TEMPLE UNIVERSITY JAMES E. BEASLEY SCHOOL OF LAW • LAW SCHOOL AND ALUMNI NEWS • SPRING 2012about time:David Hoffman examines speed to settlementIt’s a fact: most civil cases settle. So why do civil law scholars often base their research onpublished opinions, effectively ignoring the majority of cases filed?By contrast, Temple Law Professor DaveHoffman has spent the last several years analyzingtrial court dockets. In a recent paper, that workpaid off by illuminating how daily actions taken in court—particularly motion practice—influencethe timing of settlement. Hoffman’s forthcomingpaper, “Litigating Toward Settlement,” co-written by Christina L. Boyd at the University at Buffalo,SUNY, will be published in the Journal of Law,Economics, and Organizationlater this year. “It’s well known that judges write opinions attheir own discretion and that published opinionsdon’t represent a full sample of cases,” saysHoffman, who joined Temple’s faculty in 2004 andteaches contracts, civil procedure, corporations,and law and economics. “And it’s impossible tofigure out what happened in court if you only look atopinions. Many studies analyze discovery, too—but tounderstand the full life of a case, you need to evaluateactions at the docket level.”In an earlier paper, the duo undertook the first evercomprehensive study of corporate veil-piercing cases,developing a database of 697 federal district court casesinvolving veil-piercing claims, filed in 79 districts from 2000 to 2005. Their recent docket analysis showed that non-discoverymotion activity—even the very filing of a motion—spurredsettlement by prompting the exchange of new informationvaluable to both the plaintiff and the defendant. “Becausemost accounts of settlement begin by assuming that it isuncertainty and/or asymmetric information about cases thatprevents compromise, the process of litigation can be a wayin which education toward compromise happens. . . . If theparties do engage in motion practice, the informationalcontent of the case changes—even before the other party has a chance to respond and the court to rule.”Hoffman’s interest in docket-level research sparked shortlyafter he graduated from Harvard Law School, when he servedas a law clerk for Senior District Judge Norma L. Shapiro ofthe Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Shapiro emphasized themeaning of “interstitial” moments in every case—the day-to-day actions taking place after discovery but before settlement.“What she taught me, and what I’ve observed over time, is that scholars who study opinions rather than looking atlitigation from beginning to end are basically studying theblack sheep of law, because opinions are rare and extra-ordinary,” Hoffman says. “By looking at dockets instead, you turn what was the black sheep into an entire flock.”NEW CENTER SEEKS‘JUSTICE FOR ALL’Robert F. Kennedy Jr. opens auctionbenefiting Temple Law’s new Center for Social Justice. FEBRUARY 8, 2012Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wason hand to open the invitation-only auctionbenefiting Temple Law’s planned Center forSocial Justice. “It’s an honor to be included in a project like this,” said Kennedy, who is ofcounsel at the Florida-based firm of LevinPapantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty & Proctor.“Once off the ground, the Center for SocialJustice at Temple Law will provide a real serviceto the communities of southeastern Pennsyl-vania, training lawyers to make collaboration,courage, and compassion as integral to theirpractice as advocacy and argument.” Theauction was hosted by Mass Torts Made Perfect and raised more than $100,000 for the new initiative.Temple Law has a long, rich history ofpartnering with local organizations to performboth outreach and education about the issuesconfronting their communities. The Center forSocial Justice will serve to consolidate—andenhance—those efforts. By addressing aspectrum of concerns under a single “roof”,the center will be able to identify both problemsand legal solutions more nimbly than agencieswith a narrower focus. “The law school is always seeking creativesolutions to address the ways in which ourcountry falls short of the promise of ‘justice forall,’”says Dean JoAnne A. Epps. “We envisionthe Center for Social Justice as a place whereTemple students and new graduates can buildtheir legal toolkits while partnering with a varietyof community organizations.” Hoffman will share his work on docket-level research at the 2012 Friel/Scanlan Lecture on March 16. Heacknowledges that for many lawyers, his findings lack shock value—and that he is telling his peers things theyalready know.“Lawyers in my field often say, ‘This is not new,’” he says. “But they misunderstand my goal. Of course lawyershave intimate knowledge of the litigation process; they spent a lot of time and money learning about it." “I see my job as excavating and illuminating thisknowledge more broadly, reducing barriers to understandingthe law and showing everyone—not just those in my field—how legal practice shapes and gives meaning to the law. And I think my work provides valuable insight into themethods by which cases are resolved from start to finish.”In addition to his teaching and research, Hoffmanfrequently contributes to Concurring Opinions,a popular blog covering a broad range of legal topics. He also is amember of Yale Law School’s Cultural Cognition Project, agroup of scholars who examine how people’s cultural values mold their policy beliefs. In “Litigating Toward Settlement,” Hoffman and Boyddescribe the research process they carried out; the fourdistinct kinds of information they found that motion practicereveals; how the exposure of that information affects time to settlement; and what these findings might imply aboutproposals to limit motion practice in federal court.