative Law and served as co-director of the center for almost a decade. He is the author of six books as well as dozens of scholarly articles, reviews and chapters, and he constantly presents his work around the globe.
28 Saint Louis Brief Winter 2010
A lot of media attention has been generated recently over the increasing number of civilian casualties resulting from American and NATO military strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan, during Israel’s military incursion of Gaza last winter and during Sri Lanka’s battle this past summer with the separatist movement known as the Tamil Tigers. The problem of protecting civilians in times of war has become increasingly urgent. Technological advances continue to produce ever more lethal weapons. Thus, at the end of World War I only 15 percent of the casualties were civilians; but at the end of World War II half of the casualties were civilians. It does not take a particularly fertile imagination to foresee the consequences for civilians of a third major war, particularly one in which nuclear weapons are used. In every conflict, each protagonist has claimed the moral high ground by invoking the “just war” doctrine — i.e., because its cause is just, it could prosecute the war by whatever means it considered appropriate. In crude terms, the claim is that in such a war the safety of “our” soldiers takes precedence over the safety of “their” civilians. What is the “just war” doctrine? What are the standards of warfare? How can we limit it? Are civilian deaths to be simply accepted as an inevitable by-product of war? Is it possible to postulate any rule to protect noncombatant civilians and at the same time give a practical guide to the soldier in battle? To answer these questions it is first important to clarify the distinction between
jus ad bellum (justness of the decision to wage war) and jus in bello (justness in the conduct of war). The former was originated by theologians, such as Saint Augustine writing in the 5th century and then developed by 16th-century Catholic jurists, such as Francisco de Vitoria and Francisco Suárez. The theological foundations of jus ad bellum became gradually eroded over time, and it became secularized in the 17th and 18th centuries. By the 20th and 21st centuries even the secular basis of the doctrine became eroded to the point that contemporary international law now prohibits war as an instrument of national policy. This prohibition was concretized in Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter signed by more than 190 countries. The current law says that the use of force between states is in principle prohibited, unless it falls into one of a few limited exceptions. These exceptions are self-defense, reprisals (both subject to severe restraints of timing and proportionality), self-determination, decolonization, humanitarian intervention and Charter-based applications of force for remedial or coercive purposes. The progressive view thus invokes the doctrine of intertemporal law, and treats the just war doctrine, as originally conceived, to be an anachronism and as a threat to world peace, narrowly confining the legitimate use of violence to the abovementioned exceptions. If the purpose of the modern conception of jus ad bellum is to limit the frequency of war itself, what should be the purpose of its companion doctrine, jus in bello? To understand the latter, a
clear distinction must be made between combatants and noncombatants; that is, soldiers and civilians. Combatants are the uniformed soldiers prosecuting the war declared by their political superiors. While it may be difficult to define a noncombatant in every situation, noncombatants are generally the innocent civilians who do not participate in waging war and who lack the capacity to do so. Because, under the jus in bello doctrine, we are dealing with the method and means of war (i.e., conduct of war) it is
“
have questioned the decisions of their political leaders at great personal cost. The old dogmatic position would also amount to a repudiation of the principle of universal jurisdiction for war crimes, including that of individual responsibility for war crimes, established by the Nuremberg Tribunal, which held that “following orders” of political superiors is not a defense to the charge of prosecuting aggressive war, war crimes and crimes against humanity. This individual responsibility attaches to both political
The new morality demands of every combatant that he be not only a fighting machine but also a thinking machine.
