w&l law - fall/winter 2009

The Washington and Lee School of Law Magazine Fall / Winter 2009

Professor Tim Jos t

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A s s e s s e s t h e H e a l t h - C a r e D e b a t e

A l s o I n s I d e :

Tr AckI n g Hu m An rI g H T s In TAnz AnI A

n e w c r I m I n A l d e f e n s e c l I n I c

From the ArchivesThis summer, the class notes of George A. Robinson 1878L’s senior year made their way back to the Powell Archives, a gift from the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville.

PPeter Scott Campbell, technical services librarian at Brandeis, found these notes while examining his “someday-I’ll-get-to-them pile of odds and ends.” When he realized the notebooks would be of significance to the Law School, he contacted John Jacob, W&L’s Law School archivist. “As far as I know,” said Jacob, “this is an unprecedented record in the realm of 19th-century teaching and learning at our School. In addition to the intrinsic artifactual value to W&L, the notes will be a treasure for scholars in legal education from this period.” The two bound

notebooks cover Professor Charles A. Graves’ classes in Practice and Pleadings, Equity, Real Property, Partnership and Agency. And it appears that both John Randolph Tucker and Judge William McLaughlin were guest lecturers. Tucker and Graves served as the first two deans of the Law School, and McLaughlin was a University trustee. After graduation, Robinson, whose elder brother, Richard Jr., was a member of the Law Class of 1877, returned to his hometown of Louisville, Ky., and worked in two of the family’s businesses, as general manager of the Louisville Cotton Mills and as vice president of R.A. Robinson’s Sons Inc. He also served as president of W&L’s Louisville Alumni Chapter. In 1880, Robinson married Rosa Johnson, the daughter of Col. William Preston Johnson, a professor of history and literature at W&L who later served as a lecturer of law, covering topics in history and the science of law.

George A. Robinson graduated from the Law School in 1878.

8T h i r d - Y e a r P l a n : a r e P o r T

f r o m T h e f r o n T l i n e s

Sara McManus ’10L and Shannon Sherrill ’10L reflect

on the new curriculum.

10h u m a n r i g h T s i n T a n z a n i a

Six law students in a new international law class investigate human rights abuse.

B y P e t e r J e t t o n

12f o c u s e d o n

h e a l T h - c a r e l a w

Professor Tim Jost tracks the debate over comprehensive health insurance.

B y P a u l E v a n s

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contents

d e p a r t m e n t s

2Future Plans

A message from President Ken Ruscio ’76. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3Discover y

Law orientation, new Defense Clinic, visiting Afghan students and faculty accomplishments

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16Class Notes

Alumni profiles and milestones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

C o v e r P h o t o b y K e v i n R e m i n g t o n

W & L L a W a L u m n i m a g a z i n e V o L 1 0 . 12

P r e s i d e n t K e n R u s c i o ’ s M e s s a g e

V o l u m e 1 0 I N u m b e r 1

F A L L / W I N T E R 2 0 0 9

© Wa s h i n g t o n a n d L e e U n i v e r s i t y

Louise Uffelman I Editor

Kelli Austin ’03, Emily Anne Taylor ’12 I Class Notes Editors

Patrick Hinely ’73, Kevin Remington I University Photographers

Jim Goodwin, Laurie Lipscomb, Denise Watts, Mary Woodson I Graphic Designers

Bart Morris, Morris Design I Art Director

University AdvancementJeffery G. Hanna, Executive Director of

Communications and Public AffairsElizabeth Branner, Director of Law School

AdvancementPeter Jetton, Director of Communications for the

School of LawJulie Campbell, Associate Director of

Communications and Public Affairs

Published by Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va. 24450. All communications and POD Forms 3579 should be sent to Washington and Lee Alumni Inc., Lexington, Va. 24450. Periodicals postage paid at Norfolk, Va.

L a w A l u m n i A s s o c i a t i o nOfficersW. Hildebrandt Surgner Jr. ’87, ’94L, President (Richmond)Stacy Gould Van Goor ’95L, Vice President (San Diego)A. Carter Magee Jr. ’79L, Immediate Past President (Roanoke) Darlene Moore, Executive Secretary (Lexington)

L a w C o u n c i lEric A. Anderson ’82L (New York City)Blas Arroyo ’81L (Charlotte, N.C.) T. Hal Clarke, Jr. ’73, ’76L (Charlotte, N.C.)Thomas E. Evans ’91L (Rogers, Ark.)James J. Ferguson Jr. ’88L (Dallas)Thomas J. Gearen ’82L (Chicago)Betsy Callicott Goodell ’80L (Bronxville, N.Y.)Wyndall Ivey ’99L (Birmingham, Ala.)Peebles Harrison ’92L (Nags Head, N.C.)Christie Hassan ’98L (Washington)Nathan V. Hendricks III ’66, ’69L (Atlanta)A. John Huss ’65L (St. Paul, Minn.)Chong J. Kim ’92L (Atlanta)The Hon. Mary Miller Johnston ’84L (Wilmington, Del.)The Hon. Everett A. Martin, Jr. ’74, ’77L (Norfolk, Va.)Andrew J. Olmem ’96, ’01L (Arlington, Va.)David T. Popwell ’87L (Memphis, Tenn.) Lesley Brown Schless ’80L (Old Greenwich, Conn.)William Toles ’92, ’95L (Dallas)Andrea K. Wahlquist ’95L (New York City)

Future Plans

AAs most of you undoubtedly know, Furman University has named Rodney A. Smolla as its 11th president. Furman made the announcement in December; Rod takes his new post on July 1, 2010.

Given Rod’s proven leadership abilities and many academic and professional accomplishments, I am not the least surprised that Furman has chosen him. He

will be an outstanding president. He is a distinguished scholar and a proven administrator known for his collegial and creative leadership. In addition, I con-sider it a tribute to Washington and Lee that peer institutions look to us to fill leadership vacancies on their campuses.

During his time at Washington and Lee, Rod worked with our faculty, stu-dents and alumni to help us rethink legal education, and he has positioned W&L at the center of reform efforts nationally. We are grateful to him for this incredible achievement.

We remain committed to being a leader among law schools. First and fore-most, we wish to help our own students enter the legal world prepared for a demanding but also immensely reward-ing career. Beyond that, however, estab-lished quality and reputation coupled with our relatively small size enables us

to be, among law schools nationally, the credible innovator. In mid-December, the Washington Post wrote about the W&L plan in a feature story that described its potential, noting that the “goal of the new lessons is to teach third-year stu-dents how law is practiced in the real world, in contrast to the sterile predict-ability of the classroom.” This is more than learning the tools of the trade. It is our attempt to inculcate in our students a true sense of what it means to be a member of a profession.

As the Post story properly indicated, the faculty of the School of Law spent six years laying the groundwork for the new curriculum. Thanks to their exhaustive work and the support of the administration and staff, the early returns from participating students have been extremely positive. This remains a work in progress, with considerable refinement still to come. Still, already we see the results, through significantly increased applications, strong philanthropic support and the increased attention the School has received from educators, practicing attorneys and judges.

We will take care to retain that momentum as we begin the search for a new dean. Shortly after Furman announced its decision, Provost June Aprille and I began speaking with faculty, students, administrators and alumni of the Law School about the search for Dean Smolla’s successor. Those conversations will continue in the days ahead as we formulate the timetable and the process for finding our next dean.

I am confident that our long-standing reputation for excellence and innova-tion will enable us to attract excellent candidates for the dean’s post.

Find Us Online

Stay in touch with the Law School on your terms. You can be our fan on Facebook, follow us on Twitterrrrr, watch lectures and events on our YouTub channel or make professional connections in our LinkedIn group. Visit law.wlu.edu/alumni to get started.

F a L L / W i n t e r 2 0 0 9 3

After many years of distinguished service, Carole Shorter retired from W&L. Shorter has long served as the as-sistant to the Law School dean.

“Carole is one of those critical in-dividuals who keep a great institution going, working with great dedication and professionalism behind the scenes to keep the Law School functioning ef-ficiently,” said Dean Rodney Smolla. “We are defined in our community

Happy Retirement

Carole Shorter receives a well- deserved standing ovation from faculty and staff at her retirement party.

by the human character of those with whom we serve. Carole has been a humane, kind-hearted, generous soul to all who have been part of this Law School for the last 26 years, making us all the better for it.”

He continued, “It is no exaggera-tion to say that I cannot imagine the last two years without her, and I am person-ally most grateful for her dedication and professionalism.”

Shorter began her tenure at the Law School in 1983. During her 26 years, she served seven deans, includ-ing Rick Kirgis, Randy Bezanson, Barry Sullivan, David Partlett, Mark Grunewald, Brian Murchison and Rod Smolla.

Professor Mark Grunewald, who presided over a PowerPoint presenta-tion at her retirement party, brought the house down with his comment, “Carole looked at the Law School and saw that it was good, and on the seventh dean she rested.”

“I have been blessed to have been part of the Washington and Lee family and to have had the pleasure of working with outstanding deans, faculty, staff and students who are among the best in the country,” said Shorter. “Dur-ing these past 26 years, I have formed many close, lasting relationships which have truly enriched my life and which I will always treasure.”

Honor Roll of Donors

This year, the Donor Report will be avail-able to alumni via the Web at law.wlu.edu/donorreport. The publication provides a report on the gifts to the Law School for the 2008-09 school year.

Bylaws Update

The W&L Law Alumni Association recommended amendments to its bylaws at the Oct. 2009 meeting and will vote on the following proposed changes at the Reunion Weekend meeting in April.

1. The Law Council will take an active role in fund-raising for the Law School.

2. The number of Law Council members will increase from 20 to 24. This means adding one person to each of the four classes.

You can review the bylaws in full at law.wlu.edu/lawcouncilbylaws.

D i s c o v e r y

Future Plans

D i s c o v e r y


TThis year, the Law School welcomed 135 students as first-year stu-dents, and orientation activities kept them busy their first few days on campus. As well as normal matriculation activities, students par-ticipated in a number of small group sessions. Sidney Evans, associate dean for student services, explained, “We are trying to give students the tools they need to successfully prepare themselves as students and future lawyers. We spend a lot more hands-on time with first-years than we used to, and the Kirgis Fellows play a very important role as peer mentors in those groups. We talk a lot about what to expect as a first year—for example, how to manage stress and strate-gies to manage the transition from student to professional.” Another component of orientation includes the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument Training, a diagnostic instrument to help students get a better sense of how they absorb and process information. “It’s all about being prepared,” said Evans. “When issues do come up, these students will be better able to cope with them.”

