TEMPLE UNIVERSITY JAMES E. BEASLEY SCHOOL OF LAW • LAW SCHOOL AND ALUMNI NEWS • SUMMER 2013Youth Courts:Can they interrupt the ‘school-to-prison pipeline’?Before entering law school last fall,Alex Dutton taught former highschool dropouts between the agesof 18 and 21 at Youthbuild, aPhiladelphia charter school. Likemost public schools that draw fromimpoverished and underservedcommunities, Youthbuild had itsproblems with discipline andattendance. Bad behavior in publicschool typically results in in-schooldetention or suspension—andeventually transfer or expulsion—and unruly students end up missingmore and more classroom time,falling further and further behind. Dutton remembers a creativeadministrator at Youthbuild whointroduced discipline practiceswhich succeeded in cuttingsuspensions in half. Instead ofhaving a fixed punishment for an infraction, the schooldisciplinarian sought ways to help students acknowledge theharm done to the community and to themselves, and thenseek to repair it.When he came to Temple Law, Dutton looked forward to a new challenge, but he wasn’t willing to leave the studentsand the classroom behind. Today, Dutton has joined with two fellow law students and volunteers from the U.S.Attorney’s Office to build a youth court at Strawberry Mansion High School. They hope their court can provide atleast one solution to reducing Philadelphia’s high schooldropout and incarceration rate, often referred to as the“school-to-prison pipeline.” Courts offer alternative to ‘zero tolerance’ disciplineYouth courts are conceived with the conviction that zero-tolerance policies in public schools can contribute to the“school to prison pipeline.” The student-run courts don’tsuspend or expel students who come before them with low-level school-based infractions; instead they providealternatives to the standard disciplinary options—ones thatyouth court advocates call “restorative.” “Philadelphia has one of the lowest academicperformance rates for learning disabled students in America.I believe that this disturbing fact is largely due to Philadelphiaschools’ zero tolerance policies towards school-basedoffenses,” says second-year law student Michelle Ashcroft,who teamed up with Dutton to establish a youth court. “When I saw this statistic, I decided to get involved in thePhiladelphia schools and try to help these students have avoice, stay in school, and receive an adequate and equaleducation. Youth court seemedlike the perfect opportunity tobecome involved.” Temple Law student JonathanLauri first heard about youthcourt when he was working forCity Councilman Curtis Jonesover the summer. Jones washolding hearings to promote theidea in the Philadelphia schools.Jones had learned of theirsuccess in the Chester, PAschools, where five youth courtswere flourishing in a troubledschool system. The formerdirector of the legal servicesoffice in Chester, Gregg Volz, hadworked tirelessly since 2009 toget courts up and running. Hisefforts were paying off and, in the2010-2011 school year, morethan 400 cases were referred to the student-led courts.In Chester, Lauri and Councilman Jones were bothimpressed and moved by what they observed. “I wasastonished by the mature demeanor the students expressedin handling their peer’s violations of the school code ofconduct,” says Lauri. “I had never thought before that asystem where students got involved in the school’s owndisciplinary process would work, but from what I saw that day it made complete sense.” Once considered experimental, youth courts are today the most replicated diversionary justice model in the U.S.Some are school-based while many are community based.Advocates like Volz say that community-based youth courtsnot only lower the cost of meting out juvenile justice, “theycan also provide ‘an off-ramp’ from the criminal justicesystem.” In 1994, there were only 78 youth courtsnationwide; now there are almost 1300. In Pennsylvania,however, the use of youth courts has been very limited.Youth courts in Philadelphia received a huge boost whenthey were adopted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “The U.S.Attorneys are undertaking a tremendous anti-violenceinitiative that includes broad work with the StrawberryMansion community,” says Dutton. The youth court atStrawberry Mansion High School grew out of that initiative. Facts, harm, fix it “Facts, harm, fix it” is the mantra of the youth court atStrawberry Mansion High School, a little more than two milesfrom the law school. Strawberry Mansion’s students drawfrom one of the poorest zip codes in the state. The school continued on page twoSTRAWBERRY MANSION HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH COURTSHELLENBERGER EARNSGREAT TEACHER AWARDBeloved professor is ‘one-in-a-million’APRIL 25, 2013A thirty-year member of theTemple Law faculty received the highest awardTemple University has to offer an individual whohas committed his or her life to teaching: theUniversity Great Teacher Award. This honor wasfar from Professor James Shellenberger’s first.Amazingly—despite a torrent of awards fromadmiring students and colleagues bestowed onhim throughout his entire teaching career—humility is repeatedly cited as one ofShellenberger’s strengths. A student writes that Shellenberger was “themost natural and gifted teacher I encounteredin law school.” A former Freedman Teaching Fellowrecounts his collaboration with Shellenberger:“Simply stated, every conversation was a goldmine for an aspiring young professor like me.”A colleague sums it up: “Jim Shellenbergeris not a great teacher. ‘Great’ does not begin toexplain Jim or his teaching. Jim Shellenberger isan inspiring, passionate, generous, and caringteacher. Simply put, Jim is a one-in-a-millionteacher.”Unlike some “born teachers,” Shellenbergerdid not always aspire to be in the classroom.After graduating from Villanova Law School in1972, where he worked on the law review andgraduated magna cum laude,he spent fiveyears in the Philadelphia District Attorney’sOffice and two years with Schnader, Harrison,Segal & Lewis’ litigation department. In 1979 hemoved to the criminal procedural rulescommittee of the State Supreme Court, wherehe served as secretary and chief staff counsel. He joined the Temple Law faculty in 1983.And for the last 30 years, students have ravedabout his teaching skills and flocked to hisclasses. Shellenberger’s courses are at the heartof the criminal law curriculum: criminal law,criminal procedure, and federal criminal law. Inaddition, he teaches litigation basics and, onoccasion, an introduction to internationalcriminal law.Shellenberger’s commitment to teachingextends beyond the