2017 Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellowship Honorees

The Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellowships are supported by a generous multi-year gift from Stephanie Whitehurst and Bill Whitehurst, ‘70. Each summer, the Whitehursts name the fellowships for lawyers and others they admire in hopes that the recipients will be inspired by the honorees’ work in the public interest.

Summer 2017 Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellowship Honorees

The William J. Boatman Public Interest Law Fellowship

William J. (Joe) Boatman is not a lawyer.  But he is a Viet Nam War Veteran.  This is his story:

“I joined the US Navy in January, 1966 and spent 4 years in as a Hospital Corpsman. I spent 2 years and 8
months in Vietnam, serving both as a Combat Corpsman (medic) with the 7th Marines and aboard the USS Eldorado AGC-11. During my service I received the following awards:

I spent many years after the Navy in the construction and safety business after getting my degree in Management from the University of Texas in 1975. I started my involvement with volunteer work with Veterans after I retired in 1998. I became a Peer Support Specialist, through a certification program by the Veterans Administration, and lead counseling groups for the VA for people suffering the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I also joined the Texas Association of Vietnam Veterans, serving as the Vice President, and lead efforts with support of the City of Austin’s “No Longer Homeless Program” to help end homelessness in the Veteran population in Austin. Austin, Texas is one of only about a dozen cities in the US that has essentially ended homelessness in the Veteran population. With the help of a grant from the Texas Veterans Commission, we helped a total of 86 Veterans get off the streets in 2013. Our funds were only to help 25, but with the help of other volunteers and organizations we were able to exceed our goals by over 350%. In in middle of 2013, I set up a nonprofit thrift store, The Veterans Connection, in Round Rock. We were able to keep the store going for about 3 ½ years before we had to close it. My health is not good enough for full time work, so my daughter quit her job to run the store. I worked 2 days a week. We were able to keep helping Veterans through the store’s efforts at the rate of five to ten a month, donating furniture, appliances, clothes, household items, and also acting as a source of information for Veterans who needed help with PTSD or other veteran related issues. One of the Veterans we were able to help was Mr. Richard Overton, age 110, who is the oldest living WWII veteran. During this time we associated with the Hutto American Legion in a project called the “Duffle Bag”. Through these efforts we reached out to Veterans and active duty military personnel to over 850 families and individuals.

I have served on the board of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 915 in Austin as a director for over 15 years. I am also the State of Texas Chair for PTSD Education and Outreach for the Vietnam Veterans of America, and represented this organization at the National Convention in Springfield, Illinois in 2012. I have directed the PTSD education efforts for the State Board of VVA for over 14 years. I am also a life member of the 1st Marine Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Amphibious Force Flagship Association.

With the help of my wife Jennie, who is a Masters Level Social Worker specializing in Combat related PTSD, I have helped over a dozen Veterans obtain their benefits from the VA. This consisted of many direct one on one sessions with the Veterans to not only help them with their benefits, but to also give them the support they needed to learn to cope with their condition.

I have twice testified before the State of Texas Veterans Affairs Committee on the effects of PTSD on Veterans. My testimony was part of an effort to obtain property tax abatement for 100% disabled Veterans. My efforts, and the efforts of many others, were successful and resulted in a law being passed to give these benefits to Veterans. I also served as a consultant to committee concerning the medical and Native American figure for the Texas Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, which is now on the northeast comer of the state capitol.

I learned a long time ago that you cannot save the world. But I also learned that you CAN save a part of it. I am 70 years old now, and have been a 100% disabled Veteran since 1998, but this has not slacked my desire to continue to help other Veterans. I started out care-taking Marines and Sailors in combat, and I am still helping all Veterans as best I can with whatever tools I have to work with, and I will do so, until I die.”

The William J. Boatman Public Interest Law Fellowship is awarded in hopes that the recipient will be inspired by what a dedicated war veteran like Joe Boatman has done in the public’s interest as an essential part of his life, and will make a similar commitment.

William J. Boatman

The Donald P. Dorsey Public Interest Law Fellowship

Donald P. (Don) Dorsey is not a lawyer. But he is a Viet Nam War veteran. This is his story:

“In May of 1968, after completing my fourth year of a 6-year study in Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin, I quit school to join the Marine Corps. At the time, The Corps needed troops badly and was offering a 2-year enlistment. Although I was against the war and had attended a few anti-war rallies in college, I still felt obligated to serve my country, even in a bad war. At the time, my twin brother was a Marine rifleman already in Vietnam. I was 22 years old. I refused Officer Candidate School (OCS) as offered by the recruiter.

