DLA Weblog

Members: Please Take Online Survey Now

DLA members can express views on past and future association activities and services in a new survey. To make the voting, tabulation and analysis easier than ever, the College has allowed DLA to use its online survey account with SurveyMonkey.com. It takes less than 10 minutes, and you can see the tabulated results immediately after finishing, right online.

The URL was released by mail just last week and already several dozen members have registered their preferences. Please make your voice heard just by clicking this link or entering in the address window of your browser:
www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=67678294798

Doug Simpson '70
DLA "Webster"

D's Mock Trial Society at Yale Invitational

This just in from Gwendolyn Carroll '04, of the Dartmouth Mock Trial Society:

quote:
This past weekend, November 14th and 15th, the Dartmouth College Mock Trial Society had three teams competing at the Yale Mock Trial Invitational. Every year, the American Mock Trial Association distributes a case file to approximately 250 schools nationwide, each of which assembles up to four teams to compete in one of 17 regional tournaments. (More ... )

Dartmouth had three attorneys take Outstanding Attorney Awards. These attorneys were Martie Kuscher, Jeremy Presser(07) and Stacy Kourlis(06). Dartmouth also had two witnesses take Outstanding Witness awards - Will Rollins(07) and Michael Ellis (06).

The Yale Invitational had over 60 teams competing, making it a tournament equivalent in size to the national Mock Trial tournaments. Each of Dartmouth’s teams put in considerable time and effort and were scored by two judges in each round. Team Yellow, captained by Sean Miller(06), competed against University of Buffalo and won both ballots, faced Johns Hopkins and won one and lost one ballot. In the third round, Team Blue faced George Washington University and lost one and tied one ballot, and in the fourth round the team won both ballots. The team’s final record was 5-2-1.

Team Blue, captained by Megan Hamilton(06) and Jon Tullis(06), in Round one faced the University of Rochester, who took both ballots. In the second round, they faced Fordham University and won both ballots. In the third round, the team won both ballots and in the fourth round, the faced Manchester Community College and won one ballot and lost one ballot. The team’s final record was 5-3 with a large point differential in their favor.

Finally, Team Red, captained by Evan Mendelson(06) and Sara Hudson(05), faced Boston University and split the ballots, George Washington and won one ballot and tied one ballot, Yale University and won both ballots and finally Columbia University, who took both ballots. Their final record was 3-4-1.

The Dartmouth Mock Trial society would like to thank its faculty advisor professor Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, and everyone else who helped with preparation or practice trials for their support and advice. The Dartmouth Mock Trial Society is grateful for the continued financial support of the Committee on Student Organizations and the Student Activities Office. The Yale Invitational went very well, and the Society was really happy with the results. The Mock Trial Society will now begin preparations for upcoming regional tournaments.
endquote

Comments, questions to: mock.trial.society@dartmouth.edu
Vox clams,

Doug Simpson '70
DLA "Webster"

Mock Trial Society's 02-03 Season

The following was recently posted in the DLA Community Forum by Tina Catania '03, of the Dartmouth Mock Trial Society, and I wanted to share it in this venue as well.

Tina says:

Hello all!

I am writing to you on behalf of the Dartmouth Mock Trial Society. As we come to the end of our Fall term here at Dartmouth, we wanted to share with you our progress and accomplishments. However, first let me express, on behalf of the officer board and the society membership, our appreciation for your generous support. With the help of the Dartmouth Lawyers' Association, we have been able to start another exciting season, and we are hoping to grow and expand the reach of our society throughout the year.

(Read more ... )

We began the term by hosting the first ever Dartmouth Mock Trial Youth Conference held at Dartmouth for middle and high school students in New Hampshire. The event was co-sponsored by the Franklin Pierce Law Center's Social Justice program, and thanks largely to the work of the conference committee, chaired by Sean Miller '05, the event was a huge success. Over 60 students convened at Dartmouth on Sunday, Nov. 9th and the comments by all the participants and coaches were remarkably positive. This was the first time that an event of this sort was held in New Hampshire, and through a variety of workshops and seminars, we were able to share our skills and knowledge with the great group of kids that attended.

