Higher Callings – Details, episodes & analysis

When a person becomes a lawyer, they take an oath. The oath is often administered in a formal bar admission ceremony. Each year in Massachusetts, many such ceremonies take place at historic Faneuil Hall. The new lawyers and their families hear speeches from judges and bar leaders, and the oath they are required to recite dates back to colonial times. Through it, they pledge to “do no falsehood, nor consent to the doing of any in court”; not to participate in the pursuit of “any false, groundless or unlawful” claims; and to conduct themselves “in the office of an attorney with the courts according to the best of [their] knowledge and discretion,” faithful to the courts as well as to their clients. Most states’ attorney oaths also include a commitment to support that state’s constitution and the Constitution of the United States of America. 

These promises new attorneys make are lifelong commitments. They are promises to abide by the rule of law, and are vitally important to the strength of our democracy. And they are only the first, but also the most fundamental, of the professional duties lawyers assume in exchange for the privilege of practicing law. 

One person who takes the lawyer’s oath most seriously is Scott Harshbarger. Scott has practiced law in Massachusetts for more than 50 years. He has also held high office, including serving as the District Attorney for the largest county in the Commonwealth in the 1980s, and as the two-term Attorney General of Massachusetts in the 1990s.  

In 2019, Scott co-founded a nonprofit organization called Lawyers Defending American Democracy, and he continues to chair LDAD’s board. Among other activities, LDAD seeks to hold lawyers accountable when they violate their professional oaths in ways that threaten to undermine democracy and the rule of law. 

I recently spoke with Scott about his early influences, his decision to become a lawyer, and his career-long commitment to professionalism as reflected in the oath that lawyers take. Those topics are covered in the first portion of our conversation. At approximately the 56 minute mark, we turn to a discussion of the mission and work of LDAD. Throughout our entire conversation, I never tired of hearing Scott’s perspective of the role of the lawyer in defending our democracy and the work his organization is doing to protect the rule of law.  

The following episode is our complete conversation. I encourage you to listen to it in its entirety, even if you need to do it in more than one sitting, as Scott’s inspiring description of his early influences at the beginning of the episode helps to place his values and ideals into an illuminating historical context and demonstrates the roots of his commitment to the work of LDAD that he describes later. And please consider sharing it with your friends, family, and other contacts.

This link will take you to LDAD's website, which sheds a great deal of light on what LDAD is and the extraordinary work it has been doing: https://ldad.org/

If you have enjoyed the Higher Callings podcast, you might also enjoy Don's Substack Newsletter, Reflections of a Boston Lawyer, which you can find here: https://donaldfrederico.substack.com/

It’s been almost four years since the last Presidential election and the battle for the future of our democracy is still raging. Much of it is in the spotlight, through national news media, popular podcasts, books, and social media. Large organizations, like the American Bar Association, have devoted a great deal of time and effort in recent years promoting democracy and the rule of law. Much work also is happening through individuals and groups you may never have heard of who are diligently defending democracy and the rule of law in discreet yet meaningful ways. The important work of those organizations, some of which we’ve featured on this podcast, provides an inspiring source of hope for those concerned about our nation’s future. 

One such group, based in my home state, is Lawyers Defending American Democracy. Co-founded and chaired by former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger and led by Executive Director Lauren Stiller Rikleen, Lawyers Defending American Democracy, or LDAD, states as its mission “to galvanize lawyers to defend the rule of law in the face of an unprecedented threat to American democracy.” Because defending democracy is the responsibility of all Americans and not just one party, LDAD’s website confirms that its work is not political or partisan. 

In June 2023, I had the privilege of interviewing Lauren Rikleen about a number of topics, including the work of LDAD. The following is an excerpt from our conversation. As with other episodes in our Democracy and Rule of Law series, the complete episode of my interview with Lauren can be found on the Higher Callings podcast website and on leading podcast platforms.