The Class of 2012

As part of orientation, students have an opportunity to sign up for meal plans, register for campus alerts, discuss computing issues

and get a parking pass. Malleri McCrae ’12L, from San Diego, posed for her face book photo.

First-year students on their way to their class photo, a tradition at both ends

of their law school career. The class represents 95 undergraduate institutions

and 30 states. There are 67 women and 68 men, and 23 percent identify themselves

as diverse.

First-years are assigned to a Burks Scholar, a third-year who helps them develop legal research skills and analyze sophisticated

legal problems.

Sidney Evans, associate dean for student services, introduces the Kirgis Fellows, upper-level law students who serve as

peer mentors to the first-years.

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D i s c o v e r y

The School of Law launched a new legal clinic focusing on misdemeanor criminal defense. Law students work-ing in the Criminal Justice Clinic will represent, in district and circuit court, indigent clients who face crimi-nal charges, including assault, driv-ing while intoxicated, shoplifting and marijuana possession.

Clinic Director J.D. King, who was a public defender for the District of Columbia, hopes that the clinic will better prepare students planning on careers in criminal defense for the challenges and frustrations of an often understaffed and underfunded public-defender system.

“It’s not unusual for public defend-ers to represent over 50 clients at a time,” King said. “Our students will rarely have more than two ongoing cases, and this will allow them to learn the real way to try a case, to leave no stone unturned. They will be able to focus on a case in a way that is not always possible in a high-volume criminal defense practice.”

The clinic will represent low-

Criminal Defense Clinic

BY EMMA MILLON

income clients from Lexington, Rockbridge County and surrounding areas and receive case assignments directly from the courts. Operating on a completely pro bono basis, the clinic will take no money from clients and will not receive compensation from the court system. King estimates the clinic will handle 40-60 cases each year. As well as providing high-quality legal representation, the goal of the clinic is to teach students the art of criminal defense and effective trial practice. In addition to learning the substantive and procedural law of crim-inal practice, students will be respon-sible for the entire life of the case until the trial is over. They will conduct client interviews, make arguments on bail and conditions of release, find and interview witnesses, litigate evi-dence discovery and argue sentencing motions, among other tasks. Students have found their first steps into the world of criminal defense to be humbling. Nicholas Neidzwski ’10L, who is working on a DUI case, noted that it was disconcerting to find he was

not able to provide ready answers to his client’s seemingly simple questions, such as, “Am I going to jail?” “Meeting with my client for the first time, I was forced to become com-fortable with the answer ‘I don’t know, but I will look into it and get back to you tomorrow’,” said Neidzwski. “The practice of law has become more real to me through the clinic, and it has become evident that zealous advocacy is not the only part to being a good lawyer.” King hopes the clinic will help students understand what a well-func-tioning indigent criminal defense firm should look like, while exposing them to the significant challenges of this area of practice. “Students will feel frustrated navi-gating a new system that’s not always user friendly and dealing with a deck that seems stacked against you,” said King. “But they will experience those frustrations in an environment that is supportive and encourages self-reflection, becoming better and more creative litigators in the process.”

The Transnational Law Institute has established a new partnership with the Carter Center that places cur-rent or recently graduated U.S. law students with a variety of institutions in Liberia working pro bono on access to justice issues.

The Carter Center, founded in 1982 by former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, works in more than 70 countries and has operated The Access to Justice Project in Liberia since 2006. For the 2009-10 academic year, 12 law fellows are slated to join Liberian institutions, such as the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Labor, the Supreme Court and the James A. A. Pierre Judicial Institute, as

well as the Carter Center’s offices in Monrovia, the Liberian capital. “These fellow-ships offer students a unique opportunity to engage in legal reform and legal

development at a critical time in Liberian history, as well as a challenging and interesting personal experience,” said Professor Speedy Rice, who directs the School’s activities in Liberia.

W&L’s own efforts in Liberia began in 2008 with the Transnational Law Institute’s Liberia Access to Justice Practicum, a joint program including Washington and Lee, the Louis A. Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

P A R T N E R S F O R J U S T I C E

D i s c o v e r y


Johanna Bond’s article, “Gender, Discourse, and Customary Law in Africa,” forthcoming in the Southern California Law Review, explores Africa’s evolving human rights provisions, which require African states to ensure that women have a voice in the formu-lation of customary law and practice. Bond and students in her International Human Rights Practicum recently traveled to Tanzania, where they con-ducted human rights fieldwork in col-laboration with a women’s rights orga-nization (see story on p. 10).

Christopher Bruner’s article, “Power and Purpose in the ‘Anglo-American’ Corporation,” will appear in

the spring 2010 edition of the Virginia Journal of International Law. In the article, Bruner develops a comparat ive political theo-ry to explain why U.K. shareholders enjoy greater legal power and central-ity than U.S. shareholders

do. A specialist in corporate and securities law, Bruner’s forthcom-ing conference papers relate to direc-tors’ fiduciary duties and the scope of shareholders’ power to constrain the board’s governance authority.

Sam Calhoun published “Getting the Framers Wrong: A Response to Professor Geoffrey Stone,” in the October 2009 issue of UCLA Law Review Discourse.

Bob Danforth made several pre-sentations on planning with grant-or trusts, including at the Duke Estate Planning Conference. His Tax

Management Portfolio on grantor trusts, co-authored with Howard M. Zartisky, will be published later this fall. He has also acted as an expert witness in several matters concerning breaches of fiduciary duty and attorney mal-practice.

Mark Drumbl’s new book, Always Innocent? Child Soldiers, Justice and the International Legal Imagination, is under advance contract with Oxford University Press and will be published in 2011. Drumbl made several presen-tations on atrocity trials and post-con-flict justice, including internationally in Sarajevo, Helsinki, Buenos Aires and Italy. The United Kingdom High Court of Justice cited his scholarship in Bajinja et al. v. Government of Rwanda/UK Secretary of State (2009).

The work of international economic law expert Susan Franck was cited with praise by the U.S. Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy report to the U.S. Department of State, on the revi-sion of the Model U.S. Investment Treaty. Franck spoke at a round-table discussion at American University at the request of officials at the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, and representatives of the govern-ment of Argentina requested that Franck present her research to them at the University of Buenos Aires in December.

Lyman Johnson published two papers on corporate law and made several presentations, including an address at the program in Washington to celebrate the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 75th anni-versary. Johnson is also involved in two cases on this year’s U.S. Supreme Court docket. He was an expert wit-ness in the mutual fund case Jones v. Harris Associates and co-authored an amicus brief on the securities case Merck & Co. v. Reynolds.

In addition to publishing several book chapters and articles, health care expert Tim Jost spent the summer and fall working on health-care reform issues. He authored numerous posi-tion papers and appeared regularly in print and electronic media, including Politico.com, ABC, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, NPR, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Christian Century and numerous trade press publications and local radio and TV stations. Jeff Kahn published the sixth edi-tion of the hornbook Corporate Income Taxation, coauthored with Douglas Kahn, Terrence Perris and Jeffrey Lehman.

Criminal law scholar Erik Luna pub-lished several articles and made sev-

eral domestic and interna-tional presen-tations on an array of crimi-nal law topics, including cor-porate crimi-nal liability. Luna also pro-vided expert t e s t i m o n y before the

U.S. House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security on the national crisis surrounding indi-gent representation.

Russ Miller was profiled, along with German Law Journal co-founder Peer Zumbansen, in one of Germany’s lead-ing newspapers concerning the jour-nal’s 10th anniversary and its promo-tion of German law abroad. Miller also appeared on a panel marking the 60th anniversary of Germany’s post-war constitution, co-sponsored by the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

the spring 2010 edition of the Virginia Journal of International Lawarticle, Bruner develops a comparat ive political theory to explain why U.K. shareholders enjoy greater legal power and centrality than U.S. shareholders

do. A specialist in corporate

eral domestic and international presentations on an array of criminal law topics, including corporate criminal liability. Luna also provided expert t e s t i m o n y before the

U.S. House Subcommittee on Crime,

Faculty Accomplishments

F a L L / W i n t e r 2 0 0 9 7

David Millon was quoted in a Wall Street Journal analysis of new U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s comments in her first Supreme Court appearance, related to the protections from government over-sight afforded to corporations. Millon’s various presentations included a dis-cussion of how corporations can be encouraged to respect human rights.

Jim Moliterno conducted legal eth-ics and professionalism training in several cities and countries including Kosovo, Madrid, China and the for-mer Soviet Georgia. He also present-ed at the Global Legal Skills confer-ence at Georgetown University Law School. His publications included an article in the Fordham Law Review titled “The Lawyer as Catalyst for Social Change.”

Brian Murchison was a research visitor at the University of Melbourne Law School in Melbourne, Australia,

where he made several presenta-tions on blogging and free speech. He was also interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio National, where he discussed a case in which a China-based, U.S.-incorporated developer of an online role-playing video game brought a libel action in Australia against a UK-based blogger for disparaging comments about the company and its software.

Law school reform remains a hot topic among law schools and law-related organizations, and Mary Natkin has been busy addressing the issue on behalf of W&L at a variety of confer-ences. Most recently, Natkin attended the ALI-ABA Critical Issues Summit in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Hari Osofsky published Adjudicating Climate Change: State, National and International Approaches, (Cambridge University Press), co-edited with William Burns. The book explores the role that litigation at different levels of government does and should play in the regulation of climate change. Osofsky will deliver the Brodies Environmental Law Lecture at the University of Edinburgh.

Doug Rendleman delivered the keynote address at University of St. Thomas Law Journal Fall 2009 sym-posium, Exxon Valdez Revisited: Rights and Remedies.

Law Dean Rod Smolla moderat-ed the first debate between Creigh Deeds and Bob McDonnell for the closely watched Virginia governor’s race. Smolla was featured by the ABA Journal as a “legal rebel” for his work on W&L’s new third-year curriculum.

Ben Spencer published the lead article “Understanding Pleading Doctrine” in the Michigan Law Review. The article builds on Spencer’s pre-vious body of work, in which he has advanced his interpretation of the meaning of Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, arguing that the Supreme

Court’s pronouncements in the case were misguided. Spencer was also appointed a special assis-tant U.S. attorney, in which capac-ity he has been handling criminal and civil appeals on behalf of the federal government on a pro bono basis.

Scott Sundby continues to be a sought-after expert by practitio-ners and the media on the death penalty and related issues. He was quoted in the Chicago Tribune and the Richmond Times-Dispatch and gave a variety of talks on the death p e n a l t y, i n c l u d -ing to the Advanced J u d i c i a l S t u d i e s

conference.

