Dean Scott H. Bice - USC Gould School of Law - University of ...

CLASS OF1951Plans are already under way for a galafiftieth class reunion in mid-200l.Those completing the reunion portionof the latest questionnaire havevoted seven for a dinner, five for abrunch, and five for a retreat of oneor two days. More significantly, thefollowing have been named to thereunion committee: Ann Stodden-Mayer, Bill Birnie, George De Roy,Ken Holland, Don Von Mizener,Milton Zerin and Volney Brown. Thefirst question for the committee toconsider is whether George De Royshould be asked to pay for the wholething. See infra. We report with deepregret the passing of BruceEngelhardt on February 7, 1999. Hewas a distinguished professional, agood friend and he loved USC. Wewill all miss him. On a much happiernote, those contending for the IronMan Trophy by continuing to practicelaw include Martin Abrams(about nine months of the year), DonBrown (“still somewhat alive andpracticing”), George De Roy (“part ofa team which obtained a judgment of$454,000,000 (sic) in Georgia”), RoyMann (“alive and well and practicing”),Fred Flam (who, BernieSchulhof says, is “living in Bonsall,playing bridge and practicing parttime”) and Art Wasserman (“Nochange, still practicing.”) The last ofthese wins the trophy, to be presentedby a surviving classmate, ifany. There has been some activity inthe who-saw-whom department. JoeCapalbo spoke with Herb Kalmbachon the phone and met Bill Birnie at aHalf-Century Club dinner. Both are“very well.” Bill Jekel took RoyMann to breakfast and reports thatthe latter is “living a life of gracefulsemi-retirement; relaxed, goodhumoredand as perceptive as ever.”Sid Rose ex ux “somewhat regularly”CLASS NOTESsees Leonard and June Weinberg fordinner, bridge and occasionally, golf.“Leenie and our dog, Oscar, revel inour summers in Colorado.”Weinberg, for himself, admits he hasbeen seeing Sid, as well as MikeFranklin and Stu Hillman, who are“all well.” John Anderson has notseen any classmates because “theyare not conveniently located” inrespect to his Kihei, Hawaii home.(Now that you have mentioned it,John, we will all just drop in). Joseph(Roy) Ventress has not met any classmates,but he would be “delighted”to take one to lunch. Your ClassReporter has recently served on aCitizens Commission on U.S. DrugPolicy under the aegis of the Institutefor Policy Studies and Loyola LawSchool, which found that the “waragainst drugs” has been lost andmade certain recommendations,copy upon request. Responding classmatesapparently concur. Sixteensaid that the “war” can never be wonvs. three who said that it still can bewon. Ten thought the war was notworth the cost. Fifteen thought fundsshould be spent primarily on treatment,as against seven for enforcement.Food for thought: Asked whatsingle law they would most like tohave repealed, responses includeddrug laws (several), three strikes,drunk driving statutes, redundantlaws, tax loopholes for the superrich,the estate tax (the favorite),solicitation of prostitution, SecondAmendment, the Endangered SpeciesAct, income tax and the law ofdiminishing returns. MISCELLANY:Of 25 responses received, golf wasspecifically mentioned only fourtimes and travel seven, but these arepredominant activities. . . Dan Leedygardens when not visiting with his10 grandchildren. . . RichardMcWilliams has just returned fromBermuda. . . Bill Jekel has built anew home in Maryland. . . JoeCapalbo has homes in Sedona,Arizona, and Columbia, SouthCarolina. . . 68 percent of respondentsprovided e-mail addresses. . .“Roy” Ventress has been awardedItaly’s highest decoration for his legalcounsel and cultural support. Savethe year 2001 for our fiftieth!Volney Brown, Jr.Class ReporterCLASS OF1952Our class seems to be doing a goodjob of maintaining their enthusiasmfor living and taking to heart theadvice of an English poet known onlyas Marsden. He penned a poem entitled,“What is Time?” He answeredhis question in many ways. Two ofthem, I think, our class has taken toheart. First: “I asked an aged man,with hoary hairs, Wrinkled andcurved with worldly cares; ‘Time isthe warp of life,’ said he; ‘So, tell theyoung, the fair, the gay, to weave itwell!’ ” Second: His second responsebuilt upon the first and put it thisway: “I asked my Bible, and methinks it said, ‘Time is the presenthour, the past has fled; Live! Livetoday! Tomorrow never yet on anyhuman being rose or set.’ ” Edward C.Cazier, Jr. is still active in the practiceof law in Los Angeles, althoughin some respects he feels somewhatredundant, -- simply because of age.He is off the board of Maytag Corp.on grounds (presumably spurious) ofbeing “superannuated.” He was“term-limited” off the CaliforniaArts Council, and “emeritized” bythe Practicing Law Institute. All thatdespite the fact that he “doesn’t looka day older!” He takes some consolation,however, in the fact that he wasrecently appointed to the board ofMusic Center Presents, which ischarged with filling the halls whennot otherwise occupied by thePhilharmonic, opera, etc. A year ago,he traveled to Hanoi, where he stayedat a hostelry he had enjoyed in thefall of 1945, when Ho Chi Minh wasour ally. Ed has a new grandson, Max,born April 19, 1999, in London. Henow has his choice of being theholder of a passport issued by