the behavior of combatants and its effect on civilians that is our concern. The modern intertemporal conception of jus in bello, therefore, will also recognize its evolution in tandem with its companion doctrine of jus ad bellum. Thus, it will no longer exempt combatants from responsibility in executing the decisions of their political superiors. This argument is controversial. Many generals, academics and even philosophers have dogmatically taken the contrary position. However, we must stand our ground if we are not to denigrate the bravery and moral courage of the thousands of conscientious objectors who
”
leaders and their generals and soldiers as shown by the recent indictments before the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY) of Slobodan Milošević, Radovan Karadžić, General Ratko Mladić and others for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is also important to note that criminal responsibility of political leaders remains separate from, and independent of, the responsibility of those who execute their orders. But the soldier-in-battle has an additional responsibility. As a combatant, he must distinguish himself from noncombatants as defined above. The former is an agent of harm, and the latter
is not. Because noncombatants do not wage war and lack the capacity to do so, it is an elementary principle of morality that they be protected in times of war. Yet, if noncombatants are to enjoy maximal protection in all situations of conflict, regardless of whether they are “ours” or “theirs,” it can only be through a restraining principle that is at once universalizable, categorical self-legislating and absolute. If such a neo-Kantian approach were to be adopted, it would yield for the soldier-in-battle a principle such as: “I am never to act otherwise than to treat all enemy noncombatants as if they were my own citizens.” This maxim establishes for the combatant the moral limit of noncombatant casualties. The moral limit for enemy civilian casualties for every soldier is established by the extent to which he is prepared to accept the death of his own citizens. The principle also gives the soldierin-battle a moral risk compass for his own conduct; i.e. to demonstrate his intention not to kill civilians by subjecting himself to whatever risks that are necessary to keep civilian deaths to a minimum. This principle is not new; it has been supported in one form or another by some academics such as Avishai Margalit and Michael Walzer. Its formulation here is perhaps the clearest and in its most categorical form. It is, however, consistent with the recent tectonic shifts in international law and political morality. The new morality demands of every combatant that he be not only a fighting machine but also a thinking machine.
Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief 29
L aw
alumni profile
ann lever
R eunion September 25 to 27, 2009 The Dedication of The Legal Clinics Trivia Night
Class of 1979
PILG Ambulance Chase Reunion Class Dinners
Save the Date September 24 to 26, 2010
Classes Years Ending in 5s & 0s
As the litigation director of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Ann Lever, Ph.D., ’79, served as a tireless voice for the poor and powerless — the homeless, immigrants, the mentally disabled, the indigent. Over the past three decades, Lever has not only profoundly affected thousands of lives, but she’s also helped save some of society’s most vulnerable people. In the late ‘80s, Missouri state officials refused Medicaid coverage for AZT, the first drug proven to slow HIV infection, thereby denying thousands of AIDS patients the only potential life-saving treatment available at the time. Lever and Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) partnered with the SLU LAW Legal Clinics, then under the direction of Professor Herb Eastman, to bring a class action suit to overturn the restriction. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Missouri’s restrictions were “unreasonable and inconsistent with the objectives” of Medicaid. And the life-extending treatment became available to thousands of people. “It was very rewarding to represent people who were so vulnerable, literally fighting to survive,” says Lever, adding that the AZT case was one of the most memorable of her career. “Not only did we get thousands of people the only drug that potentially could save their lives, but we also advanced a significant principle of Medicaid law.” Lever began her 30-year career at Legal Services of Eastern Missouri as a work study student during her first year at SLU LAW — and she never left. Even though she retired last September, Lever still serves as a pro bono attorney in the Volunteers Lawyers Program at LSEM. In the following
interview, Lever discusses decades of public service work and reflects on the rewarding aspects of serving those in need. What are some of the highlights of your long career at LSEM? I can talk endlessly about the significance of the legal results we may have gotten in a case, or about the principles of law we fought for and helped to establish. But at the end of the day, what means the most are the people I’ve met and the clients I’ve represented — especially what they taught me about human dignity and the need for equal access to justice. What are some of the challenges legal aid attorneys face? We are always in triage mode because we have more poor people with more problems then we have resources. At LSEM, we were always looking for ways to broaden our resources, such as cocounseling cases with the Legal Clinics. LSEM and the Legal Clinics share much of the same mission. You started out as a professor of history, what inspired you to enter law school in your ‘30s to pursue a new career? I wanted more involvement in the real world and a little less ivory tower. I wanted to affect people’s actual lives. My father was a lawyer — and he loved being a lawyer. He was a small-town attorney in Lexington, S.C., handling everything from capital murder cases to adoptions. Many people lived in poverty or on the edge of poverty and sometimes couldn’t pay their bills, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t take their case. It was an important lesson for me. I could also see how intellectually engaged he was with his work, and I found that very inspiring.
How did your experience at SLU LAW influence your decision to serve the poor and underprivileged? The Legal Clinics at the School of Law played a critical role in my decision to enter public service. I chose to attend law school at SLU because of the school’s strong clinical component and because the program is so embedded in the community. The faculty and the law school encourage students to get involved with community service and truly support public service work. The Legal Clinics are a manifestation of the public service spirit at SLU. What would you tell a young lawyer about pursuing a public service career? Whether it’s as a legal services lawyer, public defender or prosecutor, or through pro bono work, I would strongly encourage them to find a way to be involved with public service because it will add so much to their experiences as lawyers. I think it’s important to actualize that initial interest in helping people that first inspired many of us to go to law school. Is there a lesson you learned in law school that still rings true today? The importance of writing. When most students enter law school, they don’t realize how much of their time as a lawyer is spent writing and how much of the advocacy they will do for their clients is accomplished through writing. What are some of your hobbies and interests outside the legal arena? Reading and traveling to as many places as my pocketbook will allow, especially to developing countries. — Kim Gordon
photos by Kevin Lowder
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Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief 31
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class notes
1964
1971
The 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America recognized Daniel T. Rabbitt. He was also featured as one of the top 50 lawyers in the 2009 listings of Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon recently announced Thomas Prebil as a circuit judge for St. Louis County.
