David French reaches out to readers on the difficult topic of succession planning in the October 2016 issue of Arizona Attorney Magazine.
If you know of a more moving and compelling way to write about business succession planning than the way David French did recently, please let me know. I don’t think a more moving recitation exists.
Finally, it’s been out for a while now, but I’ve appreciated a documentary called “Period. New Paragraph.” In it, as the American Bar Association says, filmmaker “Sarah Kramer documents the experience of her father, Herbert Kramer, as he closes his law practice after 60 years.” Here is an excerpt.
You can buy the documentary here. Again from the ABA: “The film is accompanied by a discussion guide for bar associations or law firms that intend to use the film to explore the topic of lawyers’ transition into retirement.”
Photos from the Glendale Stand Up for Veterans, Sept. 24, 2016.
Some great news from my colleague Alberto Rodriguez:
On Saturday, September 24, 2016, the State Bar of Arizona and 11 of its members participated in the 2016 Glendale Stand Up for Veterans event at Glendale Community College. The State Bar and volunteer attorneys joined several service providers at the one-day event that offered a variety of free health and human services to 324 veterans in our state. Volunteer attorneys from across the Valley answered questions during one-on-one consultations with veterans seeking legal advice.
The “Civil Law Clinic” organized by the State Bar offered legal consultations by members who practice family law, bankruptcy/foreclosure/tax law, probate/trust law, and real estate/landlord & tenant law.
Volunteer attorneys provided 77 consultations during the legal clinic for the 63 veterans who were seen. In addition, many attorneys offered pro-bono legal services after the Stand Up to veterans who needed additional help. Adding to the legal services provided for veterans, on-site courts coordinated by Hon. Elizabeth Finn, Presiding Judge of the Glendale City Court, saw 231veterans who needed to address court-related issues.
The State Bar offers its sincerest appreciation to the attorneys who committed to helping veterans at the Stand Up event. The following is a list of the attorney and logistics volunteers:
Today, though, I mention not the great conference, but a magazine—specifically the Georgia Bar Journal. On a routine basis, they put out a great journal. But this month, their entire issue is an idea worth stealing: They explored the history of women lawyers in Georgia.
Leading off the package of stories is a gem that tells the story of Minnie Hale Daniel, who fought for and won the right to be admitted as Georgia’s first woman lawyer. The article opens:
“A woman lawyer! Help us to keep our girls at the fireside and let our young mothers raise, by the help of God, boys to speak and vote and live the life they would live if He had made them men; and O for a Paul to command our women to keep silence and be keepers of the home,” exclaimed a Georgia state legislator in August 2011, quoting a mother’s letter to him.
Hale eventually won her fight—and her fight on behalf of countless other women—and was licensed to practice law on August 21, 1916. Her achievement has had no noticeable impact on the ability of boys to speak and vote and live.
Wisely, the magazine issue is not merely a history piece captured in amber. It includes articles on the engagement and promotion of women lawyers, and the value—and challenges—of mentoring.
I’m helping to produce a panel discussion on gender equity in the legal profession for a national conference in Miami next February, and I’m pleased to have this magazine issue as a resource. And as we look toward 2017 and beyond at Arizona Attorney Magazine, we would do well to follow the lead of our smart friends in Georgia. Well done.
Below is an image of a letter Winnie Hale sent to Georgia lawmakers. You have to love her line, “It is my one ambition to be granted a license in Georgia. I am entitled to such, whether I practice LAW in Georgia or China.” Pioneering spirit, that.
Letter sent to Georgia legislators by Minnie Anderson Hale (later Minnie Hale Daniel): “It is my one ambition to be granted a license in Georgia. I am entitled to such, whether I practice LAW in Georgia or China.”
Today, I offer congratulations to lawyer and leader Steve Hirsch, who will be honored by the William E. Morris Institute this evening, Thursday, Oct. 20.
Steve is a longtime member of the State Bar Board of Governors—and a genuinely nice guy.
Tonight’s event is from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the University Club, 39 E. Monte Vista Road, Phoenix. The RSVP period is officially closed, but more information may be available from the Institute’s Ellen Katz at eskatz@qwestoffice.net or call 602-252-3432. I’m sure Ellen is swamped with details today, so don’t tell her I urged you to call!
And if you do find some way to attend tonight’s Morris Institute event, it’s worth noting that the Institute qualifies for the qualifying charitable organization tax credit. This year the tax credit limits increase to $400 for an individual and $800 for a married couple. Support like that is the kind of leadership Steve would appreciate.
Pulitzer-prize winning author and journalist Elizabeth Kolbert will speak at two Valley events this week on the topic of climate change. (photo by Nicholas Whitman)
Extinction—and not of the legal profession—will be the topic of some important conversations this week.
Typically, I offer nonlegal items on Fridays, when Change of Venue requires a loosening of the tie and a gaze turned toward the weekend. But a few events this week lead me to shift the schedule a bit.
