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Proclamations congratulating the Honorable Terrence F. McVerry, recipient of the Judge Robert E. Dauer Award for Judicial Leadership & Excellence, Ken Gormley, Esquire, recipient of the Judge James R. McGregor Award, and Dorie Bayne Schnippert, recipient of Special Recognition at the Amen Corner’s 56th Annual Judicial Reception on April 27, 2016.
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WHEREAS, The Honorable Terrence F. McVerry received his B.A. degree from Duquesne University in 1965 and a Juris Doctor degree from its school of law in 1968. Following graduation, Judge McVerry began active duty with the United States Army Reserves after which he served as a commissioned legal officer in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard until his Honorable Discharge as a Captain in 1977. He served as a trial prosecutor in the Office of the District Attorney of Allegheny County from 1969 to 1973; and
WHEREAS, Judge McVerry engaged in the general practice of law for the next twenty-five years with the last ten as an active trial practitioner in the medical professional negligence field with the firm of Grogan, Graffam, McGinley & Lucchino. In 1978, McVerry was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and represented a number of South Hills communities in the General Assembly for six terms through 1990. He continued in private practice of law until May 1998, when Governor Tom Ridge nominated him to fill a vacancy on the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County. He served as a Judge in the Family Division of that Court until January 2001; thereafter, he became the Solicitor of Allegheny County serving as the Chief Legal Officer and Director of the Law Department during the advent of Allegheny County’s new Home Rule government; and
WHEREAS, in January 2002, Judge McVErry was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as a Federal District Court Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 3, 2002 and began serving as a Judge on September 27, 2002; and
WHEREAS, Judge McVerry is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Allegheny County Bar Association and Federal Judges Association. He is a former member of the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing and the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges. He also served as a member of the Allegheny County Charter Drafting Committee which prepared the Home Rule Charter for the new form of government in Allegheny County which took effect in January 2000;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Allegheny County Council does hereby recognize and commend The Honorable Terrence F. McVerry, Senior Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania, for receiving the Judge Robert E. Dauer Award for Judicial Leadership and Excellence from Amen Corner during the group’s 56th Annual Judicial Reception.
WHEREAS, Ken Gormley, the 11th dean of Duquesne University School of Law, will serve as Duquesne University’s 13th president beginning July 1, 2016. After teaching at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and engaging in private practice, Ken Gormley joined Duquesne’s law faculty as associate professor in 1994, and was promoted to full professor in 1997. He earned his B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977, summa cum laude, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1980; and
WHEREAS, during his 22 years at Duquesne University, Ken Gormley has served on the Editorial Board of Duquesne University Press (2001-2005); as Associate Vice President for Interdisciplinary Scholarship and Special Projects for the University (2007-2008); as Chair of the President-Elect Search Committee for the Palumbo-Donahue School of Business (2012-2013); and as organizer of numerous high-profile programs featuring U.S. Supreme Court Justices, the Attorney General of the United States, the President of Costa Rica, and other events that garnered national attention; and
WHEREAS, Ken Gormley was named to the Office of Research’s “Hall of Fame” for obtaining grants and achieving success in fundraising (2010); and under his leadership the Law School moved up dramatically in U.S. News & World Report and other rankings; appointed more females to key administrative positions than any President-Elect in the history of the Law School; worked with the University to establish a free-standing Law Clinic-The Tribone Center for Clinical Legal Education, to assist underserved clients in the region; worked collaboratively with the faculty to support its research and increase its scholarly output; and overhauled the Law School’s curriculum, international programs and student organizations to better serve its students; and
WHEREAS, Ken Gormley’s work on a myriad of legal/historical topics has earned him a national reputation as a leading constitutional scholar. A renowned author, President-Elect Gormley is the editor of “The Pennsylvania Constitution: A Treatise on Rights and Liberties” (Bisel 2004 and Supp. 2015). He authored “Archibald Cox: Conscience of a Nation” (Perseus Books 1997), which was awarded the 1999 Bruce K. Gould Book Award for an outstanding publication relating to the law. He published “The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr” (Crown 2010), a New York Times bestseller that received a 2011 Silver-Gavel Award (Honorable Mention) from the American Bar Association as well as international critical acclaim; and
WHEREAS, Ken Gormley has testified in the United States Senate three times, as well as in the Pennsylvania Senate. He also served as President of the Allegheny County Bar Association, the first academic to hold that position in the organization’s 137-year history. From 1998-2002, he served as Mayor of the Forest Hills Borough;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Allegheny County Council does hereby recognize and commend Duquesne University President-Elect and Professor of Law, Ken Gormley, Esq. for receiving the Judge James R. McGregor Award from Amen Corner during the group’s 56th Annual Judicial Reception.
WHEREAS, Dorie Bayne Schnippert began her career with the Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA) in 1970 and after 45 years of dedicated service retired in 2015; and
WHEREAS, Dorie Bayne Schnippert provided administrative support to the ACBA, served as a liaison to the Family Law Section, Criminal Litigation Section, Bench-Bar Conference Committee and Young Lawyers Division, redesigned the Lawyer Referral Service and managed the Indigent Divorce Program, and in the late 1970s, she was promoted to Administrative Assistant/Office Manager; and
WHEREAS, Dorie Bayne Schnippert drafted and implemented the first personnel manual used by the ACBA, and in 1980, she was promoted to Deputy Executive Director, responsible for all personnel and human resources management for the staff of 23. Through her successful efforts over the next 30 years, the three-day Bench-Bar Conference at Seven Springs became the signature event of the ACBA; and
WHEREAS, in 1990, Dorie Bayne Schnippert created the ACBA’s continuing legal education (CLE) department and became its Director. Several years later, she created the Membership Department and as its Director merged that department with the CLE department to streamline the delivery of all aspects of membership, services and benefits offered by the ACBA; and
WHEREAS, over the years, Dorie Bayne Schnippert rewrote the bylaws and definitions to expand membership categories to reflect the changing needs of the legal profession, conducted member surveys, assisted in the development and presentation of hundreds of CLE programs, negotiated contracts and made arrangements for and attended countless events and for many, became the face of the Allegheny County Bar Association;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Allegheny County Council does hereby congratulate and commend Dorie Bayne Schnippert for receiving the Special Recognition Award from Amen Corner during the group’s 56th Annual Judicial Reception.