traditional curriculum. Hesinglehandedly founded and runs the lawschool’s Academic Core Enrichment (ACE)program, which provides support to first-yearlaw students, particularly those struggling withthe transition to law school. His expertise issought well beyond the walls of the law school,continued on page seven2 • TEMPLE ESQ. SUMMER 2013YOUTH COURTScontinued from page oneis perched at the edge of Fairmount Park, at the corner of 31st Street and Ridge Avenue. It is a half emptyneighborhood school with fewer than 500 students, 98 percent of whom are African-American, and 91 percentof whom qualify for subsidized lunch. Thirty percent ofstudents are in some kind of special education program.Only 20 percent of students there test proficient in reading,and fewer than 10 percent test proficient in math. Thisyear, Strawberry Mansion narrowly escaped a slatedclosure after parents and teachers successfully rallied tokeep their neighborhood school alive.Twice a week the law students, Dutton, Ashcroft andLauri, traverse North Philadelphia from Temple to the highschool, where the youth court class starts at ten in themorning. There, they are joined by Volz and Robert Reed,a prosecutor from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, whose officehas adopted the court as a violence prevention project.The youth court convenes in a social studies class whoseteacher has agreed that youth court would be a valuablecivic experience for his students. “The students are a genuine cross section of thestudent body. “We didn’t cherry pick them,” says Dutton.“And at first there’s a lot of disruption in the class.” Hecites omnipresent cell phones, sleeping, and talking back.At the beginning of the year the class had at least 25students. Now, on an average day in May, they are down toabout 15. Students are never asked to withdraw from YouthCourt; the diminished class size results from studentstransferring schools, opting to return to their regular socialstudies class, or dropping out of school altogether.Ashcroft remembers: “The first day I went to StrawberryMansion, there were two students out of twenty wholistened to us. The rest were talking, yelling, or sleeping. It was obvious that we did not have the most disciplined or attentive students in the school. While the situationshocked me, it was not completely unfamiliar. In highschool, I was the student in the back of the class sleeping. I was the student constantly in detention forskipping class. . . .“I learned firsthand that once you are labeled as atroublemaker, teachers tend to give up on you. So, Idecided to do what no one ever did to me. I decided toreally encourage them to participate. I walked to the back of the classroom and introduced myself to everystudent who was not paying attention. I think they were all a little shocked.”Most of the students at Strawberry Mansion think theyknow a lot about the courtroom experience, sometimesfrom television, but most often from their own interactionwith the system or that of a relative. But learning from lawstudents and attorneys from the U.S. Attorney’s Officeabout how to be a player in the legal system is a revelationto most of them. Starting in the fall, the class has learnedhow to conduct a hearing, practicing skills like interviewingthe respondent, presenting a case, and making closingarguments. They understand how a judge instructs a jury.In one hearing, the students surprise the youth courtvolunteers by convening a sidebar. They haven’t beentaught about sidebars; it must be something they pickedup on a visit to a real courtroom or on an episode of Lawand Order.In the spring, the youth court volunteers decided thatthe class was ready to conduct hearings. On a Tuesday in early April, the school’s conflict resolution specialist,Vanessa Green-King, brings the files of two cases involvingstudents with low-level infractions. Normally, Green-Kingwould be responsible for deciding the appropriatepunishment for unexcused absences, flaunting the uniformcode, or disrespecting a member of the staff. Now thatthere is a youth court at Strawberry Mansion, she can offer that option if she thinks a student will benefit.The youth court accepts a case Green-King handsthem. The student—or respondent—refused to remove ahat in school, a dress code infraction at StrawberryMansion. The respondent does not deny the facts of hisinfraction, and the youth court is only charged with deciding what would constitutejustice in this case. Their classroomdiscussions about restorative justice havetaught them to think in terms of justicebenefiting the entire community. In otherwords, they want the student to understandthat he has harmed himself, and underminedthe order of the community. The kids in the class are a little annoyedwith this particular case. They don’t think a hatinfraction is all that serious, and besides, whenthe respondent is asked if he respects theyouth court process, he tells them “no.” Whenthey express scepticism about whether therespondent will benefit from Youth Court,Dutton asks them, “‘How would you feel if wehad given up on you?’ And I explained that, asyouth court members, they have theopportunity to help their peers—to make achange in the way things work at the schooland in the community.” The high school students begin their preparation for theThursday hearing—only two days away. An advocate isassigned to get the facts from the respondent, and preparea statement on his behalf. When the class meets again onThursday there is the usual confusion resulting from theshifting attendance. The student bailiff convenes thecourtroom and the student judge listens carefully beforecharging the jury. During the proceeding some interesting informationcomes out when one of the jurors asks the respondent how things are at home. “I just moved out of my parentshouse.” He doesn’t say where he is living, but whenpressed, he says he left “because of my stepmother.” Thisanswer satisfies the jury. When they ask the respondentstraight out who was harmed by his behavior, he does nothesitate in answering: “I was.” A sympathy seems to be growing. A juror asks, “So, isthis going to happen again?” “No.” “Why not?” “Because Idon’t like in-school suspension and I don’t like being inhere with you’all.” With the respondent out of the room, the jurors’deliberations last about ten minutes, and they all seemaffected by the young man’s problematic homelife. Thejurors recommend a disposition, or assignment. Therespondent must identify someone at Strawberry MansionHigh with whom he will talk about his problems. Everyoneseems relieved when he agrees that he will do this, andGreen-King, who has by now dropped into the classroom,says she will follow up to make sure this happens.The respondent, who otherwise might have beenpunished by being made to miss classes and have aninfraction on his record, now has the opportunity to havehis record wiped clean if he completes the disposition. Thestudents in the class are not uniformly happy with theoutcome, they are not sure if the respondent understandshow this process helped him and some doubt he willcomplete the assignment. The youth court volunteers, however, are in the back ofthe room beaming. For the most part, they have been ableto sit quietly and watch the orderly proceedings unfold.They see that the students absorbed the process, andmore importantly, the logical underpinnings of the process.Next week the court will hear another case or two. A much-disdained rule outlawing hoodies is starting to be enforced,and Dutton suspects the youth court will be busy hearinghoodie infractions.