1967
Partner Richard Creighton of Keating Muething & Klekamp in Cincinnati, Ohio, served as co-lead counsel in a successful, six-year-long antitrust pricefixing class action case involving label maker Avery Dennison and others.
David J. Hensler (A&S ’65), senior partner of Hogan & Hartson, was recognized in the 2009 listing of Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers.
1968 Charles Dunlap was recently appointed president and CEO of TransMontaigne Partners LP. Michael Gunn received the R. Walston Chubb Award at Legal Services of Eastern Missouri’s 2009 reception. The Cascade Township in Michigan recently appointed Kenneth Peirce as treasurer. The 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America recognized Robert F. Ritter, chairman of Gray, Ritter & Graham, P.C., in seven practice areas.
1970 Joseph Conran was named as a “Local Litigation Star” by the 2010 edition of Benchmark Litigation. He was also recently named as one of the St. Louis Business Journal ’s “Most Influential St. Louisans.” Jacob Reby was recently elected a regent of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys.
32 Saint Louis Brief Winter 2010
1973
The 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America recognized Peter von Gontard for medical malpractice law, personal injury litigation and product liability litigation. Governor Jay Nixon appointed Kevin O’Malley to the State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts. Michael Pitzer was recognized in the 2009 listings of Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers.
1974 Kenneth Brostron was recognized in the 2009 listings of Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers. Doreen Dodson received the 2009 American Bar Association Coalition for Justice’s Burham “Hod” Greeley Award, which recognizes extraordinary outreach efforts to enhance public awareness of fair and impartial judiciary. The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis also named her as its 2009 Distinguished Lawyer.
The Hon. Mark Neill was recently elected to the 20092010 Board of Governors of the Missouri Bar. Francis X. O’Connor was named vice chair of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He also was elected to his second one-year term as treasurer of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Stephen Ringkamp recently won the Purcell Professionalism Award from the 2009 Missouri Bar/Missouri Judicial Conference. Leonard Ruzicka served as the corporate walk chairman of SLU LAW’s 2009 Light the Night Walk for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Gateway Chapter. The Oasis Women’s Center in Alton, Ill., recognized the Hon. Richard Tognarelli with a Community Partner in Peace Award.
1975 The 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America recognized Scott Brinkmeyer of Mika Meyers Beckett & Jones PLC. He was also recognized in the 2009 listing of Michigan Super Lawyers in the practice area of business litigation. Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Gerard Carmody a top litigator in its third annual “Missouri’s Best Readers’ Poll.” He was also recognized in the 2009 listings of Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers.
John Gazzoli joined the firm of Rosenblum, Goldenhersh, Silverstein & Zafft as counsel. Alphonse Pranaitis of Hoagland, Fitzgerald, Smith & Pranaitis was elected to the Board of Directors for the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel. He was named the 2009 Volunteer of the Year and received the Meritorious Service Award. James Welsh was recently appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals.
1976 Joseph D’Annunzio was named the managing attorney for the staff counsel office of GEICO in Harrisburg, Penn. The Colorado Bar Association announced David Johnson as president last July. Leading Lawyers Network named George Marifian on its Illinois list of “Leading Lawyers.”
Richard Watters was recognized in the 2009 listings of Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers. Gayle Williams was recently honored with the Legal Services Award at the annual Scovel Richardson Scholarship dinner. She also was the 2009 recipient of the Mound City Bar Association Legal Service Award.
1977
The 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America recognized Anthony Behr in four practice areas.
Robert Latham recently joined the firm of Archer Norris, headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., as special counsel in its insurance litigation practice.
Harry Byrne was recognized in the 2009 listing of Pennsylvania Super Lawyers in the area of family law. Timothy Casey has joined the Southfield, Mich., firm of Collins, Einhorn, Farrell & Ulanoff P.C. Bruce Friedman, a principal in Paule, Camazine & Blumental, P.C., was recognized in the 2009 listings of Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers in family law.