If you have enjoyed the Higher Callings podcast, you might also enjoy Don's Substack Newsletter, Reflections of a Boston Lawyer, which you can find here: https://donaldfrederico.substack.com/

Lauren Stiller Rikleen is a force of nature. An accomplished lawyer and author, past President of the Boston Bar Association, and holder of several leadership positions in the American Bar Association, she now has her own leadership institute and serves as Executive Director of an organization of lawyers devoted to defending American democracy. Lauren also recently served as editor of an inspiring book, presenting the stories of 25 women judges, all of whom, like her, have received the ABA's prestigious Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award. 

In this episode of Higher Callings, I talk with Lauren about some of her recent work, including the work of Lawyers Defending American Democracy and the publication of her new book.

You can find the Rikleen Institute website here.

You can find the website for Lawyers Defending American Democracy here.

You can learn more about, and order a copy of, Lauren's latest book, Her Honor: Stories of Challenge and Triumph from Women Judges, here.

If you have enjoyed the Higher Callings podcast, you might also enjoy Don's Substack Newsletter, Reflections of a Boston Lawyer, which you can find here: https://donaldfrederico.substack.com/

I recently had the privilege of interviewing retired Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Margot Botsford and Boston attorney Denise Murphy about the important work they and others have been doing to promote lawyer well-being in Massachusetts. During that interview, we talked briefly about an organization called the Committee for Public Counsel Services, or CPCS. According to its website, CPCS provides “legal representation in Massachusetts for those unable to afford an attorney in all matters in which the law requires appointment of counsel.” Those areas include criminal defense, children and family law, youth advocacy, and mental health litigation.  

Our conversation inspired me to reach out to Anthony Benedetti, the Chief Counsel of CPCS, and ask him to provide an update on the work of CPCS, including its efforts to recruit and retain attorneys to perform the indispensable work with which it is charged.  Anthony had appeared on the podcast in November 2021, and I encourage anyone who is interested in an overview of CPCS to listen to that earlier episode. At my request, Anthony has now returned to the podcast to address some of the questions that came up in the lawyer well-being episode, and to discuss some of the ongoing initiatives of CPCS to support its lawyers and non-lawyer staff, and the many attorneys who handle CPCS cases as independent contractors.   

The work of CPCS is vital to the Massachusetts legal system and the ability of indigent persons to secure meaningful access to justice. Whether you are a student or a lawyer who thinks they may be interested in taking on some of this important work, or simply a concerned citizen who would like to learn more about it, this episode of Higher Callings is for you.

You can learn more about CPCS at its website: https://www.publiccounsel.net/

If you have enjoyed the Higher Callings podcast, you might also enjoy Don's Substack Newsletter, Reflections of a Boston Lawyer, which you can find here: https://donaldfrederico.substack.com/

In February, I interviewed Boston IP attorney Chinh Pham, a former colleague of mine and current President of the Boston Bar Association. At the beginning of the interview, Chinh told me the remarkable story of his family’s rescue from Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in 1975 in the final days of the Vietnam War, and his recent renewed contact with the American naval personnel from the U.S.S. Duluth who rescued them. The February episode began in Chinh's adult years and explored his career as a lawyer and his work with the Boston Bar Association. I now present this bonus episode, in which Chinh recounts the story of how a 10-year-old boy and his family were rescued from a war-torn country in the South China Sea and their happy reunion 44 years later with some of the Americans who rescued them.

If you have enjoyed the Higher Callings podcast, you might also enjoy Don's Substack Newsletter, Reflections of a Boston Lawyer, which you can find here: https://donaldfrederico.substack.com/

The American legal system is only as healthy as the lawyers and judges who populate it. Yet, the system as it’s structured places enormous stress on many of them, which not only affects their personal happiness and career satisfaction, but also can diminish the level of service they provide to their clients and the public who depend on them. 

