|
||||||||
|
||||||
Lawyer in the Library  Take unusual classes and develop an expertise in a certain area of law. That’s the advice Rush O’Keefe Jr., senior vice president and general counsel for FedEx Express, gave to law students packing a UM courtroom. O’Keefe, a 1979 UM law graduate, was the sixth speaker in the law school’s monthly Lawyer in the Library lecture series. “The concepts I learned in my contracts class about the basic principles of contract law now apply to $50 million to $100 million aircraft acquisitions,” O’Keefe said. O’Keefe’s lecture focused on the nature of law practice in a corporate legal department. “The most important lesson is the value of the trust and confidence of your clients in all settings, but in particular for corporate legal departments,” O’Keefe said. In law school, O’Keefe, who has an undergraduate degree in accounting, was first interested in tax law but changed his mind after taking a labor law course during his second year. After graduation, he chose to work for a firm doing employment litigation. “If you see a course out of the ordinary that you normally wouldn’t take—take it, and you might find something you like,” O’Keefe said. This is exactly the kind of advice Lawyer in the Library program coordinator Macey Edmonson wants students to hear. The law school began the series last spring to introduce first- and second-year students to various areas of law practice. Speakers discuss such topics as legal careers and research tools and advise students on the classes to take to achieve career goals. The lectures were originally held in the law library but became so popular they had to be moved to the law school’s spacious moot court rooms. Students have an opportunity to hear guests speak about their particular career paths, resources the speakers find most useful and classes that will help students interested in various areas of law practice, Edmonson said. Lawyer in the Library is just one of several programs bringing UM law alumni back to the classroom. “Alumni can offer perspective to law students by staying in touch with the law school, offering advice and counsel to them as they formulate their career choices,” O’Keefe said. He is responsible for FedEx Express legal matters worldwide. He was promoted to his current post in 2002, after serving as vice president of regulatory and industry affairs. He started with the company’s legal department in 1986 and is a three-time winner of its Five Star Award for employee excellence. “As general counsel for FedEx Express, Rush O’Keefe has practiced at the very highest levels of corporate America,” said Dean Samuel Davis. “We are very pleased to have someone with his experience and stature bringing a different perspective to the Lawyer in the Library series.” At FedEx, Tennessee’s largest private employer, the legal department handles all litigation, labor relations, regulatory and environmental issues such as aviation rights, the legal aspects of customs, U.S. trade policy and free trade agreements. “In the corporate legal department you are viewed as a business partner,” O’Keefe said. “The role you get to play in business is very interesting.” In a law firm, attorneys are judged on the number of billable hours, O’Keefe said. “In a corporate legal department the pressure is to get the work done.” Corporate law often requires lawyers to make business decisions, O’Keefe said. His position as general counsel involves weighing the legal side of an issue against the business side. “In my everyday work, two-thirds are on the business side and one-third is on the legal side,” he said. Although corporate legal departments usually don’t hire people right out of law school, O’Keefe encouraged students to shoot for success. Although interested in criminal law, first-year student Jamie Harrell of Hattiesburg said she didn’t want to miss O’Keefe’s presentation. “It is interesting to be taken out of the classroom and know how real lawyers practice and what they do,” Harrel said. “In class you sometimes wonder what you are going to do with this.” A native of Batesville, O’Keefe is licensed to practice in Mississippi and Tennessee. — Natashia Gregoire and Kara Given
Feds Fighting Cybercrime, Preventing Identity Theft  Dan Larkin, chief of FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, delivers the keynote address at a National Association of Attorneys General conference held at the law school Nov. 1-3. The conference, hosted by the National Center for Justice and the Rule of Law, focused on ‘Computer-Facilitated Identity Theft Training.’
Lawyer in the Library brings attorneys back to school After its successful introduction last spring, the Lawyer in the Library speaker series returned in the fall with an impressive roster of attorneys willing to share their advice with UM law students. The attorneys, all School of Law alumni, gave first- and second-year students tips on how to achieve successful careers.  “Never forget common courtesy,” said attorney Richard L. Forman (JD 71), a partner with Forman, Perry, Watkins, Krutz & Tardy, LLP, in Jackson. “Treat people … with courtesy and respect.” During his September lecture, Forman encouraged students to think about ways to resolve legal disputes “so that everybody can come out feeling good about what you’ve done.” Other speakers in the series were Rush O’Keefe Jr. (JD 79), senior vice president and general counsel for FedEx Express, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Al Jernigan (JD 76).  Drawing on his experiences as a county attorney, public defender, city prosecutor, assistant district attorney and assistant U.S. attorney, Jernigan focused his November lecture on opportunities available to attorneys in public service. “There is an opportunity for each of you in public service if you want it,” Jernigan said. “The good thing about federal government employment is the pay goes up every year.” To be employed by the Department of Justice, which hires about 600 attorneys each year, students need to be at the top of their classes, clerk for a federal or state judge and get practice trying cases, Jernigan advised. “They will do a thorough background check,” he said. “When I was being interviewed they talked to my Boy Scout leader from when I was a kid.” Jernigan told students who want to become effective trial lawyers to go to a courtroom and watch a trial. “The thing that makes you an effective trial lawyer is to sense the emotion,” he said. “You must be able to sense what is going on in the jurors’ minds and how the judge will influence the jury.” Like Forman, Jernigan encouraged the future attorneys to pick their battles. “You must know when to try and when to settle.” Forman told them that clear, succinct writing is the foundation of a long legal career and stressed the importance of taking legal writing classes. “Think about what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it, so you can get your point across,” he said. “You’re going to have an opportunity to influence the law when you write a brief.” Overall, the attorneys encouraged students to shoot for success, but to be sure to find meaning and purpose in their work. “It was never my intent to make a career of public service,” Jernigan said. “It has become my life’s work, and I’ve never regretted it.” —Natashia Gregoire and Kara Givens
|
||||||