1978
St. Louis City Mayor Francis Slay recently received the Spirit of Justice Award from the St. Louis Bar Foundation. He was also recently named as one of the St. Louis Business Journal’s “Most Influential St. Louisans.”
James Childress recently formed the firm of Childress Ahlheim Cary LLC. Legal Services of Eastern Missouri recently named Dan Claggett assistant director of advocacy for litigation services. The 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America recognized Gary E. Snodgrass of Rabbitt, Pitzer & Snodgrass, P.C.
1979
The Oasis Women’s Center in Alton, Ill., honored Michael Meehan with a Community Partner in Peace Award.
Michael Keating was appointed vice president and associate general counsel for litigation and product safety at Emerson Electric.
The Hon. Daniel Stack announced his retirement as circuit judge. He will retire in November 2010.
1982
Joseph A. McCormick Jr., a partner at Weinberg & McCormick, has been named 2009 Professional Lawyer of the Year in Camden County, N.J.
Illinois Senator Richard Durbin appointed Lucinda McClain to a committee for the selection of federal district judges, U.S. attorneys and U.S. marshals.
Kathleen Sherby was nominated as the secretary of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
1980
The Mound City Bar Association honored Freeman Bosley Jr. as a “Legal Legend” in October.
The National Legal Aid & Defender Association named Ann Lever as the 2009 recipient of the Reginald Heber Smith Award, recognizing dedicated service and outstanding achievements of a civil legal aid attorney.
1981 The Hon. Jimmie Edwards of the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court, in partnership with St. Louis Public Schools, family court and other organizations, opened a school for juvenile offenders at the old Blewett Middle School, located across the street from where Edwards grew up. Margo Green, a managing partner at Green Cordonnier & House LLP, has been recognized by Cambridge Who’s Who for dedication, leadership and excellence in legal services. Erwin Switzer was appointed to the Governor’s Council on Disability in Missouri.
Gerard Mantese of Mantese and Rossman, P.C. recently won a landmark class action suit against Blue Cross/Blue Shield that denied coverage for behavioral therapy for autistic children in Michigan. Nancy Mogab was elected to the 2009-2010 Board of Governors of the Missouri Bar. Steven R. Schwab has been appointed by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlentry to a Third Judicial District Trial Court Bench. The Leading Lawyers Network named Mark Stegman to its Illinois list of “Leading Lawyers.” Fred L. Vilbig was recently named a partner at Kohn, Shands, Elbert, Gianoulakis & Giljum, LLP.
1983 The third annual Missouri Lawyers Weekly “Missouri’s Best Readers’ Poll” named James Lemonds as a top litigator.
SLU LAW Professor Susan FitzGibbon received the John A. Slosar Shared Governance Award from the SLU Faculty Senate. Leading Lawyers Network recently named Laura Grandy to its Illinois list of “Leading Lawyers.” Helen Honorow was appointed to the Board of Directors of Gateways Community Services in Nashua, N.H. She also serves on the State of New Hampshire Board of Education. The 2010 edition of Benchmark Litigation named Christine Miller as a “Local Litigator Star.”
1985 The 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America recognized Patrick J. Hagerty in the area of personal injury litigation, and he was recognized in the 2009 listings of Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers. The YMCA of Metropolitan St. Louis honored Mary Kullman as one of its “Leaders of Distinction.” Joseph Lischwe joined the firm of Nelson Mullins in Raleigh, N.C., of counsel.
Leading Lawyers Network named Kevin Richter to its Illinois list of “Leading Lawyers.”
Brown and James PC recently named Thomas Ward as president.
1984
1986
The Oasis Women’s Center in Alton, Ill., honored SLU LAW professor John J. Ammann with a Community Partner in Peace Award.
Marie Kenyon was recently elected to the Missouri Bar Board of Governors. She was also honored at the 11th annual Women’s Justice Awards.
The Missouri Bar Association honored Scot Boulton with the 2009 President’s Award at the organization’s annual banquet.
Mark Moran authored The Redeemer, a legal thriller. Moran discussed his book at SLU LAW last September.
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1986
1989
1992
Mary Kreiner Ramirez earned tenure and was promoted to full professor at Washburn University School of Law. She teaches Antitrust Law and a variety of criminal courses.
Kenneth Dick joined the firm of Federer & Federer PC as a senior associate.
Maureen McGlynn was elected president of the St. Patrick’s Center’s Board of Directors.
