Michael W. Smith
Immediate Past President 

Dear Fellow,

Our Annual Meeting in Philadelphia a few weeks ago provided an outstanding opportunity for approximately 800 Fellows and their spouses or guests to gather for fellowship and to be educated on timely topics by a roster of our excellent speakers.  Their remarks will be detailed in the next issue of the Journal.

A highlight for me, of course, was being installed as the 67th President of the College. I look forward to the next year with great anticipation and excitement for all the opportunities where the College can make a meaningful difference in the legal world and for all Fellows individually.

I firmly embrace the College’s mission and am committed to continuing the important work we have in place to improve the standards of trial practice, to advance the justice system, to defend judicial independence, to assist our veterans and to promote the best that trial lawyers have to offer the public. At the same time, we will uphold the College’s traditions and high standards in all that we do.

My wife, Eileen, and I look forward to traveling and spending time with old friends and meeting new ones. In fact, we have already begun a very exciting schedule of meetings that will take us to more than ten state and province dinners in the U.S. and Canada before the end of this year. The Chairs Workshop in mid-October will allow our State, Province and General Committee leaders to come together to discuss priorities and initiatives for our 2016-2017 year.

I thank you for this opportunity to serve and am eager to meet as many of our Fellows as possible during my term. I hope that as I travel to many of the states and provinces that Fellows with ideas on how to advance our mission will tell me about those ideas. I encourage all Fellows to find ways to become involved in College activities, to the extent that your busy schedule will allow. I believe you will find your engagement to be very rewarding.

Sincerely,

Bartholomew J. Dalton
President

Philadelphia, the “City of Brotherly Love” hosted the 2016 Annual Meeting of the College. It was appropriate to meet in the city where the founding of our nation was largely completed, breaking our ties from Great Britain, as the second leg of the United Kingdom - United States Legal Exchange took place immediately after the meeting. It was the perfect setting to discuss the similarities and differences in the systems that have developed since 1776.  

President Michael W. Smith presided over the meeting until passing the maul to now President, Bartholomew J. Dalton during the Induction Ceremony and Annual Banquet. Ninety-six new Fellows were inducted. The list is attached here.   

Highlighting a long list of outstanding speakers was the Honorable Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who provided opening remarks to the UK – U.S. Legal Exchange discussion on terrorism and secret courts. He advanced his belief that the U.S. judicial system cannot be blind to judicial actions occurring beyond its borders. 

Attendees were honored to hear remarks from another Supreme Court Justice, The Right Honourable The Lord Mance of The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The Lord Mance was presented with Honorary Fellowship in the College. Honorary Fellowship was also conferred upon The Right Honourable Lady Justice Arden DBE of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales.  

A complete list of speakers and their presentations will be reported on in the next issue of the Journal. Representative of the outstanding presentations were remarks by Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., of the National Institutes of Health, with a sobering picture of the Zika virus and future expectations. The title of his talk:  “ Zika Virus: A Pandemic in Progress” spoke volumes. A timely presentation was also heard from General Michael V. Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency, addressing the balancing act that is needed between civil rights and the need by law enforcement for tools to keep America safe. Mark Thompson, President and CEO of The New York Times Company, addressed the current state of the language of politics.

Saturday was filled with several panel discussions related to the UK – U. S. Legal Exchange, which revealed there is much that each system can learn from the other. The final speaker was the Honorable Kevin F. O’Malley, Fellow and the current U.S. Ambassador to Ireland. It is believed that he is the only Fellow ever to have served as a U.S. Ambassador abroad. He spoke of a trial lawyer’s life in foreign service, an opportunity few will ever experience at that level.

The Board of Regents and Past Presidents began meeting on Tuesday prior to the Thursday start of the Annual Meeting and took several actions.  

• The Board approved the Treasurer’s Report and Fiscal Year 2016 Audit
• The Board approved 74 candidates 
• The Board voted to present Fellow Judy Clarke with the Griffin Bell Award for Courageous Advocacy in recognition of her work representing high-profile criminals and in opposition to the death penalty

Foundation President David J. Beck kicked off the Power of an Hour campaign at the Annual Meeting.  The goal of the 2016-2017 campaign is to have all Fellows contribute the equivalent of one billable hour (or more) to the U.S. or Canadian Foundations.  As President Dalton travels around both countries throughout his term this year, he will remind Fellows of this opportunity to give to the Foundations’ worthy projects.  

