1975

My apologies for the blank space in the last issue. The past month has been more chaotic than usual. The opportunity _ of a lifetime presented itself, and I accepted a new position in advertising with N.W. Ayer & Partners, New York, as senior vice president, group director of strategic planning and research for the Procter & Gamble and Avon accounts. I was delighted.

My second day on the job, the company was sold, and a week later, we lost onethird of our billings. Even with my sense of humor, these circumstances have absorbed a lot of my energy.

In April the League of Women Voters in Amarillo, Tex., roasted Mayor KelSeliger in the grand ballroom of the Radisson Inn. Complete with cash bar and silent auction, the evening featured entertainment from the Mo Trout Jazz Quintet and various roasters and speakers, including Nancy Seliger, whose topic was "How It Really Is," followed by Kel, whose speech was titled "Equal Time." Invitations included photos of Kel as a child (when he told the photographer his name was Roy Rogers), up through more recent snapshots. Joan Levy, president of the Amarillo League of Women Voters, sent me an invitation and program with a note that, "My husband, Dr. Maurice Noel Levy Jr. '48, DMS '47, suggested I send this information to you as the final icing on the cake for this event for Kel."

Also in April, Joseph Genova was honored at an American Bar Association conference when he was awarded the 1996 Special Services to Pro Bono Award by the National Association of Pro Bono Coordinators for "his outstanding commitment and dedication to providing free legal services to poor people in New York." Joe, a partner in the Manhattan law firm of Milbank Tweed Hadley and McCloy, estimates he spends 80 percent of his time either supervising cases for poor clients who can't afford to pay or on convincing other lawyers to help such clients.

To him the important pro bono cases are not the ones which break new legal ground, because there will always be attorneys willing to take those poor clients. He said taking some cases for no money is a "moral, if not ethical, obligation of all," and "even if there is a small will, there is a way to do it."

By the time Joe graduated from Yale Law School in 1977, he says, "I had a pretty strong conviction this is what every lawyer should do."

In 1992 Joe received national recognition as one of five recipients of the Pro Bono Publico Award from the American Bar Association. M. Catherine Richardson, president-elect of the state bar, and Joe's co-chairperson of the access to justice committee, said: "I can think of no one more deserving of this recognition than Joe Genova."

Joe lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Diane, an attorney at Morgan Guaranty Trust, and their two sons Anthony and Matthew.

In May Jim Bildner was re-elected as selectman of Manchester, Mass. Jim was top vote-getter in a three-way race. Jim stated, "I'm gratified that the voters saw fit to return me to office, and I'm excited to begin work on items used in the campaign, such as capital issues, water and sewer projects, and continuing work on town management."

In July Bill Barmeier was promoted to senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Verifone Inc., a leading provider of secure payment solutions. Bill joined Verifone in January 1993, and has been responsible for organizing that company's legal department and managing the company's legal affairs worldwide.

Stay in touch.

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Story by Bob Sullivan '75, p. 24

Rick While '75 on the Web, p. 62