I’ve presented many live seminars in the same trivia format that I use for the #fiveforfriday legal ethics quiz. Some of the seminars are recurring events. Three of those are the “major championships” of legal ethics trivia.
- The Thaw Bowl is the World Cup, Rose Bowl, Super Bowl, and Masters wrapped into one, but only if Wimbledon, the Daytona 500, and the Tour de France are added as well. Likely the most coveted title in all of legal ethics, it rivals a Canadiens home game (or Taylor Swift concert) as the only reason to visit Montreal in January.
- The Paul Finnerty Memorial. Paul Finnerty is alive & well and practicing law in Vermont. Yet, he already has a tournament named after him. There can be no greater honor. The Finnerty takes place on the Tuesday evening of the State’s Attorneys Annual Training. This illustrious event is noted for its prizes: (1) the bag of maple taffy awarded to the winner of each round; and, (2) the picture of Paul that goes to the overall winner. The winning team is expected to (proudly) display the photo, then bring it back the following year. Sadly, the photo of Paul is missing. It’s unclear to me which office failed to return it and whether that failure, in and of itself, violates the ethics rules. In Paul’s (living) spirit, we choose not to assign blame, but to soldier on.
- The Annual Meeting of the Chittenden County Bar Association. My home event. Like The Masters, and unlike The Thaw and The Finnerty, it always takes place at the same hallowed grounds. In this case, the back porch at Halvorson’s on the first Thursday in June. Yes, it’s my home county, but I attend many meetings of other county bars. This remains my favorite – not because it’s home – but because I think it’s hilarious how many members have never heard of 90-95% of the other attendees.
Our major champions:
The Thaw Bowl
- 2019 – Tie!
- Andrew Delaney, Sam Dworkin, Jennifer Emens-Butler, Jovi Frederici, Elizabeth Kruska, Charlie Martin, Sarah Miller
- Matt Anderson, Mary Ashcroft, Alan Bjerke, Bridgette Remington
- 2018 – Andrew Delaney, Sam Dworkin, Jovi Frederici, Charlie Martin
- 2017 – Andrew Delaney, Sam Dworkin, Jovi Frederici, Elizabeth Kruska, Charlie Martin
- 2016 – Andrew Delaney, Sam Dworkin, Allison Fulcher, Thomas Kester, Charlie Martin
- 2015 – Leo Bisson, Lisa Campion, Andrew Delaney, Sam Dworkin, Allison Fulcher, Charlie Martin, Ed Miller
The Paul Finnerty Memorial
- 2019 – Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office (wrong table ZC)
- 2018 – Kate Lucier et al.
- 2017 – Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office
- 2016 – Windham County State’s Attorney’s Office
Chittenden County Bar Association – Annual Meeting
- 2019 – Lisa Shelkrot, Erin Heins, Andrew Gilman, Andrew Kestner, Vince Todd, David Koeninger
- 2018 – Joyce Errecart, Priscilla Dube, Joy Limoge, Jeff Messina, Dan O’Rourke,
- 2017 – Aimee Griffin, Maryanne Kampmann, Craig Nolan, Robert Sussman
- 2016 – Jeremy Farkas, Michelle Farkas, Carole Obuchowski, Joe Obuchowski, Megan Shafritz, Jim Wick
