May 2012
May 29, 2012 - Spotlight on Staples Chapter's Record-Breaking Fundraising
We have recently recognized the wonderful community service initiatives and volunteering P.A.D. members do. In the most recent issue of The Reporter, a handful of Chapters were recognized for their outstanding efforts. We are proud to have members that are continuously striving to better communities, organizations and causes.
Staples Chapter, at Washington & Lee University in Virginia, received recognition from their university for their record-breaking fundraising this year. The article featured on the Washington & Lee University School of Law website details the event.
“On Thursday, Jan. 19, students at the Washington and Lee University School of Law raised a record $17,552 during the 2012 Phi Alpha Delta (PAD) charity auction. The last seven auctions together have raised nearly $90,000 for local charities and other initiatives.
Every year PAD members choose charities and other causes to benefit from the auction. The proceeds this year will be split amongst several organizations, including Yellow Brick Road Early Learning Center, Project Horizon, and the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic. Some auction proceeds also will go to help provide a scholarship for a W&L law student working in a public interest position.
During the PAD auction, students bid on items donated by Law School faculty, staff and students. Items auctioned this year included numerous meals and outings with professors, wine and beer tastings, and BarBri tuition vouchers. In addition, students bid on the honor of becoming "Dean for a Day," which includes a good parking spot and the privilege of issuing one "edict."
Phi Alpha Delta is a service fraternity that works for the law school and local communities and sponsors many charity events including the auction, a canned food drive, and a blood drive. PAD holds membership drives in both the fall and spring semesters.”
May 22, 2012 - Spotlight on Juliana Furey (High Point University Pre-Law)
Pre-Law Member to Work for the New York Yankees
Phi Alpha Delta members pursue a multitude of careers, not only in the legal profession but in many other fields. Straying from a legal career for now, Juliana Furey, a 2012 graduate from High Point University pre-law, has secured a career working for the New York Yankees.
Furey majored in sports management, an uncommon major amongst P.A.D. members. Her long time passion for sports and interest in becoming a lawyer led her to this unique combination during her undergraduate education. She says if she ever goes back to school, she will pursue a law degree.
Originally from New Jersey, she is finally able to turn her longtime passion for the sport into a career with such a successful and esteemed organization. Proving her eagerness for success, she will start as an inside sales associate but hopes to quickly earn her place as the Director of Premium Seats.
Being able to attain her sports management degree while keeping a foot in the legal field allowed her to become a grateful P.A.D. member. She attributes her initiation into the Chapter as her ‘stand-out moment’ during her membership; She says “…getting inducted [into P.A.D.] meant a lot to me.”
As a newly, already successful graduate, Furey’s advice to students comes from one of her favorite quotes. “‘In 20 years from now, you will regret more what you did not do than what you did do.’ Be willing to make mistakes and don’t be scared to fail, because this will help you move forward. It is better to make a ‘wrong’ choice and learn than to make no choice at all.”
No matter what MLB team you root for, join us in congratulating Furey in her exciting new career and on a successful future. If Juliana chooses to attend Law School in the future, we will make sure to get her involved with a P.A.D. Chapter!
May 15, 2012 - Spotlight on Elizabeth Ricci (Fleming): Helping Others Live the American Dream
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website states, “America values the contributions of immigrants who continue to enrich this country and preserve its legacy as a land of freedom and opportunity.” Yet despite this declaration of appreciation, individuals like P.A.D. Fleming Chapter alumna Elizabeth Ricci are a necessary factor in the fair administration of immigration bureaucracy.
Elizabeth Ricci practices alongside her husband, Neil Rambana, at Rambana & Ricci, PLLC, an immigration law practice. With her immigration law background, Ricci has been able to represent members of the U.S. Armed Forces who found difficulty in gaining citizenship status. In a Tallahassee Democrat article written by Dave Hodges, Ricci is quoted in regard to two U.S. Army veterans who “were victims of a bureaucracy that didn’t mind taking advantage of them for their military service, but when it came to their citizenship there was no reciprocity.”
Ricci is also a staunch supporter of equal immigration rights for homosexual couples as well as heterosexual couples. On the Rambana & Ricci, PLLC website profile, her publication list includes articles like “Will Binational Same-Sex Couples Get Justice?” an Op-Ed piece in the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review’s July-August, 2011 Edition.
P.A.D. is proud to have a sister like Elizabeth Ricci whose professional success is matched by her volunteerism. In March 2012, Ricci was named one of the “25 Women You Need to Know” by the Tallahassee Democrat, not only for her professional work but for her service within the Tallahassee community. Her dedication to her community can be seen both locally and internationally as she has served in Guatemala while in the United States Peace Corps.
Ricci is an example of P.A.D.’s core values coming to life both in the legal profession and the community.
May 1, 2012 - Spotlight on 99 Years of Public Service
The October 21, 2009 initiation of Judge George N. Leighton into the P.A.D. Chicago Alumni Chapter honored not only this new brother but the fraternity itself. Only a day away from his ninety-seventh birthday, Judge Leighton’s 
initiation recognized a life that exemplified P.A.D.’s purpose: a lifetime of honorable professional and public service.
On the website for Neal & Leroy, LLC, a Chicago-based law firm, Judge Leighton is described to be an “attorney, retired judge, civil rights advocate and legal legend.” Very few have such a distinguished resume. He became associated with Neal & Leroy, LLC in 1987 after a lengthy career as a judge on the state and federal benches.
Few perhaps could have predicted Leighton’s legal career; in seventh grade he quit school to work on an oil tanker. However, he pursued an education unconventionally and managed to attend Howard University without graduating high school. By 1946 at the age of thirty-four, he obtained a law degree from Harvard Law School with the rank of captain in the U.S. Army, which he earned during World War II.
In 1946, the Boswell Amendment was ratified to the Alabama State Constitution in an attempt to inhibit prospective African-American voters. The amendment required prospective voters to be able to explain and expound on any part of the U.S. Constitution. As counsel for ten African-American citizens suing the state of Alabama, Leighton was able to help declare the Boswell Amendment unconstitutional.
According to the Neal & Leroy, LLC website, Leighton was accused of “conspiracy to incite a riot and lower property values” due to his representation of an African-American family that was being hindered from moving into an all-white neighborhood in 1951. It was the future U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall, who represented and cleared Leighton of his indictment.
There are innumerous examples of his achievements. It is those like Judge Leighton who exemplify the ideals of the Fraternity and legal profession; for many, they are modern day’s version of knights in shining armor.
