Bench Bar Conference 2013 Professional or Not? You Be the Judge The Hon. Laurie A. White, Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, Moderator The Hon. Helen G. Berrigan, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of LA Robert J. David, Gainsburgh, Benjamin, David, Meunier & Warshauer, L.L.C. R. Patrick Vance, Jones Walker Sharonda R. Williams, City of New Orleans Course Number: 0200130419 1 Hour of CLE Sunday, April 21, 2013 9:00 am – 10:00 am Beau Rivage Resort and Casino Biloxi, Mississippi Biography of Judge Laurie A. White Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, Section “A” The Honorable Laurie A. White is the presiding District Court Judge at Criminal District Court in Orleans Parish, Section “A.” While she has general jurisdiction, she hears only criminal matters. Judge White was elected to the bench in November 2007 to fill a one year unexpired term and ran unopposed in July 2008 being re-elected to a six year term. Since being elected to the bench, Judge White, along with Judge Arthur Hunter of the Orleans Criminal Court, began the Orleans Re-Entry Court Workforce Development Program. Established by legislative enactment in 2010, the Re-Entry Court is an innovative model aimed at reducing recidivism in Louisiana. Before being elected to the bench, Judge White practiced in state and federal courts throughout Louisiana for twenty (20) years. She began her career as a prosecutor in Orleans and East Baton Rouge Parishes. She worked as a City Attorney defending the New Orleans Police Department in false arrest and brutality claims and general civil litigation matters. Judge White also practiced in the civil realm as an insurance defense attorney. She ran a successful law firm for fifteen years, managing numerous attorneys and staff while handling all types of criminal matters and other legal cases. In 2012, Judge White was appointed to the Louisiana Sentencing Commission by Governor Bobby Jindal. She currently serves as the 2012-2013 Committee Chair for the Louisiana State Bar Association, Criminal Justice Committee. Judge White is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, all Louisiana Federal District Courts, and is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas. Helen "Ginger" Berrigan is a United States District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Louisiana and a New York native. She was appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton in March of 1994. She served as Chief Judge of the Eastern District from 2001 until 2008. Prior to her appointment as a federal judge, she was a criminal defense attorney. She was a staff attorney to the Governor's Pardon, Parole and Rehabilitation Commission, Press Secretary to Civil Rights Leader, Charles Evers. She also served as a Legislative Aide to Senator Joseph Biden and a free-lance and staff reporter to many regional publications. Judge Berrigan is the author of Louisiana Criminal Trial Practice. In addition to her experience as a journalist and lawyer, she has served on the boards or as a member of several legal organizations, including the Louisiana Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers, New Orleans Association for Women Attorneys, Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Louisiana Sentencing Commission, and the American Civil Liberties Union and the Federal Bar Association. She is an Adjunct Professor at LSU & Loyola Schools of Law. She is regular speaker at Continuing Legal Education programs sponsored by area law schools, bar associations and other professional organizations. She has also completed “rule of law” trainings in China, Turkey, Malawi, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Among her many awards are the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Award, Special Achievement Award from the Louisiana Council for Equal Rights; the Louisiana Capital Defense Project Special Achievement Award, the Justice Albert Tate, Jr. Award from the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and YWCA Role Model and, more recently, the “Elaine R. Fisher Award” presented by the Federal Bar Association for exemplary community, public & charitable service. Judge Berrigan received her Juris Doctor in 1977 from Louisiana State University Law School, a M.A. in Communication from American University in Washington, D.C. and her undergraduate degree from University of Wisconsin. R. PATRICK VANCE 201 St. Charles Avenue, 49th Floor New Orleans, Louisiana 70170-5100 Telephone (504) 582-8194 Telefax (504) 589-8194 [email protected] Patrick Vance is the Practice Group Leader of the Commercial Litigation Section of Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrère & Denègre, L.L.P. (375 lawyers with offices in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette, Louisiana, Houston and The Woodlands, Texas, Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama, Phoenix, Arizona, Atlanta, Georgia, Jackson, Olive Branch and Gulfport, Mississippi. New York, New York, Miami, Florida, and Washington, D. C.). He specializes in commercial litigation, banking and bankruptcy. Mr. Vance received his B.A. (1970) and J.D. (1975) degrees with high honors from Louisiana State University where he served