On September 21, 2016, at the request of the International Law Institute in Washington, D. C., three members of the International Committee, Regent Susan J. Harriman, former Regent Robert A. Goodin and International Committee Chair Richard C. Busse, along with Past President Charles B. Renfrew and Honorable Susan Illston, U. S. District Judge for the Northern District of California and Judicial Fellow, made a three-hour panel presentation to a 21-member delegation of the China Law Society of the People’s Republic of China in San Francisco at the law offices of Keker & Van Nest, LLP. The delegation is focused on judicial reforms in China, and is considering whether to move to a jury trial system. Before meeting in San Francisco, the delegation met with representatives from the Justice Department, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. The China Law Society is the official organization for China’s legal profession, with its members participating in the nation’s legislative, judicial and law enforcement function. It plays an important role in developing the country’s legal system, fostering legal research and promoting the rule of law in China. The program was presented in five parts:  the history of the jury trial; the jury system; the essential role of the independent jury system in U.S. trial courts; jury selection; and the grand jury’s role in criminal cases. The presentation was presented in English with consecutive translation into Mandarin. At the end of the presentation, the panel took questions from the audience. The question and answer session was lively, and demonstrated an active interest by the delegation in the topic at hand.  

The College is changing the way we poll the candidates. Starting with the 2016 Fall Poll, Fellows will be able to review and submit their poll responses online via the College's website.  This process maintains the confidentiality of poll responses, while making it easier to respond. The College will send an email notifying you when the poll is available to review. Please be sure we have your current email address, as no hard copy polls will be mailed.  The email notification will include complete instructions to login and take the poll.

The Adjunct Fellowship Committee seeks suggestions from Fellows regarding potential nominees for College Fellowship. The Committee’s mission is to consider and make recommendations with respect to nominations of lawyers whose trial experience and trial activities are not known to the State or Province Committee of the particular area where the lawyer resides or maintains his or her office. The Adjunct Fellowship Committee’s task is to identify, investigate and propose attorneys for fellowship who, because of their practice, never hit the radar screen of their respective State or Province Committees. Most typically, candidates have a trial practice that keeps them busy in states or provinces other than the one where their offices or residences are located. Often, but not always, such candidates have an intellectual property or white collar criminal practice, and because of the geographic diversity of their practices, are not well known to the Fellows in their home states or provinces. If you are aware of such an attorney who you feel meets the College’s high standards and whose practice fits this description, please contact the National Office at nationaloffice@actl.com.

The Federal Legislation Committee has added a page to the College website that allows the public and Fellows to monitor and track proposed federal legislation that might be of interest. The page can be reached by clicking here, or through the home page by clicking “College Committees,” clicking on “General Committees,” then clicking on “Federal Legislation Committee.” The link can be found after the Committee Mandate text. The committee will update this information periodically.

In conjunction with Florida Legal Services (FLS), the Florida Fellows have sponsored, organized and taught trial and courtroom advocacy programs for legal services and legal aid advocates throughout Florida. This is an ongoing project of which has been praised by FLS. Most recently, on September 23, 2016, Florida Fellows Theodore C. Eastmoore and Gordon James III spearheaded a day-long trial skills seminar for legal aid attorneys held at the Stetson University College of Law Gulfport Campus. In addition to Eastmoore and James, Fellows Patricia D. Crauwels, Jeffrey M. Goodis, William F. Jung, Francis M. McDonald, Jr., Dennis R. O’Connor, William E. Partridge, Timon V. Sullivan and Joseph H. Varner III participated in the program. The participating legal aid lawyers came from Bay Area Legal Services in Tampa; Brevard County Legal Aid; Florida Legal Services in Tallahassee and Miami; Legal Aid of Palm Beach County; Broward County Legal Aid; Florida Rural Legal Services in Fort Myers; and Southern Legal Counsel in Gainesville. The seminar involved interactive work with the legal aid lawyers, concentrating on opening statements, direct and cross examinations of both expert and lay witnesses, and closing arguments. Since September 4, 2014 programs, have been held in Tallahassee, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Pensacola. Fellows S. William Fuller, Jr. and James P. Judkins have also volunteered to reprise their participation in this worthy program by planning the next session in Gainesville. All participating Fellows have found the experience to be a rewarding way to give back, as well as to enhance and hone their own trial skills by observing and interacting with the legal aid lawyers and their colleagues from the College.   

Kansas, August 27-30: As will happen when a metropolitan area straddles state borders, the Kansas Fellows Meeting was held at the Hotel Sorella and Piropos Restaurant, both of which are located on the Missouri side of Kansas City.  Following the Saturday dinner, the meeting was held on Sunday morning, with some forty Fellows in attendance. President Smith offered remarks on the state of the College and its current initiatives, followed by a question-and-answer session.