“We all knew—collectively—that this was going to be along, emotionally stressful process. Our patience paid off,”says Dutton, looking back at the first year of StrawberryMansion’s youth court. The challenge now will becontinuity: finding a class to house the court, getting newstudents and volunteer attorneys involved, and spreadingthe model to other schools. Currently, Temple Law studentsare helping to implement another youth court atKensington High School, where they are partnering with Physicians for Social Responsibility.Lauri believes the experience has been worthwhile forboth him and for the high school students. “Youth courtoffers these students a unique educational opportunity tobegin to develop skills and critical thinking abilities thatthey may not otherwise develop.” “It was a struggle every day. It still is a struggle,” saysAshcroft, who nevertheless plans to continue with youthcourt throughout her law school career, and perhaps after.“For me it’s a worthwhile struggle because we’re reachingthe students who are most vulnerable to ending up in thejustice system.”Excerpt from an interview with a youth court volunteer“Honestly there have been a lot of ‘moments’ that have affected me. Most of those moments involved the studentswho gave us the most trouble in the beginning because they are now the leaders of the court. The most recenthappened yesterday.“James [not his real name] gave us a lot of trouble in the beginning. He had a lot of energy and struggled to stay focused. I had a feeling that he was so disruptive because he was insecure. So, I kept trying to get him toparticipate, get to know him on an individual level, and vouch for him among my colleagues. He eventually began to trust me and I’ve since trained him to be a youth advocate. Generally, I teach the youth advocates how to gather the appropriate information from their client, write an opening statement, make persuasive arguments, and speak respectfully. “Since being trained as a youth advocate, James’s behavior has completely transformed. He is a leader in the class now. He does not create any disruptions at all, but instead tells his peers to stop being disruptive. He is incredibly respectful towards me. He still struggles with confidence issues so I continue to give him positive reinforcement and I see improvement in his confidence every week. I think the administration has alsonoticed his change in behavior because the principal recently chose him to participate in an after-school program for trade school. “Yesterday was a busy day for youth court. I told James beforehand to “do me proud” and show everyone that I’m teaching him something. After the hearing ended, he came right up to me with a big smile on his face and said, ‘I was awesome’. Alex and Gregg later told me how well James did during the hearing. While that waswonderful to hear, the ‘moment’ for me was seeing how proud James was of himself. It’s moments like that that make the chaos worthwhile.”— Michelle Ashcroft ’14ALEX DUTTON ’15 AND MICHELLE ASHCROFT ’14 WORKED TO ESTABLISH THEYOUTH COURT AT STRAWBERRY MANSION.3 • TEMPLE ESQ. SUMMER 2013Navy JAG NanetteDeRenzi ’86APRIL 15, 2013NanetteDeRenzi ’86, vice admiraland Judge Advocate Generalof the Navy, was this year’shonoree at the annualgathering of the TempleWomen’s Law Caucus.President Obama nominatedDeRenzi for the prestigiouspromotion, which madeDeRenzi one of only 40 viceadmirals in the Navy. AsJudge Advocate General, sheheads the JAG Corps, aglobal network of 2,300attorneys, paralegals andsupport staff. DeRenzi, whoserved as Deputy JudgeAdvocate General from 2009to 2012, has also served onthree different ships. SPRING 2013 AT TEMPLE LAW Lt. Gov. James Cawley ’94MARCH 7, 2013Pennsylvania Lieutenant GovernorJames Cawley ’94 spoke to Temple Law studentleaders at the invitation of Dean JoAnne A. Epps todiscuss his political career, the importance ofnetworking, and the value of volunteer work. Neil A. Stein ’83MARCH25, 2013Dean William M. “Chip” Carter Jr. returned toPhiladelphia to deliver the 2013 Honorable Clifford Scott GreenLecture. Carter, a former professor at Temple Law, left Temple in2012 when he was named Dean of the University of PittsburghSchool of Law. “Chip Carter makes all that law professors do look easy,” saidDean JoAnne A. Epps, in her introduction to the Green Lecture.“We had him for about a minute before Pittsburgh lured him away,”she lamented. In fact, Carter was on the Temple Law faculty for five years, teaching popular courses in constitutional law, civilprocedure, political and civil rights, and litigation.In his lecture entitled “The Promises of Freedom: TheContemporary Relevance of the Thirteenth Amendment,”DeanCarter explored how he believes the simple, two sentenceconstitutional amendment proscribes not only chattel slavery but also the legacies of the institution of slavery. At the time the Thirteenth Amendment was being debated, the outcome of the Civil War was a foregone conclusion, Carterexplained. Those debating the amendment in the legislature assumed that the war would end the legal institution of chattel slavery, so the discussion centered on what would follow slavery’s abolition. Carter argued that the Thirteenth Amendment’s framers envisioned the amendment as providingfederal authority to eliminate the “badges and incidents of slavery.” Carter, who has written extensively on the ThirteenthAmendment, explained the concept of “incidents,” a technical legal term for the attributes attaching to a status, and“badges,” a figurative phrase for political and social inferiority. The broadness of the “badges” phrase allows advocates to argue that the Thirteenth Amendment prohibits the continuing