ABA President-elect to headline Law & Society Distinguished Lectures

H. Thomas Wells, Jr.,who will become president of the American Bar Association (ABA) in August 2008, will kick off the Lipscomb University Law & Society Distinguished Lecture Series at noon, Nov. 7, at the first community event hosted by the Lipscomb Center for Law, Justice & Society, a new outreach center to promote legal and civic education.

Jerry Lee

David Esquivel

Wells will keynote a free half-day conference on increasing diversity in the bar, co-sponsored by the Tennessee Bar Association, and speak at a noon luncheon, cost is $25, both on the Lipscomb campus in Green Hills. To register for the conference or the lunch address, contact the Center for Law, Justice and Society at 966-2500.

In addition, the center will coordinate several local gatherings for the Middle Tennessee legal community and judiciary to meet and discuss issues with the ABA president-elect, said Charla Long, executive director of the law center.

Wells, a partner and founding member at Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C., in Birmingham, Ala., was the co-chair of the ABA’s Special Committee on Disaster Response, commissioned after Hurricane Katrina. Wells’ trial practice concentrates on complex mass tort, environmental and product liability cases. He is listed in the Best Lawyers in America® and is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Allan Ramsaur, executive director of Tennessee Bar Association, said Wells’ Nashville visit will be a “rare opportunity for interchange. It’s a chance to share the innovative things that are going on in the Tennessee legal community and to learn about ways in which the ABA can support those efforts. For example, his visit will highlight one of our main objectives this year: to enhance diversity within the profession.”

“As ‘We the People’ of the United States becomes more diverse, so too should our legal bar. This conference is designed for collaborative thinking on how we can increase diversity within our profession, by working with K-12 schools, higher education, bar leadership, law firms and general counsel offices to address issues that deter minorities from practicing law. The law center is striving to continually provide timely and thoughtful dialogue such as this, because we know we can make a difference when we all work together and think creatively about issues.” -- Charla Long, Nashville’s Women of Influence for Innovation.

Wells’ visit is just one of many programs the Lipscomb University Center for Law, Justice & Society will conduct this year for the local legal community, K-12 schools and Lipscomb students. Established this fall to promote dialogue on legal and societal issues in the community, the center also oversees Lipscomb’s new major in law, justice & society, which debuted this fall, joining a small but growing trend in undergraduate law programs in the nation.

In its first semester, the center has already introduced Lipscomb students to speakers from a diverse range of legal and social justice organizations, such as Jerry Lee, president of the AFL-CIO Tennessee Labor Council, and David Esquivel, of Bass Berry & Sims, winner of the 2005 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year.

Legal and civic education is very important to groups far beyond law school students, said Long. Various types of industries are finding a need for professionals with more understanding of the law and how to change it, she said. At one point the American Bar Association listed 60 colleges nationwide with undergraduate legal studies programs, designed to prepare students for careers in non-profit administration, community advocacy, mediation, law firm management or corporate compliance.

“Law really does touch almost every area of life. That’s one limitation of programs that teach just one portion, such as criminal law, constitutional law or corporate law,” said Ann Lucas of San Jose State University, president of the Consortium for Undergraduate Law and Justice Programs. “We live in a highly regulated society. Few aspects of life are not touched by law in some way.”

Lipscomb’s Center for Law, Justice & Society is now a member of the consortium, 6-year-old association that has more than 30 members across the nation.

“Bringing people together for thoughtful dialog about issues facing our government, justice system and society is crucial for the future. Our country is facing challenges that we’ve never faced in our history. Lipscomb’s law center is a unique opportunity to equip students with the multi-disciplinary skills to deal with these challenges and their solutions. As an alumna, I wish I had this type of preparation before going to law school and into public service. Most of us only acquire these skills after years of on the job training.” -- Cicely Simpson, legislative director for Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) and a Lipscomb alumna.