Summer 2005

FEATURES

Woodbury College at 30: Larry Mandell’s Dream. . . .Gillies

Larry Mandell did not find the practice of law very satisfying. After graduating from Boston College in 1947, he tried it for a year, working through his clerkship in a small firm in Northfield, Vermont, and then opening his own office. It was too lonely and too cerebral. “I’m more interested in relationships,” he said in a recent interview

The Freedom of Information Versus Government Secrecy: A Vermont Lawyer Sues the CIA….Dennett

To Sue, or not to sue. It is a quandary that routinely confronts lawyers, but when it comes to suing the Central Intelligence Agency for the release of documents, the anguished weighing of pros and cons goes well beyond the law. One has to assess the climate in which we live (decidedly negative toward openness in government) versus the dangers of doing nothing when democracy itself seems increasingly imperiled.

Stop and Go: The Changing Tempo of Business Immigration….Sullivan and Bennett

For many foreign nationals in the United States, the prospect of obtaining legal permanent residence (LPR) drives them through the often tedious immigration process. With such status, an individual can live indefinitely in the United States, work in any position and travel in and out of the country. In time, one with LPR status can become eligible for naturalization.

Lawyers and the Public. . . . Downs

When contemplating the public opinion of lawyers and the law, it helps to be twenty years retired from actively practicing. I believe I think more like members of the public than does a present practitioner. It is easier to understand, and even agree with, some of the criticisms of lawyers. On the other hand, if I have been a non-practitioner for too long, perhaps I can be forgiven for what may be intemperate remarks.

Breaking Bread…Langrock

“Civility at the bar” means more than “being polite”. Underlying the concept of civility at the bar is the necessity that a lawyer has to really like the “law” and lawyering.

DEPARTMENTS

President's Column: Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude. . . Zonay

…I admitted that my decision to become a lawyer resulted from my being a kid from the Jersey Shore who had but one burning desire in life – to have my own fishing boat….

From the Executive Director. . . Paolini

In December 2004, the VBA was invited to take part in the Second Congressional Conference on Civic Education. The focus of this national movement is the revitalization of civics education in high schools and middle schools.

Ruminations: The Vendue: The Exercise of Geo-Catharsis… Gillies

By some freak of public taste the word vendue, vulgarly pronounced vandue, in the sense of a public sale, has continued here, while it is rarely used in England. Maximilian Schele De Vere, Americanisms (1872)

Yankee Justice: …Downs

“I was born in Arlington, Massachusetts, brought up in the greater Boston area, and graduated from Yale University. Probably no one was more surprised than I was when I decided to become a lawyer.”

Book Review One ~ All the Details on Family Business Transfers. Everything you need to know and more . . . Newman

Book Review Two ~ A Model Public Servant, Greenhouse reveals Blackmun…Besser