Louisville Law Examiner
Volume 15, Number 2
Pirtle Washer
Derrick Wilson, above,
prepares his argument for
the final round of the Pirtle
Washer Moot Court com­petition.
Wilson emerged
Oct. 13 in Allen
Courtroom. Judge Mike
McDonald, right, enters the
courtroom to preside.
Photos by Vincent Heuser
Chauvin
by Frank Dempsey
Managing Editor
Stan Chauvin graduated from the
University of Louisville School of Law
in 1961.
He's come a long way since then.
Chauvin worked as an Assistant
Commonwealth's Attorney before
moving into private practice. Now he's
a name partner at Alagia, Day,
Marshall, Mintrnire and Chauvin. He
also served as a Judge pro-tern and a
deputy Master Commissioner.
Elected president of the ABA in 1988,
Chauvin has also served as a member of
the Board of Governors and as a
member and chairman of the House of
Delegates.
"As I deal with people I get the
feeling that they wonder just how
somebody from Louisville, Kentucky is
president of the ABA. They're very
favorable toward it, but interested. I
haven't encountered anything other
than interest - no hostility or anything
like that," he said.
Serving the University of Louisville School of Law Community
Louisville, Kentucky - November 1989 Circulation 4,500
Family Law Seminar
Honors Petrilli Memory
by Catherine Morton Ward
Staff Writer
"A teacher's job is to open doors for
students through which they may pass
enriched." Professor Ralph S. Petrilli,
1918-1988.
The spirit of those words and the man
who expressed them continued to touch
the University of Louisville School of
Law as the Ralph S. Petrilli Seminar on
the Adversary System and Child
Custody was held on Sept. 15 in the
Allen Courtroom. Before an audience
which included members of Professor
Petrilli's family, seminar organizer Pro­fessor
Susan Kuzma introduced keynote
speakers Professor Robert J . Levy and
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Ellen B.
Ewing.
Both speakers addressed the
adversarial and mediative techniques in
child custody dispute resolution.
Professor Levy, the Dorsey & Whitney
Professor of Law at the University of
"mediative" and "adversary" divorce.
While citing studies that determine
mediation is better "because it
structures a future co-parenting
relationship rather than. adjudicates past
conduct," Prof. Levy questioned their
validity, noting that only individuals
with successfully mediated cases were
polled.
ABA President Reflects on Education Trends,
the Future, and Affectionately •.. His Alma Mater
"It's also been comforting that
there's not much a New York lawyer has
on me. I'm aNew York lawyer too, I'm
admitted to practice in New York.
There's a big boom in practice in
Florida, I'm admitted to practice in
Florida. I'm admitted to practice in the
District of Columbia," Chauvin
explained. "You just don't think of
ABA presidents corning from southern
cities like Louisville. I can almost feel
people wanting to ask sometimes 'How
the hell does he get to be president?' "
Chauvin credits his U of L experience
with some of his success. "The quality
of instruction at the U of L Law School
isn't surpassed anywhere," he said.
"When I was chairman ofthe House of
Delegates, - that's the body that
accredits law schools for the ABA, -
I would sign those accreditations. Well,
the University of Louisville matches up
with any of them."
"I know this sounds perverse, but I
enjoyed law school, mostly because of
the friends I had. It's tough because
you're trying to learn something you
haven't experienced," he said. "Most
people haven't spent much time in jail,
have never been involved in any big
transaction or injured in a tort case nor
testified in a criminal action. So it's
these concepts that are hard to grasp."
Chauvin also had kudos for his law
professors. "The faculty were just great
... great teachers. We. used to have a lot
of fun with Professor (Otis) Doby. His
theory of the federal government was
that it had the authority to maintain a
modest army, guard the shores and
deliver the mail, and other than that, it
shouldn't have much power," he said.
"I was in the first class that Professor
Larry Knowles taught. He taught us
future interests and always said that if
you thought you understood it, you
didn't and should come talk to him. Jim
Merritt taught Torts and no finer
professor ever entered the classroom,"
Chauvin said.
(continued on page 7)
Responding to critics of the
adversarial system, he contended that it
can produce the desired results while ·
minimizing the emotional impact of the
parties. Levy sees the ultimate answer to
lie neither in mediation nor removal of
the problem from the adversarial arena,
but rather in "aquainting lawyers to a
humanistic way of practicing law to help
ameliorate problems of divorce." In this
light, attorneys need to teach their
clients to "differentiate anger from the
legal issues," he said. Levy concluded
that a ''large part of the momentum for
mediation is that judges don't know
what to do about custody matters."
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Ellen
B. Ewing, the second keynote speaker,
(continued on page 4)
Ron Hines
'87 Alumnus
Takes Case to
National T.V.
by Curtis Thornhill
Staff Writer
Recently a graduate of the
University of Louisville Law School
found himself in the national
spotlight. Ron Hines, 1987,
represented Sandra and Walter
Meredith in a criminal suit in Hardin
County. Walter Meredith suffered
·from secondary infertility and in an
effort to have children his wife
Sandra had sex with a fifteen year old
boy. The efforts were unsuccessful,
but they did come to the attention of
the state Cabinet for Human
(continued on page 4)
Louisville Law Examiner
EDITORIAL BOARD
Vincent F. Heuser, Jr.
