SUMMER EDITION 2019 VOL. 28, NO. 4 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT BY: KATHRYN KNIGHT It’s summertime, and the New is always well-attended, this year’s audience became Orleans Chapter of the Federal actively engaged with the speakers, who illustrated their Bar Association is HOT! That points with various hypothetical scenarios that captured is, the Chapter is having a busy everyone’s attention. The very next day, another engaging and exciting summer, and we panel explored issues arising in litigation of recreational want to share with your, our boating accidents. members and readers, all that we accomplished recently and all So as not to be all work and no play, the Chapter also that we have going on during the hosted several lunches with the Court, including our last quarter of our work year. newest Magistrate Judge, the Honorable Dana Douglas, in April; the Honorable Susie Morgan in May; and As you will read in the pages that follow, the Chapter Federal Public Defender Claude Kelly III in June. These offered a wealth of continuing legal education programs lunches present wonderful opportunities for practitioners and other events during the spring, starting with the very to get to know our Federal Judiciary and other Court active Admiralty Law Committee’s March presentation officials in a smaller setting. Although geared primarily regarding the unique aspects of a maritime personal toward younger lawyers, all practitioners are welcome to injury case. This was followed by the Federal Practice register for these events (although spaces for each lunch Series in April and May. During lunch sessions over are limited). a four-week period, panels pairing members of our federal judiciary with local practitioners addressed In addition to the lunches, our Younger Lawyers’ some of the latest developments in federal practice Division also hosted an evening wine pairings class at involving effective pleading, discovery and e-discovery Martin Wine Cellar’s Uptown location in mid-May and battles, deposition strategy, and advocacy before the a “thank you” coffee break in mid-June at Dee’s Coffee. Fifth Circuit. Also in April, the Chapter hosted a Meet the Bench moderated by Fifth Circuit Judge Clement, The Younger Lawyers’ Division then kicked off the during which Judges Engelhardt, Ho and Oldham shared Chapter’s summer programming by hosting the annual some of their experiences, practices, and preferences as Morning at the Federal Courthouse on June 19th. This appellate judges. was followed by the three-day Justice Camp program presented to ninth and tenth grade high school students, May brought the 27th Annual Judge Alvin B. Rubin which culminated with the students serving as jurors Symposium, with a fascinating panel discussion during a mock trial. Upcoming programs include a Title of ethical and professional issues encountered by VII CLE in July and a comparison of state and federal practitioners using social media and other forms of rules of civil procedure in August. emerging technology. While the Rubin Symposium cont’d on page 2 EDITORIAL BOARD: LARRY CENTOLA, COLIN CAMBRE, MEGAN DUPUY, MEGHAN SENTER MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT (CONT’D) The Chapter’s work this year will culminate with our folks, the Chapter is able to offer quality CLEs addressing Annual Meeting & Luncheon on Thursday, August 22, cutting-edge topics and recent developments to foster 2019, at The InterContinental New Orleans. During this professional growth of our members and others in the time, we will present our annual awards—the President’s legal community. In addition, a special thanks is due Award, the Jack Martzell Professionalism Award, and the to our Executive Director, Amanda Kaiser, who truly is Camille Gravel Pro-Bono Public Service Awards; elect the backbone of this Chapter. Amanda works tirelessly officers and directors for the 2019-20 Board year; and I to shepherd all that we do, both behind the scenes and will pass the gavel to our President-Elect, the Honorable center-stage. So, thank you, Amanda! We sincerely Nannette Jolivette Brown. As mentioned in my message appreciate your hard work, dedication, and invaluable in the Spring newsletter, our keynote speaker will be assistance. Saad M. Soliman, who is an expert in ex-offender re- entry and workforce development. Please plan to attend. I hope each of you reading this edition of The Advocate has benefitted in some way from the Chapter’s work This is my last message in The Advocate as your this year. If you have, please consider “giving back” by President, and it’s difficult to believe that it has been volunteering your time and talents. A new year starts on almost a year since Raley Alford passed the gavel to me September 1st, and we would welcome your participation at the 2018 Annual Meeting. I would like to thank the and active involvement in the Chapter. At the very least, Executive Committee, Board of Directors, Committees, please let us hear from you with your comments and and the Younger Lawyers’ Division for all of their hard ideas. work this year. This