September  5, 2024

Dear Magical Team,

         A number of significant events have taken place since the last edition of WebChambers on April  29,  2024.  Among them are the following:

May sitting in Pasadena.  On May 13 and 14, the Magical Team was in Pasadena, California for my sitting as a visiting judge with the Ninth Circuit.  I sat with Judge Salvador Mendoza both days, and one day each with Judge Ronald Gould and Judge Randy Smith.  The clerks and I enjoyed the trip out West.

June and July sittings in Cincinnati.   My June 13-14 sitting was with Judges Jane Stranch and Joan Larsen.  The July 23-24 sitting was with Judges Richard Griffin and Andre Mathis.  I barely made the July sitting because Delta cancelled my flight at literally the last minute due to a Microsoft Windows glitch.  James ended up driving me to Cincinnati and back (7.5 hours each way!) in his car.

The Last Supper.  On August 15, Magical Team 27 came to my home for a farewell dinner in celebration of their clerkship year.   Chief Judge Betsy and I welcomed Judicial Assistant Carol, Carol's husband Wayne, and clerks Adriel, James, and Henry.  After a delicious Italian-themed dinner, the "program" began.  On the agenda were several magic tricks, the presentation of various certificates and gifts, and remembrances of the departing clerks.   The Balls on the Wall ceremony took place the following day.  A photo of Magical Team 27 after they placed their balls on the wall can be seen by clicking on "Photos" above.

Changing of the guard.  The transition from Magical Team 27 to Magical Team 28 took place between August 19 and August 26.  James was first to leave.  He will become an associate attorney at Bass, Berry & Sims in Nashville by the end of this year.  Adriel and Henry left a week later.  Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York is Adriel's destination, where he starts as an associate attorney in early October.  Henry, on the other hand, will start later this month as a two-year Skadden Fellow for the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago.  Meanwhile, the new crew of Jackie, Jessica, and Maggie were immediately slotted in, oriented to the ways of The Magical Team, and are busy working on bench memos for my next sitting.  That will take place in October when I serve as a visiitng judge with the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco.  A photo of the new crew at their initial lunch at Tacker's Shake Shack in Marion, Arkansas on August 26 can be seen by clicking on "Photos" above.

OTHER NEWS.  

Andy Rickman (Team 3, 1999-2000) and his wife Lisa hosted a gala on June 29 on the rooftop of the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. in honor of their 20th wedding anniversary and Lisa's 50th birthday.  Several Magical Team members were among the guests.  A photo of Andy and Lisa can be seen by clicking on "Photos" above.

Diana Comes and Sepehr Shahshahani (both Team 16, 2012-2013) met in Central Park over this past Labor Day Weekend.  Diana was in NYC visiting her brother.  Sepehr is a professor of law at Fordham Law School and Diana is the Executive Director of the Community Legal Center in Memphis.  A photo of them with Sepehr's daughter Delara can be seen by clicking on "Photos" above.

Well gang, that's all the news for now.  Please keep me advised of significant events that you would like to have noted in a future edition of WebChambers.

                                                                       Best wishes,

                                                                       Judge G