The Hon. Dennis Ruth was recently sworn in as a Circuit Court Judge for the Third Judicial Circuit of Illinois. He is assigned to a civil case docket at the courthouse in Edwardsville, Ill. Cordell Schulten recently was a visiting professor of American law at Handong Global University at Pohang, South Korea. Previously, he taught law, ethics and religion at Fontbonne University. John G. Simon, founder of the Simon Law Firm, was recognized by Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers in four categories, and Missouri Lawyers Weekly named him a top litigator in the third annual “Missouri’s Best Readers’ Poll.” The St. Louis Bar Foundation also recently honored him with a Spirit of Justice Award. The 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America recognized Stephen R. Woodley in the area of personal injury litigation. He was also recognized in the 2009 listings of Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers.
1988 The 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America recognized James Carmody. Mary Reitz of Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale was named to the Board of Directors of the Wellness Community of Greater St. Louis.
34 Saint Louis Brief Winter 2010
1990 Governor Jay Nixon recently appointed the Hon. Gary Gaertner Jr. to the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District. Craig Kallen recently formed the Kallen Law Firm LLC in Clayton. He also wrote a bestselling book, The Secret to Saving Legal Fees.
1991 John Diehl Jr. — a partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP and a Missouri State Representative — was recently honored with a 2009 Legislative Award from the St. Louis Business Journal. Melissa Markey was elected to the Board of the American Health Lawyers Association. Mary Carol Wittgen Parker (Parks ’86) serves as the Director of the Legal Studies Program at Maryville University and is a member of the adjunct faculty at Louisiana State University School of Law. She also teaches at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. The 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America recognized Anthony G. Simon in the areas of commercial litigation and intellectual property law. The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis honored Susan Ward with its President’s Award for outstanding contributions and leadership to the legal profession.
Patricia Zimmer, a partner in the law firm Ripplinger & Zimmer LLC, has been appointed to the Tort Law Section Council of the Illinois State Bar Association.
1993 Bret Cohen of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. was recognized in the 2009 listing of Massachusetts Super Lawyers. Joan Lockwood was recognized in the 2009 listings of Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers. The 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America also named her in the areas of medical malpractice law and personal injury litigation. Lockwood recently was reappointed as a member and a reporter of the Committee on Jury Instructions by the Supreme Court of Missouri.
1994 Roy Anderson is a lead litigator at Mateyka & Associates and also serves as an arbitrator on Madison County Mandatory Arbitration panels. Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Winthrop Reed as an “Up & Coming Lawyer” in the fall.
1995 The Hon. James R. Ahler was elected to a six-year term as judge of the Superior Court in Indiana.
The St. Louis Business Journal named Michael Angelides a “40 Under 40” honoree in November. Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Brian Behrens as an “Up & Coming Lawyer” in the fall. Jeff Cooper is a principal owner of St. Louis Soccer United and announced the formation of a new professional soccer league to begin play in April 2010. David Hennen was named managing associate and general counsel at Ameren Corporation. Governor Jay Nixon recently appointed Julie Jones, as a member of the St. Louis County Election Board to a four-year term. Lori Neidel recently joined Cosgrove Law LLC as a member attorney. Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Paul Petruska as an “Up & Coming Lawyer” in the fall.
1996 The St. Louis Business Journal named Nicole ColbertBotchway as a “40 Under 40” honoree in November. She was also honored at the 11th annual Women’s Justice Awards. The 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America recognized Amy Collignon Gunn in the areas of personal injury litigation. She also was named in the 2009 listings of Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers. Gunn was honored at the 11th annual Women’s Justice Awards.
1997 Western Illinois University honored John Green with its Alumni Achievement Award, which recognizes outstanding professional contributions and exceptional community service. Jorge Ramirez joined the Las Vegas firm of Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker LLP as partner. He is also a member of a panel of arbitrators for the State Bar of Nevada Fee Dispute Committee. Bryan Cave recently elected Erika Schenk to partnership. Missouri Lawyers Weekly also named her as an “Up & Coming Lawyer” in the fall.
1998 Raymond Flojo was promoted to associate city counselor and trial attorney for the City of St. Louis last June. Governor Jay Nixon appointed Robert Kenney to the Missouri Public Service Commission. Kenney is the chief of staff to Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster. The St. Louis Business Journal named him a “40 Under 40” honoree in November, and he was a recipient of the publication’s Inclusive Leadership Awards. Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Matthew Reh as an “Up & Coming Lawyer” in the fall. The Board of Directors of the Ohio Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association recently named Jennifer Breech Rhoads as its new president and CEO. She is the first woman to be named president and CEO of the organization in its 90-year history.
