Anthony M. Doniger Takes Office as New BBA President

BBA UpdateAnthony M. DonigerTakes Office as New BBA PresidentASK TONY DONIGER’S colleagues what he’s like, and they will note thatthe 86 th President of the Boston Bar Association has great trial skills, keen businessacumen, an uncanny ability to read clients and opposing counsel, and thathe’s very pragmatic in crafting solutions to problems. In addition, he is trulycommitted to the law as a profession, and for years has taken a leadership rolein advancing access to justice and civil rights and civil liberties.“Tony is the ultima t e c i t i z e nlawyer, and hethinks strategica l l y, ” s a y sChristine Netski,one of his lawpartners at Sugarman,Rogers,Barshak & Cohen, the firm he joined right out of HarvardLaw School some 30 years ago. “He tells people what theyneed to hear, not what they want to hear, but he always doesit in a very respectful way.”Chair-person of Business Litigationat Sugarman Rogers, Tony focuseson complex business, probate,domestic relations and professionalliability litigation.His clients include major nationaland international corporations,non-profit institutions and associations,and individuals engaged inmanufacturing, banking, technology,real estate, the arts, investment,and professional services.“When I look back on my growthas a lawyer, my bar association activities were as responsiblefor my developing a practice and being a self-sufficient lawyeras anything I’ve ever done,” Tony said in a recent interview.“The BBA provides wonderful opportunities for pro bonowork, civic involvement, business development, andcredentialing.”The new President takes any opportunity he can to encouragemore established lawyers to invite their junior colleaguesto join them at BBA events — if for no other reason than agenuine belief that lawyers who participate in bar activitiesFROM OUR NEW PRESIDENT’S CURRICULUM VITAE.• J.D., Harvard Law School, 1977; A.B., OxfordUniversity, 1973• Partner and former Managing Partner, Sugarman,Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C.• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers• Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers• Co-Author, Massachusetts Litigation Forms andAnalysis (3 volumes) (Thomson/West, 2006)• Served on Board of Bar Overseers HearingCommitteeare far more personally and professionally fulfilled than thosewho don’t. He also observes that clients are very savvy andlook at the C.V.’s of the lawyers they engage, and that chairinga BBA committee or undertaking other leadership roles,of which there are literally hundreds, can add gravitas to alawyer’s reputation and also help hone leadership skills.With characteristic candor, he adds: “Unless you want tospend your life in your office working solely on other people’scases and responding to other lawyers’ requests, you shouldjoin the BBA to develop professionally, meet other lawyers,and engage in the issues of the day.”Tony’s passion for access to justice has manifested itselfin a number of ways. As incomingBBA President, one of hisfirst acts was to constitute aTask Force on Civil Right toCounsel, chaired by formerBBA President Mar y Ryan.Because the BBA Council hasalready endorsed the ABA’sresolution on a right to counselfor low income persons in civilproceedings where basic humanneeds are at stake, andbecause Massachusetts alreadyhas a number of areas in whichthere is such a civil right tocounsel, the Task Force’s role will be to develop a game planfor expanding and making comprehensive the right in certaincritical areas.Tony also chairs the Massachusetts IOLTA Committee,the body appointed by the Supreme Judicial Court to supervisethe collection of all IOLTA funds and their disbursementto several charitable entities designed to improve the administrationof justice and support the delivery of civil legalservices to the poor.