Editor-in-Chief
John Kuhn
Day Associate Editor
Karla Kinderman
Brandeis Brief Editor
Maureen Kemme
Catherine Morton Ward
Larry Cook
Jim Barrett
Eric Salthe
Erin Brown
STAFF
Frank Dempsey
Managing Editor
Deborah Patterson
Night Associate Editor ·
Susan Roncarti
Photography Editor
Curtis Thornhill
Maureen Thomas
Brad Freeman
.Steve Waltrip
Rebecca Carr
Professor LAURENCE C. KNOWLES, Consultant
Professor RONALD EADES, Consultant
The Louisville Law Examiner is published six times during the academic
year in the interest of the University of Louisville School of Law community.
Articles are invited from faculty members, students, and members of the
bar who wish to do freelance work. Any proposed article should be cleared
with the Editor as to topic and length.
Address all communications to The Louisville Law Examiner, School of
Law, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky 40292. Phone: (502)
588-6399.
Editorial
Pocketbook Consumerism Works!
by Vince Heuser
Editor in Chief
If you want freedom, you had better
learn to behave responsibly. You've
heard that before, but have you
considered what it means? It means you
don't drive drunk, right? That's correct.
You get a gold star - but, if you want
extra credit, you had better think
harder.
Our American world is based on
economics. Our social structure depends
on it. Our entertainment depends on it.
Economics touches every aspect of our
lives. If you want to live in a world that
suits your taste, you had better learn
consumer responsibility.
Consumer responsibility means
knowing what your dollar will be
supporting and taking that information
into account in your consumer
decisions. If you hand over your money
to a merchant but the merchant is
dumping toxic waste into your drinking
water, then your behavior is not only
irresponsible, it is ignorant.
When the Miller Brewing Company
puts out advertising inserts on college
campuses promoting drunken orgies for
college students, the company is acting
irresponsibly. When you buy Miller
products, YOU promote alcohol abuse.
Education in this country is bad enough
without Miller Beer, supported by
unthinking consumers, tearing it down
further. Adolph Coors, on the other
hand, donates money to colleges and
keeps the advertising free of the "get
drunk" mentality.
We all know there are problems with
our public schools. If you watched the
five part PBS documentary on
education in America, you probably
know a little more. Chrysler Motors
sponsored the series. If you want to be
informed in this world, you'll keep that
in mind when you buy your next car.
After all, that half dressed girl who says
Chevrolet is "hot" may not be a
mechanical engineer.
Your money does more than buy you
a beer or a car. It goes to people who
support PBS and higher education. It
goes to the people who think higher
education is a four-year stupor.
----Letters to the Editor----
Social responsibility does not defy the
capitalist system; it is a more intelligent
participation. You get a certain amount
of satisfaction from the things you buy.
If not you wouldn't buy them. Social
responsibility is the broader view that
accounts for the indirect benefits of
purchasing one product over another.
An indirect benefit of buying a Chrysler
car is that PBS will host educational
shows.
To the Editor: G.B. Tanner, Director of Financial Aid
-----PVl,an t-uden t-h lJniveFsity ef--,~ministration, and-were-addressed in
Louisville have had bizarre experiences his letter to me.
in dealing with the Financial Aid office. We suggested that the law school
Even those students who begin the F.A. provide special financial aid services to
process at the earliest time will find their law students. These services are
aid checks arriving long after tuition is currently in place at the Schools of
due and oftentimes long after the Medicine and Dentistry. Mr. Tanner
semester has begun! These delays are a responded that "the Deans of those
serious inconvenience to those students schools have identified a staff member
who must pay rent, purchase books, from their offices who has been
food, permits, insurance and other appointed as an adjunct financial aid
essentials. office." This person would serve the
Along with several other students, I function of the F.A. office and has been
drafted a letter to Dr. Dennis Golden, successful in streamlining the F.A.
Vice President for Student Affairs at U process at the Schools of Medicine and
of L, discussing the problems Dentistry. Mr. Tanner suggests that the
encountered by many students as well as students interested in such services
possible solutions to the present should discuss the possibility of im-situation.
These are some of the plementing this service with the law
problems outlined in that letter: school.
-The virtual impossibility of We also suggested implementation of
receiving aid before the beginning of the recorded messages to handle many
semester regardless of when the student simple F .A. questions thus leaving F .A.
begins the F.A. process. personnel free to answer more
-Inconsistent and/or incorrect subjective questions more expeditious-documentation
by F.A. personnel. This ly. Mr. Tanner has agreed to "request
not only requires forms to be redone but staff from Telecommunications to
adds to the delay in the F.A. process. reevaluate the system and make
-Delays in loan processing due to suggestions for changes." Tanner
placement of inexperienced staff in especially liked the suggestion to use
processing positions during peak times. recorded messages and stated that he has
-Seriously inadequate telephone submitted a request for a touch-tone
services resulting in delays of 5 to 10 voice response system which will give
minutes before students can speak to (F.A.) this capability.
