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Thursday, July 23, 2009

A Day Not on the Road

 

After getting back to Birmingham on Wednesday night, Thursday at lunch I was upstairs from my office at The Summit Club atop the Regions/Harbert Plaza to participate in a panel discussion on the effects of the Caperton v. Massey Coal decision, which the Supreme Court had rendered in June. In addition to myself, the panelists included J. Mark White, the Immediate Past President of the Alabama State Bar, Kevin C. Newsom, an appellate practitioner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in Birmingham, and Harold See, former Associate Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Interestingly, all of us had been signatories to amicus briefs in the Caperton case.

 

The panel included two amici who supported the petitioner (ABA and Mark White), and two who had supported the respondent (Kevin Newsome, counsel for several states, and Harold See). As expected, both Justice See and, to a lesser extent Kevin, criticized the opinion, although Kevin forthrightly admitted that he would likely be using it in filing recusal motions in his own practice.

 

I took the opportunity to remind the lawyers present that since 1996 Alabama has had a recusal statute on the books involving campaign contributions, with the limit being $4,000 for appellate judges and $2,000 for a trial court judge. The problem is that this statute has never been implemented, and no rules have been promulgated. Nevertheless, Alabama is one of only two states which has such a statute on the books, the other being Mississippi, and both statutes were cited by the Supreme Court in the Caperton opinion by Justice Kennedy.

 

The discussion was lively and went on for the better part of an hour. We even had Justice See and Mark White agree on at least two matters, which may be a first.

 

Now, I am preparing for the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago July 29-August 4, where I will pass the gavel to incoming ABA President Carolyn Lamm. This, this will be my last blog as ABA President.

 

If you want to follow the ABA Annual, however, I will be tweeting as TommyWellsABA on Twitter.

Published: 7/29/2009 11:00 AM
]]> H Thomas Wells Jr Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:01:03 GMT http://new.abanet.org/presidentsblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=141 Marine Corps Sunset Parade http://new.abanet.org/presidentsblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=140 Body:

July 21-22, 2009

Days 123-124 on the Road in 2009

 

Tuesday morning Jan and I were back at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport for yet another Delta flight through Atlanta to Washington's Reagan National Airport. The impetus for this trip was an invitation from Brigadier General Jim Walker, the Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, to be the guest of honor at the weekly Marine Corps Sunset Parade at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, on Tuesday night. Our flight up was on time, indeed, even a bit early.

 

That afternoon we were met in the lobby of the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington by a Marine Corps Captain, Jason Foscolo, who escorted us over to the Woman's Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, where a reception was held. There we met members of the Marine Corps legal community. Also present was Chair of the House William Hubbard who had come to town for the event. William and General Walker attended law school together at the University of South Carolina.

 

It was a wonderful reception, and good to meet so many of the officers in the JAG Corps, as well as their supporting personnel. General Walker gave some brief remarks in introducing me, heaping praise on our military pro bono project, which provides pro bono civilian legal assistance to active duty military who may need representation in civilian court at their duty location.

 

I gave some brief remarks also, commenting upon my active duty of service stationed at the Pentagon from 1975 to 1977. Afterwards, General Walker presented me with a beautiful replica of the Marine Corps Memorial.

 

Then we moved over near Arlington Cemetery for the actual Sunset Parade. We were first given an overview of the ceremony, and briefed on our "duties." Then we were seated for the parade.

 

To call it a "parade" is really a misnomer. It is certainly a review of the troops, beginning with a performance by the Marine Corps Drum and Bugle Corps, followed by a precision drill by the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon. Following that the brigades marched in review. It was quite an event, culminated by a lone female bugler atop the Iwo Jima Memorial playing taps in honor of all who had fallen. Further information on the Parade can be seen at www.mbw.usmc.mil/parade_sunsetdefault.asp.

 

Since I was necessarily spending the night, the D.C. staff had set up two media interviews, and a visit to FTC Commissioner Rosch to discuss the Red Flags Rule for Wednesday. (No telling what they will schedule for incoming President Carolyn Lamm, who lives in D.C.)

 

First, I met with David Ingram, a staff reporter for The Legal Times/National Law Journal to discuss Red Flags and financial regulatory proposals. This resulted in the story noting that the ABA was preparing to file suit against the FTC.

 

After lunch it was back over to the FTC to visit with FTC Commissioner Rosch, along with Tom Susman and Ann Carmichael of the D.C. staff. This meeting was quite short, since it was our sixth meeting with the FTC staff and/or Commissioners. I kidded Tom Susman afterwards that we could have walked in and said "usual questions" and Commissioner Rosch could have said "usual answers" and we could have then left. In any event, it was worthwhile to make sure we had seen all of the FTC Commissioners prior to the enforcement date of the Rule, now set for August 1.

 

Later that afternoon, before I got off on the 7:00 p.m. flight to Birmingham through Atlanta, I met with Bill McMichael of Military Times. Here we discussed the various issues on which the ABA supports our troops and military, pointing out the seven primary committees that we have on military law, as well as our work with the TJAGs. We had a very good discussion which ranged from military child custody to repeal to the Feres Doctrine. Bill had conveniently agreed to meet with us near a Metro stop in Pentagon City, since it would put me close to Reagan National Airport and the ability to get there in time to catch my flight back to Birmingham. It was a short, two-stop Metro ride to Reagan National to make my flight.

