A Spotlight on SCBA Affiliates - Sacramento County Bar Association

Y
es, it’s the guy from A Man for All
Seasons. 1
The Saint Thomas More Society,
Sacramento (STMS), is an independent organization
sponsored by Catholic lawyers, governed
by a board, with its membership open to
attorneys and other legal professionals and legislative
advocates of any religious persuasion
who subscribe to its purposes. The purposes of
STMS are to serve as a mutual support group,
to foster individual spiritual growth, to further
interfaith understanding, and to promote the
teachings of the Second Vatican Council. STMS does not
engage in advocacy or take stands on controversial political
questions; nor does it engage in fundraising.
St. Thomas More Societies are generally Roman Catholic
lawyer groups, as St. Thomas More is the patron saint of
lawyers. There is no national linking of these societies, with
various cities or university campuses maintaining
autonomous groups. In Sacramento, there was an earlier
group in the 1950s, and there is evidence that a student
group existed at UOP-McGeorge in the 1980s. The current
incarnation in Sacramento was tied to Bishop Francis A.
Quinn’s request, in 1988, to hold a Red Mass -- a tradition
dating back to the 13th century of requesting that the Holy
Spirit bless public officials and members of the legal community
with guidance and understanding in their work.
Because the traditional color of the Holy Spirit is red, priests
would wear red vestments, and the lawyers and judges who
20 SACRAMENTO LAWYER JULY/AUGUST 2011
Affiliate <strong>Spotlight</strong>
Sacramento’s St. Thomas
More Society By
St. Thomas More Society members gathering
at the April 2011 meeting
St. Thomas More, the Patron
Saint of Lawyers
The late Rev. Charles
McDermott, a founding
member of the STMS
Heather Hoganson
wore court robes also switched to red for the
occasion.
According to Bob Roth, one of STMS’
founding members, the first meeting of the
current “St. Thomas More Society of
Sacramento County” took place on May 10,
1988, in the basement of the Cathedral.
Fifteen lawyers were in attendance. That
number doubled the next year, with 31 paid
charter members.
STMS became an affiliate of SCBA in 2005
and the officers and directors of STMS have
been frequent sponsors of SCBA events, such as the Bench
Bar Reception and membership recruitment efforts.
The current Board is as follows:
President: Plauché Villeré
Vice President: Paul Starkey
Recording Secretary: Heather Cline Hoganson
Treasurer: Victoria Cline
Liturgical Director: Elizabeth Spring
Board Members At Large: Herb Bolz, Bruce Timm,
Michael Terhorst
STMS has, for the past six years, co-sponsored an annual
Ethics luncheon with the J. Reuben Clark Law Society
(JRCLS) and the Brigham Young University Management
Society (BYUMS). Speakers have included Justice
Nicholson, Justice Davis, Judge Mize, Professor Paton of
UOP-McGeorge, and Professor Hanson, Executive
Arnold Kunst discusses lessons from Lincoln at
the April 2011 meeting