—Karen BrooksAn except from “Litigating Toward Settlement”is on the next page.continued on page twoROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.2 • TEMPLE ESQ. SPRING 2012Our results confirm that a key mechanism of formalized litigation—motion practice—can and does influence settlement and the timing of when it occurs. Our federaldistrict court data enable us to get a unique picture of the details of litigation and tosystematically study the dynamic nature of the whole process, something that hadpreviously been focused almost exclusively on discovery. Similarly, our methodology,including competing risks regression models of duration and time-varying motion-level covariates, allows us to capture the propelling effect that motions made andruled on can have on the timing of case settlement.In summary, our empirical modeling reveals that, as predicted, the filing of asubstantive, non-discovery motion speeds case settlement. In addition, we also findsupport for our expectations that motions that are granted are more immediatelyimportant to the settlement rate than motions denied and that plaintiff victories havea more substantial effect than defendant victories. These findings are substantial inboth the direction of their effects and in their size…The analysis of settlement’s timing could also be used to examine the influence of lawyering: Sophisticated lawyers might be extracting more value from litigation (in terms of efficient compromise) than less sophisticated lawyers, through tacticallytimed motion practice. Scholars of settlement to date have largely discounted theseactive roles for lawyers and lawyering, preferring to see both clients and lawyers as passive obstacles to settlement. Employing this framing of the “problem” ofsettlement, policymakers have focused on changing the law, or helping judges tolearn techniques, to encourage compromise. But our research suggests that theparties have an important role to play, and that the structure of the procedural rules in particular might influence the timing of settlement in unexpected ways. by David A. Hoffman, Beasley Schoolof Law, Temple University, and Christina L. Boyd, Department ofPolitical Science, University atBuffalo, SUNYForthcoming in theJournal of Law,Economics, and OrganizationSOCIAL JUSTICE CENTER continued from page oneThe center was conceived with the conviction that litigation is sometime—but not always—the best option to solve theproblems of communities facing a range of challenges inaccessing resources. At the center, students, recent graduates,and advocates will work to engage in community outreach andeducation surrounding issues of systemic and private discrimi-nation, civil rights and liberties, threats to environmentalprotection, consumer fraud, and consumer protection. Thestudents and lawyers at the center will also help members of the community craft a range of legal solutions to problems likelack of access to healthcare, adequate housing, or education. The Dean envisions a three-pronged approach to carrying out the center’s work. It will partner with the communityorganizations directly engaged in gaining access to publicresources for those who need them. When the solution calls for changes to policy, students and lawyers at the center willwork to make those changes through white papers and legislativeproposals. And when litigation is required, they will pursue that through education and lobbying. “Laws work best when they work for everyone,” says DeanJoAnne A. Epps. “The Center for Social Justice will be the place where, in a very real way, law meets life.”GRANT RAWDIN ’87 EXCERPT FROM “LITIGATING TOWARD SETTLEMENT”Percentage of Cases Settling Per MonthAfter First Substantive Motion FiledNo Litigation Activity in CaseLitigation Activity in CasePercentage of Cases Settling Per MonthCases With and Without Litigation ActivityPERCENTAGE OF CASESMONTHS FROM FILING TO SETTLEMENTMONTHS FROM FILING TO TERMINATIONPERCENTAGE OF CASESDEAN JOANNE EPPS, BILL COSBY JR. AND L. HARRISON JAYAT SOCIAL JUSTICE CENTER FUNDRAISER. BETTE WALTERS ’803 • TEMPLE ESQ. SPRING 2012WINTER 2012 AT TEMPLE LAWTOM BEDNAR ’12 AWARDEDINDEPENDENCE FELLOWSHIPGraduating student will work with low-incomecancer patients in medical-legal partnership.For the thirteenth consecutive year, a graduating TempleLaw student has been selected to receive a prestigiousIndependence Foundation Public Interest Law Fellowship.The 2012 recipient, Tom Bednar, was awarded a fellowshipto represent low-income individuals with cancer at theLegal Clinic for the Disabled at the Abramson CancerCenter. There he will work to establish a medical-legalpartnership, one of only a handful of such partnershipsdedicated to cancer patients nationwide. Medical-legal partnerships are based on the premisethat acute medical care alone does not address the overall health concerns of many low-income patients, and medical and legal professionals working together canprovide a far broader array of services for the patient’sbenefit. A legal component housed in a medical facility can help patients improve their overall quality of life byaddressing certain social determinants affecting theirhealth. Bednar will be working to develop a program thataddresses patients’ various legal needs, including familylaw issues, employment law issues, advanced directivesand estate planning, and the need for public benefits orhealth insurance. His work at the center will be supportedby law students who conduct client intake and Dechertattorneys who provide pro bonolegal work.The Independence Foundation is a private, not-for-profitorganization