Life lessons

• Author: Stella Edens Pederson
• Pages: 6-6

BOOK SENSE

Thanks to Br yan A.

Garner for “Bo oking the

Dumpster,” May, page

26. Ironically, I got badly

burned some years ago

by good people at St. John’s

University, alas without

notice, deaccessioning

our law library’s bound

volumes of the ABA

Journ al. I had used t hem

regularly, in the librar y,

turning pages and jumping

across multiple years to

track legal profession, and

especially bar a ssociation,

developments, knowle dge

di usion and “temper.”

The books were invaluable

to have in hard copy and

lay out on big tables,

so as to see trends, ad s,

photos and so for th.

And then one day they

were gone—apparently

“dumpstered.” I wailed

and was told they’re al l

on Hein Online—which is

true, but impossible with-

out printing l aboriously

and harm ing the environ-

ment in order to make into

the experience of having

the books. Plus, the aging

original pages, e specially

the photos, ha d become,

themselves, works of art .

John Q. Barrett

New York City

LIFE LESSONS

Relating to Aki ra

Heshiki’s article, “Life,

Lemons and L emonade,”

May, page 14, as a working

mother with a family, there

are times when everyone

needs you. As a lawyer, it

can be hard to ad mit our

vulnerabilities, le st others

think we are wea k. During

a similar time in my li fe,

I was a partner at a law

fi rm, and in t he morning

the hospice social worker

called to disc uss di cu l-

ties with my mother (an

hour on the phone), and in

the afternoon my youngest

child’s fourth-grade

teacher called t o discuss

trouble at school (another

hour on the phone). Add to

that an ex-husband, a boy-

friend, law partners w ho

wanted more billables, etc.

I made a point of dressing

my best to feel like at least

I looked like I was holding

it all together, and I set my

screen saver to scroll the

phrase “Just keep swim-

ming.” Taking care of your-

self and accepting help is

the best way to get through

the hard times. I ta ke time

to appreciate the less dif-

fi cult moments and have

greater empathy for those

who are struggli ng at any

given moment.

Stella Edens Pede rson

Kennewick, Washington

NO VACANCIES

Excellent piece by

Mark Walsh, “Leaving the

Bench,” May, page 20, per-

taining to the increasing

focus on whether Justices

Anthony M. Ken nedy or

Ruth Bader Ginsburg wil l

retire. Some great a nalysis

of the history of justic es

leaving the bench. As to

the type of justic e that

President Donald Trump

would appoint, keep in

mind that he has signaled

that for us. A list of 21

origina lly—including Neil

M. Gorsuch—was supple-

mented by four additional

potential nominees. The

list was put together w ith

substantial input from

the Heritage Foundation

and the Federalist Societ y.

Trump has said or done

nothing to dissuade the

belief that list wi ll be refer-

enced agai n, should addi-

tional U.S. Supreme Court

vacancies open.

Dan Cotter

Chicago

EXAMINING NIXON

The excellent excerpt

from Victor Li’s book,

Nixon in New York, May,

page 46, highlights the

legal, political and per -

sonal success of his pro -

fessional care er following

his loss in the presidential

election of 1960. Richard

Nixon was an excellent

law student at Duke

University and a fi ne law-

yer in two small fi rms in

California b efore his politi-

cal success. His fi rst fi rm

in Whittier, Californ ia, was

sued for legal malpractice

in his fi rst c ase; but

it was not Nixon’s fault, as

he was assigned a matt er

beyond his ex perience and

he relied on the advice of

an unscr upulous opposing

attorney. John A. Farrell’s

fi ne recent biography,

Richard Nixon, The Life,

highlights the criminal

behavior of Nixon as

president based in part

on now-declassifi ed t apes

and memos of his closest

aides. We should not

forget that based upon

his Watergate activit ies,

including obst ruction

of justice, Nixon was

disbarred by New York’s

Appellate Division, Fi rst

Department, in 1974,

nearly two years af ter

he was pardoned by

President G erald Ford.

Michael P. Friedman

La Quinta, California

CORRECTIONS

“Bad Samarita n,” Ju ne,

page 16, should have

stated that Geor getown

University law professor

David Hyma n conducted

a study comparing docu-

mented rescue attempts to

nonrescues. Due to an ed it-

ing error, Hyman’s work

was mischaracterized.

“Structure f rom a

Chaotic Beginn ing,”

June, page 14, should

have referred to the arr est

of Shane Correia’s sister

and brother on murder

charges. Due to an e diting

error, the text identifi ed

his brother -in-law.

“Leaving the Bench,”

May, page, 20, should

have stated that the

Republican Party

controlled the Senate

during two years of

Barack Obama’s

eight-year presidency.

“A View Toward the

Future,” May, page 62,

should have stated that

Judy Perry Martinez

chaired the Sta nding

Committee on the

Federal Judiciar y

from 2011 to 2012.

The Journ al regrets

the errors.

THE LAWYER’S MAGAZINEMAY 2018

NIXON, THE LAWYER

HIS PATH TO THE WHITE HOUSE

BAD ADVICE

‘NOTARIOS’ WHO MISLEAD IMMIGRANTS

SAVE THE BOOK!

LIBRARIES ‘PURGE’ UNREAD TOMES

THESE LAWYERS BALANCE A FULL-TIME PRACTICE AND A FOR-PAY SIDE PROJECT

MAY ACCOLADE S

Congratu lations on

producing a sta ndout

issue of the ABA Journal

for May. I folded down

the corner on fi ve art icles,

two of which I shared v ia

Slack with my colleag ues.

The lively, engaging and

relevant pieces in this

issue make me feel my

ABA dues are well-spent.

Alex Lesman

New York City

Letters

6 || ABA JOURNAL JULY 2018