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Vol. 76, No. 3 Philadelphia Bar Association Quarterly Magazine Fall 2013 Taking the Gun Fight to the Courts Combatting Negligent and Criminal Gun Dealers BY JON LOWY anD ELIZABETH BURKE 10 Questions for The Littlest Chief Judge Petrese B. Tucker Lawyer BY DEBORAH WEINSTEIN BY TRACEY E. DIAMOND THE PHILADELPHIA L AW Y ER CONTENTS Vol. 76, No. 3 Philadelphia Bar Association Quarterly Magazine Fall 2013 FEATURES DEPARTMENTS 4 From the Editor BY MAY MON POST 6 Briefs 8 In Memoriam 34 9 Readers’ Comments 12 The Littlest Lawyer 10 Ethics Nine-year-old joins her mother at the office for a day as an BY DAVID I. GRUNFELD attorney Is an Advance Conflicts Waiver Valid? BY TRACEY E. DIAMOND 31 Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Pursuit of 14 Annals of Justice – The Name Game Justice Legal Writing Competition Winner Having a good name is more important than gold BY MAttHEW G. TOM BY STEVE LACHEEN Application of the Exclusionary Rule in Immigration Proceedings: Not Just Egregious Violations, Recommendations 18 10 Questions for for Meaningful Protection of Civil Rights Chief Judge Petrese B. Tucker The new chief judge of the Eastern District, the first African- 42 Technology American woman on that court, is the first woman to hold the BY MOLLY BARKER GILLIGAN position The solo and small firm guide to essential law office BY DEBORAH WEINSTEIN technology 24 Using the Courts to Address America’s 46 Book Review Gun Violence Epidemic BY JUDGE SANDRA MAZER MOSS Bringing liability cases against criminal and negligent gun Avalanche & Gorilla Jim: Appalachian Trail Adventures and dealers is a top priority in the fight against gun violence in our Other Tales country BY JON LOWY AND ELIZABETH BURKE 48 That Was Then - 1983 “Silver Futures” 25th Annual Bench-Bar Conference 30 The Case for Gun Rights Enforcing the laws already on the books will help keep guns out of the wrong hands BY JONATHAN S. GOLDSTEIN 34 A Mission to Cuba A delegation of Philadelphia lawyers travels to Havana to learn about the Cuban justice system BY LAUREN A. WILKINSON 40 Exile on Locust Street A man works hard (too hard) to provide for his family and then loses the family 18 BY THE HUSBAND COVER PHOTO BY Aldaron PHOTO BY John Carlano 2 the philadelphia lawyer Fall 2013 CASH FLOW MANAGEMENT FOR LEGAL PROFESSIONALS Legal Fees Paid NOW Delayed Payments Lawyers Funding • Medical Liens & Set Asides (MSA) • Special Needs Trust (SNT) Group, LLC • Mcare Fund • Political Subdivisions Office Litigation Personal Court Approval of Minors, Expenses Expenses Expenses Wrongful Death & Survivor Actions Expert & Jury Verdicts on Appeal Rent Report Fees Court Taxes Deposition Fees Trial Presentation Payroll Exhibits We are Lawyers Providing Cash Flow Solutions for Lawyers & Their Clients Fees range from 3% to 5% per month 2 Penn Center, Suite 1700 No Credit Checks • No Compounding 1500 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19102 LawyersFundingGroup.com • 215-569-0111 Contact: Alan R. Zibelman, Esq., Managing Member FROM THE EDITOR The Evolution of Burma BY MAY MON POST few years ago, my husband and I took a trip to city blocks, and looking up, you would not be surprised to see Burma (Myanmar) to visit my native country and trees and weeds and flowers growing out of the sides and tops pay a visit to my aging grandmother. Our trip of occupied buildings that are remnants of the colonial rule. Acoincided with the start of my husband’s first year Looking down, you might catch a glimpse of the passing road of law school. He was toting around a casebook and reading the through a hole in the cab floor. Though the British have long small print on our airline tickets as if he might be able to apply gone and the country is experiencing pockets of modernization what he had learned from reading Hadley v. Baxendale, that and is opening its doors wider to tourists, there is a spirit and famous English contract case. Ah, the 1L experience. Billable feel about the place that is closer to the times of George Orwell hours, appeasing clients, partners, insurance companies, and (circa 1925) than to the glossy modern look of Singapore, judges (not necessarily in that order), the whole “grinding Burma’s rich neighbor to the southeast. wheel” of the profession – like the consequences of failing to As the days went by, our tour guide began to open up to us return Mr. Hadley’s crankshaft in a timely manner – not yet and whispered to us about the hundreds of political detainees foreseeable. and censorship in the country. He told us about a comedian Our flight touched down in Rangoon, and, after checking who was banned indefinitely from performing publicly for his our bags at our hotel, we met up with our tour guide. This was puns against the