that funds fellowships and organizations inPhiladelphia and its surrounding Pennsylvania countiesthat provide services to people who do not ordinarily haveaccess to them. Temple graduate and IndependenceFellow Justine Elliot ’11 is spending her fellowship yearworking on health care reform issues at PhiladelphiaCommunity Legal Services. Third year students Brigid Landy and MichaelReese have published an influential papertitled “Getting to Yes: A Proposal for aStatutory Approach to Compulsory Pooling inPennsylvania” in the November 2011 issue of the Environmental Law Reporter.TheMarcellus and Utica Shale formations, knownas plays, that hold natural gas extend throughlarge portions of Pennsylvania. Controversyover the risks in extracting gas throughhydraulic fracturing, or “fracking, has receivedmuch attention. Thousands of Pennsylvanialandowners have had to weigh complexscientific and financial issues in decidingwhether to allow drilling on their property. But what happens if the gas from underyour home can be accessed by drilling in yourneighbor’s pasture? “Getting to Yes” exploresthe controversial practice known as “pooling,”in which land can be gathered into a largerdrilling unit, even against a property owner’swishes. The paper compares the compulsory poolingstatutes schemes of other hydrocarbon-producing statesand selects aspects of each to propose a statute tailored toPennsylvania. The authors argue that, if drafted correctly,compulsory pooling will ensure environmentally responsibleand efficient extraction of natural gas from Pennsylvania’sMarcellus Shale. An early version of the article was cited bypooling advocate Dr. Terry Engelder, a geosciencesprofessor at Penn State, in his presentation to GovernorCorbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission lastsummer. The article is also being read around the nation,and was recently cited in an article published by energyattorneys in DLA Piper’s Houston office. Written under the supervision of Professor RobertBartow, the paper has continued to be a valuable resourcefor Dr. Engelder when answering residents’ concerns about the possibility of compulsory pooling in Pennsylvania.He has involved the authors in conferences and eventsdiscussing the complex issue, including a communitymeeting in Wyoming County. It was an opportunity, Landyexplains, to “contribute to a discussion among concernedcitizens who wanted to understand the issue.” Landy, whogrew up in nearby Bradford County, PA, was able to say, “I am from this area, I have spent a lot of time looking atthis issue and, while it sounds very controversial, there aresome aspects of the potential legislation that could reallybenefit landowners.” The rule of capture permits gas whichhas traveled across property lines to be extracted withoutcompensation. A pooling statute protects the correlativerights of landowners by ensuring their ability to share in the economic benefits of gas production from a commonsource of supply. Landy and Reese will again be workingwith Dr. Engelder as presenters in a CLE program to theWashington County Bar Association in February.While compulsory pooling legislation is not currentlytaking center stage in Harrisburg, those who work in thefield believe there is discussion going on behind thescenes. Whether the issue is reintroduced in the spring or at a later time, both Landy and Reese are proud to havecontributed to an important discussion aboutPennsylvania’s future.The co-authors of “Getting to Yes” have distinguishedthemselves as law students. Reese is the president of theStudent Bar Association, interned for Judge Thomas O’Neillof the Eastern District Court, and has worked at severalfirms. Landy interned locally for Federal Magistrate JudgeTimothy Rice, with the Pennsylvania Department ofEnvironmental Protection in Harrisburg, and has receivedrecognition for her talent for advocacy. She was namedoutstanding oral advocate by her professors in eachsemester of the trial advocacy program. Both students look forward to graduating in May, and claim that the sameinterests that resulted in “Getting to Yes” drive their careerplans. Landy is exploring work that will build on her already extensive knowledge of the issues surrounding theMarcellus and Utica shale plays. Reese says that he willpursue work in commercial litigation, business law includ-ing transactional work, and “of course issues surroundingthe development of natural gas in Pennsylvania.” TRIAL TEAM NETSREGIONAL TITLE,HEADS TONATIONALSFEBRUARY 19, 2012The NationalTrial Team retained its regional title in the National Trial Competition held at the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia. The victory markedTemple’s 24th regional champion-ship in 26 years of competition. Thewinning team of Stacy Merritt ’12and Dan Theveny ’13 was coachedby Professor Sara Jacobson,Director of Trial Advocacy Programsand Alex Gosfield ’08, an assistantdistrict attorney in Chester County. The regional tournament, for law schools fromPennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey, was sponsored by Temple’s LL.M. in Trial Advocacy Alumni Association, directed by Professor BarbaraAshcroft, Director of the LL.M. Program and administered by Mary BethWilson. The team next travels to Austin, TX to compete for the National TrialChampionship against the twenty-four winners and runners-up from thetwelve other regional contests, where competing schools know Temple is aforce to be reckoned with: In the last fifteen years, Temple trial teams havewon more national championships than any other law school. STUDENTS’ PAPER INFLUENCES NATURAL GAS EXTRACTION DISCUSSIONBrigid Landy and Michael Reese’s publication explores statutory means to pool mineral rights.BRIGID LANDY ’12 AND MICHAEL REESE ’12FROM LEFT: ALEX GOSFIELD ’08, STACY MERRITT ’12, DAN THEVENY ’13,PROF. SARA JACOBSON, CAROLINE LEIGH ’12,JIM PRICE ’13, ANDREW KATZ ’12. 