Sally Wiant, who retired as director of the Law Library this summer, spoke on copyright issues at the University of Georgia and Sweetbriar College. Following the publication of her new co-edited book Health Law and Bioethics, Robin F. Wilson, the Class of 1958 Law Alumni Professor of Law, made several presentations about Jesse Gelsinger, the first person to die in a clinical trial for gene therapy. She pub-lished several opinion pieces related to her work on same-sex marriage and reli-gious liberty and made presentations in Canada, China, Italy and Israel and at several U.S. law schools.

Hari Osofsky published Adjudicating

Court’s pronouncements in the case were misguided. Spencer was also appointed a special assistant U.S. attorney, in which capacity he has been handling criminal and civil appeals on behalf of the federal government on a pro bono basis.

Scott Sundbya sought-after expert by practitioners and the media on the death penalty and related issues. He was quoted in the the gave a variety of talks on the death p e n a l t y, i n c l u ding to the Advanced J u d i c i a l S t u d i e s

conference.

D i s c o v e r y


D i s c o v e r y

There is no doubt in our minds, or in the minds of anyone we’ve talked to, that the third-year plan is making us better prepared to practice. Let’s face it, your average, par for the course, law school class involves three main activities: reading a casebook, listening to the professor and taking the exam (and most of us only do number three). It’s not a very active process.

The third-year plan, on the other hand, requires much more participation. The immersion was intense. We followed a case from start to finish, including drafting complaints and arguing in a “courtroom,” in only two weeks. While some parts of the immersion were too lecture-based, we had the chance to give feedback after it ended. It’s likely that each semester’s immer-sion will be an improvement over the one before.

The small group periods during the immersion were effec-tive at teaching practical skills, such as how to give an opening statement and how to question witnesses on direct- and cross-examination. What was the most shocking thing we learned? The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence might actually be important in the practice of law. That was quite the bombshell.

Practica (Practicums? We’re unsure of the plural here) can be even more intense learning experiences. We won’t say which practicum this is, but a lucky few in the third-year class have already had the pleasure of a law firm partner scheduling a conference call to chew them out for being so bad at legal work. That’s the kind of milestone we didn’t think any of us would pass until starting practice. Seriously though, practica give you a chance to do things that you probably won’t be able to do for a long time in real life, such as take control of a case from start to finish. It can be pretty daunting, and you find yourself having to rely on classmates more as colleagues and less as a social network. But the great thing is, even if you do get chewed out a bit here and there, you actually feel like you are learning how to do and not just how to listen and read. It’s pretty unlikely that you’ll be given as much responsibil-ity as you will in a practicum, and that’s actually cool, because hopefully when it’s real you won’t mess it up so badly. Clinics are even better than practica or the immersion, because not only are you doing the work, it actually counts. If

you spend some time in a clinic you will actually get the chance to help out a fellow human being, and you will realize that the average person looks at the legal system with fear, awe and confusion. It’s a great feeling to help out, or at least demys-tify, a legal situation for a member of the larger community. If you can’t fill your plate with the array of practica and clinics offered, you can always do an externship, either by using connections the school already has or by arranging your own pro-gram. Many members of our class have chosen to do this, and in a down economy it is a great way to get experience and possibly even land a job after graduation. All in all, the third-year plan is a good plan. For one thing, those of us who are doing it hardly have class at all, which is neat. Of course we do spend more time out of class doing work, but at least we can do it at home in our pajamas, if we so choose. There’s also an increased feeling of

togetherness in the 3L class ever since the shared immersion experience. Even if all of the above doesn’t sell you on the third-year plan, think back to when you were a 3L, and keep in mind that those of us who have signed on to the new program never have to take a law school exam again. Exams or no exams? Not a tough decision.

Third-Year Plan: A Report from the Frontlines

Jesse Eshkol ’11L celebrated the roll-out of the third-year plan with a few strategically placed treats. He said, “A few friends pitched in to help cover expenses and place the candies in locations that I designated. The designer M&Ms débuted at a Women Law Students’ Organization cocktail party. It seems like the harmless prank was well received. The dean himself was amused (I placed a bowlful in the foyer near his office), and he took a few home to share with his kids.”

by Sara McManuS ’10L and Shannon SherriLL ’10L

D i s c o v e r y

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M. Asif Ehsan and Sebghatullah Ebrahimi believe that peace and prosperity is possible in their native Afghanistan. They know it will be a long journey, but they never expected it to bring them to Lexington.

Graduates of Kabul University Faculty of Laws and Political Science, the two are enrolled in Washington and Lee’s Master of Laws program. Ehsan, who also holds a B.A. from Macalester College, was most recently employed as a program officer at the Foundation Open Society Institute. Ebrahimi worked as a gender and justice national program officer at the United Nations Fund for Women; prior to that post, he was a senior legal advisor to a USAID-funded privatization project. They hope that exposure to U.S. laws and legal systems will further prepare them to help stabilize their country’s legal sector.

Even setting aside cultural history, the effects of decades of war and, most recently, internal strife from a controversial election, the barriers to justice reform are considerable. At every level, from judges to lawyers, the judicial sector in Afghanistan is critically short of trained personnel and corruption is commonplace. Most Afghan judges have no formal education in the country’s legal codes, relying instead on religious training or customary law to deliver legal remedies.

Despite the challenges, Ehsan and Ebrahimi are committed to seeing the rule of law established in their home country. A stable and consistent justice system, they say, is the only way to realize the future they want for their homeland.

“People want jobs, a good life,” Ehsan said, “but unless we have a strong justice sector, a strong rule of law, we cannot achieve the minimum level of development or welfare that we want to have in Afghanistan.”

The Afghan students came to the U.S under the auspices of

the Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan, a joint effort between the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and the American legal community. The goal is to help the Afghan people establish a fair and transparent justice system that protects the rights of women, children and minorities and that is equally acces-sible to all citizens. Kevin Rardin ’84L, an assistant district attorney in Memphis, introduced W&L to the partnership. An Army reservist who served as a judge advocate for U.S. forces and legal mentor to the judge advocates in the Afghan Army’s 205th Corps from 2007-08, Rardin enlisted the help of Dean Rodney Smolla to take two of the six Afghan law students accepted into the State Department program. Administrators from both the School of Law and W&L’s Office of International Education plowed through red tape to get the stu-dents to Lexington just in time for the start of classes in August. Ehsan and Ebrahimi didn’t learn where they would be studying until just days before they left Afghanistan. As non-native speakers, both are happy to have landed at a small, well-respected school, where the close student-faculty interaction provides support, and also encourages greater class participation. Neither is certain where they will apply their enhanced knowl-edge when they return home. Ehsan would like to work at the pol-icy level, helping to stabilize the justice sector in order to encour-age much-needed international investment. Ebrahimi knows that working for marginalized groups will remain a strong focus of his career, in addition to taking part in the law reform process. “Women and children have been the populations most affected by the war in my country,” he said. “It will take time, especially in rural areas, to make the people aware of their rights and to change certain traditions so that Afghan law is respected.”

Mohammad Asif Ehsan ’10 LL.M. (left) and Sebghatullah Ebrahimi ’10 LL.M.

hope to bring the rule of law to their native Afghanistan.

LL.M. Students Hope to Bring Better Life to Afghanistan


D i s c o v e r y

The International Human Rights Practicum is one of the Law School’s new third-year practice-based courses, designed to prepare students for their careers by simulating a variety of legal practice environments. But this class goes well beyond simula-tion by engaging students in the investigation of actual cases of human rights abuse.

“In this course, the students are functioning as a small human rights organization,” says Professor Johanna Bond, an expert in international human rights and gender law who is teaching the course. “They research, travel and investigate, with the ultimate goal being to generate a human rights report that can be used to prod a government into making changes.”

Students are investigating enforcement of Tanzania’s Sexual Offenses Act. Passed in 1998, the landmark legislation amended the country’s penal code to include tougher penalties for sexual assault and also outlawed human trafficking and the harmful cultural practice known as female genital mutilation, common within some ethnic groups. But even before hitting the ground, students learned from their in-country partners at the Women’s Legal Aid Center (WLAC) that gen-eral awareness of the law was on the decline. In addi-tion, there remains a strong social stig-ma attached to vic-tims of sexual vio-lence, suggesting many such crimes go unreported.

But before the students could travel to Africa to research the problem of sexual violence as a human rights abuse, they spent six weeks researching the Tanzanian legal system and the law and policy around gender-based violence. They also conducted a number of practice interviews specifically designed to teach them how to extract the most accurate information from people often reluctant to speak about such sensitive issues. The group, which included Bond and Class of 2010 stu-dents Cristina Buccina, Ya Marie Cham, Lena Golze Desmond, John LaMont, Dennis Maxwell and Shannon Sherrill, traveled to Tanzania in early October. During their 10-day stay, the students conducted about 60 interviews with judges, lawyers, police officers, health-care providers and a variety of non-gov-ernmental organizations that provide legal aid and counseling to victims of sexual violence. Given their assumptions going in, the students were not surprised to find the problems with reporting and enforcement

perhaps worse than they expected. But they were surprised by how seriously the issue is taken, even as they uncov-ered the deep roots of problem. “The people I spoke with, from police to govern-ment officials, genu-inely want to fix the problems and make the environment better for women,” says Maxwell. “There are many reasons why they

Human Rightsin Tanzaniaby Peter Jetton

W&L students collaborated with a local partner organization in Dar es Salaam, the Women’s Legal Aid Centre, which created these

posters to raise awareness about domestic violence in Tanzania.

D i s c o v e r y

F a L L / W i n t e r 2 0 0 9 11

Human Rightsin Tanzania

are struggling with the enforcement of the law, and the country has a long row to hoe in overcoming the cultural and social barri-ers to enforcement.”

One interview in particular brought this challenge into stark relief. The subject was herself a human rights lawyer, educated in the law and fighting on a daily basis for the women and chil-dren of Tanzania. But even she admitted that if she became a victim of sexual assault, she would be extremely reluctant to report the crime to police.

Perhaps the most galvanizing experience for the students was witnessing the pervasive poverty in the country. Though politically stable since becoming an independent republic in 1964, Tanzania was left destitute following decades of poorly implemented socialist policy, and it is now heavily dependent on foreign aid.

This poverty has contributed directly to the failed enforce-ment of the law. The poorly paid police force is susceptible to bribery, and because victims are rarely compensated by the court system when they do go forward with a complaint, many victims or their families elect to take payment from the offender’s fam-ily in exchange for not reporting the crime. Similarly, as Buccina notes, human traffickers, when they don’t simply steal children, are able to take advantage of poor families looking for a better life for their children.