as a member of the Louisiana Law Review and received the Phi Beta Kappa Faculty Group Award. He is listed in The Best Lawyers In America for Commercial Litigation, Bankruptcy and Bet-The- Company Litigation. He is the Vice President of the National Bankruptcy Conference and a Fellow of the American Law Institute, the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American College of Bankruptcy, where he has served as the Regent for the Fifth Circuit and is currently a member of the Board of Directors. He is the President of the American College of Bankruptcy Foundation. He is the immediate past President of the New Orleans Bar Association and is the President of the Board of Directors for Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. He serves as a member of the Advisory Board for the Honors College and is a member of the Law School Alumni Board at LSU. In 2012, he received the Distinguished Achievement award from the law school. He has served as the Chairman of the ABA’s Bankruptcy Litigation Subcommittee, the Bankruptcy Rules Committee for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the CLE Planning Committee for the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Bank Counsel Committee of the Louisiana Bankers Association, and the Consumer Law, Bankruptcy Law and Lender Liability Law Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association. He has served on the faculty of numerous Continuing Legal Education programs, including those presented by ALI-ABA, the American College of Bankruptcy, the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, the Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute, Inc., the Executive Office of the United States Trustees, the ABA Business Law Section, the ABA Litigation Section, the Louisiana and Texas Bar Associations, the New Orleans Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Practicing Law Institute, and the law schools of Tulane, LSU and Loyola. He is teaching the Advanced Bankruptcy Course at Tulane Law School. He has written {N2213131.1} over 60 articles and seminar outlines on topics such as Commercial Litigation, Lender Liability and Bankruptcy. Mr. Vance is married to the Honorable Sarah S. Vance, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and has a 29-year-old son, Bobby, who is a law clerk for the Honorable Marjorie Rendell, United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. {N2213131.1} Sharonda R. Williams is Chief Deputy City Attorney for the City of New Orleans, specializing in litigation. Prior to her current position, Ms. Williams was a partner at the New Orleans law firm of Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbert, where her practice focused on commercial litigation and construction litigation. Ms. Williams also practiced in the intellectual property group of the law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton in Atlanta, Georgia. Ms. Williams is a 2001 cum laude graduate of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, where she was a member of the Law Review and the president of the Board of Advocates trial academy. Ms. Williams is active in numerous professional and civic organizations, including the New Orleans Bar Association, the Louisiana Association of Black Women Attorneys, Association for Women Attorneys, Federal Bar Association, Louisiana Bar Association, Louisiana Bar Foundation, Bridge House/Grace House, and the American Civil Liberties Union. Code of Professionalism http://www.lsba.org/2007memberservices/codeofprofessionalism.asp Home Members Log In Members Services Inside the LSBA Programs & Affiliates Contact the Bar News Resources CLE Programs LSBA Calendar Public Resources Member Directory Publications Legal Library Bar Admissions: Process and Pitfalls Code of Professionalism Continuing Legal Education My word is my bond. I will never intentionally mislead the court or other counsel. I Program will not knowingly make statements of fact or law that are untrue. Disaster Planning: It's Not Just for Hurricanes - Are I will clearly identify for other counsel changes I have made in documents You Ready submitted to me. Discount ABA Books I will conduct myself with dignity, civility, courtesy and a sense of fair play. Discount Business Services I will not abuse or misuse the law, its procedures or the participants in the judicial process. Ethics Advisory Service I will consult with other counsel whenever scheduling procedures are required Fastcase and will be cooperative in scheduling discovery, hearings, the testimony of Fee Arbitration Program witnesses and in the handling of the entire course of any legal matter. Judicial Interest Rate I will not file or oppose pleadings, conduct discovery or utilize any course of Calculator conduct for the purpose of undue delay or harassment of any other counsel or Lawyer Advertising party. I will allow counsel fair opportunity to respond and will grant reasonable requests for extensions of time. Lawyers' Assistance Program I will not engage in personal attacks on other counsel or the court. I will support my profession's efforts to enforce its disciplinary rules and will not make Law Office Management unfounded allegations of unethical conduct about other counsel.