BBA Update“Tony’s dedication and caring for low income people is evident in the leadershiphe provided during challenging times for IOLTA,” says Jayne Tyrrell, ExecutiveDirector of the Massachusetts IOLTA Committee. “He’s very action oriented;he gets things done.”She credits him in large part with the recent, substantial increase in IOLTArevenue that Massachusetts is now seeing as a result of a revised guideline thatmakes more specific the requirement that banks pay rates on IOLTA accountsthat are comparable to the rates paid on similar, non-IOLTA accounts. She alsosays that during the time when IOLTA rates were plummeting, the good relationshipshe forged with banks helped keep IOLTA revenue relatively stable.The founding Chair of the Boston Bar Association’s Individual Rights andResponsibilities Section, Tony served on the Board of the American Civil LibertiesUnion of Massachusetts (ACLUM) for nearly two decades, and also servedas the organization’s President and General Counsel for a number of years.During that time, Tony litigated a number of ACLUM cases in the courts of theCommonweath, including one in which he successfully argued to the SupremeJudicial Court that there should be no executive privilege recognized inMassachusetts.“Tony has made extraordinary contributions to the cause of civil libertiesthroughout his legal career,” says John Reinstein, legal director of ACLUM.The first BBA President to have a baccalaureate degree from Oxford University,and to have spent six months on a kibbutz before going to law school, Tonygrew up in Great Neck, New York. His father was a publisher of books whohad begun his career as a journalist. His mother, though she never graduatedfrom high school, was one of the innately smartest, most knowledgeable andwell-read people he has ever met.Tony began his undergraduate studies in 1968 at Washington University inSt. Louis. Extremely active in the anti-war movement, he found lots of demonstrationsto organize because of the many corporations headquartered in St. Louiswho were manufacturing the weapons and planes used in the Viet Nam war. Byhis sophomore year, he was running the St. Louis Draft Resistance Group, buthe was also getting burned out on anti-war activities.He applied to and was accepted at Oxford University, and headed off to England,where he started as a first year student and did the full three year course.There he met his wife, Liza Lunt. In 1974, she immigrated with him to the UnitedStates, and they settled in Cambridge, where both went to law school.While many of his classmates were making a bee-line for Boston’s then largestlaw firms, Tony had other ideas. A member of the Harvard Civil Rights CivilLiberties Law Review, where his editor was future U.S. District Court JudgePatti Saris, he was determined to try cases early on in his career, and get lotsof trial experience. For him that meant going to Sugarman, Rogers, a choicehe has never regretted.“I wanted to try cases,” he says. “That’s why I went to law school. I’m stilltrying cases.”By all accounts Tony is a lawyer who takes pride in living an integrated life.His wife, Liza, is a partner at Zalkind, Rodriguez, Lunt & Duncan where shedoes criminal defense work and civil litigation. Tony and Liza live in the BackBay and have two daughters: Kate, 25, Deputy Director of the Red Hook CommunityJustice Center in Brooklyn, New York; and Emma, 23, an art historymaven who works for Doyle New York, an auction house.Tony Doniger onthe BBA Agenda for2007-2008● ONGOINGBBA Diversity Leadership Task Force.“This broad-based multi-year initiative iscommitted to addressing the need forgreater ethnic and racial diversity in thelegal profession. Last year, my predecessor,Jack Cinquegrana, boldly mobilizeda task force consisting of highly respectedleaders who come from all segments ofthe legal profession, and they are committedto taking a fresh look at this issue, withan eye toward determining what role theBBA can play in achieving real improvementin this area. I am committed to seeingthis important project through.”● NEWBBA Task Force on Civil Right toCounsel. “Underscoring the BBA’scommitment to expanding access to justicefor low-income people, this task forcewill convene knowledgeable and thoughtfulpeople to develop a practical game planon how to expand and make comprehensivea right to counsel for low incomepeople in civil proceedings where basichuman needs are at stake. The BBACouncil unanimously voted more than ayear ago to endorse an ABA resolutioncalling for such a civil right to counsel; wemust now focus our energies on how toimplement it.”Develop Long-Range Plan and MissionStatement. “This will be a year ofinstitutional soul-searching. Our predecessororganization, the Suffolk CountyBar Association founded by John Adams,was a bunch of rebels talking revolution.We’re not talking revolution any more, butwe are committed to serving the professionand ser ving our members, andtherefore we must respond to the profoundchanges in the legal landscape andprofession that have crept up on us overthe past decade. Among other things, thiswill be the focus of our retreat for barleaders.”

