Class News
Steve Clay ’64 recognized with Lifetime Achievement Award
June 28, 2020
Note from Tony Lavely, ’64 Class Secretary: This article did not come to my attention until recently, but I want to share Steve Clay’s recognition two years ago.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Steve Clay
Law.com - Daily Report
June 28, 2018
Steve Clay, an Atlanta native, graduated from Yale University and the University of Virginia School of Law before embarking on more than 50 years of experience practicing law. He joined what is now Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton in 1970 and was elected to partner in 1975. In his nearly 50 years with the firm, he has served as co-chair of the firm, head of the litigation practice and as a member of the firm’s executive committee.
Al Lurey, a colleague for 47 years, recalled that Clay during his career served as lead counsel in major, complex commercial litigation matters, including defending product liability claims against Fortune 500 companies and defending financial institutions and their officers and directors. “Steve became a recognized expert in the field of international arbitration,” said Lurey. “His work in that area included not only representing clients in arbitration proceedings but also serving as an arbitrator in such proceedings. The fact that parties engaged in disputes chose him to resolve their disputes in his capacity as an arbitrator is a testament to his perceived intellect and even temperament and his reputation for honesty and fairness.
“Though Steve has zealously represented his clients,” Lurey added, “he unfailingly has treated all participants in the judicial process with whom he has interacted, including adversaries, with courtesy and respect. The importance of such contributions to the maintenance of civility in the legal profession cannot be overstated.”
“Notwithstanding the heavy demands of his law practice, Steve, throughout his career, has taken the time to give back to his profession and his community. Among his many contributions, he has mentored a number of young lawyers, avidly supported the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, represented clients on a pro bono basis and served in a leadership role for Georgia Appleseed,” Lurey said.
In 1998, your side won a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit just hours after you and others argued it, but, of course, most cases don’t get resolved that quickly. How should lawyers calibrate their efforts and energy between short-term victories and a resolution in the long run for your client?
The court heard the oral argument at 9 a.m. in Montgomery, Alabama, and decided the case before lunch. The case involved the enforceability of a general release. Several hundred claims and several million dollars were at stake. We took the position that the release applied, even to claims of fraudulent inducement of the agreement. Our argument was simple and depended on the plain language of the short settlement agreement. The release said the claimant had alleged fraudulent inducement but agreed to surrender such claims in exchange for cash. We won in the trial court on a motion to dismiss.
The appellant argued there were material fact disputes. We responded that, for a release to have value, it must be enforced according to its terms and as a matter of law. We emphasized to the court that prompt enforcement was an essential element of the bargain. The court agreed. The settlement was enforced immediately. The value of the bargain was preserved.
The settlement enforcement case was an example of how our team viewed litigation. We thought the less said the better. Our philosophy was to stay simple and be straightforward. No matter how many arguments you might have, you had to choose two or three to concentrate on, and you needed to get them on the table right away.
From whom did you learn key aspects of legal practice?
The best appellate brief writer I ever knew was Sam Slade from the Schnader firm in Philadelphia. The chairman of the firm was Bernard G. Segal, who also was the chair of the American Bar Association. In those days, the endorsement of the ABA was indispensable to the success of any Supreme Court nomination. Lawyers who aspired to the Supreme Court wanted the support of the ABA, particularly Bernie Segal.
Segal was himself a highly regarded oral advocate with a healthy roster of Supreme Court cases. Sam Slade was the lawyer at the United States Solicitor General’s Oce who had broad responsibility for many years for preparing Supreme Court cases for oral argument. Because Segal admired Slade’s work, he recruited him to the Schnader rm. Slade accepted the firm’s offer and
became responsible for the substantial docket of Supreme Court and other federal cases Segal was retained to argue. I spent my first year working with Slade and Segal on appellate cases.
Slade taught that the best oral advocacy was rooted in the persuasive statement of the facts of the case. He also taught that the most valuable improvement in the appellate brief was the elimination of excess verbiage and peripheral arguments. He could take a 50-page draft of the entire brief and turn it into a 10-page summary of the facts stated favorably but fairly to his client’s cause. Success, he insisted, depended on those 10 pages. Until the 10 pages were right, the path to and the likelihood of success was narrow and difficult.
Segal and Slade had a remarkable record of success in Supreme Court and other appellate cases. I was lucky to have them on my side as advocates and teachers.
You headed Kilpatrick & Cody when it merged in 1997 with Petree Stockton, a deal that foreshadowed even bigger mergers by law firms around the world. What are your thoughts about that period?
I was the chairman of the Kilpatrick firm for several years. Fortunately for the firm, I was never the managing partner, a demanding job beyond my skill set. My responsibility was a little vague but generally was to reassure the lawyers in the firm that we were doing well. We were, so I remained in the position longer than I expected or deserved.
What is one of your proudest accomplishments in the law, and what challenge did you have to overcome so you could to achieve it?
A little more than 10 years ago I was offered the opportunity to participate in the selection and review of a board of directors for Georgia Appleseed, a new pro bono organization that sought to match social problems and needs with professional talent and commitment. With the invaluable assistance of Sharon Hill serving as Georgia Appleseed’s first executive director, we all have together built a great organization with a deserved reputation for quality, a thoughtful approach to a wide range of complicated problems and genuine success providing creative solutions. We have had support from leaders from all over the state, including directors from Athens, Savannah, Rome, Macon, Columbus, Albany, Marietta and Atlanta, among others. Our success building Appleseed, getting it off the ground and keeping it vibrant has been the most gratifying experience of my professional life.
I have some thank yous to say. I started at Kilpatrick at age 13 as a mailroom summer clerk and one of several assistants to Emerson Jackson, my first and best boss ever. When I was 20, I worked as a summer law clerk for the firm and eventually returned as a full-time associate in 1970.
I want to say special thanks for my father, who was a partner at Hirsch, Smith, Kilpatrick & Clay in the 1930s and until his death in a plane crash in 1945. I also want to thank M.E. Kilpatrick for offering me a job at the firm; to Miles Alexander for his continuing excellent advice; and thank you to all the lawyers, paralegals, secretaries and administrative staff who helped me along the way. Kilpatrick has been a special firm in my experience, and I have been literally supported by the firm every moment of my life. For its generosity, the firm has my deepest gratitude.