About Amy White
Amy White is a former senior editor at Super Lawyers having been with the magazine for 17 years. Prior to that, she was a sports columnist and feature writer for a daily newspaper in Pennsylvania. Her freelance work can be found in Delaware Today Magazine, Mainline Today, Brandywine Hunt, Philadelphia Style and Delaware Beach Life. She is an adjunct professor of writing at the University of Delaware, where she graduated with a journalism degree. She also holds an MFA in publishing and creative writing from Rosemont College and has served as line editor on poetry anthologies and works of contemporary fiction. She loves baseball, bikes, books and coffee.
Articles written by Amy White
Getting Schooled with Maureen Mahoney
Q: After all these years, does arguing before the Supreme Court still thrill you? A: It is always exhilarating to argue before the court. It is such a demanding and challenging activity that I really can’t imagine anyone who is doing it well wouldn’t always feel some sort of extreme pressure, and that they have to be at their peak in order to perform properly. When you are a repeat [Supreme Court] performer, [the justices] come to expect a certain level of advocacy from you. Q: You …
An Audience with the Pope
Anthony Pope on the murder trial he had no business trying, working the Newark narcotics beat, and casting calls with Sidney LumetQ: So you were once a police officer? A: Yeah. I don’t think there was a younger detective in Newark ever. I was a detective at 21. … I came on the job at 19; I was in a radio car for about a year and a half, and I was promoted to detective in the narcotics squad and I worked undercover. Q: Did you enjoy being a— A: Cop? There are few things that are as exciting as being in a radio car in the city of Newark and working with a partner and every night not knowing what you’re going to be …
Charlie's Angel
Appellate lawyer Ryan Clinton helped make Austin one of the country’s most animal-friendly citiesAbout seven years ago, a battered soul found his way to Ryan Clinton’s doorstep. “He was completely beaten up,” Clinton says. “Some kids had been throwing rocks at him. He was so dirty, just nasty … and I had no idea what to do with him.” The soul in question was a cat named Charlie, who, for reasons Clinton will never know, sniffed him out. Smart kitty. “I’ve always been an advocate,” says the lawyer with the Austin office of appellate boutique firm Hankinson LLP. “I’m …
Nancy Valentine's Idea of Fun
Complicated bankruptcy cases make this attorney’s dayFor most people, the keys to an unforgettable summer include a light island breeze and a few toes in the sand. But Nancy Valentine isn’t most people. The summer of 2006 was one of her favorites because she spent three months as the appointed Chapter 11 trustee of an Ohio golf course. “It was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done,” says the Hahn Loeser & Parks bankruptcy attorney. “I mean, really fun.” Typically, the U.S. trustee grants appointments to a pre-elected panel. …
Whistle Blown
Genevievette Walker-Lightfoot had evidence in 2004 that Bernie Madoff was committing fraud; no one listenedIn 2004, Genevievette Walker-Lightfoot, a lawyer in the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations at the Securities and Exchange Commission, was asked to analyze the trade account documentation of an investor whose strategies had been questioned by industry insiders. As she sat at her desk, she tried to make sense of the bizarre data blinking on her screen. Too many trades, she noticed, were settling outside the “T+3” framework. “Generally equity settles T+3—trade date plus …
Practicing Unhappy Law
Q: What brought you to the law? A: My parents were teachers. This was in the ‘60s, and a lot of change was happening in education, and my father in particular was unhappy with the direction of education, and so he just quit and went to night law school. I think I became aware of what he did as a lawyer when I was 11 or 12, and just instantly decided that that’s what I was going to do, too. Q: Did your father’s approach rub off on you? A: I think it did. My father and I talk about …
Practicing Unhappy Law
Bankruptcy lawyer Cynthia F. Grimes doesn’t practice happy law, but she’s perfectly content with thatQ: What brought you to the law? A: My parents were teachers. This was in the ‘60s, and a lot of change was happening in education, and my father in particular was unhappy with the direction of education, and so he just quit and went to night law school. I think I became aware of what he did as a lawyer when I was 11 or 12, and just instantly decided that that’s what I was going to do, too. Q: Did your father’s approach rub off on you? A: I think it did. My father and I talk about this a …
Shannon Smith's Calling
She represents clients accused of some of Michigan’s worst crimesA broken nose brought Shannon Smith to the law. It wasn’t hers. When Smith was 20, she and three friends took what was meant to be a carefree road trip to Cedar Point amusement park. Smith, who was driving, got into a bad car crash. “One of my friends broke her nose,” Smith says. “She sued me, seeking a crazy amount of money, and my insurance company hired a lawyer.” The case settled, but needless to say, the friendship was shattered. “It was so stressful; it was so traumatic, …
Charles the Fourth: a.k.a. "Mike"
Charles Joseph Cronan IV on Nos. I, II and III; the beginning of health care law; and how a boyhood love for fire engines led him to a game-changing caseQ: Your name is a lot to fit on a business card. A: It is. I go by Mike, actually. Q: Is that a family name? A: I got the nickname Mike from my father, who was in the Philippines during World War II when I was born—he was Charles Joseph Cronan the III—and my mother wanted to name me after him, which would have made me the fourth. He thought that was pretentious, but she did it anyway. So when he got home, he just started calling me Mike. As long as I can remember, my name has been Mike. And …
How Dean Johnson Became a Journalist
A phone call to chasten legal pundits catapulted the criminal defense attorney onto national TVOne rainy Wednesday afternoon in 2004, Dean Johnson was at home watching MSNBC. He was furious. “I’m just railing at the television,” he remembers. The Scott Peterson trial had caught fire in the national media. The case, in which Peterson was charged in the deaths of his wife, Laci, and their unborn child, was being tried in San Mateo County—Johnson’s backyard. It was also being tried on cable news. “I’m listening to broadcasts on national television analyzing the case, and the …
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