Annette Slack received the President’s Award from the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis for outstanding contributions and leadership to the legal profession.
1999 Kelly Burris, a partner at Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione received the 2009 Unsung Hero Award from the State Bar of Michigan. She was honored for her longtime volunteer work with Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic and Angel Flight Central. And she won the 2009 Air Race Classic, an all-female aviation race that dates back to 1929. Mathew Eilerts joined the new law firm of Growe, Eisen, Karlen, Eilerts & Ruth LLC. Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Jessica Liss as an “Up & Coming Lawyer” this fall. Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons appointed Monica Metz as a commissioner of the Nevada Transportation Authority. The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and the Young Lawyers’ Division named Rebecca Nickelson as the recipient of the 2009 John C. Shepherd Professionalism Award. The St. Louis Cardinals promoted Ron Watermon to director of public relations and civic affairs.
2000 M. Graham Dobbs was named to the Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” 2009 list. Quarles & Brady recently announced that Amy M. Gulinson was elected to
partnership in its Chicago office as a member of the Corporate Services Group. Gulinson was also named as an Illinois Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in the area of securities and corporate finance. She serves as vice president of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Coalition of Women in Law Firms.
Kathleen Northcutt married David Molamphy, a project manager for Clayco, in December.
Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Lizabeth Conran Radefeld as an “Up & Coming Lawyer” in the fall.
John Ingrassia (Nursing ’95) is an executive director of quality, risk and infection control for SSM Health CareSt. Louis.
Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Matthew Radefeld as an “Up & Coming Lawyer” in the fall. Stacy Rummel was promoted to associate general counsel. She serves as lead attorney for the University of Southern California’s health care enterprise. The St. Louis Business Journal named Eric Schmitt as a “40 Under 40” honoree in November. Nancy Vidal was recently named as a partner at Lashly & Baer.
2001 David Ahlheim recently formed the firm of Childress Ahlheim Cary LLC. Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Amy Blaisdell, Joseph Blanner, Bradley Hansmann and Jennifer Piper as “Up & Coming Lawyers” this fall. Peter Gianino was named a principal with Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal after serving for seven years as an associate. Priscilla Lim has been named the North America Manager of Immigration at Amdocs, Inc. in St. Louis.
2002 The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis honored Kerry Feld with an Award of Merit.
Kevin Mellick joined Kodner, Watkins, Muchnick, Weigley and Brison. Carmody MacDonald P.C. recently named Josh Reinert as a partner. Dora Schriro, who was recently appointed to direct an overhaul of the nation’s troubled immigration detention system, left the Obama administration to become Commissioner of Corrections for New York City in September. The Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel honored Patrick Stufflebeam with its 2009 Rising Star Award. California Western School of Law named Leslie P. Wallace as an associate professor. Ronda Williams, president of the Mound City Bar Association, recently received the Spirit of Justice Award from the St. Louis Bar Foundation and was a St. Louis Business Journal “40 Under 40” honoree in the fall. The St. Louis Business Journal named James Zych as a “40 Under 40” honoree in November. He also was recently named to the Board of Directors of Food Outreach.
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CL ASS notes
CL ASS notes
2003 Daniel Body joined Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale in their Health Care Practice Group. E.M. Harris Construction Company named Kevin Buchek as president. He was formerly executive vice president and general counsel at the company. Jason Charpentier recently joined the new firm of Growe, Eisen, Karlen, Eilerts & Ruth LLC. Ted Disabato and Charles Nitsch have recently partnered to start the law firm of Disabato Nitsch LLP. Kathryn Forster was named a 2009 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers “Rising Star” and was named chair of the Young Lawyers Division of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. Teneil Kellerman joined the new firm of Growe, Eisen, Karlen, Eilerts & Ruth LLC. Brocca Smith recently joined the Missouri State Public Defender’s St. Louis Appellate Office. The 2009 Missouri Bar/ Missouri Judicial Conference honored Matthew Waltz with its Lon O. Hocker Award.
2004
The Gateway Area Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society named John Challis as a 2009 Corporate Achiever. Christina Lewis has been appointed to serve as the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division’s Ethic & Professionalism vice chair.
36 Saint Louis Brief Winter 2010
Herzog Crebs named Meredith Murphy as an associate. Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Daniel Schoenekase as an “Up & Coming Lawyer” in the fall. Barbara Urick joined the Missouri State Public Defender System at the Lebanon office.