military junta and then sentenced to 59 years in about a year-and-a-half before what some prison because he spoke to the foreign media writers have called the “Burmese Spring.” about the situation of homeless people after a The junta – the ruling generals – had not yet cyclone. He told us about the landmine use by loosened their iron grasp on the country. Aung the Burmese army to block supply routes for San Suu Kyi was still under house arrest. The ethnic opposition, and even worse, the army’s generals purportedly were still sending many use of villagers as human minesweepers to of their most promising sons to North Korea send ahead of the troops to detonate mines. My for military training. Tour guides, at the time husband, still knee-deep in his 1L experience, of our visit, were noticeably suspicious that was quick to point out various torts and other their movements and conversations were violations of constitutional proportions. being observed and evaluated by government It was incredible to see our tour guide opening “spies.” A slip of the tongue could result in up and telling us about the political situation prison, or worse. Or so we were told. in Burma on the condition that we would For the first few days of our adventure, never mention his name. When we gave him our tour guide was tight-lipped and stuck to some books on Burma and The Philadelphia the script for the most part. He told us about Inquirer we brought with us, he was grateful. this country of mythical landscapes, ancient Burmese newspapers, mostly government-run, treasures and some of the friendliest people in were quick to tout government achievements the world. Together, we ventured around Rangoon and explored and simultaneously warn people of the dangers of democracy the many golden-gilded pagodas and their surrounding shrines and the influence of foreign “infidels.” Turn on the TV during that shimmered and sparkled under the blazing sun, turning the news hour and we were sure to catch a glimpse of a general everything around into a beautiful, yellowish glow. We spent in front of some public works project, though you’d be hard- mornings sipping too-sweet tea at Rangoon’s colorful bazaars, pressed to stumble across a gleaming public project on your where worlds seemed to collide between wealthy drug dealers’ daily travels. wives releasing yellow crested sparrows for a dollar each, Burma pulls at the heartstrings. The country is beautiful and street children with torn clothes playing soccer in bare feet, and alive with tranquility and promise. Perhaps it is the peaceful tourists discreetly exchanging crisp $100 bills to get a better and dignified way that the saffron-robed monks wind their exchange rate on the black market. way through town at mealtime, and into your consciousness. We were amazed by the architecture and infrastructure, if Perhaps it is the colorful sarongs (wrap-around full-body skirts) you could call it that, which appeared to be equal parts British that women and men don alike in just about all contexts of play colonial, Burmese and Buddhist traditional – Baroque and and work. The grey-blue blur of Wall Street business attire is Beaux Arts-style buildings on the verge of collapse, gold-domed virtually nonexistent, even in Burma’s largest cities. If you want pagodas with their telltale spires rising triumphantly above trees to see the gentle, colorful, vibrant pulse of the city, attend a and buildings, and jungle. Traveling by “cab” around the tight pagoda at prayer time. Perhaps it is the ubiquitous smiles of 4 the philadelphia lawyer Fall 2013 the people, hard at work, even under the government. In fact, in July, Burma’s crushing poverty. Day laborers, including President said during his first official throngs of women, carry rocks the size of visit to the U.K. that Burma will release Timberland shoeboxes atop their heads, all political prisoners “by the end of the The road construction providing steady (if year.” And, in September, Duane Morris, paltry) pay. Consider a grin as wide as a LLP became the first U.S. law firm to Philadelphia Cheshire cat from a man literally riding a launch an office in Burma. Progress is water buffalo with a long stick as a whip possible. Poor Hadley never recovered Lawyer or guiding tool. Thwap! Around every the losses flowing from the tardy turn, in Burma, you are greeted with a return of his crankshaft. But Hadley’s EDITOR-IN-CHIEF scene that just does not appear in any successors – indeed the whole universe May Mon Post western land. of law – benefits through evolution. My Editorial Board Burma is evolving and seems to be husband has just graduated from law Niki T. Ingram teetering on the verge of more openness school and no longer speaks like a 1L.

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