4 • TEMPLE ESQ. SPRING 2012WINTER 2012 AT TEMPLE LAWLOCAL BEER-TASTING ATTRACTS ALUMSJANUARY 17, 2012The Temple Law Alumni Association (TLAA) held a gala tasting and networking event for a crowd of eager alums at the Yards Brewery in Philadelphia. Dues-paying TLAA members were treated to a variety of Yardsbeers at an exclusive sampling, and given a complete tour of the brewery. During the tour, they learned about the beer-making process from brewing through distribution in the first 100% wind-powered brewery in Pennsylvania. TLAAPresident Sheryl Axelrod ’93 and executive committeemember Scott Sigman ’01 organized the event with the helpof founder and brewmaster of Yards Brewery, Tom Kehoe,and his wife, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas JudgeLinda Carpenter. NEW CLINICAL GAINSSTUDENTS UNIQUE ACCESSTO THE COURTSTemple Law has launched a new program, the StateJudicial Clerkship Clinical, to add to its extensive list ofexperiential learning opportunities for students. Temple Lawgraduates Judge Annette Rizzo ’83 and President JudgePamela Dembe ’77 are among the state judges whowelcomed the small group of second year students to CityHall to begin the semester. “Temple Law understands thevalue of providing opportunities for students to gain realworld experience. We appreciate everything the Court ofCommon Pleas has done to provide this opportunity for ourstudents,” says Director of External Clinical ProgramsJennifer Bretschneider. At a welcoming ceremony at CityHall, Judge Dembe, Judge Rizzo and Professor EdwardOhlbaum encouraged students to be active and engagedthroughout the semester as they experience this uniqueopportunity within the court system. STARBUCKS COUNSELENCOURAGES CREATIVITY,CURIOSITY NOVEMBER 15, 2011Paula Boggs, executive vicepresident and general counsel at Starbucks, met withTemple Law students at an invitational forum hosted byDean JoAnne A. Epps. Boggs’ legal career has taken herfrom the Pentagon to the White House to leadership rolesin law and business. She left Dell Computer Corporation tojoin Starbucks in 2002. Boggs drew on her wide range ofexperience to talk with students about careers in the law,why she loves being a general counsel, and what she looksfor as an employer. She exhorted students to distinguishthemselves by being not just smart but also “engaged,curious, creative, and authentic.”HARVARD PROFESSORSPEAKS ON ‘RACE IN THE AGE OF OBAMA’FEBRUARY 23, 2012 Professor Charles J. Ogletree, whowas a senior advisor to President Barack Obama during his2008 presidential campaign, presented the annual HerbertMyers Memorial Lecture, “The Conundrum of Race in theAge of Obama.”Ogletree is the Jesse Climenko Professor of Law and thefounding and executive director of the Charles HamiltonHouston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard. He hasreceived numerous awards and honors, including beingnamed one of the “100+ Most Influential Black Americans”by Ebony Magazine.He is the author and co-editor ofseveral books, including The Presumption of Guilt: TheArrest of Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., When Law Fails:Making Sense of Miscarriages of Justice, From Lynch Mobs to the Killing State: Race and the Death Penalty inAmerica, and All Deliberate Speed: Reflections on the FirstHalf-Century ofBrown v. Board of Education. ProfessorOgletree earned an M.A. and B.A. from Stanford University,and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.The Herbert Myers Memorial Lecture was establishedby Sara Myers in 1991 in memory of her husband, whowas a distinguished member of the law school faculty, toprovide for an annual lecture in the law school.PROFESSOR CHARLES J. OGLETREEPAULA BOGGSHON. ANNETTE RIZZO ’83ANDREW FRIEDLANDER ’10AND ERIN LAMB ’10SCOTT SIGMAN ’01AND SHERYLAXELROD ’93Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett has nominated HON.MARTIN J. SILVERSTEIN ’79to the Public School Employees’Retirement System Board. Silverstein, who is seniorcounsel at the firm of Greenberg Traurig, was the U.S.Ambassador to Uruguay from 2001 to 2005.1980sRawle & Henderson announced thatpartner FRED B. BUCK ’80has beeninducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers at the College’s 2011 annual meeting. Buck has maintained a trial practice at Rawle & Henderson for 26 years. STEVEN L. SUGARMAN ’80was a featured speaker at thePennsylvania Bar Institute’s annual Real Estate Institute.He spoke on the topic, “Legally Green: Reconciling Eco-Friendly Practices in the Community Association withRestrictive Covenants and Statutory Laws and Ordinances.”Sugarman, founding principal of Steven L. Sugarman &Associates, also teaches condominium and homeownerassociation law as an adjunct professor at Villanova Law School. HON. FRED A. PIERANTONI III ’83wasrecently elected to the Luzerne CountyCourt of Common Pleas after serving as a magisterial district judge in GreaterPittston for twenty years. He was alsopresident of the statewide Special CourtJudges Association of Pennsylvania from2007 to 2008.JOSEPH G. MATERNOWSKI ’84has joinedHessian & McKasy in Minneapolis, MN,where his practice focuses on complexenvironmental issues. Maternowski is past chair of the Minnesota State BarAssociation’s environmental, naturalresources and energy law section andcurrently serves as board chair of Eco Education, anonprofit that supports environmental education andservice learning in Twin Cities schools. Prior to enteringprivate practice he was a prosecutor in the MinnesotaAttorney General’s Office, where he represented theMinnesota Pollution Control Agency. JOHN D. KIM ’85has been appointed prosecutor for MauiCounty, HI. The office serves the islands of Maui, Molokai,and Lanai.In 2011, HON. DIANA M. BOYAR ’89was appointed byMayor Michael Bloomberg to the Criminal Court of the Cityof New York. She was previously a judge in the civil court. 