theUnited States, Austria, Great Britainor the European Community.Lawrence R. Frankley has a LosAngeles address, and another onewhich is most interesting and tells itall: Boarded Barn, Old Coast Road,Ormesby St. Margaret, NorfolkNR29 3QH, England. Larry is comfortablyensconced in retirement, oras he puts it, he “long ago quitwork.” From his residence inEngland, he has visited “all ofEurope,” and spends his Februariessunning and surfing in Hawaii. Hehas avocations “too numerous tolist,” but they include membershipin the Honolulu Outrigger CanoeClub, the Olympic Club in SanFrancisco, and the Carlton Club inLondon. Don Olson devoted almosttwenty years as a city attorney(Culver City, 1958-1968, andInglewood, 1968-1977), followingwhich he retired and moved toNewport Beach, where he wrote abook with the tantalizing title, HowYou Can Quit Work and Have theMoney to Do It. He must havefound the magic key, for hehasn’t practiced law or worked eversince, spending his time enjoyingretirement at the Balboa Bay Club.Now if Don would only come upwith a successful book entitled, Howto Attain and Retain Good Health,our retirement cup would truly runnethover. William B. (“Bill”) Jones,who has retired from service in theState Department at the ambassadoriallevel, still maintains two residences,one in Washington, D.C. andanother in Santa Monica. He is amember of the board of directors ofthe Center for Public Excellence.He is currently Ambassador inResidence to Hampden – SydneyCollege in Virginia, an all-male liberalarts college founded by PatrickHenry and James Madison in 1776.At Hampden-Sydney, he teachesDiplomacy, Common Law andAfrican-American Culture. Since1997, he has also been a visiting professorat Pepperdine UniversitySchool of Law, teaching Law andForeign Policy, and Diplomacy in theundergraduate program. He continuesto travel (Vienna and Paris) whenhis busy schedule permits. As previouslyreported, Jack R. Levitt retiredfrom his position as a San DiegoCounty Superior Court judge. But,contrary to an earlier article, he isstill enjoying life in Bozeman,Montana with his wife, Kay. Inreporting on our class’s 45th reunion,it was erroneously stated (in effect)that Jack was in a position to be presidingover a class action brought bya group of disgruntled applicantsdenied passage through the PearlyGates. Jack has continued his activityin Freemasonry in Montana andCalifornia. He and Kay spend theirwinters in Texas, interspersed withvisits to California. He is active inpro bono settlement work for thecourts of Montana. Leon Mayer isfinally “winding down” his trialpractice in Glendale, which has consistedof “fighting the ‘evil insuranceempire.’ ” With the exception of onedaughter, Jennifer, who is in her secondyear as a music major (violin)at California State University,Northridge, his children are out ofcollege and pursuing their owncareers. Leon is thinking of trying hishand at writing, presumably centeredon his considerable trial experiences,although we don’t knowwhether he will side with Belinda orLady Brute. “BELINDA: Ay, but youknow we must return good for evil.LADY BRUTE: That may be a mistakein the translation.” (JohnVanbrugh, The Provoked Wife[1697]). Charles H. “Chuck” Olderand his wife, Kitty, have three childrenand five grandchildren. Retiredfrom the Los Angeles CountySuperior Court, Chuck plays golffairly regularly with another distinguishedalumnus of the Law School,Malcolm Lucas, Chief JusticeCalifornia Supreme Court, Retired.You will recall that Chuck was oneof Chenault’s “Flying Tigers” duringWWII. He recently attended areunion of that group, held inMidland, Texas, with the“Confederate Air Force.” PaulEugene Overton, another of ourretired superior court judges, lives inSan Diego with his wife, Naomi.Apparently mindful of judicial limitationson the length of briefs, hecapsulizes his life since law schoolwith these succinct words, “Happyin retirement, visiting children(three daughters and one son), grandchildren(six: two girls, four boys),friends and relatives — traveling ‘allover.’ ” Berne Rolston is still enjoyingthe challenge of a full-time practice,half of the time in land use matters,and the other half representinglawyers and law firms in their“internecine relationships.” One sonand one daughter died at an early age,but he has three surviving sons,Matthew, Adam and David, whohave not, as yet, endowed him withgrandchildren. His wife, Annie, diedin 1995, but having had the “goodfortune of finding a significantother,” some of the pain is eased.Berne “suffers from good health.”Extensive travel, especially walkingtours abroad and outdoor naturetrips, have enhanced his life and ledhim to conclude that “Life is a memorableexperience.” Harry L. Root, aspreviously reported, is retired andinvolved in various civic activities.Contrary to my first report, Harry’spractice and residence since 1978was not, and is not, in San Onofre. Itwas, and still is, in that enchantingseaside resort, San Clemente. In conclusion,while it may be a little latefor some of us, there is this advicefrom Albert Einstein: “If A is successin life, then A equals X plus Y plus Z.Work is X; Y is play; and Z is keepingyour mouth shut.” (In the Observer,15 January 1950)Jack T. SwaffordClass Reporter48 USC LAW • SPRING 2000USC LAW • SPRING 200049