F .A. personnel about even the simplest He went on to explain that budget
of questions. cuts, increased student need, and
-Delays in gettir.g checks to the mandatory reliance on part-time student
office from the time they reach the workers are the primary reasons for the
university due to an alleged 3 to 5 day delays and misinformation occurring in
turnaround time for checks to get F .A. He stated that F .A. "has been
from the mailroom to Financial Aid. trying to obtain funds for additional
A list of possible solutions to these permanent staff for years and will try
problems was also included in this again this year." He also stated that
letter. These solutitms were reviewed by F .A. ''took a budget cut of $11 ,000 this
year in personnel and has experienced
an increase of approximately 1,000
students needing assistance."
In general, the administration has
exhibited a receptive attitude to
constructive criticism and thoughtful
suggestions. Students who feel as
though the F .A. process can be
improyed by these suggestions should
follow up by talking with Mr. Tanner
and/o.r the law school Dean. Perhaps
the easiest way for law students to avoid
the pitfalls presently existing in the F .A.
process would be to implement a
program similar to that in existence at
the Schools·of Medicine and Dentistry.
Many of the students who have been
most vocal of the problems with
financial aid are 3L's. This problem
could most effectively be solved by those
students who will return in the fall or by
law faculty possessing a genuine concern
for law students and an understanding
of the intense pressure placed on law
students aside from the economic
pressures resulting from F .A. delays.
So, whatever your social complaint,
if y ducate o w
companies are the source of the
problem, then you can keep the money
from causing your problems. That is
your economic benefit. If you do not
know where your money goes then you
are part of the problem.
The process works. Witness the
phenomenal success of The American
Family Association in convincing
sponsors to withdraw advertising from
indecent/ offensive television. The
television industry has cried foul because
sponsors could not resist the boycotts
and flood of letters resulting from AF A
publicity.
The age of consumer responsibility
has arrived. Various groups have
boycotted successfully against
everything from vegetables produced by
migrant workers to sofe core
pornography on broadcast television.
They know that if you want to be heard,
you must keep in mind the bottom line.
Money talks.
Professor Nowka's class is in the dark in Contracts I. Power was out on the Belknap
Campus for several hours Oct. 26.
Kinoy Attacks
Recent Civil
Rig·hts Rulings
by Greg Troutman
Staff Writer
Arthur Kinoy, Distinguished
Professor of Law at Rutgers and a
renowned Civil Rights lawyer, spoke
before about 30 people on Oct. 18
concerning Strageties for Affirmative
Action.
Phon-a-buck
The annual Law School Alumni
Phon-A-Thon was held Oct. 16 and 17.
As state funds became more scarce,
alumni contributions become more
important each year for the law school
and the entire university. These
contributions support functions such as
moot count competitions, orientation,
graduation and scholarships at the
discretion of the Dean. Volunteers came
from many graduating classes and
included Judge Samuel Steinfeld,
Richard Trautwein, Rita Williams and
For nearly an hour, Professor Kinoy many others.
held the audience captive as he
attacked the conservative wing of the
Supreme Court for its recent retreat on
Civil Rights issues. Professor Kinoy's
main concern lies in, what he phrases as
"a constitutional crisis which has
emerged in the 1980's." Six recent
Supreme Court decisions were cited
from which Professor Kinoy expressed
Dean Pulls Grade Profiles from Library
the feeling ''that the Court had by Lawrence W. Cook Lou Zimmerman stated that many
carried Civil Rights back to post- Staff Writer students have expressed concern and
Civil War times by burying and Students may no longer inspect grade displeasure with the discontinuance of
betraying the War-time amendments." distri·buti·ons of I·ndi"vidual courses the pol1"cy ' and that some students
The foundation for Kinoy's argument and instructors following a decision believe that they have a right of
was this summer's decision in City of made in August by Dean Barbara Lewis. accessibility to the grade profiles.
Richmond v. Croson, which declared Prior to students returning for fall Neither of the University's two other
unconstitutional an Affirmative Action classes, the Dean discontinued the professional schools, Dentistry and
ordinance establishing minority quotas school's policy of making grade profiles Medicine, nor the Graduate School,
for city contracts. The argument was available to students at the reserve desk have ever had a comparable policy of
carried further in analyzing the decisions of the law library. The profiles were making grade profiles available for
in Wards Cove Packing v. Atonio, composites of the grades given by each student inspection.
which re uires an establishm n professor for the courses instructed Kentucky's two other law schools the
~~~10~n~a~~~s~c:;n~rru~n~a~tl~o~n~m~o~r~d~e~r ~t~o~-mrnnr.!l"trm"~nn!tn!!n~~r':". ------"Uin1iiitvv:eerrss1Ity o entucky and the Chase
base a claim, Martin v. Wilks, which In explaining her reasons for discon- School of Law at Northern Kentucky
allowed whites to challenge minimum tinuing the policy, Dean Lewis says the
University, both have somewhat
comparable policies whereby students
have access to the grades conferred by
particular professors. At the University
of Kentucky, randomly assigned
examination numbers and their
respective grades are posted for each
class, while Chase permits student access
to the grade distributions of each
professor.
