George Read Chapter- Finishes the Fall Semester Strong and Starts the Spring Semester Even Stronger

November, 2011

3L + 1: This event consisted of a panel of six Widener Law alumni who discussed their legal experience- both at law school and in their respective careers. Each panelist speaking at this event graduated within the past four years- providing particularly relevant advice on getting a job in the current market conditions. The value of such advice was evidenced by the outstanding turnout of students who posed questions to the panel for well over 3 hours. A special thanks to Ana Melhor (Professional Development Chairperson) who ran the event and Clint Orem (Justice) who moderated.

What I Did Over My Summer Vacation: Shortly after running the 3L + 1 event, Ana Melhor was back at it- planning and running the What I Did Over My Summer Vacation. Here, a number of current Widener Law students sat as panelists to discuss what they did over their summer vacation after their respective 1L years. Ana did an excellent job of getting students with various summer experiences- ranging from corporate law to studying abroad. Students were able to give advice to 1L’s as to how to go about getting a summer position and what a typical summer experience is like.

Are You Smarter Than a Professor? On November 11, 2011 the Academic Development Committee put on an event called “Are You Smarter Than a Professor?” The event was held in P203 and ran from 5 pm to 6 pm. It was based off of the popular television show “Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader?” The emcee for the night was Justin Gilleg who kept track of the time and provided comedic humor throughout the “show”.

Prior to the event, PowerPoint presentations were made for each contestant (2 total). Each PowerPoint had 6 subjects with different questions and answers, 1 million dollar question, a mechanism to award fictional money, and cheat codes. The subjects were Jurisdiction, Intentional Torts, Negligence, Future Estate, Landlord Tenant, Bailment and Pleadings. The cheats were peak (see your chosen professors answer), copy (take your chosen professors answer), 1 question (ask your professor 1 question), 1 minute (have a 1 minute discussion with your professor), poll the professors and poll the audience. The PowerPoint’s were used during the show on a smart board and advanced through in a Vanna White style. The subjects and cheats disappeared on the board once used.

The event featured a panel of five professors: Professors Johnson, Epstein, Turezyn, Smith and Regan. The professors acted as the student body from the original show. They entered one at a time as Justin read short bio’s for each, dubbing them all with nicknames as per their legal specialty. They were all seated together with nametags and were given red pens and paper to record their answers to every question posed to the contestants. The emcee made sure to ask them to display their answer to every question even when they were not in the “hot seat.”

The event had two contestants, chosen ahead of time: Clint Orem and Sam Elbardissi. They were seated with the crowd and each made their grand entrance when it came their turn to play. Justin read a short bio for each as they made their way to a table in the center of the room. The first contestant went through his 6 questions and million dollar question, choosing a professor and cheat code for each and was awarded “money” along the way. After the first contestant was finished all of his questions, he returned to his seat and the second contestant went through his questions. In the interim of switching contestants and PowerPoint’s, the professors were asked a fun gender-biased question which highlighted the female professors.

The event ran one hour and generated a turnout of 68 guests. Everyone seemed very engaged during the show. Both students and professor expressed a desire to make the event an annual thing. One issue addressed that should be fixed for the next event would be the length of some of the questions. Keeping the questions short would speed up the process and provide for even more contestants or more questions for each contestant (perhaps expanding into upper level subjects or PAD or Widener trivia).

80’s Themed Party (Fundraising): In an attempt to ease student’s stress before finals and, at the same time, raise money for Phi Alpha Delta, the Social Committee ran an 80’s themed party at “Scrimmages Restaurant and Sports Bar.” Students danced late into the night to songs such as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to do with it”. 

February, 2012

Candy Grams: Community Service Chairperson, Paul Renaud, started the spring semester off on the right foot for Phi Alpha Delta raising well over $200 for charitable donation purposes. Paul took advantage of the love that was ostensibly “in the air” at Widener Law by selling heart shaped candy grams to students one week before Valentine’s day.

Etiquette Dinner: On Wednesday February 15^th, Phi Alpha Delta held its 4^th Annual “Dining for Success” Etiquette Dinner.  We were fortunate to once again have John and Lynne Breil back on campus to give 75 students and faculty tips on how to impress future clients and co-workers with proper etiquette, during a business lunch or dinner.  An added bonus this year was a cocktail hour, which was held before the dinner, where guests were treated to glasses of wine in a social setting.  Our hosts took the opportunity to tell everyone different ideas and tactics to make the very common happy-hour events a success.  They gave different tips about the number of people in a group to approach, as well as being prepared with certain topics to discuss.

After the cocktail hour, everyone sat down for a wonderful four-course dinner served by Widener’s friends at Aramark.  The meal included shrimp bisque; a salad with blue cheese, walnuts and blackberry balsamic dressing, chicken covered with mozzarella and pesto, and finished off with a lemon cheesecake.  During the entire meal, Lynne Breil gave guests the do’s and don’ts when it comes to proper eating.  She even told them what to do in case of a spill, and right on cue, PAD’s own Ana Melhor spilled water all over her table.  She recovered perfectly though following Ms. Breil’s instructions.  John Breil is well known for his international business ventures and he gave different tips that students may find helpful when dining in various countries.  He also gave a quick tutorial on how to use chopsticks; attempted by students with varying degrees of success. 