“Life in the villages is hard, and when a relative or some other agent from the city promises to provide a child with an education or a good job, families often agree,” said Buccina. “But too often that child ends up being forced into prostitu-tion or simply becomes a domestic slave.”

Despite the bleakness of the current situation, there have been successes.

Buccina and Sherrill conducted interviews with administra-tors at an aid organization that has rescued 250 children from human-trafficking situations in the last four years. The children are now learning sewing and knitting so that they have skills to support themselves. “During the interviews, were heard singing throughout the building, and afterward we were given a tour of the facility,” said Sherrill. “We were introduced to the children and they sang us a song, and it was at that point that what we were doing took on a greater purpose.” Now, the students have the difficult task of synthesizing all the information they gathered into a human rights report docu-menting the enforcement problems and causes and detailing Tanzania’s obligations under international human rights law. It will also suggest changes to the law and make recommendations to police, prosecutors and judges on how to properly investigate and adjudicate cases involving sexual violence. The report will be mass-produced at the School of Law and then delivered to the School’s partners at WLAC for lobbying the Tanzanian parliament and community education efforts. For many of the students, direct involvement with inter-national human rights may end when the class is over, but

Bond believes the experience nevertheless will inform their careers regardless of the area of law they practice. “It’s disorienting to be dropped into a foreign legal system so different from our own and figure out how it works,” she said. “But in that disorientation, so much learn-ing happens. This kind of experience gives them new perspective on our own legal system and the power of law to create social change. They will be better lawyers because of it.”

Watching human suffering from half a world away can be frustrating. Six law students in a new international law class are getting the rare chance to do something about it. From l. to r.:

Dennis Maxwell ’10L, Cristina Buccina ’10L, Shannon Sherrill ’10L, John LaMont ’10L, Lena

Golze Desmond ’10L and Ya Marie Cham ’10L.

Children rescued from human trafficking learn sewing and knitting so that they have skills to support themselves. The W&L group visited the facility, and after a tour the children sang them a song.

What’slifelikeintheeyeofthestorm?“Busy,”understateshealth-careexpertTimothyJost, the RobertL.WilletFamilyProfessorofLaw.DeliveringtwotalksinD.C.,teachingtwoclasses, grading 25 papers, hosting 10 student conferences,fielding calls from senators, plowing through the 1,990-pageCongressionalhealth-carebillbeforeblogging summariesontheHealthAffairsWebsite—arepresentative80-hourwork-weeksoundsHerculean,back-breaking.ButforJost,authorofHealth Care at Risk: A Critique of the Consumer-Driven Movement (DukeUniversityPress,2007),theworkisendlesslyfascinating. And of life-and-death importance. Ever in crisis mode,“Americanhealthcare is inprettybadshape,”hemaintains.“Withaccessibility,affordabilityandqualitythethreepillarsofeffectivehealthcare,oursisashakyedifice.Atnearly50millionpeople,theU.S.hasmoreuninsuredthananyotherdevelopedcountry. We have the world’s most expensive system. And,whilewedosomethingsverywell—ourfive-yearcancersur-vivalratesareevidence—ourquality isn’texceptional.Inasur-veychartingdeathsthatcouldhavebeenavoidedwithbetter

health-careservices,weplaced19thoutof19countries.” YetJostisguardedlyoptimistic.WiththeHouseandSenatepassingtheAffordableHealthCareforAmericaAct,thenextchallenge is tomergethe twobills.We’re justnotsurehowsustainableitwillbe,”hesaid.Itwilltakethreeyearsbeforeanylegislationisimplemented,but,seeingfiveyearsintothefuture,Jostenvisionsprogress:“I’mhopinganother30millionpeopleareinsuredandcostsarelowerthantheycouldhavegrownotherwise.” Abrass-tackspragmatist,Jostisathinker,anidealist,how-ever savvy. “I’m a Christian and justice is important to me,particularlyforthepoor.”He’salsoagentleman,dismayed,for


Professor Tim Jost tracks the debate over comprehensive

h e a l t h i n s u r a n c e

Professor Tim Jost tracks the debate over comprehensive

h e a l t h i n s u r a n c e

FOCUSED

LAWTim Jost joined W&L in 2001 as the Robert L. Willet Family Professor of Law.Heisaco-authorofacasebook,Health Law,usedwidelythroughouttheUnitedStatesinteachinghealthlaw,andofatreatiseandhornbookbythesamename.HeisalsotheauthorofHealth Care Coverage Determinations: An International Comparative Study; Disentitlement? The Threats Facing Our Public Health Care Programs and a Rights-Based Response; and Readings in Comparative Health Law and Bioethics(2ndedition,2008). Hehasalsowrittennumerousarticlesandbookchapterson health-care regulation and comparative health law andpolicyandhaslecturedonhealth-lawtopicsthroughouttheworld. You can read his most recent essays at law.wlu.edu/josthealthcare.HealsowritesforPolitico.com’s“TheArena.”

B Y P A U L E V A N S

AAtpresstime,theSenatehadjustpassedacomprehensivenationalsystemofhealth insurance.Wethrewacoupleof bigquestions at several of our alumni whose careers intersectwithhealth-carelaw,askingthemfortheirthoughts. Weasked,“Howdoyouthinkthehealth-carelegislationwillimpactyourworkandultimatelythekindofcareanordinarycitizengets?”and“Whatareasdoestheproposedlegislationgetrightorcompletelywrong?”

F a L L / W i n t e r 2 0 0 9 13

instance, by the histrionics of thepress.“Ninetypercentofthecover-agehasbeenawfulinthatit’saboutpolitics—who’smadatwhom—notsubstance.” And yet, pulled intothemediamaelstrom,whetherit’sacivilchatonNPRortheprizefight-ing of “a CNBC program wherepeopledon’t talk,butscream,”heperseveres,“hopingthatImightbeabletodosomegood.” Withhisfatherahospitaladmin-istrator,Jostconcedesthathispro-fessionalpassionisintheblood,andthat is reflected inhis jam-packedschedule. To relax, he cooks andreads something other than scien-tific abstracts or The Congressional Report—a Big Apple Trifecta: The New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, the Sunday New York Times.

Yetmainly,rightnow,it’slaptop,limelightandlecturehall—labor,inshort,forthesoft-spokenyetdrivenJost. Fighting the good fight, as itwere. And doing it thoughtfully,ethicallyandpassionately.

TimJostisintheRolodexofmanyreporters.Herearethisfall’splacements.

1 1 / 3 0/0 9 – Wa s h i n g t o n Po s t Howlongitwilltakeforhealth-carereforminitiativestotakeeffect,eveniftheyareimplementedsoon.

1 1/ 9/ 2009 - Wall Street JournalEffortsbyDemocraticlawmakerstostriphealthinsurersoftheirprotectionfromcertainfederalantitrustlaws.

1 1/8/2009 - The Globe and MailCompromisesbetweenlawmakersthatfacilitatedthepassageoftheU.S.Househealth-carereformbill.

1 0/ 3 1 / 2 0 0 9 - H e a l t h Af f a i r sBlogabouttheHouseHealthReformBill,HR3962.

10/28/2009 - F o r b e sCitinghisresearchexaminingatriggerforapublichealth-careplan.

10/28/2009 - Washington TimesConstitutionalityofrequiringindividualstopurchasehealthcare.

Tim Jost is in the Rolodex of many

M E D I A“At nearly

50 million people,

the U.S. has more uninsured

than any other developed

country. We have the world’s

most expensive system. And,

while we do some things very

well—our five-year cancer

survival rates are evidence—

our quality isn’t exceptional.

In a survey charting deaths

that could have been avoided

with health-care services,

we placed 19th out of

19 countries.”

hrew a couple of bigwhose careers intersectforforf their thoughts.

he health-care legislation will impact your work and ultimately the kind of care

PERSPECTIVESALUMNITHE HEALTH-CARE DEBATE

Scott B. Gregerson ’02L, vice president, businessdevelopment at DoctorsCommunityHospital,inLanham,Md., provides leadership inbusiness development andstrategy for theorganization.HeheldasimilarpositionatSonomaValleyHospital inSonoma,Calif.He is a fellow of The AdvisoryBoard Company, a provider ofcomprehensive performance-improvement services to thehealth-careandeducationsectors.

Health care in the U.S. is failing based on expectations. Weexpect the latest technology, the best-trained physicians andimmediateaccess tocare inunlimitedsupplywhile living inways thatdon’tpromotehealth.Thecosts of thoseexpecta-tionsarethesystemthatwehavenow,anditisn’tcheap. There are some basic things that can be done—betteraccess to primary care, better management of chronicdiseasessuchasdiabetes,andreductionofpreventableerrorsandinfectionsinhospitals—butmostofthecriticalcompo-nentsofamorerationalsystemarepoliticallyuntenable.Forexample,morethan25percentofMedicaredollarsarespentonthelastyearofapatient’slife.Thisisanenormousfigurethatprovidesvery littlebywayofbenefit tothepatientorsociety.Infact,bettercare,suchaspalliativemedicineand

Personal Participation

hospice, are much cheaper, but culturally less acceptable,thantakingextraordinarysteps,evenwhenitisobviousthatnorealqualityoflifewilleverberestored. Thetrulydifficultdecisions inthisdebatedon’trelatetohow much to pay for procedures or antibiotics, but insteadhow much we are willing to participate in our own well-being. The legislation, as it stands now, provides relief insomeareasandchallengesinothers,butcarewillhavetobecontrolled(orrationed,ifyouprefer)sothatappropriate,notsimplydesiredcare, isprovided.Thehealthcarecrisis isn’tan economic failure, it is a cultural one, and the legislationdoesn’tgofarenoughtoaddressthatissue. It’sgoingtobeaninterestingyear.

Asanoriginalfounderandco-patentholderoncertainnano-particletech-nology, T o m D u n l a p ’ 9 9 Lserves as the CEO of CeresNanosciences L.L.L.P., a biotech-nologycompanythatdevelopsdiag-nosticsproducts,basedinManassas,Va.He is also apartner atDunlap,Grubbs and Weaver, where hefocuses on complex civil litigation,mediation and arbitration in theareas of patent, copyright, trade-markandcommerciallaw.