According to Zimmerman, he has
been discussing the possibility of the
S.B.A. providing student access to grade
profiles with Dean Lewis. No decision
has been reached on the proposal.
racial quotas for Birmingham policy served no other basis than to
firefighters eight years after the fact, promote what she termed "grade Fernandez Receives Harold Adams Award
and Lorance v. A. T.&T. Technologies, shopping'' - discovering which
in which the Court reversed itself by professors tended to award higher
refusing to allow a group of women to grades and enrolling in their courses.
challenge a seniority provision six The Dean stated that a decision to select
years after its adoption. But perhaps the one professor over another based on
most important decision cited was varying grading habits and tendencies
Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, in which the profiles may seem to indicate
which the Court considered the reversal is an inappropriate one, and that the
of the Runyon decision. The sentiment school as an institution should not foster
in opposition was such that the any policy that might encourage the
majority in Patterson retreated. decision to enroll in courses made on
Professor Kinoy believed the lesson that basis.
learned from Patterson was of major When asked whether her decision
importance, in that it shows that the might remove an objective, unbiased
Court is swayed by public sentiment source of information from students'
concerning important issues. From this, consideration in deciding which courses
Kinoy gave advise to lawyers both to take, and thus perhaps causing them
present and future that they "have a to rely more on opinions of other
responsibility to be teachers about what students (via student evaluations or
is happening around us and organize professors) and rumor, the Dean
mass support to overcome it., reiterated that she could think of no
other reason the grade profiles served
than to promote grade shopping. The
The Law Examiner staff is compiling
past issues of the Law Examiner to be
bound in a reference volume. We have
all of the prior issues but one. If you
have a copy of Volume 3, Number 1 of
the Louisville Law Examiner with which
you are willing to part, please send it to
the Louisville Law Examiner, School of
Law, University of Louisville,
Louisville, KY 40292.
Dean further stated that reliance on
profiles from only one past semester is
misleading because grades vary from
year to year, and that occasionally, one
class does not perform as well as a class
in the past might have.
University of Louisville School of
Law faculty members were recently
asked in an anonymous survey whether
they agreed or disagreed with the Dean's
decision. Of the nine responses
returned to the Law Examiner office,
five disagreed with the decision, three
were in favor, and one was undecided.
Student Bar Association President
by Shawn M. Herron
Staff Writer
Fourth year evening law student
Maria Fernandez received one of the
first Harold Adams Awards on Oct. 10
at a ceremony given by the Student
Government Association.
This award, named for the late
Harold Adams of the student affairs
office, is given only to non-traditional
students. Fernandez explained that the
award is tailored for students that have
completed one or more degrees and have
returned to the university for further
education, while balancing family and
work obligations and remaining
involved in student leadership.
Fernandez completed a Master's in
Accounting at the University of Miami
in Florida. She has a 16-month-old
daughter, Raquel, and is presently clerk­ing
for Taustine, Post, Sotsky, Berman,
Fineman & Kohn. Previously, she was
self-employed as a consultant in
tax and management for small
businesses. Fernandez is also the
Student Bar Association night vice
president.
Harold Adams graduated the Univer­sity
of Louisville School of Law in 1974.
Dean Applications Sought
The University of Louisville School of
Law is accepting nominations and
applications for the position of Dean.
Candidates must hold a J.D. or LL.B.
degree with an excellent academic record
and have experience in the legal
· profession. This latter may be
evidenced by law teaching, advanced
degrees, scholarly writing, law
practice, judicial experience, or other
similar activities. Candidates should
offer evidence of administrative and
leadership capabilities, interest in
community affairs, and dedication to
the organized bar. Candidates must
qualify for tenure at the University of
Louisville.
The University of Louisville School of
Law is a state-supported ABA/ AALS
accredited law school located in a
metropolitan area with a population of
approximately one million.
Please send nominations and
applictions by Jan. 15, 1990 to:
Ms. Carolyn Cochran.
Law Dean Search Committee
Office of the University Provost
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY 40292
The University of Louisville is an
Affirmative Action - Equal Op­portunity
Employer.
CLE Focuses on Effective Appellate Advocacy
by Timothy Buckley
"Each educational year, every person
licensed to practice in this Com­monwealth,
not exempted, shall
complete a minimum of fifteen credit
hours in continuing legal education
activities approved by the (Continuing
Legal Education) Commission."
Supreme Court Rule 3.665(1) (1987)
involve an important public question, or
a matter of judicial policy.
The next speaker, Judge Michael
McDonald of the court of appeals,
spoke on effective brief writing and
effective oral advocacy. Since an
appellate brief obtains only a few
minutes of the judge's undivided
attention, it must be presented to
maximize its effectiveness. First,
following the requirements of the Civil
Rules for form and content is a must.
Also, Judge McDonald stressed the
importance of careful legal writing and
visual aids in making the brief more
effective. A well written brief that is also
presented in a visually appealing
manner adds force, clarity and emphasis
to the argument.
Judge McDonald also spoke on
effective oral advocacy. He noted that
the court of appeals, unlike the supreme
court, is a "hot" court. This means that
the court has fully reviewed the case
before the oral arguments. Often, a
preliminary draft of the opinion already
has been written. Oral arguments in the
court of appeals serve to reinforce the
briefs and to clarify the issues. A firm
knowledge of the issues and of the court
can improve the focus of the argument.'