Experienced members of our society spent daysbefore the conference preparing worksheets and planning hour-long workshops that the students attended throughout the day. The workshops included Direct Examination, Cross Examination, Evidence, Speeches, and Witness Portrayal. Each workshop was co-taught by a pair of veterans on the team, and they used various videos, skits, and lecture-style presentations to teach the different tricks of the trade. Everyone put extraordinary amounts of work into making their handouts and planning their workshops.

The instructors were as follows:

Speeches - Gwen Carroll '04 and Stacy Kourlis '06
Evidence - Evan Mendelson '06 and Brian Pingree '04
Witnesses - Michael Ellis '06 and Alexa Hansen '04
Direct - Tina Catania '03 and Jeremy Presser '04
Cross - Dan Preysman '04 and Megan Hamilton '06

Special highlights include videos of various Dartmouth mock trial team members performing speeches that students watched and were able to critique. In addition, we showed various famous closings on film to help students learn. In the witness workshop, students worked on extemporaneous speaking and the tools necessary for being an outstanding witness. And in the evidence workshop, we showed clips from a past mock trial championship competition and had students identify objections as they went through the video.

Everything ran incredibly smoothly thanks in large part to an amazing team of people who planned and executed the camp. We appreciate the help and support of Sara Hudson '05 and Ali Amrhein '06 for their organization, and Colleen Wearn '06, Jed Sorokin-Altmann '05, Gwen Carroll '04, and Megan Hamilton '06, for extensive work beforehand.

In other, non-conference news, we had a great group of freshmen try out for the team this year and are looking forward to seeing this new talent shine at next term's Regional competitions. We had about 15 first-years come with us to the Yale tournament and everything went wonderfully. We will be posting a separate press release on this topic in the coming week for those that are interested.

On a final note, I invite you to visit our website to learn more about the mock trial conference, other events, and the society as a whole.
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~mtrial/

Thank you again for all your support and we will update you soon on our success at the Yale Invitational Tournament held this past weekend.

Tina Catania '03
Treasurer,
Dartmouth Mock Trial Society

Public Interest Job Openings, Courtesy Asa Tapley '02

Asa Tapley '02 sent the following to DLA V.P. Barbara Murphy '79, of Adduci, Mastriani and Schaumberg, who forwarded it. Published with Asa's permission. Job opening details are in the "Jobs, Speakers and Links" section of DLA's Community Forum.

I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and to pass on this information to the DLA's web master. And if there's a way to informally let alums (or other qualified individuals) know about these positions, all the better. These are outstanding opportunities for progressively minded lawyers interested in nonprofit, public interest work. Job descriptions, including contact information, are attached as Word enclosures (I'm not a contact for either position).

Attorney positions have opened up at two prestigious nonprofits with offices in Washington Public Citizen and Defenders of Wildlife. Deadlines are very soon.

(Read more ... )

Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization founded by Ralph Nader in 1971 (and headed since 1982 by Joan Claybrook) to represent consumer interests in Congress, the executive branch and the courts. Public Citizen's Litigation Group is a public interest law firm that specializes in federal health and safety regulation, consumer litigation, open government, union democracy, separation of powers and the First Amendment.
www.citizen.org <http://www.citizen.org/>

[Webster's note: More job details in DLA Community Forum.]

Defenders of Wildlife, one of the largest environmental nonprofits in the US, employs education, litigation, research, legislation and advocacy to defend wildlife and its habitat. Employing interdisciplinary teams of scientists, attorneys, wildlife specialists and educators, Defenders works to promote multi-faceted solutions to wildlife problems. Defenders has been highly involved in many important recent environmental struggles, including successfully pushing for the protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and helping prevent the weakening of the Endangered Species Act.
www.defenders.org <http://www.defenders.org/>

[Webster's note: Job details in DLA Community Forum.]

