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Law & Society Committee

The Law & Society Committee arranges a speaker of interest to the public and the legal profession for the annual Law & Society Luncheon, including presentation of the Ayscue Professionalism Award that recognizes a current or former MCB member for exemplary professionalism through outstanding service to the MCB and the community. Event proceeds benefit the MBF.

Membership

Staff Liaison

Leah Campbell, Director of Foundation Development - lcampbell@meckbar.org  

Committee Documents/Links

Law & Society

Ayscue Professionalism Award

2011-12 Law & Society Report

Speakers invited to keynote our Bar and Foundation's annual Law & Society Luncheon have big shoes to fill. Past speakers have included Attorneys General Griffin Bell and Janet Reno, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, NPR's Nina Totenburg and Ken Feinberg, nicknamed the "Master of Disaster" for his central role in mediating claims following the Vietnam War, the exposure of the dangers of the Dalkon Shield, the 9/11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech, and BP's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Big shoes indeed! 

This year's keynote speaker - Michael Mone - filled those big shoes with a crowd-pleasing blend of humor and a riveting account of his representation, along with his son and law partner, of Oybek Jabbarov.  Oybek, an innocent chicken farmer from Uzbekistan, was mistaken for an enemy combatant and spent eight miserable years as a Guantánamo detainee before the Bush Administration concluded that he was innocent and cleared him for release.

Although most Charlotte-Mecklenburg lawyers have never heard of Mike Mone, he has had a remarkably successful career. Recommended by our own Ozzie Ayscue, Mr. Mone followed Ozzie as President of the American College of Trial Lawyers, is a Past President of the Massachusetts Bar Association and has been listed in every edition of The Best Lawyers in America ever published. Notably, Mone ranked the representation of Oybek Jabbarov as the finest and most satisfying experience of his long and distinguished legal career.

Those who attended this year's luncheon were particularly inspired to hear about the work that was required to achieve a just result after our government agreed to Oybek's release. Essentially, it was quickly realized that Oybek had nowhere to go (Congress having forbidden released detainees to come to the U.S., and it being too dangerous for him to return to his native Uzbekistan). And even more troubling, Oybek had no idea where his wife and two children might be.

Utilizing more diplomatic and political skills than legal ones at that point, the Mones doggedly persisted, ultimately persuading Ireland to grant Oybek (and another Uzbek detainee who had been cleared for release, to give him a little companionship) permanent residency. And then, in what almost seems a miracle, the Mones made contact with Oybek's wife who had been living in a series of refugee camps, not knowing whether her husband was alive or dead and were able to reunite the family.

As Ozzie Ayscue put it in an e-mail to one of your authors, Mr. Mone's presentation "was one of the most powerful tributes to the rule of law and the role of lawyers" many of those who attended have ever heard. Many thanks are due Ozzie, and to Mr. Mone and his son, for the inspiring message.           

The Law & Society Luncheon is also the occasion for the celebration of members of the Mecklenburg County Bar who exemplify the highest standards of professionalism. Named after its first recipient, this year's Ayscue Professionalism Award was shared by two highly deserving lawyers, Ken Schorr and Ted Fillette, who have worked together as colleagues for many years to provide quality legal services to the poor. The Mecklenburg County Bar is especially indebted to the Honorable Sarah E. Parker, Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (and a member of the Mecklenburg County Bar), who came to Charlotte to present this year's Professionalism Award.

Mecklenburg County Bar President Bob Dortch and Mecklenburg Bar Foundation President Richard Thigpen gave hearty thanks to this year's generous sponsors, which collectively gave $34,500. Proceeds of the Law & Society Luncheon go to support the good works of the Mecklenburg Bar Foundation, including grants to support local nonprofit organizations and the charitable and educational initiatives of the Bar.