2005 Charles M. Caltagirone recently joined Armstrong Teasdale LLP as a contract attorney. He is also a founding member and general counsel of the St. Louis Metro Chapter of UNICO. Kodner, Watkins, Muchnick, Weigley and Brison recently named Ryan Kerner to head the firm’s new real estate division. Sarah Pelud joined BCF LLP in Montreal, Canada, in July. Cosgrove Law LLC announced Kurt Schafers as a member attorney. Jemia Steele joined the Missouri State Public Defender System at the Poplar Bluff office.
2006 Daniel Batten received the 2009 John R. Essner Young Lawyer of the Year Award. Emily Cleveland is a legislative analyst for the Minnesota House of Representatives, researching and drafting health legislation. She also staffs the House Health and Human Services and Public Health Finance and Policy Committees. MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., recently named Annie Ewing the head women’s basketball and golf coach. She also teaches Business Law and Legal Issues at the college.
The St. Louis Business Journal named Melissa Glauber as a “30 Under 30” honoree in the fall. The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis honored Dennis Harms with an Award for Merit. Kate Heideman was named by the St. Louis Business Journal as a “30 Under 30” honoree in the fall. Christopher Klaverkamp joined the Missouri State Public Defender System at the Farmington office. Kevin McManus recently joined the mortgage servicing and default law firm of Martin, Leigh, Laws & Fritzlen, P.C. The Danna McKitrick firm announced Scott Mueller joined the firm’s litigation department. Rachel L. Roman of the Simon Law Firm was recognized by Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star.”
2007 Luke Behme joined the firm of Sivia Business and Legal Services PC as an associate. Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers recognized AnneMarie Brockland of the Simon Law firm as a “Rising Star.” John Campbell of the Simon Law Firm was recognized by Missouri Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star.” Missouri Lawyers Weekly also named him an “Up & Coming Lawyer” in the fall. Melissa Dorsey serves as a foreign service officer with the U.S. Department of State. Mary Helmsing recently became a member attorney of Cosgrove Law LLC.
McDonald & Gustafson S.C. in Janesville, Wis., promoted Thomas McDonald to shareholder. He is also serving a two-year term on the Janesville City Council. David Perron recently joined the Missouri State Public Defender System in the Jefferson City office. Armstrong Teasdale LLP named Narcisa Przulj as an associate in the Litigation Practice Group. The American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law selected Christina Scelsi as a 2009 Young Lawyer Fellow. She is co-editor of the book, The Practice of Intellectual Property Law in Video Gaming and Virtual Worlds. Robert Seipp recently joined Kodner, Watkins, Muchnick, Weigley and Brison. David Wilkins married Kathryn McMullin at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Rolla, Mo., in October. Brown & James recently announced Keli R. Webb as an associate.
2008 Kevin Babcock joined the Missouri State Public Defender System at the Ava office. David Borgmeyer joined the Missouri State Public Defender System at the West Plains office. Briegel, Davis & Hotz, LLC in Sullivan, Mo., recently hired Jacob Brandt. Erin Brennan recently joined the Missouri State Public Defender System at the Rolla office. Robert Caldwell recently joined the Missouri State Public Defender System at the Rolla office.
The St. Louis Business Journal named Sarah MullenDominguez as a “30 Under 30” honoree in the fall.
Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard P.C. recently named Kristin Bourgeois as an associate at the firm.
Luke G. Maher joined the St. Louis office of Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal as an associate.
Brinker & Doyen LLP recently hired Timothy Etzkorn.
The Baird Holm firm announced the addition of Michael W. Chase to its health care section.
Lewis, Rice & Fingersh LC named Jayme Major as an associate.
Courtney Goodwin recently joined the Missouri State Public Defender System at the Farmington office. Niemann Rourke LLC recently named Benjamin Hegvik as an associate. A Law Journal article written by Sarah Molina was cited by a U.S. Supreme Court brief granting certiorari to Jose Padilla, who was accused of trying to construct a dirty bomb. The St. Louis Business Journal named Katherine Murray as a “30 Under 30” honoree in the fall.
2009 Lewis, Rice & Fingersh LC recently named Christy Abbott as an associate. Schlichter, Bogard and Denton named Patrick Bader as an associate. Latasha Barnes joined Legal Services of Eastern Missouri in June as a child health advocate with the Children’s Health Advocacy Project. Sarah Bernard recently joined the Missouri State Public Defender System at the West Plains office. Gori Julian & Associates recently announced Lauren Boaz joined the firm as a lawyer specializing in asbestos litigation. The Todt Law firm recently named Casey Brooks as an associate.
