About Erik Lundegaard
Erik Lundegaard has been a senior editor at Super Lawyers since 2005 and its editor in chief since 2013—during which time the magazine has won close to 100 journalism awards around the country. His freelance writing has been published by The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Slate, Salon, MSNBC.com, The Christian Science Monitor, The Seattle Times and The Believer, among others. He has a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota, studied Mandarin Chinese in Taipei, Taiwan, and lives in Seattle, Washington, where he is a long-suffering Seattle Mariners fan. In his spare time, he is working on a book about the movies of James Cagney.
Articles written by Erik Lundegaard
GC of the GA GOP
Republican lawyer Anne W. Lewis talks voter ID laws, the state’s political racial divide, and a few social issues—including same-sex marriage—where her position is evolvingQ: Law or politics: Which came first for you? A: I was always interested in politics, but my political law practice really began when I was a second-year law student and clerked with a firm called Wilson, Strickland & Benson here in Atlanta. Then I went to work for them right out of law school. One of the senior partners, Frank Strickland, was either the assistant general counsel or the general counsel of the Georgia Republican Party. I did a lot of work with him and really enjoyed it. My …
Grounded in Aviation Law
Former pilot Ronald L. M. Goldman represents air crash victims, but one of his first clients was one of the most famous lawyers of the 20th centuryQ: You’re both pilot and aviation accident attorney. Which came first: aviation or aviation law? A: I got into aviation in a serendipitous way a long time ago—probably the late ‘60s. My wife at the time said there was this home show she’d been wanting to go to, and who was I to say no? But she got it wrong; it was an aviation show. And I didn’t know that the little fishbowl that said, “Put your business card in, win a drawing for free flying lessons,” that everybody in there would …
Contamination Counselor
Environmental law attorney Andrew L. Kolesar on the consequences of toxic decisionsThe American industrial age is ending and Andrew L. Kolesar has a front-row seat. It’s Kolesar’s job, as leader of the environmental practice group at Thompson Hine in Cincinnati, to assist companies in regulatory enforcement matters, enforcement defense and environmental litigation. This includes dealing with the legal issues surrounding contaminated industrial properties that may require a certain level of cleanup, before selling and repurposing into a residential, commercial or …
Life, Death and the Green Bay Packers
Real estate attorney Benjamin S. Stern, of Chernov, Stern & Krings, talks about the global financial meltdown, the importance of the dash, and some football team or otherQ: You’ve been a real estate lawyer since 1966. At what point did you feel the vibrations from the recent global financial meltdown? A: I started feeling the vibrations when clients, either developers or businesspeople or banks, informed me what was going on. I saw some of the lending practices in 2007 and knew chaos was going to ensue. Basically, the predatory lending practices—and I use that word cautiously—almost grew to the point where, if a borrower could fog a mirror, they could get …
Whirlwind
Before taking up entertainment law, Marilyn G. Haft worked for the ACLU, Bella Abzug, the White House and the U.N.Q: You graduated from NYU School of Law in 1968. How many women were in your class? A: There were 30 out of 300. That was the largest class of women anywhere at that point. Q: Any particular attitude that you encountered there? Like, “What are you doing here?” A: Not really. I was not called on for almost the entire [first] year. I wasn’t somebody who was looking for trouble—I didn’t raise my hand—but they normally look at the roll and call people to answer questions to make …
To Dream a Dream of Family Law
Michael Maguire won a Tony for leading a failed revolution in the original Broadway production of Les Miserables; now he helps those with failed marriagesQ: You won a Tony for playing Enjolras in the original Broadway production of Les Miserables. You perform with symphonies all over the country. So I have to ask: Why law? A: I wanted to go to law school for years. I just wanted the intellectual challenge. I mean, I do recognize that I have a physical gift. It’s almost like being a fast runner or something. I have a talent that I needed and still need to share. But while I was singing with symphonies, I was also buying and restoring old houses …
What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Age Discrimination?
Seven local attorneys try to bring light to a murky issueAfter a rough week at work, Evelyn, an office manager, is called into a conference room by her boss, Claire. Evelyn was recently directed to fire half the company, and though she raised concerns both moral (it’s not right) and practical (how will the company function?), she did her job: She fired 18 people. Now it gets more painful. Now Claire fires her. At first Evelyn is angry; then she grasps the difficulty of her situation. “I am 59 years old,” she says. “Nobody hires anybody my …
The General
MICHAEL I. NEIL JOINED THE MILITARY BECAUSE OF THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT AND BECAME COMMANDER AT CAMP PENDLETON DURING THE GULF WARQ: You were given the Daniel T. Broderick III Award for civility, professionalism and integrity by members of the San Diego Bar in 2008. Any moment since, say in some heated negotiation, when you were ready to toss civility out the window? A: I was in the Marine Corps. If there’s one thing the Marine Corps teaches you, it’s discipline and restraint. But the thought occurs to you from time to time. Q: You’ve tried more than 140 cases to jury verdict. Which ones remain memorable for …
Land Useful
Land use attorney Sarah M. Rockwell, of Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell, grew up hearing dinner-table conversations about Denver redevelopmentQ: You graduated from law school in ’85. What led you to the law in the first place? A: I actually thought I was going to be a city planner [but] my brother said, “Go to something like law school along with planning school because nobody will know what you do if you’re a planner only.” I decided to do the joint degree at MIT and Boston University. From there, I ended up working a couple of summers at law firms in the land use arena and really enjoyed it. Q: As a land use …
One Rogue Solicitor
In 2009, Mark Lewis was working from home and selling assets; within two years, he helped uncover the biggest scandal of the 21st centuryDon’t be surprised if a film is soon made about Mark Lewis, a media law, libel and privacy lawyer with Taylor Hampton Solicitors in London. Think All the President’s Men, except, instead of a newspaper uncovering the dirty tricks of politicians and lawyers, you’d have a lawyer helping uncover the dirty tricks of certain newspapers. Instead of the president of the United States resigning (along with collateral damage), you’d have the largest circulation newspaper in the country folding …
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