Summer 2003

 

FEATURES

 

 

·        Growing Old with Judge Posner . . . Rachlin


"The literary output of Richard A. Posner is staggering.  As a wonder of the world, it ranks with the pyramids and the hanging gardens of Babylon."



·        Tax and Medicaid Planning Aspects of the Standard Vermont Estate Plan . . . Savell


"In Vermont, it seems typical for an elderly single widow or widower to visit a local attorney's office and request that the attorney prepare a deed adding the individual's children as joint tenants with right of survivorship on the title to the family farm or ancestral residence.  We have come upon this type of transaction so frequently that in our office we refer to it as the "standard Vermont estate plan."

 

·        The Art of Appellate Brief Writing . . . Porto



"Even a cursory survey of the stacks at Vermont Law School's Cornell Library reveals a bevy of instructional tomes on appellate brief writing.  Yet the law journals are full of articles, usually written by judges, decrying the substandard quality of most briefs.  What accounts for this poverty of performance amidst a wealth of instructional guides?"

 

 

·        Life Settlements-Getting More Out Of Existing Life Insurance . . . Greenberg



"Attorneys need to be aware of a new planning tool - what are known as "Life Settlements."  A Life Settlement offers a new option in planning and an alternative to surrendering or dropping a policy."

 

 

 

·        The Arbitrator Blew It!  Now What? . . . Besser



" Vermont, as does virtually every jurisdiction in the United States, "has a strong tradition of upholding arbitration awards whenever possible. . . ."

 

 

 

 

 

 

·        2003 VBA Federal Essay Contest Winners . . . Shute/Etter/Prolux/Moltz/MacLeod/Harvey/Deasy

 

"At its Mid-Year Meeting on March 6, 2003, the VBA honored the winners of the 2003 Federal Essay Contest, sponsored by the Vermont Supreme Court and the VBA Center for Public Education.  The contest was open to any student in Vermont grades 5-12.  Each grade level addressed a different question with topics covering a diverse range of legal areas from civil liberties to natural law."

 

 

 

 

DEPARTMENTS

 

·        President's Column: For the Public Good. . . Rendall

"A lawyer is a representative of clients, an officer of the legal system and a public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice."

 

 

·        From the Executive Director: . . . Paolini

"In November of this year, the VBA will reach its 125th birthday.  Things are certainly different now than when a handful of lawyers met for the first time to form an association."

 

·        Lex Et Ratio. . . Ryan
"In the last issue of the Journal I examined what could be seen as the conservative turn in American legal thinking.  The occasion for that examination was the publication of a noteworthy book, edited by my friend and former colleague Bradley C. S. Watson - Courts and the Culture Wars…Not surprisingly, my critique provoked a vigorous response from contributors to Watson’s volume.  What follows are two of those responses."

·        Response One Law, Courts, and American Culture. . . Peacock

·        Reponse Two Whose Lex, Which Ratio?  Kevin Ryan's Review of Courts and the Culture Wars. . . Watson

 

·        Ruminations: Royall Tyler's Hair. . . Gillies
"The former Chief Judge of the Vermont Supreme Court, age 55, just retired, a failed candidate for U.S. Senate, who had subsequently lost a bid for reelection in the legislature in 1813, now back as a lawyer for the first time in twelve years, his face disfigured by a cancer of the nose and eye, a black patch serving to cover up his disfigurement, rose to address the jury at Newfane County Courthouse."

·        Yankee Justice: The Lighter Side of Vermont Law. . . Downs
"The following interview took place on November 14, 1978, when Justice Shangraw was eighty-one years old and still "riding the circuit."  He was known for his ready wit among Vermont lawyers and judges.  He died on December 18, 1988..”

 

·        VBA Women's Section Profiles Series: Wendy Morgan. . . Hayes
"Wendy Morgan is the chief of the public protection division in the Attorney General's office.   In this job, which she has held since 1997, she must keep a lot of balls in the air."

 

·        Book Reviews. . . Gardner/Orrick