effects of slavery, such as economic inequality and discrimination.A Cleveland native, Carter studied law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Following graduation in 1998,he joined Squire, Sanders & Dempsey and Ropes & Gray in Washington, DC, where he worked as a litigator. He returned toCase Western as a member of the law faculty in 2001, where he was named professor of the year three years in a row.Carter is recognized as a legal scholar with a deep interest in social justice and community issues. He is a former boardmember of the Ohio Racial Fairness Report Project, has done pro bonowork for Ugandan nongovernmental organizations,and has written and spoken on issues of civil rights, including racial profiling and affirmative action. Carter is also widelyrespected for his scholarship on issues of social justice. His published articles include: Affirmative Action as GovernmentSpeech(2011); Toward a Thirteenth Amendment Exclusionary Rule as a Remedy for Racial Profiling(2010); Race, Rights,and the Thirteenth Amendment: Defining the Badges and Incidents of Slavery(2007); and A Thirteenth AmendmentFramework for Combating Racial Profiling(2004).Previous presenters of the Clifford Scott Green Lecture are Hon. Anthony J. Scirica, William T. Coleman Jr., Phoebe A.Haddon, Robert J. Reinstein, Evelyn B. Higginbotham, Hon. Theodore A. McKee, Hon. Louis H. Pollak, Hon. Damon J.Keith, Hon. Nathaniel R. Jones, and Drew S. Days III.THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT HAS ‘CONTEMPORARYRELEVANCE’ SAYS PITT LAW DEAN CHIP CARTERFormer IRS Commissioner Lawrence B. Gibbs APRIL 1, 2013The guest speaker at this year’s Fogel Lecture was Lawrence B. Gibbs, who served asCommissioner of the IRS from 1986 to 1989. Gibbsspoke about the changes in tax federal income taxlaw and policy over the last 50 years, reflecting onthings such as the increased influence of economists,the use of the tax system to deliver social benefits,and the impact of globalization on the developmentof the tax law. Today, Gibbs is a member of theWashington, DC firm of Miller Chevalier.Right: Lawrence Gibbs with Tax Professor Alice AbreuFEBRUARY 22, 2013Neil A. Stein ’83, co-founder and principal of Kaplin, Stewart,Meloff, Reiter & Stein in Blue Bell, PA, was thefeatured speaker at a Dean’s Forum. He spoketo students and faculty about the “Nuts andBolts of a Land Use Practice.” WILLIAM M. CARTER JR.4 • TEMPLE ESQ. SUMMER 2013GUIDE TO TREATIES WINSTOP INT’L LAW AWARDProfessor Duncan Hollis’s book, The Oxford Guide toTreaties,was awarded a 2013 Certificate of Merit by TheAmerican Society of International Law. The award is one ofthree book awards given annually to the best internationallaw publications during the preceding year. Published byOxford University Press in September 2012, The OxfordGuide to Treatiessheds light on the rules and practicessurrounding the making, interpretation, and operation ofinternational treaties. Hollis, who teaches courses on publicinternational law, treaties, international environmental law,and property, was recently selected as an adviser on theAmerican Law Institute’s Fourth Restatement of ForeignRelations Law of the United States.SPRING 2013 AT TEMPLE LAW CRAIG GREEN EXPLORESLEGAL HISTORY OF ‘WAR ON TERROR’APRIL22, 2013Presidents during the War on Terror havestressed the unacceptability of racist detentions like thosein World War II. However, says Temple Law Professor CraigGreen, recent Supreme Court decisions raise a questionthat was crucial in earlier war-power litigation: How canjudges ever second-guess a President’s claim thatextraordinary measures are justified by military need? In the 2013 Friel-Scanlan Lecture entitled “Korematsuand the War on Terror: A Legal History,”Green suggestedthat comparing old and new cases can yield importantlessons about presidential detention, judicial role, and legalprecedent itself. Green is winner of the Friel-Scanlan Award, given eachyear to a Temple Law professor in recognition of excellencein a scholarly publication. The Friel-Scanlan Lecture isgiven in conjunction with the award. Green earned a J.D. from Yale Law School, after whichhe clerked for Judge Louis Pollak of the Eastern District ofPennsylvania and Judge Garland of the DC Circuit. He laterworked in the Solicitor General’s Office as a Bristow Fellow,and as a trial attorney for Department of Justice’s civilappellate staff. In 2004, Green joined the Temple Law faculty and wasawarded the Lindback Award for teaching in 2009. Heteaches courses on federal courts, administrative law, civilprocedure and constitutional law. Green has publishedarticles concerning wartime detention, equal protection, thefederal sentencing guidelines, customary international law,and Erie. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in History atPrinceton University.perpetrator. The successful civil suit resulted not only inpublic validation for the client, but also in financial supportto help her rebuild her life. Kline, a founding partner of the Philadelphia law firm ofKline & Specter, PC, concentrates the bulk of his practicein the areas of catastrophic personal injury and mass tortlitigation. “We attended the real James E. Beasley Schoolof Law,” he joked, meaning that he and Shanin Specterworked together at the Beasley Law Firm before openingtheir own firm in 1995. He received a good education. During his three decadecareer, Kline has won scores of seven- and eight-figure juryverdicts and settlements for his clients. He was describedby The Wall Street Journal as a “key player” in the $4.85billion national Vioxx litigation, and by the PhiladelphiaInquireras a “high-powered plaintiffs’ attorney… who haswon a number of eight-figure awards for clients injured orkilled due to negligence or incompetence by businesses,government agencies, and nonprofit health-care providers.”Kline acknowledged that there is, sadly, a lot more workto be done in bringing sexual abuse to light and holdingperpetrators accountable. But he is guardedly optimisticabout how much has changed, and he believes that thediscussion has changed in part because of widelypublicized trials. Kline described how recently he wasconducting voir direin a case where the client had beenseriously injured in a bus accident. He asked the potentialjuror if she had ever experienced post traumatic stressdisorder (PTSD). “Yes,” the woman replied, loud and clear.