There are some decent things to be said about St. John’s Law School. My pal, John Q. Barrett, teaches there, and maintains the Jackson List, of which I think very highly. But then, there was its handling of David Powers, which was an unmitigated disgrace.

Note that they didn’t just dismiss him from St. John’s after taking his tuition for three semesters, but rescinded his admission, as if he was never there.  At this moment, it’s likely weighing heavily that they went far beyond the offense of conviction, deep into the crevices of all bad acts he committed during his drug addiction.  And Powers, believing these four deans to be people of good will, likely expected at least understanding, if not some degree of grudging respect for what he accomplished.  And what he accomplished was nothing short of magnificent.

Not only did the school screw David, needlessly and disingenuously, in every way possible, but they fought him hard up to the New York Court of Appeals. They won in a decision that can be summed up succinctly as the court wouldn’t second guess the law school, so if the school decided he was out, out he was. Everything else was fluff. It was not the court’s finest moment.

That David persisted in fighting to finish law school, to become a lawyer, is significant in two ways. First, because he wasn’t going to let the bastards win without every ounce of fight he could muster.  Second, because he knew what it really meant to be a lawyer, and still wanted to be one. That can’t be said about many law students. David Powers was the one guy who should be a lawyer.

After the Court of Appeals punted, it seemed as if David had run out of chances. But a white knight took up his cause, Bennett Gershman, a Pace Law professor. Gershman was no kid lawprof angling toward tenure or trying to make his bones in the Academy. His background offers some insight.

While in private practice he specialized in criminal defense litigation. A former prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for six years, he is the author of numerous articles as well as two books on prosecutorial and judicial ethics. He served for four years with the Special State Prosecutor investigating corruption in the judicial system. He is one of the nation’s leading experts on prosecutorial misconduct. He is active on several Bar Association committees, and is a frequent pro bono litigator.

What this means, loosely translated, is that he knew in real life what it meant to fight for the right thing, to appreciate what a student like David Powers overcame to get there, and that this was the student we want to be a lawyer, unlike the classrooms filled with the Law & Whatever crowd.  And Gershman didn’t have reason to share the fear and petty omnipotence of law deans, worrying that the school might slip a notch in the rankings.

Gershman was the real McCoy, having fought real fights over real things that mattered, like real people’s lives.  David was the real McCoy too, and Bennett Gershman decided that he would stand up for this maligned student who got burned unmercifully by St. John’s Law School and its petty overlords.

David Powers was admitted to Pace Law School, with the support of Bennett Gershman.  He was given credit for the classes he completed with extraordinary success at St. John’s, even if St. John’s pretended he was never there while keeping his money in its greedy pockets.  And, having burned through his savings to fight the good fight, Pace gave David a generous scholarship to enable him to cover tuition.

David Powers is going to finish up law school at Pace.  Whether there is a deity overseeing karma and propriety, I can’t say, but there is a law professor filling in the gaps.  Bennett Gershman and the others at Pace who supported, promoted and accepted David Powers as a student deserving, in every way, the chance to become a lawyer deserve the recognition and appreciation of every lawyer who gives a damn about who will be coming up behind us.

As for the four cowardly deans of St. John’s, the puniness of your decision, the one born of your own legal incompetence in being incapable of framing a decent question on your admission application, and failure to take responsibility like grown-ups for your failures, and dumping your shame on a student who did nothing more than answer you truthfully and accurately, you are a disgrace to the profession and academia. Don’t think we aren’t aware of who you are:

• Kathleen Sullivan
• Lawrence Cunningham
• Valentine Turano
• Andrew Simons

When David let me know about this, about his returning to law school, about his getting one more chance because of Gershman’s championing his cause, I offered one piece of advice. Kick ass.  Ace everything. Show those cowards that they lost the finest law student, the finest lawyer, because they were too small, too afraid, to have integrity.  He said, “that’s the plan,” and I have no doubt he means it.

There will be one final hurdle after he finishes law school, and that’s to pass scrutiny with the Character and Fitness Committee.  Fortunately, he won’t be the first person with a background issue from his wayward youth to come before them.  And they better remember that the difference between his background issue and their own was that he had the misfortune to get caught, while so many others had the good luck of making it to admission without getting pinched for the bad stuff no one will ever admit to now.

Welcome back, David. Kick ass.  And Professor Gershman, thank you. You make our profession proud. I’m confident David will make our profession proud as well, and you’ve backed the right horse.