On Friday, Oct. 6, 1989, over 50
attorneys and a number of law students
gathered in the Allen Courtroom to
attend a Continuing Legal Education
(CLE) seminar on Effective Appellate
Advocacy. The University of Louisville
School of Law and the Louisville Bar
Foundation co-sponsored the seminar,
which met four credit hours toward the
Kentucky CLE requirements. The guest
speakers were: George Fowler, Jr.,
Chief Staff Attorney with the Kentucky
Court of Appeals: Justice Charles
Leibson of the Kentucky Supreme
Court; and Judge Michael McDonald of
the Court of Appeals. Robert C.
Hobson of the firm of Woodward,
Hobson and Fulton introduced the
seminar and the speakers. The seminar
concluded with a mock appellate argu­ment
by Joe Savage of Lexington and
John Ballentine of Louisville.
AIUDIDUS __________________________ _
The first speaker, George Fowler, Jr.,
spoke on the problems and requirements
of finality of judgments. Unless a
judgment or order disposes of all claims
in an action, no appeal can be taken
from it. An attempted appeal on an
order that is not final can prove
disastrous. As a fruitless appeal
proceeds through the courts, the
judgment may later become final and
the time for appeal may pass. Fowler
also discussed the effect of finality in
certain specialized areas.
The seminar was privileged to have as
its next speaker Justice Charles Leibson
of the Kentucky Supreme Court. He
discussed obtaining discretionary review
in the supreme court. Unlike the court
of appeals, the supreme court fulfills an
"institutional" function as well as an
error correcting function. When seeking
discretionary review by the supreme
court, the moving party must show a
special reason why the court should
review the case. The reason should
(continued from page 1)
Resources. The Merediths were charged
with six felony counts each, and were
facing up to 120 years in prison. With
only two years of experience, Ron took
on what appeared to be a lost cause.
"Did a Radcliff couple trade room
and board for sex?" That was one local
news program's approach to the case.
Hines immediately went to work on the
local press and even the national media
to calm the sensationalism. This
culminated Oct. 5, with an appearance
by the Merediths and Hines on "Sally
Jesse Raphael." There was visible
sympathy for the Merediths and their
situation, while Hines received
applause for doing much of the work
pro bono. Having stemmed the flood of
damaging press he was still confronted
with the charges themselves.
The essence of one defense was the
assertion that the statues recognized
emancipation for females but not males
and thereby violated the equal
protection clause of the fourteenth
amendment. He also asserted that the
statutes were void for vagueness. By the
time "Sally Jesse Raphael" aired on
local TV, the prosecution dropped ten
charges and the Merediths pled guilty to
one misdemeanor and one felony
charge. Sandra received twelve months
probation and Walter was sentenced to
one year with the possibility of shock
probation after 30 days.
Hines graduated only two years ago,
but worked towards trial practice from
the day he entered the University of
Louisville. He enrolled in every trial
Clayton Receives Staff A ward
by Steve Waltrip
Staff Writer
U of L School of Law staff member
Rita Clayton was recently given the
Outstanding Performance Award for
extraordinary work as a university staff
member. Out of about 2,500 staff
members and approximately 120
nominations, Ms. Clayton was one of
only 22 University of Louisville staff
members to receive this prestigious
award.
This is the sixth year the Outstanding
Performance Award has been given in
exceptional administrators, staff
members, and Affirmative Action ad­vocates.
Recipients are given a $1,000.00
bonus and a plaque for meritorious
service.
In addition to her regular
responsibilities, Ms. Clayton has
volunteered for many other tasks. These
include assisting faculty members with
new computer applications, as well as
her invaluable assistance with the mock
trial competition for the School of Law.
Among the attributes the School of
Law faculty noted in their nearly
unanimous vote for Ms. Clayton were
her positive attitude, her willingness to
do both regular responsibilites and
additional tasks, her efficiency and
excellent work product, and her
initiative to help others.
practice and related course he could,
attended seminars on the subject, and
watched tapes of prominent national
trial attorneys. In addition, he served on
the Law Examiner as an associate editor
and was president of the Student Trial
Lawyers Association. He also spent two
years as a clerk for another prominent
trial attorney and U of L graduate,
Larry Franklin, '67.
After graduation, Ron avoided the
larger more established firms, and opted
instead for a two partner firm that
handled very little trial work. This gave
him the chance to go straight into the
courtroom and he took full advantage
of the opportunity.
This is a career path Ron recommends
to all aspiring trial lawyers. Instead of
sitting in the library for a year, then
three or four more in the second seat,
you will find yourself in a courtroom
within months. The pay is low at first,
but with time and effort, you quiekly
make up the difference.
Se01inar ______________ (continued from page 1)
offered a different perspective on both
the impact of the adversarial approach
and the effectiveness of mediation. She
pointed out the inherent dilemmas for
attorneys in adversarial situations,
including the use of custody as leverage
in financial disputes, and ethical
conflicts between zealous representation
and best interests of the child.
According to Judge Ewing, the
"winner- loser" aspect of the adver­sarial
system creates permanent
emotional scars for many of the parties
involved, particularly for children
unwillingly interjected into such
proceedings.
