Washington Lawyer - August/September 2018 - 13

GOVERNMENT & GAVEL

"We want this lecture series to
continue. As time goes on, fewer
and fewer people will have known
Judge Flannery personally. He
represents the epitome of a judge
and a gentleman and someone
who was always civil, always
rational and open to reason."
SENIOR U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE PAUL L. FRIEDMAN

the need for dedicated prosecutors as well as the
challenges they face. He also discussed the importance of upholding the rule of law.
Zuckerman says having Justice Ginsburg as this
year's featured speaker is a "superb" way to mark
the lecture series' anniversary.
"For me, she's a trailblazer. She's an icon. She's larger
than life," Zuckerman says. "But even more than
that, she came up through the D.C. Circuit, so she's
very familiar with this community. I'm curious to
hear what she will have to say to this audience
versus what she might say to another audience."
Addy Schmitt, a member of the Flannery Lecture
Committee, says she looks forward to the event
every year as a chance to listen to a "thoughtful
discussion, usually on something topical in the
criminal justice arena," and catch up with friends
and colleagues at an informal reception afterward.
"There's a real sense of community to the lecture
series," says Schmitt, an attorney in the Washington,
D.C., office of Miller & Chevalier Chartered. "Our city
is filled with lawyers, but this is a group of attorneys
[who] are very connected to the D.C. courts and yet
don't get together that often. It brings together the
bench and some of the core members of our legal
community for a really wonderful exchange of ideas."
That the majority of judges on the District Court
and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals attend the
event every year "really says something about how
the lecture is perceived," Schmitt adds.
Judge Flannery was born in D.C. and attended
Gonzaga College High School, just a block from his
home. The son of a carpenter, he never attended
college, but ended up graduating in 1940 from
Columbus University Law School, now part of The

Catholic University of America. He served as a
combat intelligence officer in the Army Air Forces
during World War II. After the war, Flannery worked
both at the U.S. Attorney's Office and in private
practice. In 1969 he was appointed U.S. Attorney.
Flannery brought scores of young attorneys "under
his wing" at the U.S. Attorney's Office and during his
time on the court, says Senior U.S. District Judge
Paul L. Friedman.

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"He was the kind of person you could go to for
advice," says Judge Friedman." His door was always
open. He was welcoming and he had a wealth of
experience as a trial lawyer and trial judge."
Flannery died of a heart attack at age 89. He left
behind a community of lawyers, some of whom
have gone on to become nationally known
litigators.
The lecture series serves as a way to keep Flannery's
memory alive for the next generation of lawyers, says
Judge Friedman, another member of the Flannery
Lecture Committee. It's time for the next generation
to take over planning the lecture series, he says.
"We want this lecture series to continue," Judge
Friedman says. "As time goes on, fewer and fewer
people will have known Judge Flannery personally.
He represents the epitome of a judge and a gentleman and someone who was always civil, always
rational and open to reason. It's important to
remind people of this kind of person, someone
who represents what we can be as members of
the legal profession and the judiciary."

Anna Stolley Persky is a regular contributor to
Washington Lawyer.

Alvin M. Guttman, Esq.
(202) 293-3595
www.lawofficespacedc.com

http://www.lawofficespacedc.com

Washington Lawyer - August/September 2018

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