“I am a sexual abuse survivor and I suffer from PTSD.” LECTURE EXPLORESPROGRESS AND PROBLEMSIN SEX ABUSE CASESThomas R. Kline represented Sandusky’s victim #5MARCH19, 2013In the 2013 Edward J. Ross MemorialLecture in Litigation, “Childhood Sexual Abuse: Out of theShadows into the Courtroom,”renowned plaintiff’s attorneyThomas R. Kline drew from his extensive experiencerepresenting young victims of sexual abuse, most notablyin the infamous Sandusky prosecution. “This is a really tough topic,” said Dean JoAnne A. Eppsin introducing Kline, “one that exists in our world but wewish weren’t so.” Epps called Kline “a quintessential trialattorney and a good friend of the law school. His firm hasbeen successful at procuring justice for many individualsacross the city and across the country.” Kline, who emerged as a national spokesperson for thevictims of convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky whilerepresenting victim No. 5, opened his lecture with grimstatistics. One in four girls and one in six boys are sexuallyabused before their sixteenth birthday, most often bysomeone they know. Kline believes it is critical that thisphenomenon comes “out of the shadows” and faces thescrutiny of public discussion, both inside the courtroomand out. Kline recognized Edward Ross, for whom the annuallecture is named, for his role as a pioneer in holding theCatholic Church accountable for their role in protectingabusers. Ross successfully represented plaintiffs againstthe Camden, NJ diocese, winning a settlement of$880,000 for 23 victims of abuse that occurred from the 1960s to the 1980s. “Plaintiff’s lawyers played a heroic role in bringing thisissue to the fore,” said Kline. “Ed Ross was a pioneer inthe field, standing alone and standing against the CatholicChurch, an inconceivable concept in the 60s and 70s.When he won the case in Camden, the trail was blazed.Those who allowed the perpetration would be heldaccountable.” In addition to his lawsuit on behalf of Sandusky’s victimNo. 5, Kline discussed a civil suit he brought on behalf of afemale client who was repeatedly sexually abused by anunlicensed therapist while she was in treatment for aneating disorder. Kline praised the young woman’s bravery incoming forward publicly, another example of how movingthe discussion “out of the shadows” has begun to transferthe shame of sexual abuse from the victim to theDEAN JOANNE A. EPPS, KATHY POLLAK, CRAIG GREEN, ANDREA MONROETHOMAS R. KLINEDUNCAN HOLLIS5 • TEMPLE ESQ. SUMMER 2013“I came to Temple because I wanted tolearn how to use the law to promotesocial justice,” says Theresa Brabson ’13.A native of Media, PA, Brabson went onto earn a degree in political science atGeorge Washington University. Prior to enrolling in law school,Brabson took an unusual step toimmerse herself in the community shehoped to serve as a lawyer. She joinedthe Jesuit Volunteer Corps, anorganization that challenges its membersto live in traditionally poor communitiesand practice simplicity by living with onlythe necessities. “To be a more successful advocate forothers, I immersed myself within thepopulation to see social injustice firsthand,” says Brabson.She lived at 18th and Girard in North Philadelphia whileworking at Philadelphia VIP, an organization that providespro bonocivil legal services to low-income Philadelphians. “Although I’m from the region, this experience openedmy eyes to the lack of access to justice within my owncommunity. It’s one thing to hear a client’s story, but it is avery different, more powerful experience to live down thestreet from the client and see the condition of her home,school, and neighborhood every day.”During the summer after her first year at Temple Law,Brabson found a way to continue her commitment tocommunity. She began working at the Legal Clinic for theDisabled (LCD) at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Childrenand continued to work there throughout law school. Now, Brabson has been awarded a prestigiousIndependence Foundation Fellowship that will enable herto continue her work at the LCD for the next two years. Asan Independence Fellow, Brabson will work to expandPhilaKids, LCD’s medical-legalpartnership with St. Christopher’sHospital for Children. Medical-legal partnerships place alawyer on-site at a hospital to addressadverse conditions that may lead to poorhealth, stress, and a lower quality of life,but which are legal in nature and forwhich there may be legal remedies. Asan attorney for the LCD, Brabson willadvocate, negotiate, and litigate onbehalf of patients struggling to obtainand maintain Supplemental SecurityIncome (SSI) benefits.St. Christopher’s location in NorthPhiladelphia places it in one of thepoorest congressional districts in thecountry. In the context of such poverty, Brabson says, “thewrongful denial or termination of SSI benefits can create adomino effect that negatively impacts the health and well-being of both young patients and their families,” addingthat “the SSI benefit is often a critical determinant of achild’s access to basic necessities like healthcare, food,clothing and shelter.”In addition to directly representing clients, Brabson willtrain healthcare providers on the procedural requirementsrelated to medical record-keeping and plans of care. Byworking to ensure that healthcare providers know andunderstand how to best advocate for their patients in SSIcases, Brabson explains, she will be able to best serve heryoung clients. “I see this fellowship as a starting point for my career,”says Brabson, who plans to stay in the city post-fellowship.“I look forward to continuing to develop my career as anadvocate for low-income Philadelphians.” LEAP relies on scores of law students, alumniand area attorneys who volunteer as coaches.The 2013 runnerup team from Girard CollegeHigh School (above) was coached by DuaneMorris attorneys Nolan Atkinson and SethGoldberg ’99, Mark Lipowicz ’94, Edward G.Biester III and Catherine Cramer ’13. A secondteam from Girard College was coached byRonald Marrero ’01 and Cindy Morgan ’13.SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCATE EARNSINDEPENDENCE FELLOWSHIPTheresa Brabson ’13 lived ‘with only the necessities’ for a year before law school.Temple-LEAP hosts high school competitionChampionship team is coached by former participant.The powerhouse team from CentralHigh School (right) took the 2013trophy, after winning in 2012 andplacing second in 2010. The team fromthe North Philadelphia magnet schoolwas coached by Julian Thompson, a2003 graduate of Central High and aveteran of the school’s mock trial team.Inspired by his experience at Central,Thompson attended Morehouse Collegeand earned a place at Harvard Lawbefore coming back to coach his highschool team to victory.Central was one of thirty-six teamsthat participated in this year’s LEAPMock Trial Competition, an annualevent hosted by