In 2017, a National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being issued a groundbreaking report. The report found that the legal profession was falling short when it comes to lawyer well-being; that too many lawyers experience chronic stress and high rates of depression and substance abuse; and that those conditions could not support a profession dedicated to client service and dependent on public trust. That National Task Force recommended that the Chief Justices of the fifty states each undertake a review of lawyer well-being in their jurisdictions. In response, the late Chief Justice Ralph Gants of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court convened a Steering Committee in 2018 to begin that review and make recommendations to the Court. He appointed Margot Botsford, a recently retired Associate Justice of the Court, to chair the Steering Committee, and included Boston attorney Denise Murphy, who at the time was Vice President of the Massachusetts Bar Association, as one of its members. 

The 2019 report of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Steering Committee on Lawyer Well-Being confirmed that an unacceptably high number of Massachusetts lawyers in a variety of practice settings experience debilitating levels of stress and anxiety from their work, and identified several root causes. Higher Callings is pleased to present this recent interview of Margot Botsford and Denise Murphy, who initially chaired, and today continue to serve on, the Standing Committee which emerged from the Steering Committee's work and which continues to monitor and address the well-being of Massachusetts lawyers.

You can find the website for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being here: https://lawyerwellbeingma.org/

You can find the website for Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers/Massachusetts here: https://www.lclma.org/

You can find Margot Botsford's Wikipedia page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margot_Botsford

You can find Denise Murphy's law firm biography here: https://www.rubinrudman.com/attorneys/denise-i-murphy/

If you have enjoyed the Higher Callings podcast, you might also enjoy Don's Substack Newsletter, Reflections of a Boston Lawyer, which you can find here: https://donaldfrederico.substack.com/

Democracies are fragile things. Many of us who pay attention have watched democracies rise and fall. So far, American democracy has survived attempts to weaken it, but no one can guarantee its continued survival.

Two of the pillars of democracy are a free press and an independent judiciary. Those pillars often are the first targets of world leaders who want to weaken their countries’ democracies and establish autocratic rule. It takes people with vision and courage to push back against anti-democratic forces and shore up the freedoms that "we the people" too often take for granted.  

Bob Cordy is one such person. A former public defender, turned federal prosecutor, turned a Republican governor’s chief legal counsel, turned an associate justice of his state’s highest court, Bob has become a go-to lawyer for foreign countries seeking to root-out corruption in their court systems and keep their courts independent from the other branches of government. In the early 2000s, he was part of extensive but ultimately failed efforts at establishing judicial independence in Russia and Turkey, then helped lead a successful anti-corruption effort in the courts of Uzbekistan, and for the past few years has worked with an international team making great inroads at eliminating corruption in the courts of Ukraine.  

In the first half of this episode of Higher Callings, I ask Bob about how he advanced from his humble beginnings as a public defender ultimately to become a respected member of his state’s highest court. In the second half of the episode, we talk about Bob’s work overseas, the weakening of democracies around the world, the importance of preserving a strong, independent judiciary in our own United States, and the crucial role of lawyers in accomplishing that indispensable goal.

You can find Bob's law firm biography here.

You can find a story about Bob's 2018 lecture at Boston College Law School here.

You can find Bob's published article about the interdependent relationship between the free press and an independent judiciary here.

If you have enjoyed the Higher Callings podcast, you might also enjoy Don's Substack Newsletter, Reflections of a Boston Lawyer, which you can find here: https://donaldfrederico.substack.com/

Pro bono publico, a Latin phrase meaning “for the public good,” is most often associated with free legal services lawyers provide to people who need help but cannot afford to pay for it.  No lawyer I know better reflects that commitment than Boston lawyer Susan M. Finegan, a Partner and Chair of the Pro Bono Committee of the Mintz law firm.  

