Baltimore-area lawyers reveal their New Year's resolutions

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Dec 31, 2004 by Ann Parks

If the Internet is to be believed, the tradition of making New Year's resolutions dates back to about 2000 B.C., when the ancient Babylonians began celebrating the beginning of the coming year. Although the lack of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Ben and Jerry's ice cream and Starbucks coffee had to have made things easier back then (the Babylonians' most popular pledge, rather than losing weight, was to return borrowed farm equipment), one would guess that ancient civilizations weren't much better at keeping these pesky little promises than we are.

While modern-day New Year's resolutions rarely survive beyond Super Bowl Sunday, a handful of lawyers in the area were not only willing to make them this year, but also to see them in print - a risky proposition for a profession that invented the Statute of Frauds. Here they are, the good, the bad and the ugly:

Objection!

In the professional arena, Montgomery County attorney Jon D. Pels pledges not to yell [expletive deleted] about opposing counsel's tactics and then turn around and use the same tactics himself. This will be harder than giving up coffee, he writes via e-mail.

Attorney Susan Stobbart Shapiro of Council Baradel Cosmerl & Nolan has not only promised to watch her language, she's reduced her resolution to writing:

WHEREFORE, on this 31st day of December, 2004, the undersigned, Susan Stobbart Shapiro, Esquire, does hereby swear and affirm that she will use her best efforts to employ the use of non-legalese (hereinafter 'English') in pleadings in calendar year 2005; however, the aforementioned requirement for the use of English shall be subject to a 'reasonable attorney' standard, as opposed to the more stringent 'reasonable person' standard, she writes.

Arthur H. Blitz, a principal working in real estate and financial practice areas at the Bethesda firm of Paley, Rothman, Goldstein, Rosenberg & Cooper, promises never to let a client pay for lunch - except when lunch occurs between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.; never to bill more than 24 hours in any one day; and to never spin or color the facts, except when negotiating on behalf of a client.

Barry F. Rosen, chairman and chief executive officer of Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander, pledges not to get into too long a conversation with Piper Rudnick CEO Frank Burch - or else I may have just moved my partners' meeting to London, he jokes.

Saul Ewing's Gary H. Liebowitz resolves to continue providing top- notch bankruptcy representation to his clients; meanwhile, in Towson, attorney Susan J. Land wants to hire a full-time secretary in order to spend more time with her family and friends.

I want to be successful at having more fun than work, Land says.

Why? Because it's there

As part of the self-evaluations this year at Hodes, Ulman, Pessin & Katz, lawyers were encouraged to select personal goals. And if Patricia McHugh Lambert and Susan M. Euteneuer are any indication, they're all going to be fit and trim over at HUPK come December 2005.

Lambert pledges to be able to run 10 miles straight by the end of the year; she recently ran the 5K Jingle Bell Race in Bel Air for the Arthritis Foundation, finishing after the runners but ahead of the walkers.

I considered that a great victory, she said.

Euteneuer, meanwhile, wants to take up mogul skiing. She grew up skiing in central Pennsylvania, but has always shied away from the bumps; she also hopes to participate to a week-long Steeps Camp in Utah, where people learn to ski down extremely steep faces.

There are a lot of moguls to be skied, she says resolutely, adding that she has already bought a helmet and an exercise bike to build up endurance. Even if I fall, I'm doing it.

Skiing was also on the mind of University of Maryland law professor Michael A. Millemann, who resolves to learn how to turn right while on skis. I can turn left, he notes.

Paul A. Tiburzi, managing partner of the Baltimore office of Piper Rudnick, prefers to leave the sporting challenges to the pros: he wants to see the Ravens win the Super Bowl and the Orioles win a playoff game. Saul Ewing's Gary H. Liebowitz also has high expectations for the Orioles, pledging that if the Birds do not sign a Number 1 starter I will fly to the winter baseball meetings myself to bring one back.

Interestingly, attorney Lawrence A. Melfa of Howard, Butler & Melfa was the only attorney willing to admit that his golf game could stand some improvement.

I shoot a 95; I want to get to 90 before I die, Melfa said, adding that golf is a humbling game. That silly little ball just sits there and laughs at you. Still, if I took it too seriously, it wouldn't reduce stress.

Good deeds

Many people resolve on Jan. 1 to improve their community, and the folks at Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll are no exception.

I would like to spend more time making Baltimore an even better place to live, through any community agency that wants me to help, says partner Morton P. Fisher Jr.

Fisher would like to volunteer his time at an agency that helps children, such as The Family Tree. (He also resolves to clean up his office.)