Georgia , August 25:  Known as the “Georgia Black Tie” for many years, President Smith joined around 100 Fellows and guests for this time honored event at the Chatham Club in Savannah. In addition to his remarks on the state of the College and current programs, six new Fellows were introduced to the assembly. A highlight of the evening was the recounting of the history of the Georgia Black Tie by Fellow Paul Painter.

Iowa, August 12-13: The Iowa Fellows Meeting was attended by approximately sixty Fellows and guests, with the grand finale being held at the historic Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City. Attendees were treated to a concert with the famous Wurlitzer organ and a backstage tour before dinner. This time, however, President Smith attended in spirit only. His flight from Denver (where he attended the Colorado Fellows Dinner the night before) connected through Dallas, was delayed and he missed a connection to Sioux City. 

Colorado, August 12:  After a 3:30 a.m. start and a few thousand miles away after attending the Alaska Fellows Dinner the previous evening, President Smith attended a reception and dinner with sixty Fellows and guests at the Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver. A sunset framed by the mountain range to the west set the ambiance for enjoying each other’s company. No one was in a hurry to leave.

Alaska, August 11: Some of President Smith’s trips are whirlwind tours. This one is a good example. Arriving in Anchorage after going through three time zones, he joined a dozen Fellows and guests for a fine evening at Jen’s Restaurant. Although no program was planned, camaraderie abounded.

Northwest Regional in Stevenson, August 4-7:  Driving upriver past Multnomah Falls through the Columbia River Gorge Natural Scenic Area, President Smith crossed the river into Washington. There he joined some seventy-five Fellows and guests for a three-day program at Skamania Lodge. In addition to social events, there was an excellent program with presentations on Oregon history, the inside story on development of the Oregon wine industry and a reminiscence by Oliver Wendell Holmes by Fellow William A. Barton. Special guest the Honorable Thomas Balmer, Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, spoke on the history and meaning of the “General Welfare” clause of the United States Constitution.

The following College committees are always seeking nominations.  Nominations can be sent to nationaloffice@actl.com or to each committee chair.

Griffin Bell Award for Courageous Advocacy Committee
To receive and investigate recommendations and information relative to outstanding courage demonstrated by trial lawyers in unpopular or difficult causes, and where appropriate to recommend an award.   Chair: Daniel J. Buckley, djbuckley@vorys.com

Samuel E. Gates Litigation Award Committee
To honor a lawyer or judge, whether or not a Fellow of the College, who has made a significant, exceptional and lasting contribution to the improvement of the litigation process.  
Chair: Lisa G. Arrowood, larrowood@arrowoodpeters.com

Sandra Day O'Connor Jurist Award Committee

The Award, named for Sandra Day O’Connor, is to be given from time to time to a judge in the United States or Canada, whether or not a Fellow of the College, who has demonstrated exemplary judicial independence in the performance of his or her duties, sometimes in especially difficult or even dangerous circumstances.   Chair: Mona T. Duckett, Q.C. mduckett@dsscrimlaw.com

The College has been notified of the passing of the Fellows listed below. The date after each name notes the year of induction into the College, and the date following the state or province is the date of his or her passing.  A tribute to each will appear in the In Memoriam section of a subsequent issue of the Journal.

Richard Franklin Balotti, ’93, a Fellow Emeritus from Wilmington, Delaware, August 2, 2016

Richard S. Bannick, ’82, a Fellow Emeritus from Miami, Florida, February 26, 2016

Marion L. Beatty, ’04, Decorah, Iowa, August 29, 2016

Jeffrey Owen Bramlett, ’12, Atlanta, Georgia, July 28, 2016

Lawrence Keith Burleigh, Sr., ’94, a Fellow Emeritus from Lafayette, Louisiana, July 14, 2016

Robert Custis Coleburn, ’70, a Fellow Emeritus from Bristol, Tennessee, April 30, 2016

John Merrill Dinse, ’79, a Fellow Emeritus from Burlington, Vermont, July 14, 2016

Burt James Fulton, ’72, a Fellow Emeritus from Westerville, Ohio, July 13, 2016

John Briggs Jenkins, ’84, a Fellow Emeritus from Danville, Illinois, May 12, 2016

Frederic H. Kauffman, ’80, Lincoln, Nebraska, July 27, 2016

Albert Momjian, ’97, a Fellow Emeritus from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 11, 2016

Clarence Dewey Northcutt, ’59, a Fellow Emeritus from Ponca City, Oklahoma, June 23, 2016

Noel Francis Stahl, ’07, Nashville, Tennessee, August 11, 2016

Harry B. Swerdlow, ’77, Beverly Hills, California, May 26, 2016