Hearsay

Lawyer Howard Stacker began the practice of law with his father Ralph Stacker. There he learned to avoid becoming what Ralph dubbed “a one-handed lawyer: on the one hand, on the other hand…” Stacker received the Sidney Barrows Lifetime Commitment Award given at the beyond successful Twin Cities Cardozo Society Annual Dinner. His acceptance remarks engrossed the crowd, including Minneapolis Jewish Federation Campaign Director Mort Naiman and Micki Naiman, Barbara Forster, Larry Hendrickson, Alan Miller, the Rev. Michael O’Connell, Rep. Steve Simon, and lawyers Alan Einisman, Ron Meshbesher, Laurie Savran, Warren Spannaus, Cynthia Rosenblatt Ross, Jessica Savran and 400 more. Howard hoped he had made his father proud. He did. He added, “But I’m fearful that all of my friends will step up now and tell the truth about me.” They had done just that, as was proved by Stacker’s being named the recipient of his well-deserved award.

On a sunny Sunday morning, 100 or more good women, and a few good men, gathered en masse at an event hosted by Ruth Usem. Her ongoing generous fundraising hospitality led Sen. Amy Klobuchar to dub her “our secret weapon.” This accolade was repeated by Rep. Betty McCollum, who also referred to the fact that some electeds wanted to turn the health care issue into a debate about abortion and not health care and the economy. Rep. Keith Ellison dubbed Nancy Pelosi “a dynamic leader” and Franni Franken—Sen. Al Franken was in action elsewhere—gave us the benefit of her clarifying on-site notes regarding the health care fandango. At attention were Koryne Horbal, Lois Quam, Megan O’Hara, Attorney General Lori Swanson, and more, including Minnesota state Sen. Tarryl Clark. Twice elected in the 6th District, Clark is now a candidate to unseat Michele Bachmann in Congress.

At some point during the DFL Women Usem event, a woman fainted. “Hearsay” couldn’t part the crowd to get her name, but what are the chances that there would be three medics in the crowd? Nurse practitioner Linda Hamilton and two congressional candidates, both physicians, rushed to her aid. Dr. Maureen Reed ran as an independent for lieutenant governor last time around, and like Sen. Tarryl Clark, is running vs. comedienne Bachmann. The third in this  medical trio is forensic psychiatrist Dr. Maureen Hackett, who is running vs. Rep. Erik Paulsen.

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen have come and gone, taking with them their film, A Serious Man, shot in their hometown, St. Louis Park. Paulette Will, whose good work in the ’90s on NATO expansion led Václav Havel to grant her the Czech Presidential Medal, became one of the many locals hired on as an extra. She was costumed, asked to wear full-body Spanx, she did, asked not to cut her hair, she didn’t, and was on the closed set for days. In the film, Paulette appeared for at least one whole second sitting still at a typewriter behind a window. Many local extras tell similar tales. Lawyer Ron Meshbesher fared better. He wasn’t required to wear a full-body anything, but had a beneficence of on-film exposure. A character needs a lawyer, Ron is recommended, then mentioned and mentioned, and we see a close-up of his firm’s typewritten invoice for $3,000. Rows of Paulette’s fans gathered for the film’s Uptown Theatre opening and cheered wildly at her less-than-15 minutes of on-film fame.

And another thing: Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior legal analyst, The New Yorker staff writer, and bestselling author of many great reads, including The Nine: Inside The Secret World of the Supreme Court, was the Cardozo Society Annual Dinner keynote speaker. He was introduced by his longtime friend, lawyer Andy Luger, Greene Espel partner. Early on, they served together as assistant U.S. attorneys in Brooklyn. Andy had a rare New York City asset: a car. When Toobin’s daughter Ellen was born, Luger safely transported baby Ellen, and we assume her father and mother, Amy McIntosh, home from the hospital, saving baby dear from contact with the mysterious textures of an NYC taxi’s interior. Ellen is now a Macalester College freshman. Toobin declared Justice David Souter his favorite. Souter had no cell phone, and “Hearsay” knows firsthand that he reads poetry. The Terri Schiavo case, Toobin said, had a great impact on Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Her late husband, John O’Connor, was descending into Alzheimer’s as Justice O’Connor was fulfilling her for better or worse promise.

Chief John Harrington founded the Saint Paul Police Shop with a Cop program, the beneficiary of a gorgeous seven-course fundraising dinner—recipes courtesy of Chef Antonio of La Grolla—prepared by super foodie Jeff Gardner in his Ramsey Hill home, served on a beautifully set table by Renee Tyler and Maison Durass founder Dee Durras. Saint Paul Police Commander Emeritus Debbie Montgomery provided inside dish and a lot of moolah personally raised from local banks. The guests, who fell into reverent silence as each gorgeous course was served, included pianist Jeff Duffy. He entertained on the keyboard with hilarious stories of growing up with 11 siblings. Guests included Sandy Peters; Rolf Peters; entrepreneurs Linda McCarty and John McCarty, who boasted that their 1 Groveland Terrace building houses the campaign office of Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who could be our next governor. Cops who shop take children, whose families may have had a not-so-hot experience with the law, on family gift shopping sprees. The chief told of shopping with a little boy very sure the only gift his mother would want was a three-wheeler.

Mary Ann Bull is by day a stay-at-home mom, and by night a banquet waiter. She was on duty at the Twin Cities Cardozo Society Marriott City Center dinner, introduced herself and apologized for what she considered her less-than-perfect service at the table I joined at the earlier Minneapolis Hilton Planned Parenthood sold-out annual dinner. She was assured that she was perfectly perfect, but is “Hearsay” overexposed?

The Arthur T. Pfefer Memorial Award, founded by lawyer Ron Zamansky and now in its fifth year, was presented at the annual Cardozo Society dinner to this year’s winner: lawyer Jenny Gassman-Pines, a Robins Kaplan associate. Her stellar résumé includes pro bono representation of clients in a First Amendment freedom of religion matter. Lawyer Steve Rubin, who presented this award, which carries lawyer Art Pfefer’s legacy forward, said “he was the son all the Jewish mothers wanted their daughters to meet. He was the real deal.” Art clerked with Miner Barnill & Galland, the Chicago firm that also claims President Barack Obama, and graduated from the U of M Law School on an ROTC scholarship. When called, he fulfilled his ROTC obligation, and served in Vietnam, where he was killed. He left his widow, DeeDee Pfefer now Phillips and their then-6-month-old son Dean Pfefer Phillips. Dean, who is Phillips Distilling Company’s president and CEO, introduced this year’s outstanding awardee, Ms. Gassmann-Pines, and concluded, saying, “I was lucky to have two great fathers: Art Pfefer and Eddie Phillips.” The Pfefer award carries on Art Pfefer’s legacy. Sadly, with the newest surge in Afghanistan, it seems that his tragedy will never stop being repeated and repeated and …