FROM THE EDITOR
Lawyers Crack Me Up
On the first day of February,
five brave lawyers stood before a large
crowd of people, took a deep breath—and
tried to make them laugh.
The occasion was the second annual
John J. O’Connor Humor
Competition, and the lunch crowd at the
Phoenix Country Club was aching for a
chuckle. The fact that they thought
lawyers could fill that need is a testament
to the contest’s namesake, who was
known to be a hilarious fellow. Amid those gathered at the Phoenix 100 Rotary
luncheon was John O’Connor’s widow, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Justice O’Connor’s poker face may be attributable to her years on the bench,
and her visage would reveal nothing about her own thoughts of the comic abilities
on display. Perhaps that was for the best. After all, the task of smiling (or grimacing) fell to the five judges: ASU Law School Dean Doug Sylvester, University of
Arizona Law Dean Marc Miller, Phoenix School of Law Associate Dean Ann
Woodley, and last year’s lawyer–comic winner, Jodi Weisberg.
The comics included lawyers Tad Davis, from the Pinal County Attorney’s
Office; and Larry Cutler, from the Attorney General’s Office.
The top three finalists—and therefore the big-money winners—were Nancy
Stanley, Assistant Dean at the University of Arizona College of Law; Bill Begley,
at The Cavanagh Law Firm; and first-place winner Bob Howard, from Jekel,
Howard & Thomson LLP.
In an upcoming post on my blog ( http://azatty.wordpress.com/), I may
share my own ranking of each comic’s best joke (in my humble opinion). But for
now, here is a sampling from the top winner, Bob Howard:
L to R: Phoenix Rotary 100 President Brendan Kennedy, Nancy
Stanley, Bob Howard, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (ret.), Bill Begley
“This is a great crowd—a lot more people than at the Chik-Fil-A
gay-pride dinner, or the Chicanos for Joe Arpaio rally.”
Congratulations to all the lawyers who participated. But compared to last year’s
inaugural competition, one thing struck me about the event: Where were all the
law students?
The issue you’re reading contains a huge variety of content on the
topic of online law. And that accomplishment is largely attributable
to the knowledge and efforts of attorney Connie Mableson.
Connie is a member of the best Editorial Board in the country,
and her practice is focused on cyberlaw; it was her idea that we
should examine the topic. Her skill, judgment and broad reach of
possible lawyer–writers enabled us to locate the best content to keep
you up to date.
Thanks, Connie. I tip a virtual hat to you. AZ AT
A Publication of the State Bar of Arizona
ARIZONA
attorney
MAGAZINE
attorney
Editor
TIM EIGO
Tim.Eigo@staff.azbar.org
Art Director
KAREN HOLUB
Production Manager
MICHAEL PEEL
Advertising Sales Coordinator
KATE CORTEZ
Advertising Sales Manager
LISA BORMASTER FONTES
Lisa.Bormaster@staff.azbar.org
Editorial Board
HON. RANDALL M. HOWE, CHAIR
DAVID H. BENTON
ANN MARIE CHISCHILLY
NICOLE MAROULAKOS
GOODWIN
ELVIN GARRY GRUNDY III
JOSEPH A. KANEFIELD
MAY LU
CONNIE J. MABLESON
HON. WEND Y S. MORTON
REBECCA A. REED
LESLIE ROSS
MARK D. SAMSON
KEITH A. SWISHER
ANTHONY TSONTAKIS
Addresses
4201 N. 24th Street, Suite 100
Phoenix, AZ 85016-6266
(602) 252-4804
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VOLUME 49, NO. 7