The night ended with Phi Alpha Delta clerk presenting the Breil’s with a plaque thanking them for their continued support with this event.  Phi Alpha Delta is committed to improving this event from year to year and we are already thinking of different ideas to make the Etiquette Dinner even better next year.

Starting Your Own Law Office: After students packed into Barrister’s Club at Widener Law, a panel of four solo-practicing attorneys began describing how they went about starting their own respective law offices. Notably, the panelists indicated what is necessary to start a law office and how one can do so on a shoe-string budget. They also informed students of the various tools that are on the market which facilitate a lawyer’s starting his own firm. Intrigued by the thought of being their own boss, students posed questions for several hours. The event was a huge success much to the credit of Ana Melhor and the Career Development Office at Widener Law.

Fusion Dinner: Phi Alpha Delta, which of course connotes the Greek phrase- “Philos Adelphos Dikaios,” represented its Greek underpinnings at the Widener Law annual Fusion Dinner. The George Read chapter served Widener Law students traditional Greek food including – Pastichio (Greek lasagna), Spanakopita (spinach pie) and Baklava.  Other student organizations from Widener Law brought food from their respective countries of origin as well (Such as South Asian food from the South Asian Law Student Alliance and traditional African food from the Black Law Student Alliance).

Philly Cares Day

October 22 -- On Saturday October 22, the Read Chapter was invited to participate in "Philly Cares Day." We traveled to Blaine Elementary School in Northwest Philadelphia, and along with students and faculty participated in several projects. Some of these projects included: painting, cleaning, and organizing science classrooms, organizing closets and working in the student-managed garden.

The members who worked in the garden, cleaned out the shed and organized the tools, they also trimmed plants and weeded the greenhouse. The garden was a three-time award-winner in the horticulture society's Philadelphia gardens competition, and the Read Chapter wanted to help the students win another year. The chapter was fortunate enough to meet many local students who were working toward their service hours, which are necessary in the Philadelphia school system to rise to the next year of school and other volunteers, including several members of PAD from Rutgers Camden.

Phi Alpha Delta takes service to the community seriously and we believe that it is important to give back whenever we are given the opportunity.

Phi Alpha Delta Hosts a "Professional" Mock Trial

October 25—Vale Moot Courtroom was filled with more than two-hundred excited students, faculty and guests waiting for the event to begin. Booklets were provided by Themis which contained biographies on the guests and the facts of the case. The booklets also contained a schedule of the events and an invitation to the reception following the mock trial.

Clint Orem, Justice of the George Read chapter of Phi Alpha Delta walked out and introduced those participating in the mock trial “showdown.” The first guest was Fortunato “Fred” Perri, high profile Philadelphia defense attorney. He was representing Legan Arabach, portrayed by Dominic Carrera, George Read Chapter Marshal. The second guest was Carlos Vega, Assistant District Attorney, homicide division of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office. The final guest was Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes, former homicide judge in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, and now CEO of the American Red Cross’s Southeastern Chapter of Pennsylvania.

The trial began with Judge Hughes thanking the jury for their participation. The “jury” consisted of the executive board of Moe Levine and the SBA, including student representatives.

The prosecution took its turn giving an opening statement, A.D.A Vega thanked the jury for their participation and explained what the facts of the case were according to the State and laid out the issues the prosecution planned to prove throughout the trial. Vega closed by asking for a guilty verdict.

Fortunato “Fred” Perri, Defense

Carlos Vega, Prosecution

Next the defense gave its opening, explaining to the jury that Mr. Arabach has no burden of proof, that the prosecution doesn’t have a body, and can not even prove that the “victim” in this case is dead. Perri concluded by asking the jury to find his client not guilty.

The questioning became heated when each side crossed the testifying witness. Witty comments were exchanged by counsel who made for an entertaining and educational trial. It became apparent once the trial began that the attorneys were treating this as a real case with a real victim and the goal was to put a murderer behind bars and to free an innocent man for the prosecution and defense respectively. The students could see the dedication and commitment that they invested into the trial.

The trial was concluded with a brief question and answer portion, where students were given the opportunity to ask what certain strategies were employed, why the judge ruled the way she did and if the demeanor the attorneys reflected their common courtroom practices.

Once the mock trial was over the guests, students and faculty adjourned to Barrister’s Club for refreshments including, beef wellington, bacon-wrapped scallops, shrimp and  grilled vegetables. Half of the funds for this event were provided by the ABA and the other half by the SBA at Widener.

This Phi Alpha Delta event was one of the most successful to date and the executive board wants to thank everyone who contributed to make it great.