Legal Mavens Talk About Tony Doniger“Tony is a treasure among lawyers. He is extremelyeffective, combining a sharp legal mind with excellentjudgment and deep experience. Ever efficient and practical,his confident and easy going manner put clients at ease.He is nimble and convincing before judges and juries. Ialways want Tony on my team.”— Nancy Straus Sundheim, Senior Vice Presidentand General Counsel, Unisys Corporation“Tony is a mensch; he is a warm, committed, friendlyguy. When he tries a case he’s a true officer of the court,representing not just his client well, but the interests ofjustice. I’ve known him since law school. He’s never losthis sense of humanity.”— Judge Patti Saris, U.S. District Court“As a lawyer, he is dogged, and relentless. At the sametime, he knows when to compromise, when to back off —what is the phrase — when to hold and when to fold. Andhe puts things, people, issues in context — in the bigpicture. These traits combined with presence, a sense ofhumor and drop dead smart — are unbeatable.”— Judge Nancy Gertner, U.S. District Court“Tony and I were opposing counsel in a hotly contestedbusiness litigation. He brought two traits to the case — asharp sword and a sharp wit. Tony was always a challenge— and a pleasure to deal with. I expect that Tony will needboth of these traits in his term as BBA President. I alsoexpect that he will be wildly successful in this importantposition.”— David A. Bunis, Dwyer & Collora, LLP“Tony and I have had many family law cases togetherthrough the years, and it an absolute pleasure to work withhim. He is smart, responsive, a terrific advocate, and agentleman. I don’t think of him as an adversary at all,since he is dedicated to solving problems, not to fomentingthem. Not surprisingly, he enjoys the enormousrespect and affection of his colleagues throughout the bar.”— Gene D. Dahmen, Verrill Dana, LLP,Past President, BBA“When I get a case with Tony Doniger on the other side,the first thing I know is that I can relax because I can trusthis integrity, his decency, his vast knowledge of the lawand a keen sense of being practical. This does not meanthat he cannot be a very aggressive and zealous advocatefor his client, and he and I have disagreed on lots of issues,but he works to be creative and decent with solutions. He’sat the top of the pack of lawyers in this city; he’s universallyrespected.”— Norman I. Jacobs, Esdaile Barrett & Esdaile“Tony exudes remarkable sophistication and class bothpersonally and professionally, and is completely dedicatedto the growth of his associates. He is a patient teacher,and has initiated and supported my attendance andinvolvement in various local and national bar activities andorganizations. Working with Tony is a pleasure and anhonor.”— Shireen G. Arani,Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C.“Tony sets a great example of what an attorney shouldbe — not only is he dedicated to his clients and a zealousadvocate, but he also recognizes the role that attorneyshave in promoting the greater good in society and hassought to play his part in doing so through his involvementin various associations, including the Boston BarAssociation, and by encouraging the associates in the firmto take on an active role in such organizations as well.”— Andrew R. LevinSugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C.BBA Shares Harrison Tweed Award with MBAIt was a moment of great pride and joy for both the BBA and the MBA when leaders of each bar association came forward toreceive a joint Harrison Tweed Award from the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants – and the NationalLegal Aid and Defender Association – last month at the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco.The Harrison Tweed Award was created in 1956 to recognize the extraordinary achievements of state and local bar associationsthat develop or significantly expand projects or programs to increase access to civil legal services for poor persons or criminaldefense services for indigents.The BBA and the MBA were nominated for the award by William Leahy, chief counsel for the Committee for Public CounselServices and Lonnie Powers, executive director of the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation. Both bars have been creditedas strong advocates of adequate compensation for both public defenders and assigned counsel. In addition, both have workedtirelessly to expand the Massachusetts Equal Justice Coalition (EJC) and to secure adequate funding for Massachusetts LegalAssistance Corporation to support civil legal aid.In 1980, the BBA won a Harrison Tweed Award in 1980 for its role in creating the Law Firm Resources Project, which matchedlaw firms with neighborhood legal services offices and the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association, which is anational model for training and recruiting lawyers in a broad range of legal practice areas to help low-income people in need.