Temple Law Educationand Participation (LEAP), which hasbeen training high school students tocompete in mock trial competitionssince 1974. LEAP supporters (from left): MarciaHoldren, Carole Green, and AlexisMoore Bruton. Stephen Sheller (above), with LEAP DirectorRoberta West ’89, acted as judge at this year’s LEAPcompetition. Sheller is a seasoned trial attorneyand the founder of the Philadelphia plaintiffs’ firmof Sheller, PC. Sheller, along with his wife Sandra, is the benefactor of Temple Law’snew Center for Social Justice. PHYLLIS HORN EPSTEIN, JD ’80, LLM ’84,has been elected fellow of the AmericanCollege of Tax Counsel. Epstein is ashareholder in the Philadelphia firm ofEpstein, Shapiro & Epstein and treasurerof the Pennsylvania Bar Association. The New Jersey Builders Association(NJBA) recently announced that CAROLANN SHORT ’83has been named actingchief executive after serving for the lastfour years as chief operating officer. Shortwas hired by NJBA more than 25 yearsago as the executive director of theInstitute of Multi-Family Housing. Shesubsequently served as the association’s director of legaland legislative affairs and was later promoted to vicepresident of government affairs. DANIEL J. SIEGEL ’84is author of Android Apps in OneHour for Lawyers,published by the ABA Law PracticeManagement Section. Siegel is in private practice inHavertown, PA and is founder and president of IntegratedTechnology Services, a consulting firm serving law offices. In April 2013, KENNETH H. RYESKY ’86testified at an IRS rulemaking hearing regarding proposed healthcarecoverage regulations under the Patient Protection andAffordable Care Act. Ryesky is an adjunct assistantprofessor at Queens College of the City University of New York, where he teaches courses in business andtaxation law. Pepper Hamilton partner GINA MAISTO SMITH ’87spoke as part of a CLE program at the annual NonprofitInstitute hosted by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute in May 2013. Smith spoke on “Responding to SexualMisconduct Cases in the Institutional Setting: ReportingObligations, Title IX, Clery and Other Considerations.” ERIC PRITCHARD ’89, a partner in thebusiness and finance department atKleinbard Bell & Brecker, has beenelected vice chair of the board of directorsof the Montgomery County IndustrialDevelopment Authority.Lehigh Valley Business has named NANCY CONRAD ’89a 2013 Woman of Influence. Conrad ischair of the labor and employment and education groupsat the Philadelphia law firm of White and Williams. 1990sKEVIN L. HAND ’91recently served as a legal educator forthe Pennsylvania State Police, lecturing on the preparationand presentation of criminal cases in municipal court.Hand is a partner in the Bucks County, PA firm of Williams& Hand and a former Falls Township police officer anddeputy solicitor for the Pennsylvania State Police.RICHARD S. CANCIELLO ’94is now a shareholder at Poerio& Walter in Pittsburgh, where he has a practice in civillitigation. He was recently invited by several insurancecompanies and third-party administrators to lecture aboutthe new Medicare Compliance Rules set forth in theSMART Act, which take full effect in the summer of 2013.CHRISTINA D. FRANGIOSA ’97recentlyjoined the Huntingdon Valley, PA businesslaw firm of Semanoff Ormsby Greenberg &Torchia. Frangiosa concentrates herpractice on intellectual property andtechnology law. She is chair of thetrademark legislation committee of theAmerican Bar Association’s intellectual property law sectionand co-chairs its joint taskforce on online piracy andcounterfeiting; she also co-chairs the intellectual propertylaw committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association. 6 • TEMPLE ESQ. SUMMER 2013TEMPLE ESQ.Published by the Temple University Beasley School of Law for alumni and friends.JOANNE A. EPPS, DEANPublications Director: Janet Goldwater; Art Director: Gene Gilroy;Photography: Joseph Labolito, Kelly & Massa, Ryan Brandenburg, John Myers. Send letters and comments to: Janet Goldwater, Temple Esq., Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, 1719 N. Broad St.,Room 510, Philadelphia, PA 19122Email: janet.goldwater@temple.edu Fax: 215.204.1185Change of address: 215.204.11871950sSAMUEL M. SNIPES ’53has been named a Paul HarrisFellow by the Morrisville-Yardley Area Rotary Club. In 1957,Snipes, a proponent of civil rights and interracial housing inBucks County, represented the Myers family and held off amob who opposed the first African-American family tomove to Levittown. In 1960, he was appointed solicitor ofFalls Township. Since then he has traveled the world,opposing religious persecution in Russia, apartheid inSouth Africa and poverty and racism at home in the US.1970sIn April 2013,GABRIEL L.I. BEVILACQUA ’73began a term as chair of the disciplinaryboard of the Supreme Court of Pennsyl-vania. Bevilacqua is general counsel toThe American Board of Surgery and toThe American Board of Plastic Surgery,and of counsel to Saul Ewing.KENNETH M. JARIN ’75,who leads BallardSpahr’s government relations, regulatoryaffairs and contracting group, was namedchairman emeritus of the PennsylvaniaState System of Higher Education(PASSHE) by its board of governors.During Jarin’s tenure as chair, the boardhired five university presidents and became one of the firstpublic university systems in the nation to participate in thevoluntary system of accountability, a program designed toincrease transparency. Jarins, who served on the PASSHEboard from 2005 to 2011, is also chief labor negotiator forthe City of Philadelphia. GARY BORGER ’76and his law partnerBruce P. Matez are featured in an articlein the April issue of South JerseyMagazineentitled “Divorce WithoutDisaster: South Jersey Collaborative LawGroup offers Less Painful and more Cost-Effective Alternative to Divorce.” Thearticle describes how the group of family law attorneys,including Borger and Matez, assists families with thecollaborative divorce option. 1980sIn March 2013, The Center for Autism named DAVID M.MAOLA ’83chief executive officer. Maola was previouslypresident and chief executive of the Pathway School, anonprofit private school for children with disabilities inNorristown, PA. At the Center for Autism in Philadelphia,Maola will oversee the organization’s 160 employees andprograms that serve more than 1,000 people annually attwo locations in the city.NOTESClassLAW SCHOOL’S RANKING CONTINUES TO RISETemple Law’s ranking—according to the annual U.S. Newsand World Report’s system of rating undergraduate andprofessional schools—continued to rise in 2013. This yearTemple holds the #56 position in the list of 194 ABA-accredited law schools. The ranking represents a steadyascent, from #58 in 2012 and #61 in 2011. The school’soverall ranking rose to #56, and is the second highestranking for a Pennsylvania law school behind Penn. In addition, four Temple specialty programs were highlyranked, in recognition of the breadth and depth of theschool’s success. The award-winning trial advocacyprogram was awarded the #2 spot in the nation; legalresearch and writing is #5; the part-time programs are #12;and Temple’s wide range of international programs securedthe #13 position.