Largest Initiation Class to Date for the George Read Chapter

On Saturday, September 10^th, the George Read Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta held its bi-annual initiation ceremony, welcoming to its fraternal family its greatest number of initiates to date.  Eager to start writing a new chapter in their lives as Phi Alpha Delta members, students began filing into the main law building at Widener University School of Law hours before initiation was set to begin.  At six o’clock p.m., Dom Carrera, Phi Alpha Delta’s Marshall, commenced the initiation ceremony by escorting the soon-to-be members into the Vale Courtroom.  With over 60 new initiates, family, friends, distinguished guests, and several current Phi Alpha Delta members, the courtroom was filled nearly to capacity.  George Read’s Executive Board, led by Justice Clint Orem, proceeded to conduct the initiation ceremony in accordance with the formal requirements as prescribed by Phi Alpha Delta’s initiation rituals manual.  The objective of this formal initiation ceremony was to impress upon all those attending the ideals and principles of Phi Alpha Delta.

After the George Read Executive Board members conducted their respective parts of the initiation ceremony and the initiates signed their names into the Official Roll, the floor turned to a Phi Alpha Delta alumni- the Honorable Joseph R. Slights III of the Superior Court of Delaware.  Judge Slights welcomed the new members and shared with them his inspirational story about how he gained motivation to thrive within the legal profession. He referred to a book that he read towards the end of his law school career about Learned Hand, the infamous second circuit judge.  Judge Slights was enthralled with Learned Hand’s dedicated work ethic and passion for the law and Judge Slights became determined to emulate these traits in his legal career.  He urged the new members to find inspiration and embrace the legal profession as he did.

When the formal initiation ceremony adjourned, the current George Read Executive Board took the opportunity to present to Andrew Quietmeyer and James Lewis their awards given to them by Phi Alpha Delta international.  Andrew Quietmeyer, former Justice of the George Read Chapter, and James Lewis, former Vice Justice of the George Read Chapter, achieved the Alex A. Hochkiss Award and the Outstanding Vice Justice of the Year Award respectively for the 2010-2011 academic school year.  It’s safe to say that the current executive board has some big shoes to fill. 

With such a successful initiation ceremony and great start to the academic school year, the George Read Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta is well on its way to another amazing school year.

George Read Takes Widener Law by Storm

Table Day

Table Day at Widener University, School of Law gives the incoming students an opportunity to see what organizations are active in the school as well as the chance to speak with members to find out where they might fit or what they might be interested in. The event began at 9AM and ended at 7PM.

This year Phi Alpha Delta had a color collage of distinguished members as well as a display of the honors it has received in the past year. In addition to this, there were always three or more brothers and sisters at the table, talking points, candy and homemade cookies.

The event was extremely successful, as 176 incoming an current students signed the interest sheet and the executive board was handed 20 completed membership applications by the end of the day.

Info Sessions

The week after table day the executive board organized several information session for students to attend who had questions or comments about the fraternity.

There were two meetings held where Justice, Clint Orem discussed the benefits of becoming a member of the fraternity and answered along with the executive board any questions the students posed.

The executive board and former Justice, Andrew Quietmeyer shared stories of the relationships they developed and the opportunities afforded to them from becoming PADs.

“It’s not just something you put on your resume, said Quietmeyer, it really does give you an opportunity to get involved with the school and meet people you never thought you would.”

Students asked about social aspects, academic assistance, networking and the outline bank.

The final question of the information session, posed by a student, was “Why wouldn’t you join?”

George Read Score Big at Regional Conference Meeting

This past weekend the George Read chapter executive board traveled to Hartford, CT for the first regional conference. This conference invited seven districts to meet and discuss fraternal business. During this meeting those districts shared ideas and discovered ways to make the chapter and the fraternity as a whole better and more productive. Additionally, several members of the international board were in attendance, including the international justice, Rhonda hill. The conference was lead by Jon Bassford, Director of Law Operations.

The conference began with a social event, where the executive boards from the Northeast region were given the opportunity to meet and speak with each other in a relaxed social setting.

The next day began the conference. The conference touched on many topics, including Programming, leadership, fundraising, networking, alumni relations, and recruitment. Many different chapters had creative and exciting ideas that they shared during this part of the conference, also antidotal and “What not to do,” stories.

This past year, many changes were made to the George Read Chapter and these changes did not go unnoticed by the international executive board, as the George Read Chapter was awarded several honors this year, including: National Awards, such as the Stanley H. Kohn Award for Most Outstanding Chapter, the Alex A. Hotchkiss Award for Most Outstanding Justice, awarded to Andrew Quietmeyer, the Most Outstanding Vice Justice awarded to James Lewis, and place for Most Outstanding Community Service Project, and District Awards, such as the Merit Award, the Most Outstanding Chapter award, and the Meet or Beat Award, meaning that the chapter met or beat is past recruitment numbers.

Overall, the event was very successful and the executive board took away great tips to make the fraternity even bigger and better this year.