Profiles Spotlight

For Venable's Karl Racine, Haiti Fundraising Was Personal

The National Law Journal

When an earthquake devastated Haiti on Jan. 12, Big Law quickly began raising money for the long-suffering country in a big way. But for Venable managing partner Karl Racine, the effort was personal. Racine was born in Haiti and moved to the U.S. in 1965, when he was 3 years old. He says that within a week of asking firm lawyers and employees to donate to relief efforts, Venable raised $75,000. The firm chipped in an additional $50,000 from its charitable arm, the Venable Foundation.

Lawyer-Turned-Olympics CEO Looks Forward to Vancouver and Beyond

The National Law Journal

In January, the U.S. Olympic Committee named attorney Scott Blackmun as its new chief executive officer. Blackmun recently left Denver firm Holme Roberts & Owen, where he started his legal career in 1982, and which he rejoined in 2006 after stints with the USOC and Anschutz Entertainment Group, where he was chief operative officer. The National Law Journal spoke with Blackmun about his new job, the USOC's problems, the upcoming Vancouver games and what he'll miss about private practice.

Three San Francisco Lawyers Describe Haiti Work Trip That Turned Harrowing

The Recorder

Bob Page, Grace Brown and Jessica Vapnek sat down to a meeting sometime after 4 p.m. on Jan. 12 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. They were there working on a project to strengthen the country's shaky judicial system and had come to talk with local lawyers. Their firm, San Francisco-based DPK Consulting, helps build judicial systems in developing countries. Just before 5 p.m., there was a huge roar and shaking, "like a train coming right through your living room," recalls Page.

Law School Professor Is Witness to Progress for Women in the Law

The Recorder

When Herma Hill Kay decided in sixth grade that she would go to law school, it was a radical notion for the mid-1940s. "Girls can't make a living practicing law," her mother told her. And it was true that when Kay graduated, her gender prevented her from getting an entry-level position at a Wall Street law firm. But now in her 50th year of teaching at UC-Berkeley School of Law, Kay's career reflects the evolution of attitudes about, and expectations of, women as lawyers, even while she hopes for more progress.

Defense Attorney Uses Storytelling Skills at Trial and in Novels

The Recorder

Criminal defense attorney Alfredo Vea Jr.'s personal story sounds like legend: He worked as a migrant farmworker as a kid and didn't enroll in school until 10th grade, but ended up at UC-Berkeley. A Vietnam vet, he has written three novels, including "Gods Go Begging," which the Los Angeles Times named one of the best books of 1999. Vea is irreverent and effortlessly pokes fun at himself, but around San Francisco's Hall of Justice, he's called an old-school gentleman and one of the top local defense lawyers.

Asylum Cases Keep Reed Smith Pro Bono Counsel on Cutting Edge

The National Law Journal

Jayne Fleming, a full-time pro bono counsel, heads the 50-member human rights team at Reed Smith, representing refugees, torture victims and violence survivors seeking asylum in the United States. "I tend to really like doing cutting-edge cases and cases that seem impossible to win," she said. Winning asylum cases is extremely difficult, Fleming notes, but none of her clients to date has been deported. What's her secret? A team of overseas experts that Fleming has assembled who will give live testimony in court.

Casino and Gaming Cases Become a Sure Thing for Small Firm Lawyer

The Recorder

In 2004, Eric Sidebotham opened EJS-Law, a firm focusing on business disputes, IP litigation and gaming. In 2009, five casino and gaming matters made up more than 80 percent of EJS-Law's revenue, compared to less than half when he launched the firm. It's not the simplest practice area to build up, though. The need for discretion makes marketing to clients a challenge. "We have to be ubiquitous and anonymous at the same time," Sidebotham notes. And out-of-town counsel aren't always well-received in gambling towns.

Belo Corp. Assistant GC Toni Nguyen Reflects on Her Challenging Journey

Texas Lawyer

Toni Nguyen, an assistant general counsel for Dallas-based media giant Belo Corp., traveled a long way to have the opportunities she has today. In her job, Nguyen focuses on often complicated intellectual property and Internet-related issues, but her biggest concern once was survival. Three decades ago, a then 7-year-old Nguyen and her family fled Saigon and began a harrowing journey that eventually brought them to the United States. Once here, Nguyen faced other difficult challenges that she didn't let defeat her.

First-Year Associate Also Gets Into the Swing of Swing Dancing

Fulton County Daily Report

The same 1998 Gap commercial credited with reviving swing dancing likewise inspired a former competitive martial arts fighter who determined she was not violent enough for the sport. "It was a trendy thing to do, and I never got around to quitting," says Mary Louise Morris, a first-year associate at John J. McManus & Associates and the attorney for the Georgia House of Representative's Judiciary Non-Civil Committee. "Some might say those of us who swing dance are nerdy -- but we embrace that," Morris said.

Prosecutor's Book Finds Humor in Stupid Things Criminals Do

Fulton County Daily Report

For those suffering an allergic reaction to too many holiday warm 'n' fuzzies, an antidote can be found in prosecutor Rita B. Lewis' first book: "Excuse Me, Your Honor ... The Masturbating Defendant Just Called Me a Bitch!" A career assistant district attorney in Georgia, Lewis draws on a large supply of anecdotes about bungling burglars and other defendants, duplicitous defense lawyers, and even one or two less-than-proficient prosecutors, to hand down indictments for the most pervasive crime of all: being stupid.