Thanks again for your help,

Asa Tapley '02

Michael Stern '59 received Granger Award for Public Service

Michael Stern (D'59) (T'60) was presented the Tucker Foundation's Granger Award in Dartmouth Hall on November 4. Mr. Stern is a graduate of New York University School of Law.

Read more ...

As president of the Big Wood Foundation, Michael and his wife have been active in supporting a number of social service organizations and providing scholarship funds for needy youngsters. The sponsorship of an "I Have a Dream" by the 1989 class led to the creation of the Graduate Achievement Program (GAP) in 1991.

The following year, Mr. Stern conceived the Youth Employment Summer (YES) program, an outgrowth of the Graduate Achievement Program, providing motivated high school juniors and seniors with professional summer internships. In 1994, Mr. Stern and fellow 1959 classmate C. Ferries played critical roles in the establishment of Dartmouth Partners in Community Service (DPCS).

In determining who should receive the Award, the Granger Award Selection Committee seeks a graduate whose commitment to public service illustrates leadership, innovation in meeting community needs and produces outcomes that benefit an underserved population. A nominee's service may be in either a voluntary or professional capacity. Consideration will also be given to the duration of the commitment and the extent to which it is un- or under-recognized through other channels.

More info at the website of the Tucker Foundation

Source: Dartmouth Press Release

Doug Simpson '70
Wethersfield, CT

Chris Toll '81 Elected Next DLA President

In recognition of hundreds of hours of volunteer service to DLA in organizing its winter Ski and CLE meetings, the Board of Directors has elected Christopher Toll '81 to be the next President of the Dartmouth Lawyers Association. Chris will succeed Al Moncure '69 when Al's two-year term ends with the annual meeting in the fall of 2004.

Chris is a business litigation partner in the Denver Tech Center office of Holland and Hart, the largest law firm in the Rocky Mountain region. Chris has been with Holland and Hart since 1987, and is currently the chair of the firm's Business Litigation Practice Group. His practice is a mix of general commercial litigation, trade secrets litigation, and personal injury defense.

At Dartmouth, Chris was an English major and spent his junior year at University College London in the department's foreign study program. He was a Big Brother for four years and a member of Phi Delta Alpha. He went to law school at the University of Virginia, where he was a member of the Editorial Board of the Law Review. Chris is married with 3 kids, the oldest two of whom now dust him on the ski slopes and have become regular attendees of the DLA Midwinter Meeting.

Doug Simpson '70
Vice President and Webster
Dartmouth Lawyers Association

Missouri Legal Aid Elects Tettlebaum '64

DLA member Harvey M. Tettlebaum (Dartmouth '64) has been elected Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of Legal Aid of Missouri Statewide Program, Inc. The corporation is the non-profit that funds Missouri Legal Aid, which provides pro-bono legal services involving housing, unemployment compensation, family, consumer, education, employment, health and other matters.

A 1968 graduate of Washington University School of Law, Atty. Tettlebaum is a Partner and member of the Health Law Pracice Group of Husch and Eppenberger, LLC, a 300-lawyer firm with nine offices in the Midwest and Mid-South. He has been active in local and national bar and community services for many years. He practices in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Full story at Husch and Eppenberger's website.

Doug Simpson '70
Vice President and "Webster"
Dartmouth Lawyers Association

David Russell '67 Speaks on IP Transfers to China

Atty. David Russell '67 of Bose McKinney and Evans LLP spoke on Intellectual Property Rights as part of an all-day seminar on Doing Business in China at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. His topic was "TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERS FROM THE U.S. TO THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA". Other participants included professors at Ball State and representatives of major international corporations and the Peoples Republic of China. More information about the program is available at Ball State's website on the conference.

David has kindly provided DLA with permission to publish the text of his remarks on our website in Microsoft Word format.
Click here to download Russell's speech.

If you have a speech or publication of potential interest to DLA members, please email DLA's "Webster," Doug Simpson, '70 at:
DougInHartford "at" Earthlink.net

Doug Simpson, Webster, DLA