To avoid this situation, Judge Ewing
urges the use of a family counseling
expert in a mediative role. The
mediator, usually a mental health
professional who has expertise in
Rita Clayton
interviewing children, is able to utilize
a variety of techniques in gathering
information relevant to makin a
determination as to the best interests of
the child. With the recommendation of
the expert available, the judge fashions
the custody decision, a process that can
be completed in a matter of months
rather than a year or more necessary to
hear and make a decision in an
adversarial proceeding. Additionally the
child is no longer subjected to an
appearance in a negative environment
before a judge who may be untrained in
dealing with children, thus decreasing
the potential for detrimental effects.
While advocating the use of
professional mediators in the area of
child custody disputes, Judge Ewing
indicated that mediation should
generally be limited to that issue in
divorce cases because without zealous
partisan representation and utilization
of discovery, parties could suffer
irreparable harm. Citing the example of
a housewife whose husband's business
and financial holdings might remain
undisclosed in mediation, Judge Ewing
acknowledged the need for adversarial
techniques in some cases.
Following the comments of the
keynote speakers, continued discussion
of a variety of family law issues
occurred in a panel discussion
moderated by U of L Professor Robert
Stenger. Panel participants, in addition
to Professor Levy and Judge Ewing,
included U of L Professor Kathleen
Bean; Nancy Fox, Program Supervisor,
Child Protective Services; Don Gulick,
Esq., McCoy, Gathright, Hardy &
Banks and Adjunct Professor; Larry
Raskin, Ph. D., Clinical Psychologist;
and Vern Rickert, Coordinator of
Training and Consultation Program,
Family and Children's Agency.
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Curtis Thornhill checks the list of career
night representatives.
Charles Batson and Gina Calvert discuss career possibilities with a representative.
Career Daze
Employers Present Students Wide
Variety of Job Alternatives
by Lawrence W. Cook
More than 40 employers from around
the region gathered at the School of Law
to meet with students during annual
Career Night on Wednesday, Sept. 27.
The event was sponsored by the Law
School Placement Office in an effort to
allow graduates to learn more about
particular employers and their respective
areas of practice.
The employers attending Career Night
represented a broad spectrum of fields
of practice, ranging from law firms of
various sizes, to government (local,
state, and federal), to in-house cor­porate
counsel.
Joe Tobin, a 1989 U of L School of
Law graduate represented the Trust
Department of Liberty National Bank.
He encouraged students interested in in­house
corporate practice with a bank,
to either clerk in the bank they are
interested in, or to obtain experience
with banking law in a private firm, and
then laterally transfer to that bank.
''Trust is an area of banking that
interested students can probably go right
into when they're just out of law
school,'' Tobin advised an interested
law student-. However, he added, the
legal departments of most banks, as well
as those of many corporations in
general, will not hire a student who is
just out of law school. Tobin credits his
current position with Liberty partly as
!l '\· ll' 11... ~'.
ll. i ' ! i
-.J
a result of an interview
officia uring a Car~r veral
years ago.
During the course of the evening,
approximately 50 students spoke with
Bill Campbell, another recent U of L
graduate, and Monica Wheatley, both
of whom represented the U.S .
Attorney's Office in Louisville .
Wheatley and Campbell explained that
work with the U.S. Attorney offers
several advantages , perhaps most
notably the experience that can be
gained from practice in the federal
courts, which includes bringing appeals
before the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of
Appeals.
Placement Office Director Phyllis
Leibson strongly encouraged students to
follow-up on the contacts they made on
Career Night.
Rob Eggert explains the Public Defender's office to Kathy Metzler.
Louis Waterman of Goldberg & Simpson explains sports law to interested
Staff photos by Frank Dempsey students.
.Chauvin-------
(continued from page 1)
"Dean Russell taught Criminal Law
and Criminal Procedure. He had a
perfect way of putting the facts in your
mind, so that 10 years later you'd be
trying a case and you could go back and
hear him explaining the law," he said.
Chauvin, who attended the University
of Kentucky" as an undergraduate,
decided to come to U of L to study the
law. He says he's glad he made the
switch.
"The reason I came to Louisville Law
School was that I knew Dean Russell,
and I had such an enormous respect for
him that I picked U of L. I think there's
something to be said for changing,
too," he explained.
But things have changed since he was
taking Torts and Property. "There's no
question in my mind that law school is
immeasurably more competitive now
than when I went to law school," he
said. "When I went to law school, it was
really laid back, we spent a lot of time
talking about the law with professors
and other students," he said.
And there are a lot more people
studying law now. "The numbers didn't
even approach the number of students
today. I'd be surprised if there were
more than 200 people in the entire law
school at that time. The vast
majority were law students because they
wanted to take the bar and practice law.
There are so many more law students
today, and they're going into wider
areas," Chauvin said.
"At that time, there were about 20
people in Louisville looking for a
position, compared to what it's like
now. I'm not saying there are too many
lawyers, I don't believe that. I think
people who say that, say it without
looking at the entire picture,'' Chauvin
explained.
"Law schools just boomed in the
mid-sixties. There started to be more
demand for things that required
lawyers - things like bond issues and
takeovers, that sort of thing," he said.
"Also at that time, practice was so
much different. We used carbon paper
and manual typewriters. The biggest
firm in town had about 17 people. There
were about 800 lawyers here then," he
said.
Chauvin is also concerned about how
law schools prepare students to practice.