I entered boot camp (MCRD San Diego) Dec 2 and began my training. I did well and quickly moved up from squad leader to right guide (acting platoon sergeant). At the end of training, I graduated top Marine in my platoon of roughly 90 guys and received the leadership award. I was designated Honor Man, receiving a promotion and a free Dress Blue Uniform, and assigned the military occupation of basic rifleman. I was again offered OCS, but again refused.

My next stop was Camp Pendleton where I entered Infantry Training Regiment (ITR) serving as Squad Leader. Next came Basic Infantry Training (BITs) where I became acting Platoon Sergeant, though I only held the rank of PFC. Older than most trainees, I could readily see that these young kids were going to get me killed. At that time in Vietnam, the casualty rate for Marine riflemen was 50%. I volunteered for special training as a Scout Sniper. After a thorough background check, I was accepted into the sniper program at Pendleton, where I graduated in a tie for first place. Just prior to that time, my twin had been wounded. After a couple months in the hospital, his foot was patched up, and he was sent back into the field, limping. Because of the “Sullivan Law,” family members can refuse to serve in a combat zone at the same time. I waived that right so as to replace him in combat. I arrived in Vietnam in June of 1969, and my twin was sent to Okinawa a couple days later. Shortly thereafter, his company was hit hard and many of his friends were killed.

A regimental sniper, I was assigned to First Marine Regiment south of DaNang, where I was “issued” out to field units in 2-man killer and reconnaissance teams. Early in my tour, I was sent to an advanced sniper school in DaNang, where I graduated number one in my class with a perfect score, a rare occurrence. Because I was a good shot and knew my field craft, I moved up quickly from Spotter to Team Leader to Squad Leader. Toward the end of my tour, I served as acting Platoon Commander for 2 months. At the time, I was only a Corporal. After serving 11 months and 27 days as a sniper, my tour was complete. I left Vietnam for San Diego. Six days after leaving Vietnam, my promotion to SGT caught up to me, and I was honorably discharged under the “early out program” and sent home to Port Neches, Texas. That was June 1970. I had served roughly 19 months in The Corps. Although I’d been running assassination teams and reconnaissance missions for a year, I received no decompression and no psychological evaluation. Coming home was a culture shock. If you’re interested, google “Don Dorsey – Coming Home.” I wrote a story of the experience for my high school class reunion in 2009.

Unable to concentrate and with a lot of combat baggage, I worked construction as a pipefitter in the refineries of Southeast Texas. In 1972, I moved back to Austin to try to resume my studies, but could no longer do chemistry. I worked as a carpenter until I was able to enter the UT School of Fine Arts. In 1975, I received a BA in Fine arts, graduating with mostly A’s. Several of my art projects were entered into the student museum. I worked as a free lance artist for several years doing ads and logo design.
But having difficulty relating to regular people, my only friends were Vietnam veterans. Several of us became active in veteran issues, working towards the return of live American Prisoners of War from Vietnam and towards health care for veterans exposed to Agent Orange. I was one of those veterans exposed. At the time, there were no national Vietnam veteran organizations, only local groups, with The Brotherhood of Vietnam Veterans the most active in Austin. In those days, Vietnam veterans were shunned by established national groups like the VFW. I worked with the Brotherhood until Dan Jordan, the President, was able to reach a national settlement for veterans with debilitating effects of Agent Orange. The organization then fell apart.

Recognizing a growing need for a good community service Vietnam veteran organization, 6 of us in 1975 chartered a State group called the Texas Association of Vietnam Veterans (TAVV). I became the Treasurer. We quickly grew into a large organization and took over VFW Post 856, one of the VFW groups who had refused us membership. TAVV was innovative and established several programs, adopting the Kerrville VA Hospital and starting a Vietnam oral history project whereby we visited local high schools to relate our war experiences. Our hospital program consisted of visiting the hospitalized veterans once a month to feed them and socialize and play bingo with them. TAVV gave away $100 each month in bingo prizes. As for the history project, I was placed in charge of organizing it. At one time, TAVV had 7 chapters across the State. I often served as chapter delegate at State meetings.

Over the years, I’ve held every office except Chaplain. Currently, I’m in my seventeenth year as Austin Chapter President. Even though we are down to only 2 active chapters in Texas, I’m also State President and have been for 6 years. We’re old now, but TAVV is as active as ever. We have a reputation of being the go-to veterans’ organization in Central Texas. We still spend time at the Kerrville Hospital and still talk to school kids. We added a Homeless Veteran component several years ago with Joe Boatman in charge. It was his service to homeless veterans that led to the Thrift Store, which helped to get many veterans off the streets. TAVV later added an Honor Guard team of which I’m Commander. We perform Combat Cross Ceremonies at veteran events and funerals.