Speaking at a few events, Pulitzer-prize winning author and journalist Elizabeth Kolbert will discuss humanity’s role in climate change, the history of cataclysm, and the future of our species. In her presentations, she will draw on one of her books, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History.
The first of two related events occurs in downtown Phoenix at the Orpheum Theatre (203 W. Adams St.) on Wednesday, October 19, at 7 pm. There, as part of the “Origins Project Conversation: Inconvenient Truths,” Kolbert will have “an unscripted and candid conversation” with Arizona State University archaeologist Curtis Marean, Skeptic magazine publisher Michael Shermer, and ASU theoretical physicist and cosmologist Lawrence Krauss.
Then, at 7 pm on Thursday, October 20, 2016, Kolbert will speak again at the Tempe Center for the Arts (700 W Rio Salado Pkwy, Tempe, AZ 85281). This is a free event, “as part of the Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative, an interdisciplinary partnership between the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing, the Center for Science and the Imagination and the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives that explores how imagination, storytelling and the arts can merge with scientific inquiry to shape humanity’s response to climate change and create global solutions for the future.”
A Q&A session will take place after the lecture, with a brief reception and book signing to follow. This event is open to the public and free.
Law students (maybe not really) await their mascot auditions (not really) in a new video from UC-Hastings College of Law.
There are a lot of things that might stir pride in your alma mater, even including your law school (OK, that’s a stretch.) But I’m not sure what emotion is stirred by a recent humorous announcement that Hastings Law is trying … mascots.
Before you get too deep into law school irritation (yes, it’s a thing), take a deep breath and realize: It’s a joke.
Yes, the University of California–Hastings College of Law did put out a video of a faux mascot competition. But they only did it to drive home the message that they are wholly focused on law, and not those many other things schools of general knowledge spend time on.
Here’s the video, which I rather enjoyed.
But then I started thinking: Maybe a mascot wouldn’t be so bad. Ever so briefly, it might take your mind off tax law, and damages, and civil procedure, and all those horrible things we discovered in torts that a vacuum could do. I mean, what if law schools around the nation lent their imaginations to the effort to select mascots that befit their mission and their clientele? What would they come up with?
And what would you come up with? I really wanna know. Send me a note (arizona.attorney@azbar.org) indicating your best law school mascot idea, which I may share, depending on the absence of obscenities.
Just so you know, sharks or shark-related ideas will be declined by me as the decider. Not because they’re not funny. But just because they’re altogether too easy.
Happy Change of Venue Friday. Enjoy your weekend—and always keep swimming.
Mobile devices have fundamentally transformed consumer behavior across a number of industries—and legal is no exception. Today’s legal client expects on-demand service and a seamless client experience, and modern lawyers are harnessing mobile technology to help deliver. Are you? Join us to see how attorneys can utilize smartphones in their everyday practice to great benefit, and how to address the inherent security concerns that come from mobile lawyering, including:
Ethics to keep in mind when accessing client data in public
How to setup your mobile phone for secure access
What apps to choose for legal practice, including a sneak peek at Clio’s new app
How to protect yourself and your clients while practicing on the go
An upcoming State Bar of Arizona program explores the continued barriers to Native American electoral participation.
Still unsure what barriers prevent or dissuade Native American participation in the electoral process? As we head into election season, the barriers to exercising the franchise—and progress eradicating those barriers—will be addressed in a Phoenix program on Thursday, October 20.
“This program will examine both the advances in Native American participation in all levels of elections and the continued barriers to effective participation in the election process. Participants can expect to gain a broad overview of how redistricting efforts, voter ID laws, and language barriers continue to marginalize Native Americans at the polls. The program will also look at possible changes to Native American participation at the federal level.”
A public radio program this week illustrates just how basic some of those barriers can be. In this story, journalist Carrie Jung spoke with Native Americans who face clear and existential obstacles to participating in elections.
Among those barriers are language challenges; traveling large distances, perhaps without a car; and even obtaining a voter ID when you have no formal address.
As Lori Riddle told Jung, “We’re used to giving directions out here by landmarks. There’s a tree. There’s two trees. There’s a big bush with purple flowers on it. [Poll workers have] tried to turn me away on a few occasions, even though they knew me.”
Among the topics to be discussed at the October 20 seminar are:
Voting Accessibility Act
Voter treatment in the polling places
Current lobbying trends in Native American Country
Implications of lack of early access voting for Native American voters
Constitutional guarantees
Panelists will be:
Heather Sibbison, Dentons LLP, Washington, DC
Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
James T. Tucker, Armstrong Teasdale LLP, Las Vegas, NV
Mary O’Grady, Osborn Maledon PA, Phoenix
The seminar chair will be Virjinya Torrez, Assistant Attorney General for the Tohono O’odham Nation.