5 • TEMPLE ESQ. SPRING 20121970sHAROLD J. ROSENTHAL ’74has joinedOstroff, Hiffa and Associates, an Albany,NY government relations and communi-cations firm. He joined the firm with morethan thirty years as an attorney with theNew York State Department of Health,where he was director of the bureau of litigation.In November 2011, HON. HOWLAND W. ABRAMSON ’75joined Panafrican Satellite Communications (PANAFSAT)as vice president and chief compliance officer of themanagement team. PANAFSAT provides affordable satellitebroadband connection in Africa. Howland joined theorganization after retiring from the Philadelphia Court ofCommon Pleas.JOSEPH D. MANCANO ’79,a senior partnerin the Philadelphia office of PietragalloGordon Alfano Bosick and Raspanti, wasnamed chair of the firm’s white collarcriminal defense practice group. He was also recently elected president of The Saint Thomas More Society ofPhiladelphia for a two-year term. The Society is anassociation of Catholic lawyers, judges and law professors,organized to promote the practice of high ethical principlesin the legal profession. NOTESClassLITTLE ADDRESSESINTERNET AT CHINESECONFERENCEOCTOBER 2011Temple Law has long been a strongpresence in the discussion of “rule of law” issues in China.Since 1997, the school has granted LL.M. degrees toChinese lawyers who study in Beijing and Philadelphia, as well as conducting extensive judicial training acrossChina. Last fall, Professor Laura Little traveled to Beijing to be the only U.S. speaker featured at the Global Forumon Private International Law. There she addressed over 100 international experts on “internet choice of lawgovernance,” a topic of growing significance in China and worldwide.By its nature, internet communication touches manyjurisdictions. “As a result, many jurisdictions could make a claim for governing internet disputes,” Little explains.“Choice of law governance provides principles wherebyauthorities choose which law should govern an internetdispute that touches many countries. From the position of the United States, the question often involves freedom of expression principles, since the United States is oftenmore inclined to protect communications from liability than are other countries.” The conference, jointly sponsored by the ChinaUniversity of Political Science and Law and the ChinesePrivate International Law Society, was convened tocelebrate China’s private international law code and to brainstorm about choice of law in an increasinglyglobalized business environment. Joining the Chineseparticipants at Little’s lecture were scholars representing a spectrum of Asian and European countries.Temple Law’s wideranging international programsprovide ongoing opportunities for accomplished faculty likeLittle to export their expertise to different cultures. Little haslectured in China in the past as part of Temple’s ongoingjurist education program. Each location presents differentchallenges. This semester Little is teaching in Cork, Ireland,a place where, she writes: “The people are wonderful, theweather is not.”DEAN IS AMONG 100 TOPBLACK LAWYERSDean JoAnne A. Epps was named to the “Power 100: The Most Influential Black Lawyers in the U.S.” The listwas published by On Being a Black Lawyer (OBABL), an electronic news and social media service. In compiling the list of powerful attorneys from all areasof the legal profession, OBABL uncovered a trend: “WhileAfrican Americans are underrepresented in nearly everyarea of the legal profession, our selection committee waspleasantly surprised to learn this is not the case amongleaders of our nation’s law schools.” Of the 200 ABA-approved law schools, 24—or 12percent—are headed by black deans. Epps was nameddean in 2008, becoming the first African American womanto serve in that position. Temple’s first African Americandean was Carl Singley, who held that position from 1983 to 1987. OBABL describes Epps as “that increasingly rare legal scholar who is revered both for her academiccontributions and her experience as a prosecutor in thestate and federal courts.” Before joining the Temple facultyin 1985, she was a Deputy City Attorney for the City of Los Angeles and an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the EasternDistrict of Pennsylvania. NOVEMBER 16, 2011 Attendingthe Hon. Nicolas A. Cipriani '43Scholarship Reception wereEugene Cipriani ’77, scholarshiprecipient Joshua Materese,LuAnn Cipriani Luongo andStephen Luongo ’72.6 • TEMPLE ESQ. SPRING 20121990sBRIAN KYLE HANSTEIN ’91earned a Master of Art inHealthcare Ethics and Law from the University ofManchester in the United Kingdom.In February 2012, Oxford University Presspublished the second edition of GeneralLiability Insurance Coverage—Key IssuesIn Every State,a book co-authored byRANDY J. MANILOFF ’91and JeffreyStempel of the University of Nevada LasVegas Boyd School of Law. Maniloff is apartner at the Philadephia firm of White and Williams. MICHAEL L. RUSSO ’91has become an attorney-advisorwith the Social Security Administration. He works in theOffice of Appellate Operations in Baltimore, MD. He joinedthe Social Security Administration after practicing withvarious firms in the Philadelphia area and most recentlyhad his own private practice. JEFFREY T. MCGUIRE ’94has joined theHarrisburg, PA office of Cipriani & Wernerwhere he will continue his practice ofrepresenting