About 2004, I was asked to become involved in the newly proposed Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument (TCVVM) to be erected on Texas Capitol grounds. With my background in art and with my connections to the veteran community, I became a member of the Design Committee. After a design was chosen and the committee dissolved, I was then asked to continue as a member of the TCVVM Executive Committee, a steering committee composed of 12 local veterans. During my time on the Executive Committee, I served on every ad hoc committee and became liaison to the sculptor to insure accuracy in the final monument. The sniper on the 5-man combat grouping was designed from photos of me. At the monument dedication in 2014, I spoke of my Vietnam experiences to a historic crowd of 4500 people.

As part of the Executive Committee, I was also tasked in 2012 with creating a project to honor the 3417 Texans killed or missing in Vietnam. We wanted to have something for the families to honor those who lost their lives. Originally called the “the 3417 project,” it was later renamed “The Texas Vietnam Heroes Exhibit.” I hand–stamped two sets of dog tags with the names, ranks, hometowns, and dates of casualties of each individual and then created an interactive display. One set of tags hangs in the display, while the other set was ceremonially entombed inside the 14-foot monument now located in the Northeast corner of Capitol grounds. The display won 5 first place design awards and traveled to many Texas communities throughout a 2-year tour. It’s now on permanent display at the Museum of the American GI in College Station.

Through all of this, I never married, never had a family, never could hold a job very long. I never did adjust to normal life after Vietnam. I give talks to veteran groups and at events about my experiences in Vietnam and with PTSD. This past December, I spoke to an Army group in Lubbock about coping with PTSD and am scheduled to speak at a Marine Reunion in San Antonio in May. I’ve also recently become active with the Suicide Prevention Channel. Vietnam took a lot from me, but it gave me a purpose. I’m 100% disabled due to PTSD and other health issues and unemployable. But I help veterans as a veterans’ activist.

I’m a member of or participate in the following:

Texas Assn of Vietnam Veterans, State President
Texas Assn of Vietnam Veterans, Austin Chapter President
Marine Corps League
Disabled American Veterans / life member
Scout Sniper Assn
First Marine Division Assn / life member
VFW Post 856 / life member
Austin Memorial Home Assn, President
Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 915, delegate / life member
TAVV Honor Guard, Commander
Suicide Prevention Channel, steering committee
Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument, Executive Committee
Texas Vietnam Heroes Exhibit, creator”

When asked if we could name this Fellowship in his honor, Don replied:

“I’m humbled and honored by your desire to designate a fellowship in my name. My devotion to public service was merely a means of survival in the war after the war. However, I was raised by loving parents to always help those less fortunate. Vietnam was our generation’s lemon. After many years of removing seeds, public service became my lemonade. It still is. Of course you may proceed. Thank you.

Semper fi!
Don Dorsey
SGT, 1st Marine Division
HQ, 1st Regiment
Scout Sniper

The Donald P. Dorsey Public Interest Law Fellowship is awarded in hopes that the recipient will be inspired by what a dedicated war veteran like Don Dorsey has done in the public’s interest as an essential part of his life, and will make a similar commitment.

Donald P. Dorsey

The Scott Hendler Public Interest Law Fellowship

Scott Hendler is a cum laude graduate of the University of Pittsburg School of Law where he was an editor on the Journal of Law and Commerce. Following law school, he served as a Judicial Clerk to Chief Judge Robert Porter of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He is the founding partner of the Hendler, Lyons, Flores law firm in Austin, Texas.

Scott served an Inter-American Court of Human Rights Post Graduate Internship 1983 – 1984 where he worked under the supervision of the Secretary of the Court. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it makes up the human rights protection system of the Organization of American States (OAS), which serves to uphold and promote basic rights and freedoms in the Americas through the application and interpretation of the American Convention on Human Rights.

As a seasoned advocate for victims of corporate misconduct, Mr. Hendler is an authority on the impact of corporate malfeasance on workers’ and consumers’ rights. He has been invited to speak at international conferences in Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Japan and Scotland, as well as Guatemala where he addressed a meeting of the attorney generals of all the Central American nations regarding the use of tort law to address corporate malfeasance by foreign corporations. He has represented workers in mesothelioma asbestos litigation, children in connection with exposure to toxic shoe glue and families in high value single event complex injury and illness litigation involving violation of dram shop laws, nursing home abuse and defective pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices.