If you’re wondering why all this still matters in 2016, Patty Ferguson-Bohnee breaks it down as she speaks to KJZZ’s Carrie Jung:
“We’re the first people of the United States. And when people face these roadblocks, sometimes they’re not empowered. And we want to empower people. We’re a democracy.”
Speaker photos are below (click to enlarge).
Mary O’Grady, Osborn Maledon PA
Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Please join the Arizona Superior Court in Yavapai County for an open-house celebration of the 100th anniversary of the laying of the Yavapai County Courthouse cornerstone. This event will take place on Saturday, October 15, 2016, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Prescott Courthouse, 120 S. Cortez in Prescott.
Yavapai County Courthouse cornerstone
We are extremely excited about the addition of an exhibit area on the first floor near the Law Library that will showcase historical items that were used in the courthouse through the last century. Along with exhibits, we will have historical photos displayed throughout the courthouse (images courtesy of the Sharlot Hall Museum) depicting the jewel of Yavapai County.
We will have docents onsite to share their knowledge and help guide you through the courthouse. We also will have folks dressed in period costumes to enhance your experience while celebrating this milestone.
A sample of photos by Matika Wilbur, via Project 562.
If you’re fortunate enough to have today off for Indigenous People’s Day, I’ve got a suggestion for the best place to spend it: The Heard Museum in Phoenix, which has a series of events to commemorate the day.
The proposal to create Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Phoenix emerged in May, when residents Jeff Malkoon and Carlos Bravo submitted to the city an application for a historical commemoration.
“The city of Phoenix is built on what was the Hohokam civilization,” Malkoon told council members. “We just think this is a significant statement for a city like Phoenix, being such a center point in the Southwest.”
In what was a great preview of Monday’s Heard events, audience members at the Heard Sunday afternoon heard from two artists and two lawyers on the intersection of art, Indian identity and law. (I wrote about the event here.)
That gathering included insights from artists Matika Wilbur and Gregg Deal.
Deal’s film “The Last American Indian on Earth” was screened. It shows, in surprising and occasionally humorous ways, the complicated relationship mainstream American society has with Native culture.
Wearing a faux historic Indian costume (manufactured in China, for good measure), Deal strode about Washington DC. The reactions he got were troubling and laden with meaning.
As Deal says in the voiceover, “When you let the cameras roll, Americans, they don’t disappoint.”
As one hand-written sign he holds tells passersby, “My spirit animal is white guilt.”
L to R at the Heard Museum panel on Indian identity, art, and law, Oct. 9, 2016: Matika Wilbur, Kevin Gover, Gregg Deal, Brett Shelton.
Matika Wilbur then spoke, presenting her itinerant photo experience with Project 562, which aims to photograph citizens of each federally recognized tribe in the United States (there are now 566).
As she describes on her site:
“Most of the time, I’ve been invited to geographically remote reservations to take portraits and hear stories from a myriad of tribes, while at other times I’ve photographed members of the 70 percent of Native Americans living in urban settings. My hope is that when the project is complete, it will serve to educate the nation and shift the collective consciousness toward recognizing our own indigenous communities.”
A longtime educator from Seattle, Wilbur asked, “When are we going to stop asking our children to choose between cultural education and Western education?”
Wilbur also spoke about how Indian identity is “inextricably connected to the land.” Discussing the sensation known as solastalgia—separation from home—she wondered how the Cocopah, for instance, known as the people of the blue-green water, could be Cocopah if access to that water is denied or destroyed.
In the subsequent panel discussion, attorney Kevin Gover addressed that issue and the way violations have been visited on Native peoples by the American legal system. For example, in Fletcher v. Peck (1810), the U.S. Supreme Court determined that Indian title to land was not true title, as Indians were itinerant hunters and had never been farmers—an absolute misstatement of the facts. But it was decisions like that which provided the veneer of law to unjust decisions.
In fact, Gover pointed out, the most famous Native-land-title cases were collusive ones, manufactured conflicts presented by land speculators to prod a desired outcome from a compliant Court. To America’s enduring shame, the Court proved a willing co-conspirator in the effort.
The American legal system, Gover said, “played a huge role in the removal and dispossession of Native peoples.”
Through their art, Matika Wilbur and Gregg Deal explore America’s complicated relationship with Native peoples. As a teacher, Wilbur reminded the audience that these mainstream viewpoints are learned ones, and that the dominant Western view of Indians helps shield society from honest appraisals.
To illustrate that, she showed search results in Google images from searches for the simple terms “African American,” “Asian American,” “Hispanic American,” and, finally, “Native American.”
Among all of those searches, the Native American search was the only one that yielded an almost uniform view of Indians as historic beings—and actually as faux historic beings. Nearly every image reconfirms the popular image of Indians as conceptualized 150 years ago.
Google image search results for “Native American,” Oct. 9, 2016.
Where are the modern Indians who live among us, Wilbur asked.
They are all about us, Wilbur and Deal said. If people are willing to see.
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