 

The flight was on time, and uneventful, getting me back to Birmingham around 11:00 p.m. The Sunset Parade had been quite an event to attend.

Published: 7/29/2009 10:55 AM
]]> H Thomas Wells Jr Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:57:05 GMT http://new.abanet.org/presidentsblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=140 Joys of Travel: Part 28 http://new.abanet.org/presidentsblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=139 Body:

July 18, 2009

Day 122 on the Road in 2009

 

After the conclusion of the Alabama State Bar Meeting, Jan and I got in the car and headed north toward Birmingham from Point Clear. We had a very special duty that night: to babysit for our newest grandchild, Thomas Hutton Wells, and to give his parents a much needed night off. Thus, we were somewhat anxious to get back so that we could be timely in our babysitting duties.

 

However, that was not to be. We were making good time once we got to Interstate 65 North, until we got about 9 miles south of Montgomery. Unfortunately we saw a sign indicating there was construction ahead, and the traffic came to a dead standstill. It appeared that the Alabama Department of Transportation had elected to make that Saturday the day they would close all but one lane of the Interstate from the Airport Exit south of Montgomery all the way through Montgomery. Thus, reduced to a driving crawl, we took almost two hours to go nine miles to get to the other side of Montgomery.

 

Thus, it appears you don't have to be flying to have your own travel difficulties. The good news was we still made it in time for our babysitting duties and to take care of Thomas Hutton Wells.

Published: 7/28/2009 10:00 AM
]]> H Thomas Wells Jr Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:01:29 GMT http://new.abanet.org/presidentsblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=139 Alabama State Bar Meeting http://new.abanet.org/presidentsblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=138 Body:

July 15-18, 2009

Days 119-122 on the Road in 2009

 

On Wednesday afternoon Jan and I drove to Marriott's Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, for the Annual Meeting of the Alabama State Bar. This was a meeting that I was particularly looking forward to for at least three reasons: (1) Jan was getting to go with me; (2) we could drive and not fly; and (3) I was not on any of the programs.

 

We arrived on Wednesday in time to have dinner at the Grand Hotel with our friend, Claude Burns. We also ran into Oscar Price and his wife, Emily, and so the five of us had a very enjoyable dinner.

 

The next morning the meeting kicked off with the Opening Plenary Session. Scheduled to make the presentation was Barry Richard of Greenburg, Traurig of Tallahassee, discussing the evolution of the writ of habeas corpus and other laws, together with the balance of power between the branches of government. However, Mr. Richard, being a trial lawyer, was stuck in a trial and could not extricate himself. At the last minute, President Mark White imposed upon Dean Charles Gamble to take over for the Plenary Session.

 

Dean Gamble gave his usual extraordinary presentation, prepared in less than 24 hours. He discussed the cost of multi-million dollar Supreme Court races in Alabama. In this presentation Dean Gamble talked about the indirect cost of these multi-million dollar Supreme Court judicial races as follows:

 

(1) The potential to diminish the weight of intellect and experience in candidates for the Court.

 

(2) The lost weight of incumbency.

 

(3) Election by whim (noting that we in Alabama have not been too greatly embarrassed, yet).

 

(4) It poisons, distorts, and corrupts the overall political environment and negatively impacts the internal workings of the Court.

 

(5) It affects the results.

 

Suffice it to say, this summary rendition of Dean Gamble's conclusions do not do anything close to justice to his oral advocacy skills in presenting them.

 

Also, that morning, President Mark White, despite my desire not to be a participant in any of the events, imposed upon me to assist him with the presentation of the official hats and cameras to the Alabama State Bar "consultants," lead by the 11-year-old son of State Representative Jeff McLaughlin, a former colleague when he was a lawyer at Maynard Cooper, but now a state Representative from Scottsboro. These consultants, all of which were younger than Jeff's oldest son, were designated "the fun police" and took their job quite seriously. It was wonderful to see that there were over 200 attendees under the age of 13 at the Alabama State Bar meeting.

 

The second Plenary Session, on Friday, dealt with diversity as a competitive advantage. The keynote speaker was Cornell Boggs III, Chief Responsibility and Ethics Officer of MillerCoors. Cornell had recently relocated to Chicago from Denver. This session alerted all of us to a number of issues that perhaps had not occurred to us and definitely increased our overall confidences as informed and enlightened attorneys in today's multi-cultural environment. I at least had a chance to briefly speak to Cornell, the younger brother of my good friend Paula Boggs, who is the General Counsel of Starbuck's in Seattle. Paula is also very active in the American Bar Association.

 

Friday also meant that I got to play some golf with former ABA Board of Governors member Wade Baxley, his son Hamp, and ABA Alabama State Bar Delegate Billy Coplin at the Lakewood Golf Course at the Grand Hotel. This golf scramble was to benefit the Kids' Chance Program of the Alabama Law Foundation, a very worthy cause. It was great to spend a relaxing afternoon with Wade, Hamp, and Billy, especially since we were benefiting Kids' Chance, a program that provides scholarships to children whose parent has been killed or disabled in an job-related accident.

