The act of governing is an exercise of power. Part of the genius of the United States Constitution is that it does not place all the power in a single ruler, but distributes it across three branches – the legislative, which is Congress, the executive, which is the President and federal departments and agencies, and the judicial, which is the federal courts. This is what we call the separation of powers, a fundamental principle of American constitutionalism. And when we talk about checks and b...
When you hear the word “lawyer,” what adjectives come to mind? Obnoxious? Over-priced? Untrustworthy? Or maybe skillful? Smart? Respectable? How often when you think of lawyers do you think “loveable?” Danny Karon is a Cleveland-based lawyer who has branded himself as “Your Loveable Lawyer.” To know Danny is to know that that description works. More familiar to some of us as an accomplished class action lawyer who for years ably led the American Bar Association’s national institute on ...
In some courts, when a judge retires, their law clerks or others get together and pay an artist to paint the judge's official portrait. When the portrait is ready, there is a ceremony at the courthouse attended by the judge and the judge’s family, the judge’s clerks, other courthouse staff, and the judge’s friends and colleagues. After a number of speeches honoring the judge, the portrait is unveiled and guests stay to get a close up look at it, congratulate the honoree, and indulge in light ...
When a person becomes a lawyer, they take an oath. The oath is often administered in a formal bar admission ceremony. Each year in Massachusetts, many such ceremonies take place at historic Faneuil Hall. The new lawyers and their families hear speeches from judges and bar leaders, and the oath they are required to recite dates back to colonial times. Through it, they pledge to “do no falsehood, nor consent to the doing of any in court”; not to participate in the pursuit of “any false, groundl...
Running the Marathon: A Conversation with Tom Grilk Tom Grilk is a lawyer who began his career in private practice at a major Boston law firm, then worked as in-house counsel at several area tech companies, and, from 2011 until 2022, served as President and CEO of the Boston Athletic Association, the non-profit organization that runs the Boston Marathon. Tom was in that position on April 15, 2013, the day that two bombs exploded at the marathon, immediately killing three people and injuring ...
The phrase “The Rule of Law” is one we often hear and many of us invoke, but do we have a shared understanding of what it means? And even if we can arrive at a common definition, why does the Rule of Law matter? If it does matter, how well is it faring today in the tumultuous times in which we find ourselves? And where it needs to be defended, who are its champions? In this episode of Higher Callings, I talk with two champions of the Rule of Law, both of whom do that work through a nonp...
Renee Landers is a Professor of Law at Suffolk University Law School in Boston. She teaches Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Health Law, and Privacy Law, among other academic pursuits. She also has served in a number of other impressive positions, including a term as President of the Boston Bar Association and another as Chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice. Among her many volunteer activities, Professor Landers has played and co...
Lauren Stiller Rikleen is a force of nature. An accomplished lawyer and author, past President of the Boston Bar Association, and holder of several leadership positions in the American Bar Association, she now has her own leadership institute and serves as Executive Director of an organization of lawyers devoted to defending American democracy. Lauren also recently served as editor of an inspiring book, presenting the stories of 25 women judges, all of whom, like her, have received the ABA's ...
In February, I interviewed Boston IP attorney Chinh Pham, a former colleague of mine and current President of the Boston Bar Association. At the beginning of the interview, Chinh told me the remarkable story of his family’s rescue from Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in 1975 in the final days of the Vietnam War, and his recent renewed contact with the American naval personnel from the U.S.S. Duluth who rescued them. The February episode began in Chinh's adult years and explored his career as a ...
The American legal system is only as healthy as the lawyers and judges who populate it. Yet, the system as it’s structured places enormous stress on many of them, which not only affects their personal happiness and career satisfaction, but also can diminish the level of service they provide to their clients and the public who depend on them. In 2017, a National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being issued a groundbreaking report. The report found that the legal profession was falling short w...
Democracies are fragile things. Many of us who pay attention have watched democracies rise and fall. So far, American democracy has survived attempts to weaken it, but no one can guarantee its continued survival. Two of the pillars of democracy are a free press and an independent judiciary. Those pillars often are the first targets of world leaders who want to weaken their countries’ democracies and establish autocratic rule. It takes people with vision and courage to push back against anti-d...
Pro bono publico, a Latin phrase meaning “for the public good,” is most often associated with free legal services lawyers provide to people who need help but cannot afford to pay for it. No lawyer I know better reflects that commitment than Boston lawyer Susan M. Finegan, a Partner and Chair of the Pro Bono Committee of the Mintz law firm. In this episode of Higher Callings, I asked Sue about the pro bono work she and other Mintz lawyers perform. We also discussed a number of oth...
When Chinh Pham was 10 years old, he and his family, like thousands of others, fled the chaotic capital of what was then South Vietnam on the final day of the Vietnam War. They were rescued by the 7th Fleet of the U.S. Navy, and eventually landed in the United States, where they began a new life. Today, Chinh is a successful intellectual property lawyer in a large international law firm, and is at the midpoint of his one-year term as President of the Boston Bar Association, the first Asian Am...
Lawyers wear many hats. Some go into private practice, some into government service, and others represent the poor. Among those who choose courtroom work, some lawyers become prosecutors, some become criminal defense attorneys, and some become civil litigators. And of course, let’s not forget lawyers who become law school professors and those who become judges. Of all the lawyers I’ve known throughout my long career, few have excelled in as many areas as Karen Green. Coming out of Harv...
This episode is an abridged version of the previous episode, picking up the story from the time Professor Babcock entered academia, and quickly focusing on the fascinating and important work she and her students have done and continue to do in the African country of Malawi. You can learn more about Professor Babcock and the work of the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide here and here. You can read about the recent success of the Cornell Law School International Human Rights Clin...
Malawi is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa. It is one of the poorest countries in the world. Like many countries, Malawi still applies the death penalty for capital crimes, although the death penalty is no longer mandatory in capital cases and may be abolished entirely in Malawi soon. Several years ago, a law professor named Sandra Babcock took an interest in the Malawi penal system after seeing a New York Times article about horrific prison conditions there. Having spent muc...
Welcome to the new year! As we prepare for Season 4 of Higher Callings, we are pleased to offer this sampler of highlights from the five episodes of Season 3. We will be back soon with the new season, featuring more great guests from the world of law and other backgrounds who have dedicated their time and talents to the common good. Please enjoy this bonus episode and stay tuned for more to come in 2023! If you have enjoyed the Higher Callings podcast, you might also enjoy Don's Substack News...
As Higher Callings begins planning its next season, we’ve decided to post an excerpt from our very first episode. Don's guest was David Hoffman, founder of the mediation firm, the Boston Law Collaborative. After clerking for Justice Stephen Breyer when Justice Breyer was still a judge on the First Circuit Court of Appeals, David joined the venerable Boston law firm, Hill & Barlow. This month marks the 20th anniversary of that firm’s decision to dissolve, a decision that sent shock waves t...
Solomon Oliver is a United States District Judge based in Cleveland, Ohio. Born and raised in the segregated South, he moved north to attend college and, after years of working as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and teaching at both the college and law school levels, was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the federal bench in 1994. In this episode of Higher Callings, I talk with Judge Oliver about his childhood in Alabama during the early years of the civil rights era, his experience in...
What does it take to find our callings? Some people know their callings at an early age, some discover their callings as they progress through school and career, and others may find their true callings much later in life. Whether in search of a job that fulfills us or an opportunity to advance in the job we have, many of us need help to find our callings. That help often takes the form of a career coach who can listen, observe, and help shine a light on our own unique path. My long-time...