The current version of the health-carereformbillhassomethingforeveryonetocomplainabout,whichisnotentirelyabadthing. Leavingpoliticsaside,thebasictenetoftheSenatebillisthatitwillcover94percentoflegalimmigrantsandcost$848billion, allegedly reducing the federal deficit by $130 billionover10years.Thefederalgovernmentwouldnegotiaterateswith health-care providers, and there would be an electivepublicoption(onastate-by-statebasis).Thebillproposespen-altiesforthefailuretoobtaininsuranceforbothbusinessesandindividualsandimposesadditionaltaxestohelppayforthebill.Ofparticularinterestistheproposaltotaxasmuchas$102.3billionover10yearsfromfeesoninsurancecompanies,drugmakersandmedicaldevicemanufacturers. AstheCEOofasmalllife-sciencescompany,Ifindthemostalarmingfeatureofthebillistheproposaltochargeanexcisetaxonmedicaldevices,whichincludeitemssuchaswheelchairsandinsulininjectionsyringesusedbydiabetics(America’sHealthyFuture Act of 2009, S. 1796, § 6009). The tax on a companyis calculatedessentiallyby taking thecoveredentity’s marketshareofallmedical-devicesalesandimposingthatpercentageofthetaxthatwouldcoveritsprorataresponsibility(relativetothetotalmedicaldevicesalesintheU.S.)for$4billionperyearfor10years.Thegross receipts forpurposesof theexcise taxaredefinedinthreecategoriesofgrossreceipts:under$5mil-

lion,where0percentofgrossreceiptsaretaxed;over$5million,butlessthan$25million,where50percentofgrossreceiptsaretaxed;andover$25 million,where100percentofgrossreceiptsare taxed.Thetaxwouldbe leviedregardlessofwhether thecompanyisprofitable. Therearealotofopinions aboutwhatthisbillmeanstothebiotechnologyandhealth-careindustry,witheachstem-mingfromthatcompany’sparticularviewpoint. Genericdrugmanufacturers are unhappy with the biologics evergreenextension;medicaldevicecompanies areunhappywith thetargeted tax; and larger pharmaceutical companies, in someinstances,believethebill threatenstheirabilityto innovateby placing downward pressure on prices and encouragingtheuseofgenericdrugs.Arguably,increasedaccesstohealthcaremayservetobroadenthemarket,whereasaspecifictaxon successful health-care companies and downward pricepressuresmayservetostifle innovationandmakeaccesstomarketforinnovativehealthcaremoredifficult. Itishardtosayhowthebill willimpactsmallerinnovation-drivencompanies.WhilecompanieslikeCeressitatthesametableasthelargercompanies,theinterestsandopportunitiesofsmallercompaniesareverydifferent.Likewise,thereisnostronglobbyforsmaller, innovativecompanies separateandapartfromthosesponsoredbybigpharmaortheotherhealth-care interests. The net result is that there is little dialogueand little or no consideration or attention directed at thesecompanies. Smaller companies do not have the bandwidth,resources or clout with policy makers or the mainstreammediatomeaningfullyparticipateinthedialogue. Most innovation in biotechnology occurs in small com-panies (less than 500 employees). The goal for most smallbiotechcompaniesis topartnerwithorbeacquiredbyalargercompany.Thisdoesnotmean that their interestsnecessarilyalign.Toignorethepotentialforinputhaslongbeenamistakethelegislaturehasmade,butonedifficulttorectifyinanenvi-ronmentwherestarts-upsrelyonlargecompaniesforaccesstomarketsandsometimescapital. I think the Health Care Reform Act, insofar as smallerbiotechnologycompanieswithinnovativehealth-careproductsareconcerned,couldbeatremendousopportunity.Whilethemedical-devicetaxseemsunfairlytargetedatapotentialsectorof health-care technology, for many of these companies—byoffering better products that perform more efficiently at areducedcost—thereisahugepotential.


Innovative Technologies

“The current version of the health-

care reform bill has something for

everyone to complain about, which

is not entirely a bad thing.”

— To m D u n l a p ’ 9 9 L

T i m K i l g a l l o n ’ 8 4 L joinedFree&ClearasCEOinJuly2004,motivatedbythecompany’soppor-tunitytocreatevalueandimprovelivesbyreducingtheleadingcausesof death and disease. He previ-ously was president of AppliedDiscovery, a leader in providingWeb-enabled business services tothelegalindustry.

Few dispute that reforming theU.S. health-care system is neces-sary. At $2.3 trillion, and costingtwice asmuchperpersonasmost

European countries, it’s too expensive—and it’s growing waytoofast.Further,theU.S.health-caresystem’shighercostsarenotjustifiedonthebasisofoutcomesorsocialequity;itcom-pares unfavorably to most other developed countries in bothareas.Giventhatthemajorityoftoday’sriskfactorsfordisease,disabilityandearlydeatharewithinhumancontrol, reversingtheinexorabletrendofrisingmedicalcostsrequiresafocusonhumanbehaviorssuchastobaccouse,poornutritionandphysi-calinactivity.Yet,U.S.health-caredoesnotfaceuptothis;pro-vidersandconsumersareencouragedtoover-consumemedicaltreatment,andpreventiveactionsareseldompromoted. Thus,thetopicofU.S.healthcareprovokeslittleseriouscontroversyonthequestionofwhetherreformisnecessary,butplentyonhowtoaccomplishit. Comprehensive health-care-reform proposals can bethought of as falling into several overlapping categoriesinvolvingchangingorcreatingnewregulationsandpaymentsrelatedtohealthinsurance,medicaltreatmentandpreventionand wellness. Reform proposals have attempted to addressallthreeoftheseareas,butthoseonthetablenowprimarilyaddresshealthinsurancereform.Giventhesheermagnitudeofchangecontemplated,andthecorrespondingpoliticalprice,thescalingbackofreformhasseemedinevitable.Yet, insur-ancereformmayprovetobeexactlytheplacetostart. IntheU.S.today,health-insurancecompaniesareconcernedalmostexclusivelywithmedicaltreatmentcostsincurreddur-ingtheaveragetermoftheirmembers—aboutthreeyearsinmany cases. The short coverage period per individual stemsfrom employers’ frequent tendency to switch coverage, andemployees’ penchant for switching jobs. Further, health-insurancecompaniesareallowedtodenycoveragetopotentialnewmemberswhohaveapre-existingconditionlikelytorunupmedicalcosts.Becauseofthis,health-insurancecompaniesstandtogainlittleornobenefitfrom investinginpoliciesandprotocolsthataddresslong-termhealth,andsotheydon’t. Underhealth-insurancereform,thiscouldallchange—bigtime. Removing pre-existing-condition exclusions and othercoverage limits would fundamentally transform the risks—and incentives—of health-insurance companies. For the first

time,insurancecompanieswouldbemotivatedtocollectivelyaddressthelong-termhealthoftheU.S.population.

ChancesarethiswouldfireupacrucibleofinnovativeenergytogetAmericans toengage inhealthybehavior throughouttheirlifetimes.Ifso,thatwouldberealreform.

J e f f M i l e s ’ 7 3 LislistedinThe Best Lawyers in America in the specialtyofantitrustlaw;inChambers U.S.A., America’s Leading Business Lawyers in health-carelaw;inExpert Guides to the Leading Lawyers—Best of the Best U.S.A. 2007,health-carecategory;CorporateCounsel / Top Lawyers;a n d i n t h e G u i d e t o Leading Healthcare Lawyers.Nightingale’s Healthcare News selectedhimasoneof thenineoutstanding

health-careantitrustattorneysfor2005and2006intheU.S.HeisaprincipalatOber/KalerinWashington.

TheObamaadministrationhaspromisedareinvigorationofantitrustenforcement ingeneral, and,morespecifically,hastargeted health-care industries. Moreover, any health-carereformwillemphasizeincreasingcompetitioninmanyhealth-careindustries,particularlyhealthinsurance,pharmaceuticalsandhospitals.Asaresult,theworkofattorneysspecializinginhealthlaw,andparticularlythosespecializinginhealth-careantitrustlaw,islikelytoincreasesignificantly. TheFederalTradeCommissionhasalreadyheighteneditsattackonhospitalmergers, and several significant investiga-tionsarependingacrossthecountry.ThetrialofanimportantFTCpharmaceuticalmergercasebeginsinDecember,andtheFTCisalsoinvestigatingmergersoflargephysicianpracticesandanumberofsituationsinwhichotherwisecompetingphy-sicianshaveattemptedtojointlynegotiatepriceswithhealthinsurers. Itappears that theFTCwillpersuadeCongress toenactlegislationtoprohibitso-calledreverse-paymentsettle-ments inpatent infringement litigation,bywhichmakersofbrandedpharmaceuticalspaymanufacturersofgenericdrugstodelaytheentryofgenericsintothemarket. TheAntitrustDivisionhaspromisedmore active actionagainstmergersofhealth-insurancefirmsinlightofthehighlyconcentrated structure of many health-insurance marketsandpressurefrombothCongressandspecial-interestgroups.Andattorneysgeneralinmanystatesareexaminingthesametypesofcompetitiveproblemsinhealth-careindustries. Not surprisingly, even during this period of economicdownturnandlaw-firmlayoffs,healthlawremainsanunusu-allyattractive,activeandsecureareaoflawpractice.Q

F a L L / W i n t e r 2 0 0 9 15

Preventative Health Care

More Work for Health-Care

Lawyers


L a w N o t e s

For the last 30 years, The Hon. William Broadhurst ’79L has spent his weekends watching football. But Broadhurst wasn’t watching from the sidelines or the comfort of his living room. Instead, he was in the middle of the games— as a referee.

“Up until 18 months ago, I had wonderful anonymity,” he said.

But he was outed when an attorney from Roanoke went to a game at the University of Richmond and brought a long-lens camera and a headset to also listen to the game on the local radio station. A penalty was called, and the announcers wondered aloud what decision head referee Bill Broadhurst would make. The attorney looked through his camera lens and recognized his colleague, Roanoke Circuit Court Judge William Broadhurst.

“Some guys hunt, some guys fish. Some officiate,” Broadhurst explained.

Broadhurst began moonlighting as a referee in 1982, after the Roanoke commonwealth’s attorney, Donald S. Caldwell, suggested he try it out one weekend. Over the last 27 years, Broadhurst worked his way through the ranks from Pop Warner to the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly Division 1-AA. Broadhurst works games for the Colonial Athletic Association, Patriot League, Ivy League and, when time permits, USA South and Old Dominion Athletic Conference games.

