LADC Annual Trip Recap
2017 Annual Trip to Charleston, SCPresident Phelps Gay
From April 9 to 12, a merry band of LADC troupers (lawyers, judges, and spouses) enjoyed perfect weather, the amenities of a first-class hotel, and the many charms (architectural, gastronomic, and otherwise) of one of America’s greatest cities—Charleston, South Carolina. A great time, I can safely say, was had by all. After our Sunday night welcoming reception at the Belmond Charleston Place Hotel, we kicked off the CLE program Monday morning with entertaining and informative presentations by Justice James Genovese and Judges Guy Holdridge and Piper Griffin. Justice Genovese gave us an “inside view’ of how the Justices go about their business, with special emphasis on how to get a writ granted. (Short answer: don’t just say the court below got it wrong.) Judges Holdridge and Griffin, among other tips, told us how to draft the necessary “decretal” language to make a judgment final and enforceable. Our Associate Executive Director, Dane Ciolino, wrapped up the morning’s program with his usual colorful account of the latest developments in legal ethics. We adjourned to lunch and to a boat ride out to Fort Sumter, in the middle of Charleston Harbor, where secessionists fired the first shots of the Civil War on the morning of April 12, 1861. As a would-be historian, I tried to bore some of our members with my version of how and why all this happened, but for some reason most people preferred to hear the well-informed tour guide. Returning to the peninsula, we all spread out to sample the city’s finest restaurants. On Tuesday morning we enjoyed a quick CLE session at the hotel in the form of a stimulating presentation by Brandon Davis and Dorothy Tarver on key developments in employment law, including the timely subject of immigration. Then, we all strolled down Meeting Street to the federal courthouse, where U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel regaled us with the dramatic, inspirational story of one J. Waties Waring, after whom the building is now named. For those interested I urge you to google this name and discover for yourselves the courage Judge Waring displayed in writing a dissent in the 1951 case of Briggs v. Elliott, and how sorely he paid for it. The story is remarkable enough, but the distinctive, conversational manner in which Judge Gergel told it brought it vividly to life and made this event (in my humble view) the highlight of our trip. After an early evening reception at the hotel, we enjoyed another “Dine-Around” at Charleston’s finest restaurants. By this point I was beginning to nibble on the notion that Charleston’s restaurants may actually rival those of New Orleans, but, as good as they are, I didn’t quite bite. Wednesday, our last day, brought more top-grade CLE, with Dean Sutherland enlightening us on the latest maritime cases from the U.S. Supreme Court (touching on whether Louisiana’s shore-side casinos are vessels and their employees seamen—or not), and with Executive Director Bill Corbett and LADC Board member Gordon Guthrie updating us on key developments in Louisiana tort law. Thus educated, we enjoyed another afternoon walking around the beautiful streets of Charleston, including a special tour of the Nathaniel Russell House on Meeting Street. Our merry band of conventioneers closed things out in style with a final night dinner at the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon. In addition to dungeons, this historic building features an ornate dining room, where George Washington once dined in 1791, and where we all dined on the evening of April 12, 2017. I should add that all these arrangements came courtesy of my friend Gordon “Dal” Schreck, a distinguished Charleston lawyer with the firm of Womble Carlyle. Dal also helped to set up our scintillating session with Judge Gergel, so we owed him (and gave him) a hearty round of applause and thanks. Thursday dawned and we all went home, and eventually back to work, but not without some treasured memories to warm our hearts in the days ahead. |