''If the mission of law schools is just to
get people past the bar examination, we
could do without them. I would like to
see law schools continue to inculente
into students the obligation for public
service. I think they're doing it."
"You know, people talk about young
lawyers not knowing where the
courthouse is," Chauvin said. "If
you're not practicing you don't really
need to know, you're not going over
there. I didn't know back then. If you
just want somebody who knows how to
go to the courthouse and do tricks, well,
you don't have to have a lawyer to do
that."
"But if I were to make a suggestion,
it wouldn't be as much with the law
school itself as with some techniques.
Maybe greater writing requirements, or
a greater emphasis on jurisprudence.
You can learn torts, you can learn trial
procedure, and that's fine, but is there
somewhere in that jurispr-udential
background that you should learn the
general nature of liability? Just what
should we be liable for?"
"When students ask me what to do
for the summer, I suggest doing
construction work and reading two good
novels. Because you need to learn the
turn of a phrase. Again, it's hard to
impress on a student just how important
this craftsmanship is," he said.
''Articulating arguments is a difficult
thing. You don't just get out the last
brief. It's not as simple as that."
"Counseling clients - How do you
talk to a client and just say to him 'Look
you got probably one of the greatest
problems you'll ever face, but there's
nothing that the courthouse can do for
you. Let me suggest this ... ' That kind
of a hands on approach. I know the
answer is that you can't learn it until
you've experienced it- you can't learn
how to deal with a client until you've
had a client," he said.
"We may be at the point of looking
at areas of concentration in law school.
I don't see how a lawyer can handle an
anti-trust case if the lawyer doesn't have
a pretty definite understanding of
accounting, of economics, of business
trends," Chauvin said. "It gets back to
an argument that's been going on for
God knows how long about cross­discipline.
I've never been much for this
cross-discipline. idea. But I've been
wondering if in law school, if it really
would be abusive to a law student to
have to spend some time with an
economics professor, or with an
accounting professor or psychology
professor."
But Chauvin had only compliments
for today's students. "People in law
school now are bright. They are the
result of a process where only the bright
ones get into law school. When I went
to law school it was the other way
around. Damn near anybody could go,
but very few got out," he said.
Bridging the gap between law school
and law practice is a primary area of
concern for Chauvin. "I anticipate that
there will be more interest from the
practicing bar in law students than there
has been in the past," Chauvin said.
''When I was in law school, we really
didn't get too involved in the profession
until we were admitted to practice. I'd
say it was more formal. We'd talk about
getting above the line in the list of
partners," he said.
"I've often said you can divide your
career into about three segments. One
of them is when you get out of law
school, the other is when you pass the
bar exam, and the other is when
somebody you've called by their first
name gets elected as a judge. After that
nothing much happens. You can sit
there arguing and think, 'Gee, I had
contracts with this guy and he's telling
me what the law is?' "
"There's a concept in some other
countries where you graduate, then
work in a law firm, actually practicing,
and this is called articling, and you
article for a certain length of time and
you're paid. If you get over your
articling, then you're called to the bar,"
he said.
"It will never be quite like that in this
country but I think there will be broader
Stan Chauvin
bridge the gap programs from law
students to lawyers. It's never been the
fault of law schools, it's just the
profession, the practice changed so fast
that before those in practice realized we
needed to go back and be mentors for
people it was too late and we missed a
couple of generations."
Chauvin is also trying to increase the
number of minorities practicing law. "I
think we still need to bring minorities
into the profession. We're working hard
but there aren't enough minorities
practicing law in the-mainstream firms.
That's true not only in Louisville, but
for example on the west coast there is
a great need for Asians," Chauvin said.
"A big problem is you can't have a
rapport with a client if you don't speak
their language. They need more
Vietnamese, more Asians, more
Hispanics. Time will take care of it, but
it's something we need to give time a
push on, to get these people into the
mainstream of the profession."
''We have a commission on minorities
and it's working closely with firms both
majority and minority firms. In this
program, a majority firm works in
partnership with a minority firm. The
larger firm can lay some work off onto
the minority firm, and the smaller firm
can take on ·projects that would
normally be too large for it."
"Some of the large companies are
requiring that minorities must be
involved in the work that's done. It's
also a question of numbers. There's
always going to be more black, brilliant
people than the law schools can hold.
We just have to hope that we can
continue to attract people who look at
law as a profession."
But Chauvin thinks the future holds
change for the legal profession. "The
practice of law is changing, and it's
going to change between now and the
end of the century. Litigation has
gotten to the point that many big
companies are not satisfied with the
traditional court system. They're hiring
retired judges to arbitrate, they're
going to alternative dispute resolution
systems," Chauvin said. "I would not
be at all surprised if we would see some
new federal and state legislation that
would require people to try arbitration,
or some other system before they would
have a cause of action in a court."
''The complexity of lawsuits is such
now that is questionable whether a judge
can devote the time to a case that's
required and do justice to all his other
cases and whether a jury can
comprehend these massive matters and
fact situations."
But he's still concerned
about the future of the practice of law.