 

On Saturday morning, we had the Grande Convocation, the highlight of which was the installation of Thomas J. Methvin as the 133rd President of the Alabama State Bar, and the election of Alyce Spruell of Tuscaloosa as the President-Elect to the Alabama State Bar. Alyce will, at the conclusion of the Alabama State Bar meeting next, become the first female President of the Alabama State Bar. This was truly a momentous day in the history of the Alabama State Bar.

Category: Diversity;Independence of the Judiciary
Published: 7/28/2009 9:56 AM
]]> H Thomas Wells Jr Diversity;Independence of the Judiciary Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:58:24 GMT http://new.abanet.org/presidentsblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=138 San Francisco/Commonwealth Club http://new.abanet.org/presidentsblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=137 Body:

July 7-11, 2009

Days 114-118 on the Road in 2009

 

Tuesday, July 7, brought yet another flight out of Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, this time to San Francisco where I had been invited to address the Commonwealth Club. Meanwhile, that same day, Jan was taking the later Southwest flight to Chicago for final preparations for the events at the ABA Annual Meeting. Both of our flights were uneventful and pretty much on time, unfortunately a rare event.

 

Although my trip was primarily set up around the Commonwealth Club speech, our Media and Communications staff had set up a few other media events for me to do. Wednesday morning was the first of those, when I met with Stephanie Ortbals-Tibbs of the ABA D.C. office Media staff, and we headed over to KGO Radio for a one hour live radio call-in with Ronn Owens, a San Francisco fixture. We did about 30 minutes of interview and about 30 minutes of radio call-in with questions ranging from the ABA's position on medical malpractice suits, to the ABA accreditation of law schools.

 

From there, Stephanie and I walked over to the San Francisco Daily Journal for an editorial roundtable with the San Francisco Daily Journal and the California Lawyer. Although scheduled to only last for an hour over lunch, we ran well over with a wide ranging discussion of a number of issues.

 

Later that afternoon, it was over to the San Francisco Superior Courthouse to view the landlord/tenant project of the Volunteer Legal Services Program of the Bar Association of San Francisco. Tiela Chalmers, Executive Director of the VLSP, met us at the courthouse, and we were able to see how VLSP is able to provide pro bono representation for every unrepresented tenant facing eviction in San Francisco. VLSP collaborates with other service providers to address the need for attorney representation and eviction in cases. All the cases are called in a single courtroom, on the Wednesday before they are set for trial the following Monday. Upon being called, pro bono lawyers are assigned to all unrepresented tenants, and landlords and tenants move to another area of the courthouse where volunteer mediators, or "judges pro tem" attempt to mediate the dispute. Typical issues of clients facing eviction include non-payment of rent, nuisance, habitual late payment, and owner move-ins. Volunteer attorneys provide representation to clients during their eviction proceedings, providing those attorneys with excellent litigation experience. Training for the volunteer lawyers is provided by the VLSP, and volunteers are asked to commit to representing two clients within a year of training. This is a great pro bono program and it was good to learn more about it.

 

The next morning, Thursday, July 9, I once again met with Stephanie to do another live on air interview on "The Forum" on KQED Radio with Michael Krasney. This was another combined interview/call-in show on the local NPR affiliate. Once again we received a wide range of questions from the callers including health care reform and medical malpractice litigation, the earnings of judges, prosecutorial misconduct, and the precedent set by the Nuremburg trials where lawyers were held accountable for war crimes.

 

That afternoon, I took a break from my ABA commitments, and went by the Embarcadero YMCA, where a computer lab was installed and dedicated to Jan and me during the 2007 San Francisco meeting, at the end of which I became President-elect of the ABA. This effort was spearheaded by my alma mater, the University of Alabama School of Law, led by Dean Ken Randall, with great assistance from Corrine Cooper. The Embarcadero YMCA actually conducts a high school called Youths Chance High School where disadvantaged youth in the San Francisco area have the possibility of getting a GED. This computer lab was a great addition to that already existing program, and this visit showed that it was also being used for younger children at the YMCA summer camp, as well as providing internet access to local residents seeking jobs.

 

That night, was my presentation to the Commonwealth Club. The speech to the Commonwealth Club can be found on commonweathclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/ideology-and-ethnicity-supreme-court.html.

 

Friday I was able to spend some time with Immediate Past President Bill Neukom, now the Managing General Partner of the San Francisco Giants. In fact, that night we were able to attend the San Francisco Giants game against the San Diego Padres and celebrate "Pro Bono Appreciation Night," sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, at AT&T Park. It was a great recognition for the pro bono work being done, not only in San Francisco, but all across the country. The night was topped off by the fact that Jonathan Sanchez pitched the first no-hitter for the Giants since 1976!

 

Saturday meant the trip back from San Francisco to Birmingham, which, given the time change, essentially takes all day. Nevertheless, it was good to be home Saturday night.

Published: 7/24/2009 4:38 PM
]]> H Thomas Wells Jr Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:39:45 GMT http://new.abanet.org/presidentsblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=137