Publisher's Notebook

Harry Hirsch, the Deputy Bar Counsel at the Virginia State Bar, spent 27 years in the VSB disciplinary department, longer than any other lawyer.

Just before he retired this week, he was feted by his colleagues at the VSB, both past and present. Most of the professional staff of the bar made it to his retirement bash yesterday, as did a host of the bar investigators with whom he worked and developed cases.

Former VSB Executive Director Thomas A. Edmonds was there too, and he remarked that Hirsch had developed the reputation as “the go-to guy in the professional regulation department.”

Hirsch brought “patience and perseverance” to the job of enforcing the bar’s disciplinary rules, a task that sometimes saw him pursuing “serial killers and miscreants,” Edmonds said.

Two lawyers who served as Bar Counsel offered their tribute to Hirsch. Michael L. Rigsby called him “a consummate gentleman,” while Barbara Ann Williams said Hirsch had been “a trusted advisor and the institutional memory of the bar.”

At least one of the speakers quoted Hirsch’s trademark line, “Are we having fun yet?” – his way of breaking the tension of trial preparation and keeping the mood as light as possible. It was also noted that Hirsch has a habit of saying, “Isn’t that interesting?” when he hears something bordering on dumb.

Hirsch was joined at the party by his wife Lois, his son Ari, his daughter Dara and his brother Jack. When he got his turn to speak, Hirsch simply noted, “I am having fun.” And he added that “working at the bar has been an honor, first and foremost.”

He paid tribute to Gwen Evans, his longtime secretary. “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here smiling and raring to go,” Hirsch said to Evans.

There was one last speaker. Hirsch and U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis W. Dohnal became friends years ago while working on bar matters, particularly the revision of the ethics rules in the late 1990s. Dohnal dusted off a character he had used at VSB meetings back in the day – Moses, the giver of rules such as the Ten Commandments.

This time, Moses had one just commandment for Hirsch and his wife: “Thou Shalt Party Down!”

After delivering this rule, Moses said he had to run, since he needed “to go part the James River before rush hour.”

Harry and Lois Hirsch should have little trouble complying. The bar’s party organizers passed the hat among the lawyers and staff and collected enough money to give the Hirsches gift cards for a mountain getaway to the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina.

Here is a photo item – a picture taken by Karen Elshout, a photographer with our St. Louis-based sister operation, Missouri Lawyers Media. Karen traveled to Joplin, site of a killer tornado earlier this week. Using a GPS, she located the office of a lawyer named Brad Barton, or what was left of it:

Using an investment into a cemetery as a tax shelter sounds kind of creepy.

But it gets creepier: The Justice Department says the cemetery tax shelter, centering on Northern Virginia, is a sham and has filed an injunction to stop it.

According to a DOJ press release, the department filed in Washington federal court to stop three men from seeking contributions to a cemetery fund involving a proposed cemetery near the Chancellorsville battlefield in Spotsylvania County.

Civil War heritage and all the brave fallen…

A memorial garden near the scene of their sacrifice…

Get five bucks in tax benefits for every dollar you invest…

You see how this could fly.

The feds allege that the trio, which includes a father-son team from the Metro DC area, made millions used illegal tactics and made unfounded promises; however, this is just a civil action seeking an injunction.

The release adds that DOJ has obtained “hundreds” of such injunctions “to stop the promotion of abusive or fraudulent tax schemes.” Who knew?

Just what is going on at the University of Virginia law school?

Students are in the middle of exam period, but distractions abound.

Above the Law has been following Mr. Jefferson’s law school, and reports, that among other things:

• A 3L claimed that he had been racially profiled and harassed by University police, then admitted he made up the whole story. UVa’s storied honor system may or may not apply.

• A 2L was arrested by U-cops last Friday and charged with stalking and assault on his ex-girlfriend.

Stay tuned.

The Laurel Leader-Call of Laurel, Miss., has a story about a asbestos trial last week in Smith County, Miss.

Tony Brown, 48, brought claims against Union Carbide Corp. and Chevron Phillips Chem, based on exposure to asbestos. He worked as a roughneck in the Mississippi oilfields in the 1970 and 1980s, mixing drilling mud for rigs. He has been diagnosed with asbestosis and is on oxygen 24 hours a day.

Brown started working in the fields at age 16 and he was unable to read and write. The defendants tried this defense: Since he couldn’t read, he didn’t get the benefits of a Mississippi law requiring companies to warn oil-field workers about the known dangers of asbestos drilling products.

So how did that spin on the statute go over?

Not very well. The jury returned an award of $322 million, the largest single asbestos verdict in U.S. history, according to the Leader-Call. The verdict includes money for future medical expenses, pain and suffering and punitives.

Anyone who has ever gotten a defendant’s name wrong and had to figure out how to fix the pleadings will appreciate this item.

There is a whole body of law relating to making a mistake on someone’s name or suing the wrong person or company.

You can move to fix a name that is incorrect. If you sue the wrong party, you better realize it before the statute of limitations runs. Or have your carrier on speed-dial.

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King has a story from the recently completed National Football League draft. The Cleveland Browns were the culprits, and a motion to correct misnomer wouldn’t help.

In the fourth round of the draft, the Browns took a tight end from USC who has one of those names that is a law firm – Jordan Cameron. They call him. Everyone’s excited. High fives all around.

Later they call him back to get some biographical information, only they call…Cameron Jordan.

Jordan is a defensive end who played at Cal. Imagine his surprise to hear from Cleveland. He had been drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round. Jordan told them to call Cameron.

Given the way the Browns have played the past few seasons, this makes perfect sense.

The Roanoke Times earns the honors, with their story about problems on Interstate 81, published today, May 5:

Sinkhole de Mayo: Expect delays on Interstate 81 North of Lexington

Why are so many lawyers unhappy?

It’s a question that keeps the therapists in business but it’s not easily answered.

A clinical psychologist in DC, in a piece called “The Depressed Lawyer,” cites a report finding that lawyers have the highest incidence of depression of 100 occupations studied.

This same piece, published in a blog from Psychology Today, offers 10 tips to help lawyers in distress.

Check it out if it might help someone you know.