"I think the future of the profession is
bright. I think good people are coming
into the profession, that lawyers are
conscious of social needs. I think
lawyers are willing to do their share. I
think lawyers are probably more aware
right now of the concept of profes­sionalism
vis 'a vis competence of a
lawyer," Chauvin said. "I get more mail
than you would believe on CLE (Conti­nuing
Legal Education). I used to get it
complaining about having to do it, but
now people want tougher and more
intense courses."
Chauvin wants to make sure that new
attorneys get a good grounding in public
service. "It never entered my mind when
I got out of law school not to devote a
significant portion of my career to
public service," he said.
"I think the law school has always
had a mission of public service, public
endowment, and pro bono cases. Dean
Russell would always tell us that if you
got a good criminal case with a paying
client you should take an appointment
for someone who couldn't pay. That
was when you could stand in court and
take a life sentence by yourself."
''Firms now have a social conscience.
A lot of law firms around the country
are just signing over a couple of lawyers
to work for the public defenders office
for a year or two and picking up the
tab."
"I don't think the profession's held
in the contempt most people think it is.
Most of the studies I've seen show that
people like their own lawyer, they thing
their own lawyers competent, capable,
able, reasonable," he said. "It's the
other one. Well, hell, who's supposed
to like somebody that's trying to wipe
you out? It comes with the turf."
''I think that some of the things I hear
so much occur due to client expecta­tions.
A client comes in and expects to
get a zillion dollars out of something or
just to get it solved that afternoon. And
it doesn't work that way. The expecta­tions
of the client have to be pretty well
tempered, and it's up to the lawyer to
do that."
Through it all, Chauvin has kept close .
ties to his alma mater, and he gives it
a great deal of credit. "I don't think
there's anybody who thinks more of the
U of L Law School than I do. The U of
L Law School has been very much a part
of my life. I've been involved with it
ever since I graduated. My classmates
and I have remained very close. I've
always been very, very proud of my
association with U of L," he said.
Placement Office Programs Expand Student Access to Employers
by Lawrence W. Cook
Staff Writer
The University of Louisville School of
Law Placement Office has recently
expanded student access to prospective
employers through a variety of
programs.
The number of employers
participating in on-campus interviews
has increased from 13 when the program
frrst started in 1981, to 35 this fall.
While many of the employers are
situated in the immediate local area,
many others are located in surrounding
states, including Ohio, Indiana,
Tennessee, and West Virginia.
One of the firms joining the ranks of
employers visiting the law school this
year is Jones, Askew, & Lunsford. This
Atlanta-based firm, which practices
patent and intellectual property work,
interviewed with interested students on
Oct. 17. Jones, which participated in the
Mid-South Law Placement Consortium
last year, expressed interest in resumes
submitted by several U of L students,
and in fact went on to hire one student.
Another Atlanta-based firm,
Constangy, Brooks, & Smith, which
practices labor and employment law,
was represented by U of L School of
Law alumnus Michael Shershin ('64).
"We are attracted to U of L because its
continuing legal education program in
labor law enjoys such a high reputation
in the field," Shershin said. He said that
he was impressed with several students
he had spoken with during his visit.
Constangy recruits throughout the
southeast, including schools such as
Emory and Vanderbilt.
Another program the Placement
Office encourages both students and
employers to participate in is the Mid­South
Law Placement Consortium to be
held on Saturday, March 3, 1990, in
Nashville, Tennessee. Typical employers
participating in the Consortium include
small-to-mid-sized law firms, private
corporations, and government agencies
from throughout (but not limited to) the
southeast. Eight law schools participate
in the Consortium: the Universities of
Louisville, Kentucky, Alabama,
Tennessee, Mississippi, Mercer Univer­sity,
Memphis State University, and the
Cumberland School of Law at Sanford
University.
Placement Office Director Phyllis
Leibson said the Consortium is held
during the spring because most smaller
employers tend to recruit at that time of
year. "Most U of L students continue
to be hired by the sma11-to-mid-sized
firms, despite a recent trend in favor of
the larger firms," Leibson said. Leibson
encourages both students and employers
alike to attend and participate in the
Consortium because it allows both
groups maximum exposure to the other
in a limited period of time. Further­more,
employers can reserve hotel suites
in which to conduct immediate in-depth
interviews with students they find par­ticularly
interesting.
The Law School also participated in
two additional job fairs: the Minority
Job Fair held in Atlanta each fall, and
the Public Interest Job Fair (state and
federal government agencies, and legal
aid societies), also held in Atlanta.
Although the Minority Job Fair has
Louisville Law Examiner
School of Law
University of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky 40292
already been held this year, it is not too
late to participate in the Public Interest
Job Fair, which will this year be held on
Nov. 11. "Job fairs will be the future
trend of the smaller employers'
recruiting efforts because they enable
employers to use their resources more
efficiently than is possible in individual
visits to schools," Leibson said.
Students or employers wishing more
information can contact the Placement
Office at (502) 588-6368.
Non· Profit
Organization
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Law Examiner Volume 15
Stan Chauvin,
ABA president,
reflects on his
alma mater
Page 1
Career Night
shows students
some options
Page 6
Demand side
Economics and
Consumerism
Editorial
Page 2
Cover Photos
Law School competition is
high in and out of class. The
second year students
defeated the first year in flag
football, only to lose to the
third year class the following
week.
November, 1989 Number 2