Judge Keith R. Truffer, J.D. ’82
Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr., J.D. ’73
Judge Harry C. Storm, J.D. ’79
Judge Pamila J. Brown, J.D. ’79
Judge Mark F. Scurti, J.D. ’91
Judge A. David Copperthite, J.D. ’86
law graduates as clerks,” he said. “My clerk is a UB law graduate and is doing a great job.” Storm’s clerk, PALLAVI KACHORIA, J.D. ’14, says she is honored to be working for Storm, whom she called a “brilliant person.” Former MSBA president and Howard County District Court Judge PAMILA J. BROWN, J.D. ’79, said UB taught her to spot an issue, analyze it and move on to the next issue. “It’s a real skill set,” Brown said. Brown did not aspire to join the bench when she was in law school. Quite the contrary. “I thought it would be stifling, not being able to express opinions publicly,” said
Brown, who was appointed to the bench in 2002. “But I found that, through my bar work at UB, you can make a real difference as a judge — and that you have a duty to better the larger society as a whole.” Baltimore City District Court Judge MARK F. SCURTI, J.D. ’91, who was named MSBA treasurer this summer, said LYNN MCLAIN was the professor who inspired him the most. “She was the essence of passion for the law and expertise in the law,” Scurti said. “She got me excited to learn the law.” Mclain is the Dean Joseph Curtis Professor of Law Emerita. Scurti, who was appointed to the bench in 2013, also praised the law school for holding events that introduced students to
various bar associations. “I was exposed to different areas of the law early and got to meet great lawyers and judges,” he said. While UB graduates have long populated the state judiciary, the law school has recently made inroads on the federal bench. For example, the Hon. LORI S. SIMPSON, J.D. ’86, was appointed in April 2016 to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, where she will sit alongside UB alumni JAMES F. SCHNEIDER, J.D. ’72, DAVID E. RICE, J.D. ’80, and WENDELIN I. LIPP, J.D. ’78. A month earlier, A. DAVID COPPERTHITE, J.D. ’86, was appointed a U.S. magistrate judge and assigned to the federal courthouse in Baltimore. For Judge Copperthite, it was UB’s close relationship with the local legal community that helped him most as he progressed in his career. “The focus was on becoming a working lawyer,” Copperthite said of his legal education at UB. “A prominent theme was you weren’t there to compete against each other as students, but to help each other. It really contributed to the collegiality of the practice of law after we graduated. It’s one of the big differences with UB.” Many of his classmates became prosecutors or public defenders, said Copperthite, who himself before ascending to the bench worked as an assistant state’s attorney in Baltimore, an assistant Maryland attorney general, and an assistant and special assistant to the U.S. attorney in Maryland. “It reflects the concept that you owe a duty to the public,” he said. Copperthite also said he learned at UB always to extend respect to an adversary. “My education at UB law gave a community feeling to the practice of law,” he said. “When you treat people with respect, it brings professionalism and dignity to the practice. You get a reputation for fairness. Those are the qualities you look for in a judge.” Joe Surkiewicz is the director of communications for the Homeless Persons Representation Project and a frequent columnist for The Daily Record. Fall 2016 | 19 |