Michael Favazza married Kristin Kountzman in Jefferson County, Mo. Andrew Gilfoil recently joined the litigation department at Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP. Behr, McCarter & Potter recently hired Elizabeth Grana as an associate. Classmates Adam Grayson and Caleb Peterson recently co-founded the firm Grayson & Petersen. Kevin Greene was named as an associate at Hais, Hais & Goldberger P.C. Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin in Nashville, Tenn., recently hired Robert Hazard as an associate in the estate planning & probate section. Eric Johnson joined Boggs, Avellino, Lach & Boggs as an associate. Polsinelli Shughart recently named Katherine Jones as an associate. The ABA recently published an article written by Erin Jurrens while she was in law school. The article is titled “COBRA’s Gross Misconduct Exception: Strategies for Compliance In the Face of Uncertainty” and is featured in The Labor Lawyer, Vol. 24, No. 3. Matthew Knepper recently joined Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP in the firm’s litigation department. Eckelkamp Kuenzel LLP named Steven Kuenzel as an associate.
Megan McBride joined Schlichter, Bogard and Denton as an associate. Brian Morley recently joined Burns, White & Hickton in its Philadelphia office. Previously, he served as a field surgeon in the U.S. Army and as a family practitioner in Missouri hospitals. The Carmody MacDonald firm named Gregory Murphy as an associate. Lewis, Rice & Fingersh LC recently announced John Rebman as an associate. Daren Rich opened the Law Office of Daren Rich as a solo practitioner. Karen Rippelmeyer joined Ernst and Young in St. Louis. Capes, Sokol, Goodman and Sarachan named Brian Sabin as an associate. Sarah Schweitzer joined the Missouri Public Defender System at the St. Louis City office.
Stephen Skaff was recently named as an associate at Lewis, Rice & Fingersh LC. Luke Stobie recently opened the Stobie Law Firm LLC, a general practice firm. Schlichter, Bogard and Denton announced Kurt Struckhoff as an associate. Nathan Sturycz joined Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP in the Litigation Department. The Herzog Crebs firm recently announced Brian Wacker as an associate. Carmody MacDonald named Lauren Wacker as an associate. Bradley Williams opened the Law Office of Bradley J. Williams. Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard P.C. announced Casey Wong as an associate. Callan Yeoman joined Armstrong Teasdale LLP as an associate in the Financial Services Practice Group. HeplerBroom LLC announced Audra Zobrist as an associate in the firm’s toxic tort practice.
in memoriam William Schwarze, 1942
John Madden, 1959
The Hon. William Geary, 1950
Frank DePauli, 1960
Albert Michenfelder, 1950
Guy Reynolds, 1961
The Hon. James Sanders, 1950
Michael Flavin, 1963
Carl Trauernicht, 1950
Anthony Ramirez, 1967
John Van Pelt, 1950
Daniel Brown, 1971
Paul Boll, 1953
Donald Myers, 1974
Clarence Godfrey, 1953
Melvin Patton, 1977
The Hon. James Amsden, 1954
Maj. Frank Bunkers, 1985
Joseph Solien, 1955
Winter 2010 Saint Louis Brief 37
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School of Law 3700 Lindell Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63108
St. Louis, MO Permit No. 134
calendar of
events ’10 March
5
Annual Health Law Symposium: Pandemic Preparedness
19
Adler-Rosecan Lecture and Moot Court Finals
19
PILG Auction: Celebrating “The Lou at the Zoo”
25
Health Law Distinguished Speaker: Karen Rothenberg, J.D., M.P.A.
26
Public Law Review Symposium: Voting 45 Years After the Voting Rights Act
April 5 Vincent C. Immel Celebration of Life (Saint Louis Room, Busch Student Center) 5–16 Center for Health Law Studies Practitioner-in-Residence John T. Boese, J.D.
Women Law Students’ Association Judicial Reception
9
Saint Louis University Law Journal Symposium: Critical Tax Theory
16
Academic Excellence Awards
28
Clayton, MO Alumni Luncheon at Luciano’s Trattoria
photo by Jay Fram
8
May 11 Downtown, St. Louis Alumni Lunch at Carmine’s Steak House
15
SLU LAW Hooding Ceremony
16
Saint Louis University Commencement
June 16
September 24–26
Washington, D.C. Alumni Reception SLU LAW Reunion Weekend
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