In this episode of Higher Callings, I asked Sue about the pro bono work she and other Mintz lawyers perform. We also discussed a number of other topics about pro bono legal services, including why lawyers and other legal professionals choose to engage in pro bono work, how law firms incentivize their lawyers to take on pro bono cases, how working on pro bono cases provides important training for new lawyers, what Massachusetts has done to provide pro bono opportunities for retired lawyers, and how in-house corporate lawyers and government lawyers work with law firms to staff pro bono cases.  

I began the interview by asking Sue about an extraordinary scene I witnessed during a formal Boston Bar Foundation charity event on a cold Saturday night in January during the earliest days of the Trump presidency, when she and other lawyers were called into action to address a sudden legal crisis.

You can find Sue Finegan's law firm bio here:  https://www.mintz.com/our-people/susan-m-finegan

If you have enjoyed the Higher Callings podcast, you might also enjoy Don's Substack Newsletter, Reflections of a Boston Lawyer, which you can find here: https://donaldfrederico.substack.com/

When Chinh Pham was 10 years old, he and his family, like thousands of others, fled the chaotic capital of what was then South Vietnam on the final day of the Vietnam War. They were rescued by the 7th Fleet of the U.S. Navy, and eventually landed in the United States, where they began a new life. Today, Chinh is a successful intellectual property lawyer in a large international law firm, and is at the midpoint of his one-year term as President of the Boston Bar Association, the first Asian American ever to serve in that position. 

In this episode of Higher Callings, I spoke with Chinh about his decision to become a lawyer, his leadership positions in a number of nonprofits, his commitment to mentoring young professionals, and his work with the Boston Bar Association.  

We began our conversation with Chinh recounting his family’s rescue from the South China Sea, and that portion of Chinh’s interview will be published in a later episode of the podcast. This episode focuses on Chinh’s adult years, beginning with his decision to attend law school at the University of California San Francisco School of Law after graduating from Berkeley, years after his family’s arrival in the United States.

You can find Chinh's law firm bio here:  https://www.gtlaw.com/en/professionals/p/pham-chinh-h

You can find the Boston Bar Association's news release profiling Chinh as he began his term as BBA President here: https://bostonbar.org/news/chinh-h-pham-begins-term-as-new-bba-president/

If you have enjoyed the Higher Callings podcast, you might also enjoy Don's Substack Newsletter, Reflections of a Boston Lawyer, which you can find here: https://donaldfrederico.substack.com/

Lawyers wear many hats. Some go into private practice, some into government service, and others represent the poor. Among those who choose courtroom work, some lawyers become prosecutors, some become criminal defense attorneys, and some become civil litigators. And of course, let’s not forget lawyers who become law school professors and those who become judges.  

Of all the lawyers I’ve known throughout my long career, few have excelled in as many areas as Karen Green. Coming out of Harvard Law School in the early 1980s, Karen was a rising star in one of Boston’s largest and most prestigious law firms, eventually becoming chair of its renowned litigation department and then co-chair of the litigation department of the powerful successor firm that resulted from a law firm merger.  

Despite her success at private practice, and influenced by her parents’ devotion to public service, Karen felt the pull to do more. So, over the course of her distinguished career, she also has worked as the First Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, became a state court trial judge, served on dozens of non-profit boards and committees, taught law students at her alma mater, and even worked briefly as Chief of Staff for the Massachusetts Governor. Now retired, Karen continues to give back, dedicating significant time to the American Bar Association’s Center for Human Rights, and serving as a member of the Rule of Law Leadership Council of the World Justice Project.  

I can think of no lawyer who better represents the ideal of what a lawyer can and should be – a contributor to the private bar and business community, and a dedicated public servant. Speaking with Karen for this podcast was an absolute delight for me, and I hope you find her story as inspiring as I do.

You can find information about the American Bar Association's Center for Human Rights here, and information about the World Justice Project here.

If you have enjoyed the Higher Callings podcast, you might also enjoy Don's Substack Newsletter, Reflections of a Boston Lawyer, which you can find here: https://donaldfrederico.substack.com/