First, following up on my entry yesterday, I was informed that not only was Justice Jabar one ace of a hurler, but that his battery mate at one time was Thurman Munson. Ah, the road not taken. When I was in Chicago, I worked summers at the firm that represented the Tribune Company, which owned the Cubs. When we went to their box seats on the third base line, we would say we were "reviewing inventory." The year I left to come to Maine, the firm had to defend putting lights in Wrigley Field. Now I have represented a convicted murderer, and convicted and accused sexual predators. But you have to draw a line somewhere – lights at Wrigley? Off to Maine I went. (The firm – Reuben and Proctor– merged with another big firm — Isham, Lincoln & Beale — and then promptly imploded. Coincidence? I think not.)
In any event, showing what a vast audience we are now reaching at maineappeals, I was contacted by the Appellate Judges Education Institute and asked to remind folks about their upcoming Summit in Dallas, on November 13-16, 2014. For more information, see their website http://ajei.law.smu.edu/Home.aspx.
This is the ABA's appellate group. It's a little different from DRI's or AAAL's, in that it includes judges. I note that Professor Cherminisky is giving his Supreme Court review program, which I've attended and is always excellent. Justice Scalia and Professor Garner are also doing their thing, which I've also seen before and is entertaining. If you do go to Dallas, make sure you get a pair of cowboy boots – I did that when I went to Houston once, and they are really comfy.
For me, the next appellate conference trip is in a few weeks. I am off to Coral Gables for the next AAAL meeting. I like the AAAL because it's like the College of Trial Lawyers — it's a relatively small (capped at 300) group of appellate lawyers who have been nominated and vetted and have to have serious appellate credentials and thumbs up from their peers and the judges in front of whom they appear. So the level of the discussions at the meetings is pretty advanced, beyond the Appeals 101. As always, your intrepid reporter will give you the full skinny of what goes on.
