Reflections of a Boston Lawyer

Last night I saw a PBS production of Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part I, a play I had never read or seen before.  It was truly excellent in its portrayal of the rivalry of Somerset and York, both plotting to steal Henry's crown. And it portrayed poor Henry as a young and naive Christian king, who urged his subjects to get along in peace, but was the hapless target of their scheming. Like so many of Shakespeare's plays, this one was a study in the will to power, a theme that never grows old because it is never absent from human affairs.  Witness American politics; witness Aleppo; witness the Ukraine. Christmas is almost upon us, and the Christmas story is also about power. It is about a powerless Jewish family who journeyed to Bethlehem to comply with an edict of the powerful Roman emperor.  It is about a poor infant who slept in a manger because there was no room for his family in the inn.  It is about the powerful king installed by Rome who was so frightened of the news o

Since November 9th, millions of Americans have viewed the election of Donald Trump as cause for mourning. But for many others, the election was also a call to action. Not everyone is cut out to protest in the streets, but there are other, more conventional actions concerned citizens can take to prepare for and respond to the anticipated trials and tribulations. Redouble charitable giving to worthy non-profits.   There are many organizations devoted to fighting hate crimes and promoting the enforcement of civil rights.  Some that come to mind are the Southern Poverty Law Center, the ACLU, and the Anti-Defamation League, but there are many more.  Since the election, many people have been giving to Planned Parenthood, which has been threatened with a loss of federal funding, and there are certainly environmental organizations and other institutions that support the poor and help the victims of violence and oppression.  Support politicians who support your values.   Two years ago, I was

Well, the Pres-elect seems to be taking a cue from my last blog post (which I'm sure he hasn't read). Today in a NY Times interview, he disavowed and condemned the alt-right.  Still not enough, but it's a start.  He also seemed to back away from some of his campaign positions, such as prosecuting Hillary and tightening up the libel laws (whatever that means).  And he seems more receptive to tackling global warming.  As some of us suspected, maybe his campaign promises weren't all reflective of any principles he holds, but were just positions he knew his supporters wanted to hear.  Is a bait and switch in process?  If so, I don't want to discourage it. Stay tuned, folks.

Like many people, I suppose, since this month's election my thoughts have raced in many directions, too quickly to capture and too many to record.  Now, less than two weeks out, I thought I would begin to publish them, so here goes. The election is over, and it's time that both sides realized it. Donald Trump is our President-Elect, like it or not, for better or worse.  I admire the passion of the protestors who oppose his presidency, and I am heartened to see millennials engage in peaceful protest the way some baby boomers did during the turbulent '60s. Still, I am concerned that some of their energies may be misdirected.  With the election past, perhaps they should focus less on protesting the man and more on protesting his policies, his words and, after he takes office, his actions.  Pre-inauguration protests against hate and prejudice and in support of women's and minority rights are worthwhile, and holding them before the new administration takes the reins of fed

This morning I read an excellent article by Peter Beinart in The Atlantic about conservative intellectuals who support Trump.  In it, he quotes WSJ columnist Peggy Noonan:  "There's a kind of soft French Revolution going on in America, with the angry and blocked beginning to push hard against an oblivious elite."  The quote calls to mind images of angry white people at Trump rallies and the Republican National Convention screaming for America to be "great again."  But it also calls to mind Bernie Sanders supporters protesting for radical change in American politics, change that would bring about greater equality through a form of socialism that the failed candidate represents. That one candidate failed, and the other is behind in the polls, does not change the fact that something significant is happening at the extremes of the two traditional parties. We live in a time of relative peace and prosperity (emphasis on the word "relative.")  Sure, there

As slogans go, Donald Trump's is pretty good.  Four words that fit on a hat and with which it is hard to argue.  What right-thinking American wouldn't want our country to be great again? Of course, the devil, as always, is in the details.  We can take issue with the word "again," which implies that America is in decline, but the more critical detail is the meaning of "great." Trump offers no definition, just as he offers no specific policies or programs to support his claim that America during a Trump presidency will be great.  We are asked to take his word for it, on blind faith, as he punctuates so many of his statements with the phrase "believe me," the empty mantra and subliminal message of the ultimate con-man. If the unexamined life is not worth living, the unexamined slogan is not worth chanting.  So let's reflect on our nation's history and the events and characteristics that have made it great.  With a sweepingly broad brush, w

I am not even close to worthy of the sacrifices our men and women in uniform have made to protect my freedoms. Nothing I have done in life begins to hold a candle to their service.  So let me begin by simply saying "thank you" to any of them who may read this post.  My country, my family and I are forever in your debt.  I cannot ever emphasize that enough. Although I never served in the military, I am a patriot.  I deeply love my country and what it stands for.   I proudly served a term as President to a bar association that launched a program to provide free legal advice to military veterans.  I recited the Pledge of Allegiance when I was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar, and repeated it every time I participated in admissions ceremonies for new lawyers.  I get teary-eyed when I think about the lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner as it is being performed and try to imagine the setting in which Francis Scott Key penned them.  My father served in the Army during World War II

A little more than five years ago, when I was President of the Boston Bar Association, I assembled a stellar group of lawyers and academics to focus on the plight of men and women who were about to enter what had become a severely diminished job market for law school graduates. We were in the midst of cataclysmic change affecting our profession, resulting from the near-crash of the nation's and the world's economies.  Not only had law firms in every major city reduced their hiring targets, but many of them rescinded offers they had made to law students preparing to graduate. Thousands of graduating law students found themselves with no job prospects and overwhelmed by student debt. I had no illusions that this task force of brilliant, accomplished leaders would find a magic bullet, but we all hoped that something could be done. Although the task force report clearly defined the problem, the small but, we hoped, manageable measures it recommended (an incubator program for a s

We all get them - the annual Christmas letters summarizing the writer's past year's highs, lows, and in-betweens.  Often I read them and, I must confess, sometimes I don't.  It depends in part on when I see them.  If I discover them on a weeknight after I get home from work, I'm less likely to read them than if I discover them on a weekend, when I can approach everything more leisurely.  If they are from my wife's friends, I'm less likely to read them than if they are from mine.  If they are long with no pictures, I'm less likely to read them than if they are short with photos. In our early days of personal computers, when our kids were babies, I'd try to use new technology to create high-tech Christmas letters of our own.  Sometimes these creations came out okay, other times not so much, yet I would inflict them on people regardless.  And then there was the year, in the mid-'90s, when I used new software to create multi-media letters on disks whic