“What’s striking to me as I look at this report is Temple’ssustained record of excellence, particularly in skills-basedprograms, and our markedly lower tuition relative tosimilarly ranked schools. We’re very conscious of the factthat law school is a considerable investment, and we workhard to ensure that every dollar our students spend ontheir education is worth it,” says Dean JoAnne A. Epps.“I’m proud to see that commitment to our studentsreflected in these rankings.”In recent decades, U.S. Newshas forged a niche withits annual publication of school rankings, which havebecome a heavily used resource for students searching forthe best fit for their education. The magazine continues torefine its method for creating the sometimes controversialhierarchy of schools. In response to recent scandalsconcerning schools’ collection of post-graduation job data,U.S. News’ website explains that their current methodology“puts added emphasis on the type of jobs students landafter graduation.” The current equation for rating lawschools is based on a weighted average of peerassessment (.25); assessment by lawyers and judges (.15);admissions selectivity (.25); faculty resources (.15); andjob placement (.20). #56 overall#2 in Trial Advocacy#5 in Legal Research and Writing#12 in part-time programs #13 in International ProgramsTemple Law Rankings At-a-GlanceIn February 2013, MICHAEL P. FLOWERS ’98was appointedNew York City’s first chief analytics officer, tasked withoverseeing and enabling data analytics for operations,infrastructure, civil and criminal enforcement, disasterresponse and preparedness, human services andeconomic development.JESSICA A. PRITCHARD ’99, a family lawyer at the Bucks County, PA firm of Williams & Hand, was panelist on the Pennsylvania Bar Institute program “Your FirstSupport Case.” 2000sCARRIE CHELKO ’00recently joined Lincoln Financial Groupas a vice president and chief counsel, supporting thecompany’s distribution organization. Chelko joined LincolnFinancial from Janney Montgomery Scott, where she wasdeputy general counsel.PETER ISAJIW ’02,a partner at Cadwalader, is beingrecognized in June at the New York Law Journal’s RisingStars cocktail reception. Isajiw concentrates his practice oncomplex securities and commercial litigation, as wellas criminal and regulatory investigations.Galfand Berger recently announced thatMICHAEL P. MALVEY ’02has become anequity partner. Malvey has worked at thePhiladelphia personal injury firm sincegraduation. AMY KIRKHAM ’03has been namedpartner in the Pittsburgh law firm of RobbLeonard Mulvihill, where she concentrates her practice in complex insurance coverage and extra-contractualinsurance litigation. KEITH J. COYLE ’05, former attorney in the U.S. Departmentof Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, joined the firm of Frank, Gale, Bails,Murcko & Pocrass in their energy and natural resourcesgroup, where he focuses on matters affecting the oil and natural gas pipeline industries. Most recently, Coylewas legislative counsel for U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, aRepublican from Texas and the vice chairman of the joint economic committee. MICHAEL DROSSNER ’05was recently appointed by theWhitemarsh Township Board of Supervisors to the ethicalstandards advisory board. As principal of Drossner Law,Drossner represents individuals and business undergovernment investigation in state and federal court.HENRY YAMPOLSKY ’05,a senior associate at Galfand Berger, was a courseplanner and speaker for PBI’s seminar,“The Impact of Criminal Charges andConvictions on Employment Law.”In February 2013, ELIZABETH J. FINEMAN ’09participated in the BucksCounty Bar Association’s Family Law Tax Law Updatesprogram. Fineman is a partner in the family law firm ofWilliams & Hand.7 • TEMPLE ESQ. SUMMER 2013Arthur H. JamesClass of 1975Peter J. ProkoClass of 1981Michalisa Marshall PughClass of 1981IN MEMORIAMTEMPLE ESQ. welcomes news and photosof our alumni/ae. Please include: Fullname, class, degree, and a way to reachyou if we need to confirm information.Send to:Janet GoldwaterTemple Esq.Temple University Beasley School of Law1719 North Broad StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19122Email:janet.goldwater@temple.eduSEND USYOURNEWS!ANN CONNOLLY HUGHEY ’56 WAS JOINED BY GRAND-DAUGHTER HELEN FEIBUSCH AT THE 2010 COMMENCEMENT.Ann Conolly Hughey ’561923~2013Art expert and longtime friend of Temple Law School,Ann Conolly Hughey died March 18 in Bethesda,MD. Hughey worked for a naval intelligence unit inWashington during World War II before entering law school. She graduated at the top of her lawschool class but never practiced law, and eventuallybecame an authority on the French-born artist andillustrator Edmund Dulac. Hughey traveled to Chinawith a Temple Law delegation in 2009. James E. Beasley and Judge Sandra Mazer Moss ’75inducted in 2013Temple Law School, long a bastion of excellence in theteaching of trial advocacy, will be the new home of the TrialLawyers Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame, to be housed inKlein Hall, will be formally installed in time for the open ofthe fall 2013 semester. The Hall of Fame, sponsored by the nationalpublication, The Trial Lawyer,was founded in 2009 to“honor the finest and best trial attorneys who haveimproved our communities, influenced our laws, andenhanced our society by fighting for justice.”Temple University’s James E. Beasley School of Law isan apt location to house the national Trial Lawyers Hall ofFame. In the last fifteen years, the trial teams have wonmore national championships than any other law school.Nationally recognized scholars teach the trial advocacyprogram at Temple, spearheaded by longtime trial teamcoach, Professor Edward Ohlbaum. Temple’s LL.M. in TrialAdvocacy program is a well-known path to success in thecourtroom. Not surprisingly, the list of Temple Law alumniwho have distinguished themselves as trial attorneys,locally and nationally, is a long one.Now there is another compelling reason to make theHall of Fame a centerpiece at Temple: The esteemed