Chapter is successful because of their dedication and diligence, along with other Chapter Hope to see you at the Chapter’s Annual Meeting in members who volunteer their time and talents for the August. Until then, enjoy summertime in New Orleans— benefit of others. Through the work of these talented and stay COOL! MEET THE BENCH WITH FIFTH CIRCUIT JUDGES On April 30, 2019, the New Orleans Chapter held our second “Meet the Bench: Fifth Circuit” program. This year’s event was moderated by Fifth Circuit Judge Clement and featured a panel discussion with Circuit Judges Ho, Engelhardt and Oldham. Eastern District of Louisiana Chief Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown welcomed just over 50 attendees for this year’s program before turning the program over to Judge Clement. Judge Clement began with asking each panel member to describe their education and experience before joining the Fifth Circuit before jumping into practical questions about brief-writing and oral advocacy. The panel members shared some “do and don’ts” and provided their insights on effective advocacy. The panel stressed the importance of knowing the record and accurately representing the law and facts to the court, both in briefs and in response to questions during oral argument. The panel also shared some insight from their own judicial clerkships and how those experiences have informed current practices in their own Chambers. After the session, attendees and the judges enjoyed some light refreshments. Attendees received one hour of Professionalism CLE credit for attending the event. Hon. Andrew S. Oldham, Hon. Kurt D. Engelhardt, Hon. James C. Ho and Hon. Edith Brown Clement of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. ADMIRALTY LAW COMMITTEE CLES ADVOCATE THE On March 14, 2019, the Admiralty Law Committee held a panel discussion, Unique Aspects of Handling a Maritime Personal Injury Case – Views from the Bench and Bar. The panelists were U. S. Magistrate Judge Daniel E. Knowles, III (Ret.), Michael McAlpine, and Stevan Dittman, and Irving Warshauer served as the moderator. The panelists discussed such issues as admiralty jurisdiction, seaman and vessel status, unseaworthiness, maritime wrongful death actions, punitive damages, and limitation of liability. We thank Judge Knowles, Michael and Stevan for the time and effort they Stevan Dittman, Hon. Daniel E. Knowles, III, Irving Warshauer (moderator) and put into this informative program, which was thoroughly Michael McAlpine presented the Unique Aspects enjoyed by the attendees and for which they received one of Handling a Maritime Personal Injury Case. hour of CLE credit. The committee’s next event was on May 22, 2019. During this panel discussion, Legal Issues Encountered in the Litigation of Recreational Boating Incidents, Jedd Malish and Chuck Bourque, with Irving again moderating, presented on various topics including the significance of whether the incident occurred on navigable waters, filing in state court vs. federal court, the duty owed by a vessel owner to a passenger, the potential for criminal liability, and recoverable damages in death cases. Those in attendance, who received CLE credit, found this discussion very interesting, and after the program, many of them went to “Wednesday at the Square” across Chuck Bourque, Irving Warshauer the street from the courthouse. The committee very much (moderator) and Jedd Malish presented on appreciates Jedd and Chuck’s contributions to this event. Legal Issues Encountered in the Litigation of Recreational Boating Incidents. OUTREACH PROGRAM On April 1, 2019 the Federal Bar Association hosted 10th grade students from KIPP Booker T. Washington School for a Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions Program. The program was part of a national community outreach project initiative by the National Federal Bar Association. The program involved a hypothetical fact pattern similar to the presented in the Supreme Court decision in Elonis v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2001 (2015). The Honorable Karen Wells Roby presided over the program. The students were counseled by attorney volunteers Erin Arnold, Brian J. Capitelli and Michael Ecuyer. After some initial discussions and problem solving on conflict resolution, the students were counseled by the attorney volunteers for a mock hearing. Several of the students fielded questions from Magistrate Judge Roby, and others participated as jurors based upon the arguments presented by their classmates. It was a unique learning experience for both attorney volunteers and students. Following the program the students involved have expressed interest in starting KIPP Booker T. Washington High School students their own mock trial team at Booker T. Washington. participating in the civil discourse program, Legal Skills as Life Skills. 3 EVENING WITH THE FBA – MARTIN WINE CELLAR On May 15, our FBA chapter continued the tradition of exploring local, non-legal subjects after work by teaming up with the experts at Martin Wine Cellar for a fun and informative wine-pairing event.