Scott was the Founder, President and General Counsel of SaveTownLake.Org, an environment Grass Roots Neighborhood organization formed to restore the Austin, Texas Waterfront Overlay Ordinance to preserve the open spaces around Ladybird Lake and the Butler Hike and Bike Trail, and to control development to reasonable levels that comply with City Ordinances. He also served on the Board of Directors and Vice President of the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas, which was dedicated in 1971 as an intimate sanctuary available to people of every belief. The Chapel has become a rallying place for all people concerned with peace, freedom, and social justice throughout the world.

Scott took on the pro bono representation of an HIV positive man whose health insurance company promptly canceled his policy upon receiving a claim for reimbursement for an HIV related prescription. The case was tried to a federal jury and the jury ruled in favor of the insured, reinstating his health insurance policy. He also represented pro bono a federal employee denied advancement due to alleged age and disability discrimination, a single mother of two daughters facing eviction from public housing, and a disabled permanent legal resident in connection with police investigation of an altercation with neighbors. In addition, he received the National Women’s Political Caucus Good Guy’s Award for pro bono representation of the organization in litigation in court in the District of Columbia. Scott has also been recognized as a Texas Watch Champion of Justice and received the Animal Legal Defense Fund Advancement in Animal Law Pro Bono Achievement Award.

Scott established the Charles Moyer Summer Fellowship in International Human Rights administered by the Rapport Center for Human Rights and Justice. Charles Moyer served as the first Secretary of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and prior to that was the Chief Investigator of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The Fellowship recognizes Moyer’s life long commitment to the protection of the rights of people everywhere and provides a stipend each year to support one law student to work in the field of human rights. He also served as a mentor to a first generation American from age 12; kept him in high school and ensured his graduation. He is now 24 and considering a career in the military or pursuing higher education.

Scott is licensed in Texas, New Mexico, Illinois and Pennsylvania, and regularly represents plaintiffs in complex injury litigation in state and federal courts throughout the United States. He is a frequent speaker at national bar association continuing education programs, international legal conferences and law schools. Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Hendler served as Senior Investigator for the Texas Commission on Human Rights, the state’s fair housing and fair employment practices enforcement agency. He currently resides in Austin, Texas with his wife, Lulu Flores, an attorney and nationally recognized women’s rights activist, and their very vocal cat, Nana.

The Scott Hendler Public Interest Law Fellowship is awarded in hopes that the recipient will be inspired by what successful lawyers like Scott Hendler do in the public’s interest as an essential part of their career, and will make a similar commitment.

Scott Hendler

The Robert G. Palmer Public Interest Law Fellowship

Robert Palmer received his law degree from Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri, served as a Captain, JAG, U.S.A.F. from 1970 to 1975 and has been in private practice based in Columbus, Ohio since 1976. He is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, listed in Martindale-Hubbell’s Bar of Preeminent Lawyers and named by the Best Lawyers of America as its 2011 and 2012 Lawyer of the Year for Personal Injury Litigation in Columbus, Ohio.

Robert’s 47 years of experience as a litigator has included a broad spectrum of personal injury, bad faith, commercial, civil rights, sex abuse and employment cases. He is also a Charter Member of the Ohio Chapter of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals having served many years as a mediator both privately and for the courts. Robert served as trial and appellate counsel in Dardinger v. Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, 98 Ohio St. 3d 77, 2002-Ohio-7113, where the jury awarded $2,500,00 compensatory and $49,000,000 punitive damages for bad faith denial and processing of a managed care benefit. Part of the award was used to establish the Esther L. Dardinger Neuro-Oncology Center. Robert’s pro bono work has included volunteering as a neutral in the United States District Court, defending foreclosure actions during the banking crisis, representing individuals on health insurance coverage issues, and mediating cases on judicial request.

Robert has also served as president and on the Board of Trustees for the Columbus Bar Foundation which provides grants to promote access to justice for the poor, including Legal Aid. For the Ohio State Bar Foundation he helped write and publish a brochure for pro se litigants distributed to clerk’s offices in all 88 Ohio Counties. Robert chaired the Columbus Bar Association Military Assistance Committee, served on the Supreme Court Commission on the Rules of Superintendence of Ohio Courts. For six years he served as a commissioner on the City of Columbus Historic Resources Commission.