professionals, theircompanies and their professional andtrade associations. HON. JONATHAN Q. IRVINE ’95was swornin as a Court of Common Pleas Judge in January 2012 fora ten-year term. He is assigned to the juvenile division ofthe Family Court of Philadelphia.Last November, KEITH J. JONES ’97was appointed generalcounsel and director of professionalism for the AmericanAcademy of Actuaries in Washington, DC.The Media, PA borough bouncil has elected BRIAN C. HALL ’96to serve as president. Hall was a member of theborough council from 2006 to 2010. He is also a boardmember of the Chester-Ridley-Crum Watersheds Associa-tion. Hall is an associate at Eisenberg, Rothweiler andcoordinator of the firm’s pro bonoprogram. GARY MEZZY ’96won third place in the2011 Pennsylvania Lawyer Magazine’sannual short story fiction contest for thestory “Precious Mettle.” Mezzy practicesfamily law in Willow Grove, PA. The Lancaster, PA firm of Gibbel Kraybill & Hess LLP has hired MICHAEL T. WINTERS ’96asa litigation attorney for its advocacy practice group.BETH LINCOW COLE ’97has joined the firm of Astor, Weiss Kaplan & Mandel. Cole is a partner with the firm,where she focuses her practice on all matters involvingemployment and human resources law.Cozen O’Connor announced that it has combined itsassociate development and pro bonoinitiatives under the same umbrella, to be led by partner HAYES HUNT ’97.Hayes is a white-collar criminal defense litigator who beganhis career in the Defender Association of Philadelphia.Stevens & Lee announced that LISA M.SCIDURLO ’97has been named a share-holder of the firm effective January 2012. Scidurlo is a labor and employment attorney. 2000sSemanoff Ormsby Greenberg & Torchia, abusiness law firm in Huntingdon Valley, PAannounced that ALFREDO M. SERGIO ’00has become a member at the firm. Sergiojoined the firm in 2005, and is an attorneyin the employment law and commerciallitigation groups.From ‘bed bug lawyer of Chicago’ to health care crusaderDECEMBER 1, 2011When Carla Dowben ’55 first entered Temple Law, she was one of only a handful of women in a class of 180. She hadgraduated from the University of Chicago at 18,married soon after, and moved to Philadelphiawith her medical student husband. She yearnedto go into medicine herself, but her familythought it unfeminine. So Dowben applied to law school. She heardthat Penn was “the place where deep discussionoccurred.” She went for it, but the sole spotreserved for a female student was taken by aslightly older woman. “The dean didn’t think thata degree from the University of Chicago earned at 18 was real,” Dowben says, smiling. Temple, then a smalllaw school with classrooms on the eighth floor of Gimbelsdepartment store, accepted her. At first, she didn’t tell herparents. Her mother, a social worker, couldn’t conceive of a lawyer who didn’t make a living “suing orphans andwidows.” In the end though, Dowben made her motherproud, forging an illustrious career using legal channels to champion the rights of the disenfranchised. Dowben’s sometimes difficult path to a highly success-ful career in the law was the focus of a dean’s invitationallunch celebrating over nine decades of educating womenat Temple Law. “We hope that this will be the first in aseries of events designed to illuminate the history ofwomen at Temple Law,” says Professor of Law Nancy J.Knauer, who is working with students and the head of the law library, John Necci ’77, to gather this history. “Wewant to make sure that the stories of our early womengraduates are collected and archived so that they will never be forgotten.” Dowben opened her talk by saying that she wasn’t“always sure folks at the law school wanted to hear howhard it was at the time.” She remembers the faculty beinglargely welcoming; it was the student body that seemeduncomfortable with her presence. She was oblivious tostudy groups, since she was never invited to join one. “ButI guess studying alone to Wagner worked,” says Dowben,whose grades automatically qualified her for the law review.And when the editors of the review failed to contact her,she went to the dean, who explained that “the men needthe jobs.” The next year, Carla again got good grades, butwas not invited to join law review. This time she confrontedthe dean who had taught her equity and reminded himthat “equality is equity. The next thing I got a note that saidyou are now an associate on the law review. But I nevermet my fellow editors, I just got notes asking for me to editarticles.” Carla’s law review note was subsequentlypublished, but the all-male meetings continued to eludeher. She couldn’t join Moot Court, since it required“aggressive male qualities” so she got her hands-onexperience at the Legal Aid office. In the 50s, beginning law school did not guarantee alaw degree. By the time Dowben graduated, only 90 of heroriginal 180 classmates remained. Dowben’s place nearthe top of the class won her an award, but she couldn’tshow up. “I was pregnant, so I think they were relieved. Itwas considered embarrassing for everyone for a pregnantwoman to appear in public.” After a move to Chicago with her now-doctor husband,Dowben faced a challenging job search. Law firms, excitedat the prospect of a legal secretary who had law schooltraining, asked her if she could type. She lied and said no,eventually landing a job at a firm that assigned her the“dog bite and bed bug cases that no one else wanted. I won almost every case I had, I was so overprepared,” she laughs. She was dubbed the “bed bug lawyer ofChicago” by her colleagues, following a courtroom meleethat broke out when she represented a client who wantedto break a lease for an infested apartment. Work in a general practice firm gave her the