“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” -Rudyard Kipling
“Stories constitute the single most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal.” -Harvard Professor Howard Gardner
Our Cleveland-Marshall Law Alumni Association (CMLAA), led by Tim Collins ’85, is known for sponsoring excellent Continuing Legal Education (CLE) sessions. This past Friday, CMLAA hosted a CLE organized by Nicholas Froning ‘13.
I had the privilege of moderating the panels featuring the following 11 members of our Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (C|M|Law) Hall of Fame. Each told the compellingstories of their careers and some leadership lessons they learned along the way.
- Sheryl King Benford ’79, General Counsel, Regional Transit Authority (RTA)
- Judge Patricia Blackmon ’75, Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals
- José Feliciano Sr.’75, former partner, BakerHostetler
- Karen Giffen ’89, co-founder, Giffen & Kaminski
- Kerin Lyn Kaminski ’85, co-founder, Giffen & Kaminski
- Judge Dan Aaron Polster, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, C|M|LAW Board of Visitors; Adjunct Faculty, C|M|LAW
- Mark Smolik ’87, General Counsel / Chief Compliance Officer, DHL
- Stephen Sozio ’83, Partner, Jones Day
- Judge Melody Stewart ’88 - Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals
- Richard Stovsky ’83, Vice Chairman, Midwest Region, PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC)
- Kelly Tompkins ’81, Executive Vice President / Chief Operating Officer, Cleveland- Cliffs
Each took a different path to the law. Sheryl King Benford’s mother wanted her to be a secretary (which is why she refused to learn how to type!). Mark Smolik wanted to be a doctor. Jose Feliciano wanted to be a social worker.
Each of our presenters overcame obstacles. Steve Sozio, the first in his family to go to college, observed that each of his colleagues on the panels stepped up to challenges rather than stepping back.
Kerin Lyn Kaminski was a senior associate in a Cleveland law firm when she and a senior partner met with a major client to discuss a major piece of litigation. The client was surprised that Kerin was in the meeting and said that they were not comfortable having a woman handle such an important matter. The senior partner responded, “it’s either Kerin or no one- she’s our best litigator.” The client reluctantly agreed. After Kerin won the case, the client apologized and sent her a baseball cap with the words “Top Gun”emblazoned on the cap.
Karen Giffen noted that she didn’t just want to learn and practice law. Like our law school’s motto, she also wanted to “live justice,” which is why she is an active member of the Board of the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland.
When Jose Feliciano applied to be a White House Fellow, he was told that he didn’t have much of a chance given the intense national competition. He persevered and was chosen. “Never take yourself out of the running,” he said.
Sheryl King Benford was the first African-American President of her middle school class. Her mother was proud but reminded her that although she was the first, it now was her responsibility to make sure she wasn’t the last. That spurred Sheryl to be a mentor to many throughout her career.
Judge Patricia Blackmon, the first African-American woman in Ohio to serve on any Ohio appeals court, noted that during the 1970s, in an effort to increase its African-American student population, C|M|LAW sent then-Professor Ann Aldrich, who later became a federal judge, to recruit promising students studying at historically Black colleges in the south. She recruited Pat Blackmon, a young magna cum laude graduate of Tougaloo College, and the rest is history. Judge Blackmon quoted her mentor, “the law should be a lighthouse for the hopeful.”
Judge Dan Polster described himself as an ordinary person with an extraordinary job, who sees ordinary people do extraordinary things if given the opportunity.
Judge Melody Stewart told the humorous story of a student in Professor Alan Miles Ruben’s class who, when called on, gave countless excuses why he wasn’t prepared. Professor Ruben responded, “only a guilty man flees when no one chases.”
Rich Stovsky talked about the importance of nurturing and fostering others’ successes, rather than your own.
Kelly Tompkins spoke about the need for “contextual intelligence” in a “VUCA” world – a world that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. He explained that contextual intelligence is the ability to understand the limits of our knowledge and to adapt our knowledge to a rapidly changing environment.
Mark Smolik, by his own admission, didn’t study as much as he should have in college. Although he was admitted to C|M|LAW, he was convinced he shouldn’t be here because of his undergraduate GPA. But Mark had a defining moment when he received the high grade in Professor Hyman Cohen’s torts class. It gave him the confidence that he could succeed, and he never looked back.
Mark is encouraging about the prospects for employment for our graduates noting that this is the “most opportune time” to graduate from law school. He noted that the baby boom generation of lawyers is large, but many are beginning to retire. The incoming generation of lawyers, on the other hand, is relatively small because of national declining law school enrollment over the past 10 years, which means that our future law school graduates will have increased opportunities.
Some great stories and lessons from some great leaders.
Have a great week.
My best,
Lee
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages.