Return trip-- Class of '79 takes a look back at its legal careers

By Paul Janczewski Legal News The year was 1979. Sony had just introduced its Walkman, a $200 product that made music mobile. Gas was 86 cents a gallon, and the average income was $17,500. A fire in the reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania captured headlines, and a national crisis began when 63 Americans were taken hostage in Tehran, Iran. Saddam Hussein took over in Iraq, and leg warmers were all the rage here in the States. In the some-things-never-change category, a $1.5 billion federal bailout was approved for Chrysler Corp. "Rocky II" and "Mad Max" were box office hits, while "Kramer vs. Kramer" won Best Picture of the Year at the Oscars. On the radio, the Knack's "My Sharona" and "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People had toes tappin' and party-goers forming letters with their hands. And on Nov. 14 of that year, two-dozen Genesee County young lawyers, fresh out of law school, were sworn into the State Bar of Michigan. Now, 20 years later, 10 of those attorneys gathered to celebrate that event from three decades ago in a ceremonial swearing-in, held in the courtroom of one of those attorneys who is now a judge. Then, they were 24 idealistic go-getters, ready to save the world. Now, they've matured into knowledgeable attorneys, and judges, that others look up to as role models. And their love of law and of their profession has not waned. "This has been a great ride, being a lawyer," said Barney Whitesman. "It's a fabulous profession, one that allows you to shape your destiny." "Our profession allows you to vindicate people's rights, and you see tangible results." The idea for the 30-year reunion came from Genesee Probate Judge Jennie Barkey. "I was just kind of going through a drawer, looking for something, and I ran across it," she said. "It" was a slightly worn, four-page document, her copy of the Admission Ceremony flier. The report listed all two-dozen attorneys to be administered the oath, who was sponsoring them for admission into the State Bar, and the sequence of events for the ceremony. While looking at the papers, Barkey realized that the 30-year anniversary was approaching. "I thought, 'We should do something,'" Barkey said. A number of the people from that day were still around, practicing in Genesee County. Barkey approached several of them--attorneys George Rizik II and Timothy Knecht, and Genesee County Circuit Judge Joseph Farah--to see what they thought of the idea to get back together, re-take the Oath of Admission, and celebrate their careers. "I wanted us all to renew our vows," Barkey said, likening the career choice they all made to a marriage that has survived good times and bad and come through for the better. "We should be proud of our profession," she said. "I'm very proud to be a member of this club." So Barkey sent out letters to all two dozen people, invited them, family and friends to her fifth-floor courtroom on Nov. 14, and asked the attorneys to present short remarks on his or her 30-year ride. Barkey, a Cooley Law School graduate, also invited retired U.S. District Judge Stewart Newblatt to re-administer the oath. Newblatt holds a special place in Barkey's memory bank. She had her first jury trial before him nearly three decades earlier, and Newblatt and her father, Walter Barkey, were good friends. "He is one of the most respected judges around, and provides a very legal presence," Barkey said. Newblatt said it was "an honor to preside at this ceremony," and brought back memories from his own induction into the lawyers club 57 years earlier. Stephen Lazzio and his sister, Patricia Lazzio, said they had just graduated from Wayne State Law School back then, and said the last 30 years have provided too many memories to remember. "I wish I had kept a diary," Stephen Lazzio said. He added that the profession led him to meeting his wife, a Genesee County Sheriff's Department deputy, and the opportunity to practice with his sister. He said being an attorney led to "a lucky break" in his life. Pat Lazzio who spent 21 years in the Genesee County Prosecutor's Office before entering private practice, said her career included "comedy, tragedy, drama, every human emotion you can imagine." She said like life, law is not all black and white, but shades of gray. "You always try to do justice," she said. "What's right in one case is not always right for another. "Today gives me a real sense of nostalgia, and it's been a good 30 years," Pat Lazzio said. Barkey said the legal profession has taken a bashing over the years, but it is filled with good people. "What other profession allows you to take all your energy and persistence to get in trouble and turn it into a career?" Farah, another Cooley Law School grad, said back then, he was unable to fully appreciate the words in the Admission Oath. "Now, they've gotten new and different meanings over the years," he said. Farah called the reunion "a wonderful, thoughtful idea." Patric A. Parker said lawyers "are a great group of people to work with, fight with and drink with. But we also had a large impact on the community." Rizik, also a Cooley Law School graduate, said he's met "a lot of characters" over the years, but attorneys "are the best at being just people." Frank Turnage, another Cooley alumnus, said he remembers being a young attorney and listening intently to what the older attorneys said. He said when Genesee County attorneys spoke, "you could take them at face value." He said they taught him you must earn trust, and integrity. Whitesman said he urges young people who are at a crossroads in life to go to law school. "You can affect change," he said. A University of Detroit Law School graduate, Whitesman said he was "awestruck" the day in 1979 he took the oath. "You just don't forget it," he said. "The words were as meaningful today as it was then," he said. Published: Tue, Dec 1, 2009

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