opportunityto grow into a skilled litigator, and eventually, Dowben’spractice exposed her to issues facing people with limitedaccess to healthcare, particularly those in need of mentalhealth services. She represented a Polish immigrant andhis wife who had both been committed to mental hospitals,where the man eventually commit suicide. In investigatingthe case, Dowben uncovered a staggering pattern ofinvoluntary commitments of immigrants with limited Englishlanguage skills. Dowben set out to expose this pattern ofabuse, first in the press and later in court, in one of theearliest class action suits.Dowben went on to serve as the head of the health lawsection of the Dallas, TX law firm of Looper, Reed, Markand McGraw until she retired in 1995. Along the way, shewas named to the White House Committee on MentalRetardation in 1971. Dowben also taught courses as anadjunct professor at the University of Texas Health ScienceCenter from 1973 through 1999, and authored a widerange of articles on health law and medical legal ethics. All of this and a family. Dowben’s marriage has flourishedfor 60 years and today she is the mother of three andgrandmother of six. “I have always liked to find alter-natives,” says Dowben, in her understated manner.“Becoming a lawyer gave me a way to use that skill tobenefit my clients.”carla dowben ’55ALUMNI PROFILEPROFESSOR NANCY KNAUER WITH CARLA DOWBEN ’55THE LAW LEGACY SOCIETY DESPITE BEING AT THE TOP OF HER CLASS, CarlaDowben almost dropped out of law school—forfinancial reasons. “Bob and I sold our car to pay mytuition. He was a young resident on a small salary. I worked in the bursar’s office. But it wasn’t enough.Dean Boyer gave me a scholarship so I could finishlaw school.”Decades later, their fortunes changed. The Dowbensfunded a charitable remainder trust when Bob soldan invention. Carla and Bob draw income from thetrust. The trust remainder will be split betweenTemple Law School and Bob’s alma mater after theyhave both passed away.“It makes us feel very happy to know that a place we care about will have something when we’regone. It’s just a wonderful thing to be able to helpthe Law School this way. We are so glad it workedout,” says Carla.For more information about the advantages of acharitable remainder trust, please contact: Janine Ehsani, Senior Director of Development215.204.4754 or lawlegacy@temple.eduANTRANIG GARIBIAN ’04recently joinedStradley Ronon Stevens & Young as anassociate in its litigation practice group. He will be based in the firm’sPhiladelphia office.RAYMOND M. KEMPINSKI ’04has openedColeman & Kempinski with his partner,Kimberly Coleman. The small firm focuses on debtors’rights, consumer Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy,debt settlement alternatives, mortgage foreclosure defenseas well as FDCPA and FCRA claims.MARIA K. MCGINTY-FERRIS ’04recently joined the litigation section of Bucks County regional law firm ofCurtin & Heefner.JOSCELYN T. GOSSETT ’05was recentlypromoted to the position of supportmaster with the domestic relations divisionof the First Judicial District.ANN RITTER ’06was appointed to theKomen Public Policy Advisory Council, anational council that advises on the public policy activitiesof the Komen Advocacy Alliance, the nonprofit arm ofSusan G. Komen for Cure. Ritter is the program director for grants and public policy for Komen for Cure’sPhiladelphia affiliate.J. SCOTT PRITCHARD ’11is an associate atRichards, Layton & Finger in Wilmington,DE, where he works in the firm’s corporatelitigation group. DANIELLE E. SAPEGA ’11has joined theworkers’ compensation department atCapehart Scatchard, in Mount Laurel, NJ. JOHN VASSALOTTI ’11has joined Stradley Ronon as an associate. While in law school, he was a BeasleyScholar, served on the law review, earned the Robert E.Lamberton Award for constitutional law, and completed a judicial externship in the U.S. District Court for theDistrict of Delaware.STEFANIE LINDQUIST ’88 NAMEDINTERIM LAW DEAN AT TEXASSTEFANIE LINDQUIST ’88has been appointed interimdean of the University ofTexas School of Law. Theprevious dean resignedabruptly during a controversyin which some law schoolfaculty members lodgedcomplaints about allegedcompensation inequitiesbased on gender. Lindquisthas stated she is not acandidate for a permanentposition as dean, and is onthe search committee to replace herself. Linquist is theA.W. Walker Centennial Chair in Law and, previously,Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. She has taught at thelaw school since 2008. Prior to joining the faculty at theUniversity of Texas, she taught political science and law atVanderbilt University and at the University of Georgia. Herscholarship focuses on judicial behavior in the federal andstate appellate courts. 7 • TEMPLE ESQ. SPRING 2012Nelson G. Harris Class of 1953Robert A. PolinClass of 1958Steven M. DranoffClass of 1968Leonard P. NalenczClass of 1976Antoinette R. StoneClass of 1976Irving Steven Levy Class of 1982 William CopperthwaiteClass of 1995IN MEMORIAMPROSECUTOR TURNED TELEVISIONPRODUCER LAUNCHES ‘THE FIRM’JANUARY 2012LUKAS H.REITER ’95,writer andexecutive producer ofNBC’s The Firm,had justbegun law school whenJohn Grisham’s novel, onwhich the show is based,became a bestseller andthen a blockbuster filmstarring Tom Cruise. Reiterremembers reading thebook— about a lawyerwho’s on the run from themob, and possibly his ownpartners—only aftergraduation, during his daily commute to Queens, NY where he was working as an assistant D.A. in the homicideunit. Soon after, Reiter discovered his own talent for writing about the law. He began to write for The Practiceand later wrote and executive produced other legal-themedshows including Law and Orderand