Comments on: The Church’s Litigators

By: Jeff Breinholt

Jeff Breinholt — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:18:22 +0000

Thanks. There does seem to be a correlation between being a prominent LDS litigator and getting appointed to a leadership position. How about bloggers who cover legal affairs? I can repent with the best of ‘em ….

By: JTM

JTM — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:16:32 +0000

15. Jeff
Von Keetch handles those types of claims and was called as an Area Authority Seventy last year. He is potentially being groomed to be the next General Counsel for the Church when Elder Wickman is eventually released.

By: Jeff Breinholt

Jeff Breinholt — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:46:49 +0000

I stand corrected on #12. Thanks for pointing that out.

On #11, and even more interesting question is whether the Church rewards lawyers who are willing when few others are to handle particularly messy litigation, like that involving sexual abuse, by appointing them to leadership positions. I hear that Kirton & McConkie tends to wear its association with Church leadership on its sleeve (pictures of various temples on its walls?) and that it encourages its partners to become mission presidents. This is all rumor, since I would never be allowed in there….

By: brjones

brjones — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:06:33 +0000

#13 – This statement is monumentally unfair…to male attorneys. They deserve the same level of credit for their pomposity and condescension to their staff (and pretty much everyone else) that female attorneys receive. I think it’s important not to discriminate.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:55:04 +0000

“It’s a shame; my observation is that women bring a vital perspective to the practice of law.”

Interesting. My observation is that lawyers are lawyers, and the only difference I see based on my admittedly unscientific and limited sample is that female lawyers are rather more comfortable berating the (largely female) support staff.

By: Sam B.

Sam B. — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:48:17 +0000

Jeff, Per Lexis, in the text accompanying footnote 12, it's actually Michael Costello, not Mark Costello. It doesn't really matter at all, except that a Mark Costello, who appears to have been an attorney, cowrote a book about rap with David Foster Wallace (Signifying Rappers), and, when I saw his name, I thought it would have been terminally cool if he had also represented the Church.

By: Clark

Clark — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:09:00 +0000

Jeff–
DO you have access to how many of these lawyers were later called to be General Authorities? Albert Bowen was a member of the Quorum of the 12, and Jay Jensen and Charles Dahlquist were in the presidnecy of the 70 and YM general president, respectively. Oscar McKonkie and Rex Lee were also prominent in the Church.

I’ve heard a rumor that the two largest departments on the Church are Legal and Public Relations. If that’s true, it says alot about the age we’re living in.

By: Jack

Jack — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:45:38 +0000

I thought the church was full of guys who could tell me how to get rich without having a real job,, how to avoid paying taxes, and how to invest my money in real estate deals that would pay me 30 percent interest for the rest of my life.

By: South Bend Cougar

South Bend Cougar — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:16:30 +0000

Interesting post but you didn’t provide any stats on the firms’ “success rate” in representing the Church. I would be more concerned with that number than the gender/minority participation of attorneys working at the firms.

By: Ray

Ray — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:46:02 +0000

Coffinberry, you overlooked Mary Ann Wood, and Kathryn O. Balmforth. Also, most (if not all) of the firms listed are by last name of partners only and surely include female lawyers. For example, I looked quickly at Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher (the first multiple-name firm) – and two of the first five lawyers shown on their site are women.

By: Coffinberry

Coffinberry — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:16:33 +0000

Wait. Only one woman among the bunch (assuming this Karlynn Himman person is female)? Yowza. There’s something wrong about that in a HUGE way. I’ve heard recently that BYU is under some pressure from the ABA to increase the percentage of female faculty, but there just is very little mentoring and support within church-related structures to develop female attorneys/faculty. This post suggests one reason why. It’s a shame; my observation is that women bring a vital perspective to the practice of law. This practice of not fully utilizing resources seems doubly odd from my perspective because where I clerk, 75% of the judges on the bench are women.

By: Bridget Jack Meyers

Bridget Jack Meyers — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:24:36 +0000

Kevin ~ I’d bet money he is. Eliza Dushku definitely has active members of the church among her extended family.

By: Douglas Hunter

Douglas Hunter — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:30:44 +0000

All the folks who can’t get into dental school at USC end up going to law school at BYU.

By: Kevin Barney

Kevin Barney — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:44:48 +0000

I wonder whether Alexander Dushku is related to Eliza Dushku.

By: Jeff Spector

Jeff Spector — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:39:14 +0000

And I thought the Church was full of dentists!

By: Jeff Breinholt

Jeff Breinholt — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:04:05 +0000

Fair enough.

By: Stephen M (Ethesis)

Stephen M (Ethesis) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:38:49 +0000

He was the former judge-turned-special-prosecutor who tried to drive Bill Clinton out of office with tawdry tales involving the President’s dalliance with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. He was the guy who tried to call it all off and go on to be dean of a law school and was pressured into sticking with the matter instead …