But officiating isn’t simply a weekend pastime. Referees spend nearly as much time preparing for a

game as the players do. As head referee, or “white hat,” Broadhurst must upload the previous game’s foul report on Sunday and download that game’s film to review his crew’s

performance. On Monday, he confirms meeting times with coaches for the upcoming week’s game and checks hotel res-ervations. Tuesdays, he reviews the game film, holds a con-ference call with his officiating crew to discuss their perfor-mance and reviews notes from the officiating observer who watched the game on Saturday. On Wednesday, he finalizes travel plans and talks with the supervisor of officials about any types of fouls his crew has missed or called incorrectly. Thursdays are free, but on Friday Broadhurst travels to the city hosting the game, holds a post-dinner meeting with his crew to watch the previous week’s game film and a train-ing film from the supervisor, and completes a weekly rules exam. On Saturday there’s a pregame meeting, and, finally, the game. “Officiating is a fairly time-consuming hobby,” Broadhurst admited. “Not including travel, I’d say it takes a full two days.” Having a degree of control over his schedule helps him handle the extra workload. He can free up Fridays to accom-modate his travel, but the downside is that he has to make five days of work fit into four. And he acknowledges that after shoehorning an officiating job into a judge’s already busy schedule, family time can get pushed to the wayside.“It’s a sacrifice for all officials,” Broadhurst said. “I like to think I handled it in proper proportion, but I probably haven’t.” Broadhurst plans to referee for as long as he’s physically able and still having fun. “Being part of an officiating crew is like being part of a team, made up of individuals who work hard, sacrificing physically and mentally for the good of the crew,” he said. “Those qualities are harder to find in the world than you’d think.”

PLAYBALL by Jason bacaJ ’10

17F a L L / W i n t e r 2 0 0 9

L a w N o t e s

The Hon. Pamela J. Whitehas been appointed by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine to the board of her under-graduate alma mater, Mary Washington University. White graduated from Mary Washington in 1974. She has served as a circuit court judge for Baltimore, Md., since 2007. Prior to her appointment to the court, she was a partner and chair of the employment law group at the Baltimore firm of Ober/Kaler.

1 9 7 8David P. Falck was appoint-ed executive vice president,

general counsel and secretary of Pinnacle West and Arizona Public Service Company. He will oversee the company’s legal matters and handle utility law and public policy issues.

John D. Klinedinst (’71A) was listed in San Diego’s Super Lawyers magazine for his work in business and corporate liti-gation and professional liabil-ity defense.

1 9 7 9Samuel A. Nolen was included in 2009 edition of The International Who’s Who of Corporate Governance Lawyers. He is one of 367 lawyers selected by their peers as the world’s foremost corporate governance lawyers. Nolen is a director in the corporate department of Richards, Layton & Finger. He advises individuals, boards and management on corporate governance, transactional and control dispute issues. Nolen also represents corporate and individual clients in derivative and class actions, fiduciary responsibility actions and other complex cases.

1 9 8 0Cheryl H. Ledbetter retired after 28 years with Jackson Kelly in Charleston, W.Va. She is now a managing partner for the health-care division of Hoffman McClain Consulting, with offices in Charleston, S.C.

1 9 8 2Robert M. Couch (’78A) joined the banking and financial services practice group at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings L.L.P. as counsel in the firm’s Birmingham, Ala., office.

1 9 8 3Sean R. Smith (’79A) com-pleted the Governor’s Island two-mile swim around New York Harbor on Sept. 4. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and four children and prac-tices law.

1 9 3 9Joseph C. Murphy moved from Reedville, Va., to Leesburg, Va.

1 9 5 5Richard W. Hudgins presented a paper entitled “Living Without God”to the Hampton Roads Torch Club in March.

1 9 6 3Jay F. Wilks was honored at The Best Lawyers in America anniversary event in Atlanta in April, as being one of only 1,397 lawyers nationwide who has been listed in each edition of Best Lawyers since its first publication 25 years ago. He is the senior member of Wilks, Alper & Harwood P.C., in Norfolk, Va.

1 9 6 6R. Sander Harman lives in New York City. His daughter, Jamie, gave birth to a baby girl, Charlolette Georgina Birkenhead. He hopes she will join the class of 2027.

1 9 7 1Albert M. Orgain IV was listed in the July issue of Richmond’s Super Lawyers magazine. He works for Sands Anderson Marks & Miller P.C. and specializes in aviation law.

1 9 7 2John A. Wolf (’69A) was included in the 2010 edition of the Best Lawyers in America. He focuses his practice at Ober/Kaler on construction litigation.

1 9 7 3J. Jeffries Miles was includ-ed in the 2010 edition of the Best Lawyers in America for his work as an antitrust lawyer at the Washington office of Ober/Kaler.

1 9 7 5M. Pierce Rucker II was listed in the July issue of Richmond’s Super Lawyers magazine. He is the president of Sands Anderson Marks & Miller P.C. and specializes in

personal injury defense and medical malpractice law.

James M. Sturgeon Jr. joined the Charleston, W.Va., office of Kay Casto & Chaney. He was also elected president of the West Virginia board of accountancy.

1 9 7 7George R. Moore was named a top attorney in com-mercial litigation by Chambers USA. He is a shareholder of Devine Millimet and focuses on a wide range of commercial litigation cases. He lives in North Andover, Mass.

Richard Redding ’92L, associate dean and professor of law at Chapman University School of Law, co-authored The Politically Correct University: Problems, Scope and Reforms (AEI Press). The authors write, “Our goal in this book is to explore and finally offer rem-edies to this culture of political correctness, the buga-boo that has most bedeviled American higher educa-tion in recent years. We focus on the problem of liberal political orthodoxy in teaching and scholarship and seek to understand how ‘diversity’—of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, but not of ideas—has become the dominant ideology in higher education.”


L a w N o t e s

Patricia Davison Crauwels finished her one-year term as president of the Florida Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates. The board is a national, invi-tation-only organization com-prising plaintiff and defense attorneys whose primiary mission is the preservation of the Seventh Amendment

right to civil jury trial. She is a shareholder in Matthews, Eastmore, Hardy, Crauwels and Garcia in Sarasota, Fla.

J. Frederick Earley II was elected president of Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield by the board of directors at its annual meet-ing. He joined Blue Cross

Early in her career, a commanding officer told her, “Women have no place in the 82nd Airborne, Capt. Dunn.”

Brig. Gen. Malinda E. Dunn ’81L, the first female to serve as the staff judge advocate of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg and the first female judge advocate to become a general officer on active duty, took the jab right on the chin.

“What a great welcome to that division,” she said with a laugh. “I entered the Army in 1981, and women had just been integrated into the regular Army from the Women’s Army Corps in 1978. At this point, the whole Army was get-ting used to the change. What I learned is that you, espe-cially as a woman, have to establish yourself in every new job and unit. The Army is a performance-based organiza-tion, and if you prove yourself, you have no problem.”

And prove herself she did. Dunn has served as the assistant judge advocate general for Military Law Operations, commander of the United States Army Legal Services Agency, chief judge of the Army Court of Criminal Appeals, special assistant to the judge advocate general and staff judge advocate, XVIII Airborne Corps.

Her awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with eight Oak Leaf Clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Humanitarian

At Ease

Blue Shield in 1989 and has served Mountain State as senior vice president of external operations, general counsel and corporate secre-tary since 1995. As president, he will have direct respon-sibility for sales, legal and regulatory affairs, external provider relations, provider contracting, planning and

communications. He lives in Vienna, W.Va.

1 9 8 4G. Michael Pace was named a Virginia Super Lawyer for 2009 in real estate. He works for Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore L.L.P. in Roanoke.

Brig. Gen. Malinda Dunn ’81L on Chicken Street in Kabul, Afghanistan. She said, “The kids were always vying for photos, and then asking for a dollar. I am fond of kids generally, so I always inter-acted with them. And, I spent four years in Afghanistan (7th, 8th, 9th and 10th grades), so it was a lot of fun to talk to the kids, trying to dredge up my 30-year-old Farsi.”

Capt. Koritko (left) and I were getting ready to fly from Camp Victory, which is in Baghdad, up to LSA Anaconda, also known as Balad Air Base, north of Baghdad,” recounted Brig. Gen. Malinda E. Dunn ’81L. “I was the senior attorney for all combat forces in Iraq at the time, so I flew all around checking on other legal offices.”

on Chicken Street in Kabul, Afghanistan. She said, “The kids were always vying for photos, and then asking for a dollar. I am fond of kids generally, so I always interacted with them. And, I spent four years in Afghanistan (7th, 8th, 9th and 10th grades), so it was a lot of fun to talk to the kids, trying to dredge up my 30-year-old Farsi.”

Service Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal and the Multinational Force and Observers Medal. Despite her impressive accolades and accomplishments, Dunn said the most satisfying part of her career was forming personal and professional relationships with soldiers and offi-cers. “It sounds almost trite,” she noted, “but in the Army JAG Corps we say, ‘It is all about the people.’ I came into the Army not knowing what to expect, and what I found is that the JAG Corps and the Army are full of officers who are smart, who are informed by values in everything that they do and who under-stand that hard work is important. I built connections that cre-ated a circle that mixed work and social relationships. It is like being on a team all the time.” Certain people helped Dunn forge her significant jour-ney through the Army and over gender barriers. She attended W&L Law after the School’s first female law professor, Anne Unverzagt, sought her out on a recruiting trip. Dunn recalled, “I sat in the grass in blue jeans outside the dormitory with Anne as she conducted my law school interview.” Dunn considers another important role model to be Gen. Henry Hugh Shelton, with whom she worked at the mid-point in her career, when he was the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division. “There were very few women in that divi-sion at the time,” Dunn said. “He made a huge impression on me because of his innate understanding that women contrib-uted as much to the Army as men.” In September, Dunn retired from the Army after 28 years of military service. Though a prototype for balancing career and family life, she plans to stay home with her 13- and 16-year-old daughters for the next year. “My husband, Mark, was deployed to Iraq for a year after Thanksgiving. I’m not sure where I’ll go from here—I am just looking forward to spending time with my daughters.”

by Maggie sutherland ’10

19F a L L / W i n t e r 2 0 0 9

L a w N o t e s

1 9 8 6Jonathan L. Snare joined the Washington office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius L.L.P. as a partner in the labor and employment section. From 2003 to 2009, he served in the U.S. Department of Labor in several positions, including deputy assistant secretary and acting assistant secretary with OSHA, deputy solicitor of labor and acting solicitor of labor with the solici-tor’s office.

Lynn K. Suter was appointed town counsel for Dayton, Va. She practices business law for both large corporations and small businesses with Lenhart Obenshain P.C. in Harrisonburg. She also serves on the board of directors of the Blue Ridge Community College Educational Foundation and chairs the board of directors for Eastern Mennonite University.

1 9 8 7David G. Hammon is of counsel to Steptoe & Johnson P.L.L.C., in the firm’s Charleston, W.Va., office.

1 9 8 8Louise Phipps Senft was named to The Daily Record’s Circle of Excellence, a dis-tinction earned by being named a Top 100 Woman three times. The award pro-gram was created 14 years ago to draw attention to the contributions being made by women throughout the state of Maryland. She established Baltimore Mediation in 1993 and is vice president of Roland Park Civic League.

