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Monday Morning Message 6.26.2017
"Don't work for recognition, but do work worthy of recognition." -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
One of the many rewarding parts of my job is receiving positive notes every week about our outstanding work. I love sharing them.
Hon. John J. Russo ’92, Administrative and Presiding Judge, Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas; Adjunct Professor, C|M|Law
Monday Morning Message 6.19.2017
“America needs talent more than ever, but Americans aren’t yet fully grasping that college is the best way to ensure that supply of talent.” - Jamie Merisotis, America Needs Talent
Ohio’s near-term economic future is in the balance. Ohio faces a projected $1 billion deficit, and in these final days of the state legislative session, legislators must pass a balanced state budget by June 30.
After having worked on nine biennial state budgets over my public service career, I know that our state legislators do not have any easy choices. Their choices rarely are between the good guys and the bad guys. They face tough choices between the good guys and the good guys.
Monday Morning Message 6.12.2017
“The fact of being an underdog changes people in ways that we often fail to appreciate. It opens doors and creates opportunities and enlightens and permits things that might otherwise have seemed unthinkable.” - Malcolm Gladwell
"My whole career has been one of fighting for the underdog." – Congressman Louis Stokes ‘53
Tonight is Game 5 of the NBA Finals between our Cleveland Cavaliers and the heavily favored Golden State Warriors. Down 3-0, the CAVs avoided a sweep Friday night and handed Golden State their first loss of the postseason. Despite our epic 137-116 victory, we remain the clear underdog.
Monday Morning Message 6.5.2017
“As LeBron James stated, ‘nothing is given, everything is earned.’ And Class of 2017, we have earned this law degree.” - Tiffany Henderson ’17, President, Student Bar Association
This is my final set of words of inspiration from our recent Commencement speakers. Below are excerpted remarks from CSU President Ronald Berkman, CSU Board Chair Bernie Moreno, Tiffany Henderson ’17, President, Student Bar Association, Ben Beckman, ’10, Chair, C|M|Law Board of Visitors, and Chief Magistrate Greg Clifford, ’80, President, C|M|LAW Alumni Association.
Monday Morning Message 5.22.2017
“Defend The Land” – Cleveland Cavaliers Playoff Slogan
“Regardless of the path we choose, it is important for us to give back. We are agents of change and we must ‘defend the land’ for everyone.”–Elissa Schooler, Class of 2017
“We are not just attorneys, but defenders of justice. A voice for the voiceless. Advocates for fairness….We are advice-givers and role models. Creative minds yet logical thinkers. To merely label us ‘attorneys’ would do a disservice to this great profession…” – Brittany Lowe, Class of 2017
Monday Morning Message 5.15.2017
“History gives answers only to those who know how to ask questions.” - unknown
As part of our year-long 120th Anniversary celebration, we unveiled our first-ever C|M|Law Trivia Game at our First Annual C|M|Law Legacy Celebration a few weeks ago.
Monday Morning Message 5.8.2017
“The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” - Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird.
It was the day I decided to learn law and live justice. It was a warm spring day. May 4, 1970. I was a freshman at Oberlin College. A few days earlier, President Richard Nixon had expanded the Vietnam War by invading Cambodia. Anti-war college protests erupted throughout the country.
About 1 o’clock in the afternoon, the news hit us in the gut as we huddled around TVs and radios on our sheltered college campus. In just 12 seconds, the Ohio National Guard fired over 60 shots at student protesters at nearby Kent State University. 9 students were wounded, one of them paralyzed for life; and 4 students were killed.
Monday Morning Message 5.1.2017
“Our fingerprints don’t fade from the lives we touch.” -Judy Blume
“Legacy is not leaving something for people, it’s leaving something in people.” – Peter Strople
This past Saturday we hosted our first-ever C|M|Law Legacy Celebration. A C|M|Law Legacy is an alumnus, alumna or current student whose parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, or spouse/life partner also received a degree from C|M|Law. Over 60 alumni legacies from 16 families attended and each were given our new C|M|Law Legacy pin. A few families had as many as 7 members of their family who graduated from C|M|Law!
Monday Morning Message 4.24.2017
“Whatever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it, they will want to come back and see you do it again, and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do. –Walt Disney
I want to highlight some upcoming major annual C|M|Law Events that you don’t want to miss!
Monday Morning Message 4.17.2017
“I hope you never lose your sense of wonder, you get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger………Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance, and when you get the choice to sit it out or dance….. I hope you dance.” – Lee Ann Womack, “I Hope You Dance.”
In the 1973 movie classic "The Paper Chase," Harvard Law School Professor Charles Kingsfield tells his students, "Look to your left, look to your right. One of you won't be here next year." During orientation last August, I told our first year students, “Look to your left, look to your right. You likely are looking at a friend and colleague for life.”