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LEGAL COMMUNITY NEWS
This section features current news and events of interest to the local legal community. News items may be submitted to communications@cincybar.org.
AN ANCIENT CEREMONY FOR LAWYERS:
An Invitation to Participate in the 25th Annual Red Mass
Justice Fischer Receives Ohio Bar Medal
CBA Past President Justice Patrick Fischer was honored with the Ohio Bar Medal, the Ohio State Bar Association’s highest honor, at the OSBA’s annual meeting on May 12. The award is given to those who have made significant contributions to the legal profession and the community.
Justice Fischer has served on the Ohio Supreme Court since 2017. Prior to that, he served as a judge on the Ohio First District Court of Appeals. Fischer is a graduate of Harvard College
and Harvard Law School and was
formerly a partner at KMK Law.
In his acceptance speech, Justice Fischer thanked his family, colleagues, and friends for their support. He also spoke about the importance of civility and respect in the legal profession.
Doloris Learmonth, Barb Howard, Justice Fischer, David Lefton and Theresa Nelson
Justice Fischer with daughter
and attorney K.C. Fischer
By Nathaniel M. Fouch
The record-shattering number of people who tuned in to the recent corona- tion of Charles III gives ample evidence of a deep human longing for ritual and cere- mony. While the United States abandoned monarchy long ago, the American legal profession nonetheless retains an ancient annual ceremony fit for a king. Each fall, the Red Mass is celebrated throughout the United States as lawyers and public officials of all faiths seek to invoke God’s blessing and guidance on the administra- tion of justice in the coming year. The Saint Thomas More Lawyers Guild of Greater Cincinnati invites all members of the legal profession and their families to join us for the 25th Annual Cincinnati Red Mass.
With deep roots in our English Common Law history, the Red Mass— named for the color of the presiding bishop’s vestments—has become a cher- ished tradition for attorneys and judges of all or no faiths in the United States.
This Catholic ceremony is celebrated in cities across the country. Its date in early autumn coincides with the traditional beginning of the English legal year, which is also the beginning of the U.S. Supreme Court’s annual term. In Washington, U.S. Supreme Court justices and high- ranking federal officials of all faiths and both parties regularly attend. In Cincin- nati, attendees gather from across Ohio and Northern Kentucky, including state supreme court justices, federal judges, professors, private and government attor- neys, law students, and paralegals.
This year, the Red Mass will take place at the beautiful Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky, and will be presided over by the Bishop of Covington, the Most Reverend John C. Iffert. While similar in form to an ordi- nary Catholic mass, this special ceremony is marked by greater solemnity, and its messages are directed specifically toward
lawyers and
judges. It is
part celebra-
tion of the
profession, part admonishment to fulfill the high ethics of our oaths, and part blessing of practitioners embarking on another year in law.
The Red Mass will be followed by a reception in the Cathedral Gardens with hors d’oeuvres, drinks, fellowship, and a brief conferral of awards. We hope you will embrace this unique opportunity and join us for the 25th Annual Red Mass on Thursday, September 21, at 5 p.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington. The event is free of charge and there will be free parking.
Fouch is a Judicial Law Clerk for Justice R. Patrick DeWine of the Supreme Court of Ohio. He is also
a member of the Board of the Saint Thomas More Lawyers Guild of Greater Cincinnati, and Chairman of the Dayton Bar Association Editorial Board.
Fouch
THE REPORT | July/August 2023 | CincyBar.org
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