Robert has authored numerous published legal articles, served as a national lecturer on multiple legal issues, and appeared periodically as a spokesperson, on-air legal expert, and actor in local T.V. productions. He has a son who is a nationally recognized sculptor, a son who is an internationally acclaimed professional drummer and musical choreographer, a son who is a nationally recognized professional skateboarder and a daughter who works with outdoor programs for troubled youth in the mountains of Colorado. He is married to Susan Simms, a recently retired law school professor.

The Robert G. Palmer Public Interest Law Fellowship is awarded in hopes that the recipient will be inspired by what successful lawyers like Robert G. Palmer do in the public’s interest as an essential part of their career, and will make a similar commitment.

Robert G. Palmer

The Regina Rogoff Public Interest Law Fellowship

Regina Rogoff is a graduate of the University School of Law and since 2003 has served as the CEO of Peoples Community Clinic in Austin, Texas. Its mission is to improve the health of medically underserved and uninsured Central Texans by providing high quality, affordable health care with dignity and respect.

Prior to coming to the Clinic, Regina was Executive Director of Legal Aid of Central Texas for twenty years and a Legal Aid staff attorney for ten years, beginning her career as a Vista lawyer. She has held numerous leadership positions in Austin’s human services, legal and Jewish communities. She currently serves on the Board of the Interfaith Education Fund and is a member of the Austin Area Research Organization (AARO). She is a past co-chair of Austin Interfaith and a past-president of the Austin Area Human Services Association (now One Voice Central Texas).

Under her leadership, People’s Community Clinic received the Samaritan Center’s 2005 Ethics in Business Award. Among Ms. Rogoff’s personal honors, the Austin Bar Association created the “Regina Rogoff Award” to be given annually to a Travis County attorney who demonstrates outstanding service in the public/non-profit sector. In 2014 she was recognized by the Austin Business Journal as Non-Profit CEO of the Year, and in 2015 she received UT Law School’s Distinguished Alumnus for Public Service Award. She takes special pride in having introduced “Facing History and Ourselves,” a nationally recognized anti-racism program, to the Austin area.

The Regina Rogoff Public Interest Law Fellowship is awarded in hopes that the recipient will be inspired by what successful lawyers like Regina Rogoff do in the public’s interest as an essential part of their career, and will make a similar commitment.

Regina Rogoff

The Patrick M. Ryan Public Interest Law Fellowship

Patrick Ryan is a graduate of the Oklahoma School of Law where he was editor of the Oklahoma Law Review and Order of the Coif. After law school he served for four years as Captain, JAG, USAF in Massachusetts and Republic of the Philippines, and Chief of Military Justice for the 13th A.F. (Southeast Asia). Patrick returned in 1974 to Oklahoma City where he was a partner in the Crowe & Dunlevy law firm until he founded his own firm, Ryan, Geister & Whaley. In 1995, he was appointed the United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma where he served until 1999 before returning to his law firm, now named Ryan, Whaley, Coldiron, Jantzen, Peters & Webber, PLLC.

Patrick has tried in excess of 150 jury trials specializing in all forms of business litigation, defense of bad faith insurance claims, pharmaceutical and medical device claims, oil and gas royalty claims and high profile criminal prosecution and defense matters. In 2008, he was listed as one of Oklahoma’s 10 “Super Lawyers” and as one of the top three commercial litigation lawyers in the State by America’s Leading Business Lawyers.

Patrick is recognized as arguably Oklahoma’s highest profile litigator. He was the U.S. Attorney in the Oklahoma Bombing Cases prosecuting Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, and recently secured the acquittal of a CEO in one of the largest corporate fraud cases ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice.

Active in the Bar, Pat has served on the Board of Governors for the Oklahoma Bar Association, President of the Oklahoma County Bar Association, Vice-President of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation and President of the Oklahoma Young Lawyers Association. He was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers, as a Fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the Americans Board of Trial Advocates where he served as President of the Oklahoma Chapter.

His many awards are as diverse as his legal career. They include Federal Law Enforcement Officer Associations Special Prosecutorial Award, Department of Justice, Attorney General’s Medallion, Appreciation Award, Oklahoma City Police Department, Appreciation Award, Oklahoma City Fire Department, FBI Agents Association Award for Excellence and for Distinguished and Exemplary Service, and Association of Government Attorney’s in Capital Litigations Award for Trial Advocacy.

The Patrick M. Ryan Public Interest Law Fellowship is awarded in hopes that the recipient will be inspired by what successful lawyers like Patrick Ryan do in the public’s interest as an essential part of their career, and will make a similar commitment.

Patrick M. Ryan