About Ross Pfund
Ross Pfund is the managing editor of Super Lawyers. He is the editor of the Minnesota, Colorado, Massachusetts, Louisiana and Southwest magazines. An award-winning editor and writer with more than 20 years of experience, he has a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota. His work has also appeared in the Star Tribune and the Norman County Index. As a child, he knew he was cut out for a career in journalism because he never once stuck his hand into his father’s printing press.
Articles written by Ross Pfund
Curb Your Prosecution
On the night of May 12, 2003, Juan Catalan took his 6-year-old daughter to Dodger Stadium to see the home team play the Braves. The Dodgers blew a lead and lost 11-4, but a few months later, something much worse happened. Police arrested the 24-year-old Catalan and charged him, based solely on the word of an eyewitness, with the murder of a 16-year-old girl in Sun Valley — on the night of May 12. Catalan remembered that his cousin had worked in the mailroom of the Norton & Melnik law …
Does That Star Spangled Banner Yet Wave?
R. Rex Parris, personal injury attorney, namesake of the R. Rex Parris Law Firm and allaround good guy, was just there to receive an award. He and his wife were at a Lancaster awards dinner in April in honor of local boy scouts and veterans of the war in Iraq. Parris himself was to be recognized as the Distinguished Citizen of the Year. But then there was a benefit auction for an American flag that had seen action in Iraq. And Parris wife had an idea. “My wife whispered to me that I …
Mr. Lewis Goes to Washington
John Lewis’ pro bono case lands him in rare companyJohn Lewis was nervous. The 33-year-old Jones Day associate was used to the stresses of the courtroom in his job as a commercial litigator. But nothing could have prepared him for the pressure of standing before the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. Arguing in front of the country’s highest court is a pretty good feat for a guy who was just getting his legal feet wet on his high school’s mock trial team (not so far) back in 1989. “Our school went around competing,” …
Super Idealist
Jeff Selbin with partner Laurel Fletcher and their daughter AidenSuper Lawyer Jeff Selbin has handled hundreds upon hundreds of cases in his 15 years at Berkeley’s East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC), but one stands out in his mind. “We had a client in the early ’90s who had a severe crisis,” Selbin says. “In part through the help we provided, he was able to get stabilized, and four or five years ago he joined our staff. It’s proof of the power of work we do with individuals.” Selbin, who became the executive director of the …
Surprise, You’re Aleutian!
An unexpected phone call puts Tom Weathers on a new path in lifeIn 1998, Tom Weathers was a mild-mannered civil litigation associate at Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May in Oakland. Then a man claiming to be a private investigator from Alaska telephoned him out of the blue and said that Weathers owned stock in a company called Sealaska Corp., that the man had been searching for Weathers for eight years, and furthermore, that Weathers himself had Aleutian heritage. “I thought it was a scam,” Weathers says. But he decided to call the …
The King of Pro Bono
Pro bono work gives Blum the chance to get out of the office and into the courtroomJonathan Blum can still remember his first pro bono case. “When I started work in 2000, there really wasn’t a program at my firm,” Dallas’ Weil, Gotshal & Manges, he says. “We just had a pro bono partner that coordinated [activities] at a clinic in West Alice. I volunteered there, then started going on my own to the clinic. The West Alice community is predominantly Hispanic, and I speak Spanish, so it was a good fit. It’s an advice-only clinic, but you can take cases later if …
The Pen is Mightier
Panatier likes making trouble across party linesMothers, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys. Such seemed to be the sentiment of one of Chris Panatier’s first editorial cartoons. “There was a group on campus called the [Texas] Cowboys, and they were sort of a fraternity’s fraternity — the super-elite frat boys,” Panatier recalls of his sophomore year at the University of Texas in the mid-’90s. “They were forcing plebes, or whatever you want to call them, to swim back and forth across a body of water in full dress, while …
Oh, Oh, It's Magic
Beckman can turn a Barbie doll into a living, breathing human beingIn 1997, Syd Beckman was your average mild-mannered family law attorney, who just happened to pass by a magic shop every day on his way to the courthouse. Then, one day, his curiosity got the better of him and he went inside. “I talked to the guy behind the counter and said, ‘Can you show me something that’s easy to learn?’” Beckman recalls. An inauspicious beginning, to be sure, but everyone has to start somewhere. Eight years later, Beckman is an award-winning magician –– not …
Bock in the Saddle Again
In court or the arena, Bock takes challenges in strideAmy Bock knows a thing or two about tricky maneuvering. She has handled federal civil rights class action suits while working in the Dallas City Attorney’s Office and –– perhaps more impressively –– she has handled horses in dressage competitions as a member of USA Equestrian and the U.S. Dressage Federation. “Dressage is like ballet for horses,” Bock explains. “They have to perform intricate movements –– it’s not just jumping. You have to constantly work on technique. …
The Lawyer as Swinger
Doug Clapp scores low on the golf course and high in his law practiceIt’s Doug Clapp’s big moment. He’s near the first tee of New York’s Oak Hill Golf Club in 1998, making his first appearance at the United States Amateur Championship. The announcer calls his name — it’s his turn to tee off. He kisses his wife, who is pregnant with their first child, and walks to the tee box. A whole lifetime of playing golf, those hours and hours out on the course, has led to this one moment. He’s standing at the tee. What happens next? Ask someone else, …
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