Outlaw. Today, he has spent many more years working on shows such as The Practiceand Boston Legalthan he did as a prosecutor.In January, when NBC premiered The Firm,he warnedthat the television series does not have the happy ending of the book: It’s ten years later and the main characters are newly emerged from the federal witness-protectionprogram. Stay tuned. APOLOGIES We sincerely regret thefollowing errors in theDevelopment Issue ofTemple Esq.,published inNovember 2011. Thefollowing alumni shouldhave been listed in thefollowing donor categories:MURRAY SHUSTERMAN ’36Centennial Society: Chairman’s Circle (donors of $1 million or more)MARK SWARTZ ’83Russell H. Conwell Society: Friends (donors of $2,500- $4,999)HON. WILLIAM H. STAFFORD ’56Russell H. Conwell Society: Members (donors of $1,000 to $2,499)LAUREN U. Y. LEE ’01has been promoted to specialcounsel at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in New YorkCity. Lee’s practice focuses primarily on complexcommercial litigation.The Reading, PA firm of Stevens & Leeannounces that TODD J. COOK ’02hasbeen named a shareholder. Cookconcentrates his practice in commerciallitigation in state and federal courts.PETER ISAJIW ’02has been electedpartner at the New York City law firmCadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where hefocuses on complex securities andcommercial cases as well as criminal andregulatory investigations. Blank Rome recently announced theelection of five associates to partner, one of whom is TARA JONES WILLECKE ’02.Willecke represents clients inmatrimonial and family law matters in Blank Rome’s New York office.MORGEN CHESHIRE ’03has founded aPhiladelphia-based solo practice law firmto bring legal counsel within reach fornonprofit organizations. Cheshire is alsoteaching a course on nonprofits for DrexelUniversity’s Master of Science in PublicPolicy degree program.JEANNE (KANOVICH) CZUBAROFF ‘03and her husband,Justin, welcomed their first child, Santorini Ann, onOctober 3, 2011. After maternity leave, Jeanne decided notto return to her previous employer and is writing briefs andcovering conflicts for various workers’ compensation firms.In November 2011, KAREN E. KELLER ’03left Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor tostart her own law firm in Wilmington, DE,where she focuses on complexcommercial litigation, and particularlypatent litigation. Temple alumni JeffCastellano ’06 and Andrew Russell ’09also work at the firm. FABIO A. SCIARRINO ’03 recently opened asolo practice in Jenkintown, PA. The LawOffice of Fabio A. Sciarrino is a full-servicepractice.TEMPLE ESQ. welcomes newsand photos of our alumni/ae.Please include: Full name,class, degree, and a way toreach you if we need toconfirm information.SEND US YOUR NEWS!TEMPLE ESQ.Published by the Temple University Beasley School of Law for alumni and friends.JOANNE A. EPPS, DEANPublications Director: Janet GoldwaterArt Director: Gene GilroyPhotography: Joseph Labolito, Kelly & Massa, Ryan Brandenburg, Janet Goldwater. Send letters and comments to: Janet Goldwater, Temple Esq. Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law1719 N. Broad Street, Room 510, Philadelphia, PA 19122Email: janet.goldwater@temple.edu Fax: (215) 204-1185Change of address: (215) 204-1187Send to:Janet GoldwaterTemple Esq.Temple University Beasley School of Law1719 North Broad StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19122Email:janet.goldwater@temple.eduTEMPLE UNIVERSITY JAMES E. BEASLEY SCHOOL OF LAWLAW SCHOOL AND ALUMNI NEWSSPRING 2012VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.law.temple.eduWRITE TO US: lawalum@temple.eduNON-PROFITORGANIZATIONU.S. POSTAGE PAIDPHILADELPHIA, PAPERMIT NO. 1044TEMPLE UNIVERSITYJAMES E. BEASLEY SCHOOL OF LAW1719 North Broad StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19122Thursday, March 22, 2012 SPIN AUCTIONDuane Morris LLP, 30 South 17th Street 5 to 8 pmMonday, March 26, 2012THE ARLIN M. AND NEYSA ADAMS LECTUREpresented by Kathleen M. Sullivan, Stanford LawDuane Morris LLP Moot Court Room 4 pmFOGEL LECTURE presented by Eric Solomon, Former Ass’t TreasurySecretary for Tax PolicyRoom 2B, Klein Hall 12 noonThursday, April 12, 2012DEAN’S CUP INVITATIONAL BASKETBALL GAMETemple Law vs. Villanova LawMcGonigle Hall 6 pmMonday, April 16, 2012HON. CLIFFORD SCOTT GREEN LECTURE“Two Decades of Federal Rulemaking on Class Actions” presented by Hon. Anthony SciricaDuane Morris LLP Moot Court RoomKlein Hall 12 noonTuesday, April 17, 2012STERN MOOT COURT COMPETITIONDuane Morris LLP Moot Court Room 4 pmSaturday, April 21, 2012ALUMNI REUNION see ad this pageWednesday, May 9, 2012CLE: FEDERAL JUDGES ADDRESSING SOCIAL MEDIA ISSUESThe Federal Courthouse, 601 Market StreetCeremonial Courtroom, CLE: 4:30 pmMeet the Judges Reception: 5:30-6:30 pm Thursday, May 10, 2012DEAN'S ALUMNI RECEPTIONDelaware/Chester CountiesThe Spring Haven Club, Wallingford, PA5:30-7 pmThursday, May 17, 2012LAW SCHOOL COMMENCEMENTLiacouras Center 4 pmcalendar of eventsWEEKEND Temple University James E. Beasley School of LawTemple Law Alumni AssociationSaturday, April 21, 2012REUNIONALUMNIRegister online today!www.mytlawconnection.com/alumniweekend20121952 1957 1962 1967 1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 1952 1957 1962 1967 1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 *1952 1957 1962 1967 1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 1952 1957 1962 1967 1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 Reunioncelebrations forall classes endingin“2” or “7” Trial Team members Dan Theveny ’13 andStacy Merritt ’12 retained Temple Law’sregional championship at the FebruaryTrial Competition held in Philadelphia.(see story page three.) Next >