1 9 8 9Scott D. Stimpson is the co-chair of the intellectual

property practice group of Sills Cummis & Gross P.C., in its Rockefeller Center office, New York.

1 9 9 0Sandra L. Fischer was admitted to the Master of Divinity Program at Yale Divinity School. She is pursuing ordination in the United Church of Christ.

1 9 9 1Clifford R. Jarrett is the managing director and office leader for the Charlotte office of Major, Lindsey & Africa.

1 9 9 3L. Johnson Sarber III (’89A) was elected secretary-treasurer of the Florida Defense Lawyers Association. He is a share-holder with Marks Gray P.A. in Jacksonville, Fla.

1 9 9 5Shawn A. Copeland (’90A) opened Copeland, Cook & Richards with two partners in

December 2007, in Cornelius, N.C. They focus on business and commercial disputes and other state and federal court civil litigation, but also have experience in estate plan-ning and business formations and transactions for small to medium-sized clients.

1 9 9 7Krista Honaker Bowen was named to the Forty Under 40 by the Charlotte Business Journal. She is a cor-porate attorney for Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson and a board member for the Charlotte Coalition for Social Justice and the International House. Last year she led the United Way campaign at her firm.

1 9 9 8Kevin K. Batteh (’95A) and his wife, Sarah, have been living in London for the past two years. Sarah is earning her Ph.D. in health econom-ics, and Kevin works for the United Kingdom Financial

Services Authority prosecuting securities and derivatives market fraud cases. He writes, “If you are passing through London, let us know.”

Robert J. Light was named a non-equity member of the firm Lawson and Silek P.L.C. He lives in Winchester, Va.

Robert S. Westermann joined the bankruptcy prac-tice group at Hirschler Fleischer P.C. in Richmond as a part-ner. He focuses on Chapter 11 corporate cases, general credi-tors’ rights and related civil litigation. Prior to joining Hirschler Fleischer, Robbie was a member of the bankruptcy team at Hunton & Williams in Richmond. Robbie

and his wife, Townsend, have three children, Ellie, 11, Ann Ross, 8, and Robert, 5.

The Hon. James M. Williams was appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to serve as a judge, filling a vacancy in Division J of Orleans Parish Civil District Court. At 35, Williams is the youngest judge in the state of Louisiana. He will serve until a new judge is elected to fill the seat. He is a partner with Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams. He was also inducted into New Orleans City Business Magazine’s Hall of Fame and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

1 9 9 9Matthew E. Cheek was named to Style Weekly’s Top 40 Under 40. He was recognized for a host of accomplishments, including his work with the Virginia Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, the Boy Scouts of America, Junior Achievement and English

At a mini reunion of the Class of 1976L in Louisville, Ky., these alumni re-created the Ryder Cup celebration on the

clubhouse deck at Valhalla Golf Club after their own successful navigation of the course. From l. to r.: Hiram Ely, John Norris,

Dick Hooker and Rob Hillman.

20

L a w N o t e s


Speaking Union. He is a partner at Williams Mullen in Richmond and chairs the financial services industry service group.

2 0 0 1Ivy A. Johnson (’94A) returned to the Senate as senior counsel for the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

Ross S. Goldstein was pre-sented with the Attorney General’s Award for Fraud Prevention at the Department of Justice’s annual awards cer-emony at D.A.R. Constitution Hall in Washington. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder made the presentation. The award recognizes “exceptional dedication and effort to pre-vent, investigate, and pros-ecute fraud and white collar crimes.” He is a trial attorney

in the Office of Consumer Litigation and belonged to the team responsible for the criminal investigation and prosecution of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. for promoting its antipsychotic medication Zyprexa for uses not approved by the FDA. Eli Lilly’s conviction earlier this year resulted in the company paying what was then the larg-est criminal fine in the history of the United States.

2 0 0 2Faiz Ahmad began working as counsel for the Acumen Fund after seven years of mergers and acquisitions practice at Skadden. Acumen Fund is a venture fund that is attempting to combat global poverty by making invest-ments that will benefit the poor, primarily in Kenya, India, Pakistan and South Africa. The goal is to provide

capital and business exper-tise to local entrepreneurs who can build and sustain businesses. Sample invest-ments include housing projects, clean water filtra-tion systems, drip irrigations systems and anti-malaria mosquito net factories. He writes, “The fund is doing amazing work. Please visit the Web site at acumenfund.org.”

2 0 0 3Gerald M. Titus (’00A) joined Spilman Thomas & Battle in Charleston, W.Va.

2 0 0 4Troy A. Berman is the new executive director of West Virginia’s Republican Party. He has worked for the Ohio GOP and party lawmakers in the Maryland House of Delegates and New York State Senate.

He also has managed con-gressional and state senate campaigns in Texas and Pennsylvania.

Erik G. Swanson opened his own law firm earlier this year and handles civil litigation from his offices in Chicago’s northern and western sub-urbs. He remains active in numerous bar associations and recently spoke at the Illinois State Bar Association’s Solo/Small Firm Conference in Springfield, Ill.

2 0 0 5Luder F. Milton was named a Rising Star in the business litigation category by Virginia Super Lawyers magazine. He is an associate at Hirschler Fleischer in Richmond and is the youngest person in his firm to be recognized as a Super Lawyer.

Don Partington ’61, ’64L (in the white sweater) taught a short course on American jury trials in civil cases for a couple of weeks to the law faculty of Mazaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. He explained, “There is no jury trial system in the Czech Republic in civil cases.” He said the students all spoke English, and he was pro-vided with a student assistant. “It was a nice experience,” he said. “The students applauded after my last lec-

ture, which may be normal for them but was not expected by me.”

F a L L / W i n t e r 2 0 0 9 21

2 0 0 8Kimberly L. Herb was accepted into the Attorney General’s Honors program and now works in Washington at the Department of Justice, Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch as a trial attorney.

2 0 0 9Sahang-Hee Hahn entered the Villanova LL.M. tax pro-gram in the fall of 2009.

MARRIAGES

Karen Head ’00L to Kevin Joyce on March 28 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. They live in Washington, where Karen is the director of political and regulatory affairs for the Amalgamated Transit Union, AFL-CIO.

BIRTHS

Rima Fawal Hartman ’94L and her husband, John, a son, Charles Abraham, on Aug. 24. He joins brothers Luke, 12, and Peter, 10, and sister Ella, 7. They live in Birmingham, Ala., where Rima is a share-holder at Maynard, Cooper & Gale.

Kimmberly M. Bulkley ’95L and her husband, Michael Thompson, a daughter, Rorygrace May, on June 19. She joins brother Grayson. They live in Maplewood, N.J.

Kelly Horan Florio ’96, ’99L and her husband, Rick, a son, Giacomo “Jake” Walter,

on Jan. 28. They live in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Courtney Camp Enloe ’97L and Christopher Enloe ’93L, a son, Christopher Wyatt, on May 21.

Amy Cadle Hocevar ’02L and her husband, Greg, a daughter, Clara Vivian, on May 7. They live in Richfield, Ohio, where Amy is an litiga-tion associate with Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in Cleveland.

Loren Weiss Villa ’02L and her husband, John, a daughter, Kira Danielle, on Jan. 23. She joins brother Devon, 4. They live in Hagerstown, Md.

Kevin A. White ’04L and his wife, Meghan, a daughter, Mary Ellerson, on June 6. She joins sister Elizabeth Frazier, born on Oct. 14, 2007. They live in Richmond, where Kevin serves as an adjunct professor of business law in the undergraduate eco-nomics/business department of Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va. He is an asso-ciate at Kaufman & Canoles P.C., where he concentrates on public finance and tax-exempt bond transactions and also maintains a general business law practice.

Matthew L. Frisbee ’07L and Allison Frisbee ’07L, a son, John Wilson, on Feb. 27. They live in Chevy Chase,

The North Carolina Bar Association honored Walter L. Hannah ’50L with the dedication of the Walter L. Hannah Justice Fund. Hannah was the first associate of the Greensboro firm, which was called King, Kleemeier & Hagan when he joined in 1955. He has served in numerous leadership roles and received several honors from the bar association. He was the first recipient of the Evelyn M. Coman Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Construction Law. He’s also a 2002 inductee into the General Practice Hall of Fame. At the ceremony, his daughter, Nan Hannah ’93L, a Raleigh attorney and president-elect of the Wake County Bar Association and 10th Judicial District Bar, provided remarks on behalf of her father and family.

Md.

The Hon. Henry W. MacKenzie Jr. ’32L, of Portsmouth, Va., died on Oct. 5. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army and then practiced law in Portsmouth before being appointed as an associate judge of the circuit courts for Princess Anne County, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth. He was later named judge of the Circuit Court for the City of Portsmouth. He was a found-ing trustee of the Virginia Environmental Endowment. MacKenzie belonged to Kappa Alpha. He was the brother of John A. MacKenzie ’39L and the uncle of I. Curtis Jernigan Jr. ’65 and Reverdy H. Jones III ’71L.

The Hon. LeRoy Edward Glass ’49L, of Lynchburg, died Oct. 26, 2006. He served as a captain in the Army dur-ing World War II and contin-ued his service as a major in the Army Reserves. Judge Glass sat on the bench of the

General District Court from 1969 until his retirement in 1982.

Rufus B. Hailey ’50L, of Sevierville, Tenn., died on May 1. After graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1943, he completed seven war patrols aboard the USS Perch and ended his World War II career in Tokyo Bay. He was recalled to active duty in the Korean War, served two years on the staff of Comsublant and retired as a commander from the Naval Reserves. He practiced law for 55 years, pursued real estate ventures (developing Forbidden Caverns) and was founding chairman of the Robert F. Thomas Medical Foundation. He served on the boards of the Tennessee State Board of Education, the University of Tennessee, Morristown College and the Holston Home for Children, and was the founding chairman of the Sevier County Veterans Monument Association.

L a w N o t e sL a w N o t e s

M A R R I A G E S

B I R T H S

O B I T U A R I E S

22

L a w N o t e s


What’s Brewing?Nanette Heide ’90L, a relative newcomer to Duane Morris’ New York office, is already making her mark at the firm.