trialSHELLENBERGERcontinued from page oneas he accepts requests to teach leading practitioners,including federal judges and bar examiners, the nuances of the law.The awards acknowledging Shellenberger’s gift forteaching began to accumulate soon after he joined thefaculty. In only his third year of teaching, the graduatingclass selected Shellenberger to receive the George P.Williams Award, presented to the member of the law schoolfaculty “who has made the most significant contribution totheir Law School career.” He went on to earn the Williamsaward a record five times. Under law school rules, a facultymember can win the Williams award only once every fouryears. Otherwise, colleagues speculate, he would have wonthe award even more often.Shellenberger has also been recognized by TempleUniversity at large with the Lindback Award forDistinguished Teaching in 1995 and the OutstandingFaculty Service Award in 2011. He was named the JamesE. Beasley Chair in Law in 2007. And finally in 2012, thelaw school alumni chimed in, selecting Shellenberger asthe inaugural recipient of the Murray Shusterman Award. Today, the winner of the University Great Teacher Awardcontinues to develop new courses and expand hisexpertise. As the co-director of Temple’s summerprograms, Shellenberger has taught in Japan and, since2004, has traveled to Rome, Italy to supervise and teach inthe program there. He collaborates with FreedmanTeaching Fellows, many of whom cite him as a singularmentor in their scholarly careers. Former students arespread across the country and the world, where they serveas judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, public servants,and in private firms. The nomination for the University Great Teacher Awardconcludes: “The very best teachers are not only able toconvey information and skills, but to transform and inspire.Professor James Shellenberger falls into this select class of educators.”attorney for whom the James E. Beasley School of Law was renamed in 1999 and who died in 2004 has beeninducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame.James E. Beasley founded the Philadelphia Beasley Law Firm in 1959. He gained national attention for thelarge jury verdicts he won on behalf of his clients incomplex court cases over the next four decades. Beasleydied in 2004. His generous gift to the law school—one ofthe largest ever made to any law school—established the Beasley Scholarships, which have funded 107 full-tuition scholarships to date, as well as three endowedfaculty chairs. On April 11, 2013, Dean JoAnne A. Epps representedBeasley at the Hall of Fame induction. Also inducted thisyear was Temple alumna Judge Sandra Mazer Moss ’75,who supervises mass tort litigation for the First JudicialDistrict of Philadelphia. In addition to Beasley and JudgeMoss, trial attorneys Eldon Fallon, James Montgomery, andCraig Spangenberg were also inducted. JAMES E. BEASLEY(1926-2004)SANDRA MAZER MOSS ’75TEMPLE TO HOUSE TRIALLAWYERS HALL OF FAMETEMPLE UNIVERSITY JAMES E. BEASLEY SCHOOL OF LAWLAW SCHOOL AND ALUMNI NEWSSUMMER 2013VISIT 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 19122SPIN GEARS UP FOR SUMMER with auction and concertMARCH21, 2013Spring is the season when the TempleLaw community rallies around SPIN, the Student PublicInterest Network, the organization that for two decades hassupported students holding summer public interestpositions. The organization’s signature event—the popularSPIN Auction—netted more than $21,000 at a festiveevent hosted by Duane Morris. Students, faculty, alumsand individuals who just love a good auction gathered tobid on items including a weekend trip to Miami, PhilliesDugout Diamond tickets, a signed Robin Roberts Philliesjersey, and a signed Broad Street Bullies Flyers jersey. Theauctioneer leading the spirited bidding was PhiladelphiaPolice Lt. D.F. Pace ’06. Singer-lawyer wows SPIN supportersMARCH10, 2010Not everyone’s donation isideal for the SPIN auction, which promptssome members of the community to getcreative. Alex Radus ’13, an establishedsinger-songwriter who graduated in May, found a way to combine his commitment topublic interest law with his passion—andtalent—for music. “I’ve been promising my law school friendsthat I’d do a show in Philly since my 1L year. Ilive pretty far north of Philly and most of myperformances are up here, so they’re usuallyhard for people to attend,” says Alex, who livesin Riegelsville, PA. “But I thought it would be alot more fun for everyone—and moreimpactful—if the show was bigger than just me, and moreabout the law school community. A musical fundraiser forSPIN seemed like the ideal opportunity.”Radus booked a show at World Café Live, and hisMarch 10th performance was packed with Templestudents, faculty, and staff, netting more than $500 for SPIN. It’s not easy to describe the captivating, high energy,and eclectic style of guitarist and vocalist Radus in concert.Perhaps his online bio captures it best: “The music ofPhiladelphia-based singer/songwriter Alex Radus is difficultto describe in conventional genre terms. Coming from thesongwriting school that versatility is a good thing, hisnewest release, Love Me Like You Hate Me,spans the gulffrom Americana TrashCan Blues, to Post-Folk, AcousticSinger-Songwriter, and Country Noir. Fans have added theirtwo cents over the years with “Jeff Buckley meets RyanAdams,” and “Chet Baker meets Tom Waits over a cup ofcoffee with Martin Sexton.” Radus is currently working on anew album slated for release in 2013.The concert gave Radus something that he had beenlooking for throughout his law school career: the chance togive back. “I haven’t been able to give back the way manyof my classmates have—through clubs, or working as ateaching assistant (due to his long commute),” Alex says.“It was important to me to join their efforts.”After studying for the bar exam, Radus plans to resumehis concert schedule. In his spare time, he’ll be clerking for the Honorable Franklin S. Van Antwerpen of the ThirdCircuit Court of Appeals before joining Fox Rothschild asan associate. APRIL12, 2013The defending champions from Temple Law had to hand over the Dean’s Cup in this year'sbasketball matchup with Villanova Law. Temple wasdefeated the first year but were victorious at the secondmeeting of the lively competition. The annual Dean’s CupCompetition was hosted this year by Cozen O’Connor and played at the Villanova fieldhouse. Above: Temple’s “big men” Professors Greg Mandel (left)and Jim Shellenberger (right), with Villanova Prof.Michael Campbell. Left: Dean JoAnne Epps and Villanova Dean John Gotanda.ALEX RADUS ’13CAROLINE POWER ’14Next >