A corporate finance attorney, Heide headed up a team that served as U.S. counsel for Australian grain supplier GrainCorp Ltd. In November, the company closed a $655 million deal to acquire United Malt Holdings Ltd., the fourth-largest manufacturer of malt used to make whiskey and beer. The acquisition will double GrainCorp’s size and transform it into an international agribusiness. With operations in Australia, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, the grain supplier

will now be less susceptible to the seasonal conditions of eastern Australia, where it cur-rently operates seven bulk-grain export ter-minals. Heide’s primary responsibility was to put together and manage a team of attorneys with a range of expertise, such as environ-mental, domestic and international tax, export compliance laws, merger and acquisi-tion, and labor and employment. “When I was asked to run this transaction, my first thought was, ‘Holy cow! How do I put together this team?,’ ” she said. “But at the end of the day, I am a logistics person. I always try to have that end product in mind and work backwards.” That approach is a direct result of her years at W&L, where “everyone was expect-ed to be prepared and participate in class numerous times. In a school with such small classes, you couldn’t run, much less hide,” she explained.

Working with her favorite professor at the Alderson Clinic, the late Roger Groot, whom she describes as “a dry, tough guy from North Carolina who took no prison-ers,” provided her with critical training. “He taught me the valuable lesson of never thinking anything is impossible, either legally or practically. There is always a way to find a door open to do what your client wants to accomplish, within ethical boundar-ies, of course. When my partner came to me and asked me to run this particular deal, I didn’t say ‘No, I can’t do that, I don’t know enough people for the team, I have no idea of what laws we are going to have to review, etc.’ Instead I said, ‘OK, we will figure it out and get it done.’ ”

Starting in late August 2009, the team worked long and odd hours for their Australian client and had to think creatively about rounding out due diligence. By utilizing internal resources, such as practice group leaders, Heide was able to determine which colleagues were available and had requisite experience. She said, “You hope that your colleagues will be willing to do what it takes to get the job done, really, really well. In this instance, all of my partners and the associates jumped right in, rolled up their sleeves and produced amazing work in very short time frames.”

Nanette Heide ’90L served as U.S. counsel in a multi-million- dollar international acquisition.

Townsend Oast ’51 ’57L, of Portsmouth, Va., died on Sept. 3. He was president of the Southwest Hampton Roads-area SunTrust Bank and founder of the People’s Bank of Chesapeake. He was the founder and president of the Chesapeake Rotary Club, and was a Paul Harris Fellow. He was president of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Bankers Association. Oast belonged to Kappa Alpha. He was the brother of John P. Oast ’56, cousin of James A. Oast ’54L and Edward L. Oast Jr. ’53L and uncle of William H. Oast III ’71 ’74L.

John J. Flood ’51L, of Burlington, N.C., died on Aug. 6. He earned his under-graduate degree from the University of Vermont and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. Flood worked as staff counsel to the member companies of New Hampshire Insurance Co. until his retirement in 1985 as vice president and counsel.

Gordon B. Mills ’51L, of Louisville, Ky., died on May 12. He served with the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, he worked as a stockbroker with UBS Paine Weber.

Larry M. Topping ’59L, of Poquoson, Va., died on June 2, 2007. He served on active duty as a Marine infantry officer and also worked on military legal affairs. He was a partner in the law firm of Hall, Fox and Topping. Topping belonged to Phi Kappa Sigma.

Calvin T. Cronk ’66L, of Urbana, Va., died Oct. 3. He served Old Dominion University, James Madison University and four state museums as counsel through the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia. He also counseled the Virginia Community College System, Virginia Military Institute and

by andrea M. null ’10

Jennifer Belcher ’05L knows how to talk. A native of Rocky Gap, Va., she has a flair for oral argument that propelled her to first place in the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s annual Young Farmer Discussion Meet. Farming is in her blood. She grew up working on her family’s beef and dairy farm and was an active member of the Bland County 4-H program. In 2001, while a senior at Emory & Henry College, she was named Miss Virginia Farm Bureau.

Now an associate with McDermott Will & Emery in Washington and a member of its trial department, Belcher kept up her connection to the Virginia Farm Bureau, the state’s biggest farmers’ advocacy group, with more than 150,000 members in 88 county farm bureaus. Volunteers in the organization are committed to protecting Virginia’s farms and ensuring a locally grown food supply. Every year, the Virginia Farm Bureau holds a Discussion Meet at its annual convention. Using a pre-determined agricultural topic, participants compete in a committee-style discussion and are judged on their ability to build consensus and work toward solutions. This year’s final-round topic was how farmers can reach out to the public to make people

more aware of and supportive of agriculture. Belcher convincingly argued that producers need to share with the public as much information as possible about farming to gain needed support. She suggested using popular social media outlets, like Facebook, Web sites, and other tools to educate the public. She also encouraged

farm bureau members to become part of the state’s Spokesfarmer Program to connect with other industries. Belcher represented Virginia at the national competition in January 2010 at the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmer & Rancher Discussion Meet in Seattle, Wash. Belcher will also attend the 2010 Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers Winter Expo in Alexandria. In an interview with SWVA Today.com, Belcher said of her farm experience, “You don’t appreciate it until you get away from it. It was not until I moved away that I realized how much I miss it. I learned the value of hard work early on. Mom always told us, ‘Hard work builds character.’ We told her when we were teens that we already had enough character. I’m proud of my background.”

Well Said

F a L L / W i n t e r 2 0 0 9 23

L a w N o t e sL a w N o t e s

George Mason University. He was admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court, Virginia Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court. He was president of the board of the Richmond Area Association for Retarded Citizens Inc.

Ronald K. Ingoe ’68L, of Manassas, Va., died on Feb. 2. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and practiced law with Chess Durrette & Roeder and Boothe, Prichard & Dudley before starting his own office. Ingoe belonged to Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

John R. Bagby ’73L, of Lexington, Ky., died on Sept. 7. He served in Naval Intelligence in Guam and later became an attorney in Lexington. He was a member of the Gratz Park Association.

He served on the board of trustees of Waynesburg University and the Headley Whitney Museum Trust.

Dr. Preston B. Mayson Jr. ’91L, of Roanoke, died on March 30. He served in the Army and earned his undergraduate degree from the United States Military Academy and a medical degree from George Washington University. He practiced radiology for 18 years before attending law school. He practiced law for nine years until his retirement in 2000. He was the father of Brooks H. Mayson ’84.

Jennifer P. Taylor ’97L, of Richmond, died on Sept. 22. She practiced law in Charleston, W.Va. She was a prosecutor and later handled bankruptcy cases for a local law firm.

Theresa Markley Brion ’85L received a Master of Divinity degree from Episcopal Divinity School. She also received the Bishop of Atwood Arizona Prize for maintaining the highest standards in

the field of church history.

L a w N o t e s

W & L L a W a L u m n i m a g a z i n e V o L 9 . 222

Save the Date!Law Reunion WeekendApril 16 and 17, 2010We will celebrate reunions for the classes of ’60L, ’65L, ’70L, ’75L, ’80L, ’85L, ’90L, ’95L, ’00L, and ’05L, as well as our Legal legacies (any alum who graduated more than 50 years ago).

For more information go tolaw.wlu.edu/reunion.

Questions? Contact the Office of Law School Advancement at (540) 458-8587 or e-mail Joan Miller at [email protected].

Ways To Give Ways To Give

Inspired by the generosity

of Gerry Lenfest ’53, ’55L

and John Huss ’65L, Jessine

Monaghan ’79L structured a

gift to the Law School’s third-

year curriculum that tripled

her donation.

In doing so, she takes

advantage of the unique

match opportunities of the

Lenfest Challenge Gift for

faculty support and the Huss

Challenge Gift for the third-

year curriculum.

Monaghan credited Huss

for his inspiration. “I am

delighted that he has proposed

the challenge grant to support

the third-year program,” she

said. “I could not be happier

than to work with John to

make this program as robust and successful as it can

possibly be. John and his wife are wonderfully generous

people, and it is a tremendous gift.”

The Jessine A. Monaghan Fund is a permanent

endowment to support faculty who teach various aspects

of the third-year curriculum. The fund will also provide

grants to faculty to support curricula development.

Faculty members receiving such grants will be designated

as Monaghan Fellows.

Monaghan focused her gift with a practical aim in

mind. “There has been a lot

of discussion in recent years

about the real need for law

schools to train students for the

actual profession of law. The

traditional doctrinal focus was

not necessarily doing the job.

The third-year program at W&L

is exactly the type of approach

that will prepare our students

to enter practice with the kind

of skills that are important to

representing clients well.”

Monaghan, manager and

senior counsel of government

relations at SABIC Innovative

Plastics, said, “I appreciate

W&L’s sense of collegiality, as

well as its tradition of civility

and honor. Some of my fondest

memories are of the close

personal relationships I made with other law students. I

am still in touch with many of those with whom I went

to school and also have developed relationships with

new people through my connections at W&L.”

Monaghan considers it a privilege to have worked

with many current law faculty and trustees on various

committees and through the Law Council. “I have

always supported educational institutions and have been

a long-time supporter of W&L. To me, education is

fundamental and, therefore, very important to support.”

Jessine A. MonAghAn ’79L used two chALLenge gifts to expAnd her gift to the third-yeAr curricuLuM At the schooL of LAw. John huss ’65L, benefActor of the huss chALLenge

gift, sAid to her, “ you Just cost Me A Lot of Money, And i couLdn’t be hAppier.”

make this program as robust and successful as it can

mind. “There has been a lot

of discussion in recent years

about the real need for law

schools to train students for the

actual profession of law. The

traditional doctrinal focus was

not necessarily doing the job.

The third-year program at W&L

is exactly the type of approach

that will prepare our students

to enter practice with the kind

of skills that are important to

representing clients well.”

senior counsel of government

relations at SABIC Innovative

Plastics, said, “I appreciate

W&L’s sense of collegiality, as

well as its tradition of civility

and honor. Some of my fondest

memories are of the close

personal relationships I made with other law students. I

Jessine A. Monaghan ’79L

SStudents Who

Are a Danger

to Self or

Others and

Appropriate

Institutional

Responses

A daylong symposium on Nov. 6 explored recent violence on college campuses from the perspective of psychology, medical science and the law. Keynote speaker Lucinda Roy (pictured at left), professor of English at Virginia Tech, dis-cussed her close association with Seung-Hui Cho, the young man she tutored who later killed 32 people on Virginia Tech’s campus in 2007. She said, “There is no more urgent issue we face in higher education than this one. Violence on campus is no longer an isolated phenomenon.” The symposium was sponsored by the Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice, the Frances Lewis Law Center and Barbri. Listen to the discussions at law.wlu.edu/violenceoncampus.

The Washington and Lee University S c h o o l O f L a wL e x i n g t o n , V i r g i n i a 24450

l a w . w l u . e d u

N o n P r o f i t O r g.

U . S . P o s t a g e

P a i d

P e r m i t N o . 5 0 8

N o r f o l k , V a

Violence on Campus

w&l law - fall/winter 2009

Documents

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