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Ben Franklin on Ethics
Even in Ben Franklin's time, the public held cynical views about lawyers. Have things changed? What can we learn from historical perspectives on lawyers? How can one be a better practitioner and help negate some of the lingering negative attitudes toward today’s lawyers?
In this engaging and informative program, Ben Franklin (who worked with more lawyers than most modern day practitioners) challenges today’s lawyers to expand their own notion of ethics much as he himself did during his own life. Portrayed by Christopher Lowell, internationally acclaimed actor, historian, and Franklin scholar, Ben discusses the ethical issues he confronted and challenges attendees to put ethical considerations at the heart of legal practice. Franklin speaks of the importance of ethical practices and the spirit of Pro Bono Publico as the underpinnings of a virtuous life. Questions for discussion are based on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
Produced by:
Christopher Lowell, Ben Franklin Live
Christopher Lowell, who portrays Ben Franklin, is an internationally known actor, historical scholar and Franklin presenter. A native New Yorker, Lowell has had a dual career in the classroom and on the stage. After graduating from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania with a B.A. and a double major in theater and French, he went on to get his M.A. in 18th century French Literature from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. He taught French and theater for over 40 years and has been an actor for over fifty-five years. Lowell has twice been honored with “Best Actor of the Year” awards from the press in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Lowell’s double career took him, as it did Franklin, to both Philadelphia and to France. In Philadelphia, he taught and acted for six years. In France, where he was awarded a grant as a Fulbright Exchange Teacher for the academic year 1992-93, he taught in Brittany—the region where Ben Franklin first touched French soil in December of 1776. In 2007, as a guest of the French government, Lowell brought Ben Franklin “back” to Paris for the first time in 222 years for a series of presentations in French to the French diplomatic and business communities.
Since his retirement from teaching Mr. Lowell is bringing the extraordinary life and accomplishments of Ben Franklin to an ever-widening range of audiences on a full-time basis. No stranger to legal groups, Mr. Lowell has presented CLEs to numerous legal audiences, including the Colorado Springs Bar, the Nebraska Bar and Pennsylvania Bar Institute. He and his wife Sue live in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Anna Marie Thatcher
ANNA MARIE THATCHER is the Owner and Managing Producer for Periaktos Productions and is the producer of all of their CLE Theatre programs and movies. She is an attorney and has worked for forty-five years with artists and visual and performing arts organizations as an arts consultant, producer and director. She is the co-author, producer and director of Clarence Darrow: Crimes, Causes and the Courtroom, Maxims, Monarchy and Sir Thomas More and Impeach Justice Douglas!, the live CLE Theatre programs and CLE movies of the same titles presented by Periaktos Productions. She is the co-author of the script for their stage production and movie version of Thurgood Marshall’s Coming!
Anna Marie is a licensed member of the Minnesota Bar and continues to work with artists and nonprofit arts organizations She holds a B.A. from Dakota Wesleyan University (Mitchell, SD), an M.A. in Theatre from the University of South Dakota, and a J.D. from Hamline University School of Law (St. Paul, Minnesota). She is a member of the ABA, the Minnesota Bar Association and ACLEA (Association of Continuing Legal Education) and is listed in Who's Who in American Law. Anna Marie also serves as volunteer for non-profit organizations with formation and tax exemption issues and serves on the Advisory Board of the Black Hills Film Festival. She served for 20 years on the Board of the Black Hills Playhouse Alumni Association as its president, initiating and managing several major projects over that time to raise funds for the Playhouse. She continues to produce independent CLE programs and theatrical productions and makes her home in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Daniel Duffy, Esq.
DANIEL F. DUFFY is a senior partner in the Litigation Department of Bang McCullen Law Firm in Rapid City, SD. He concentrates his practice in the areas of professional liability, including medical, hospital, and healthcare malpractice, as well as nursing home litigation, legal malpractice, and general commercial litigation. He has also represented other professionals, as well as major businesses and corporations
involved in commercial and products litigation. His admissions include the U.S. Supreme Court, South Dakota Supreme Court, U.S. District Court of South Dakota, and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Dan is a member of the Defense Research Institute, the Association of Defense Trial
Attorneys, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the International Society of Barristers, the South Dakota Defense Attorneys Association, and the South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association. He was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2015 and is listed in Best Lawyers in America and Great Plains Super Lawyers.
Prior to law school, Dan was a two-time Academic All-American basketball player, and he spent a year playing professional basketball in Limerick, Ireland. A small poster in his office shows a dimly lit basketball court that states, “You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Whether playing basketball or coaching one of his eight children, the lessons from the sport remain important to Dan in his litigation practice … Teamwork. Discipline. Hard work. Passion. Competition. When he’s not working or coaching, Dan can be found reading history, hiking, or shooting baskets in his driveway.
Dan holds a B.A. in History & Political Science from Dakota Wesleyan University (Mitchell, SD) and a J.D. from the University of South Dakota School of Law (Vermillion).
James Fleming
JAMES “JIM” FLEMING has almost 40 years of experience as a prosecutor and public defender. He served for eleven years as Chief Public Defender in Minnesota – in the 5th Judicial District (Mankato) from 2001 to 2007 and in the 2nd Judicial District (St. Paul) from 2016 to 2022. Prior to that he was a partner in Maschka, Riedy & Ries Law Firm for almost ten years with a focus on personal injury and criminal defense.
Now retired, his trial experience includes more than 100 trial-to-verdict jury cases. He was named Minnesota Attorney of the Year in 2012 and 2019 and was chosen as a Super Lawyer by Minnesota Law & Politics. Fleming is a certified Criminal Law Specialist and has taught trial advocacy in Minnesota and several other states.
He holds a B.B.A. from St. Norbert College (De Pere, WI) and a J.D. from William Mitchell School of Law (now Mitchell Hamline School of Law.) He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Minnesota Association for Justice.
Alicia Garcia, Esq.
ALICIA GARCIA grew up in Los Angeles, California and holds a B.A. in Communications from California State University Northridge. She graduated from Stanford Law School in 1990 and went to work with CBS Television in Los Angeles. After living and working in Southern California for most of her life, she decided that she wanted to make a life and raise a family somewhere outside of urban L.A. She then spent several months living in London and, upon her returned to the United States, spent three months on a coast-to-coast road trip in search of the ideal place to live. She found the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota and in the spring of 1994, Alicia packed up and moved. That summer she passed the South Dakota Bar examination and in 1995 began her legal practice with the Abourezk & Garcia Law Firm in Rapid City, SD.
Alicia soon joined the KOTA Territory Television news team and, in addition to practicing law, anchors the KOTA News at 10:00 p.m. She also produces KOTA’s Consumer Report, which airs three times a week. She loves discovering, uncovering and delivering the news to the Black Hills region and her legal experience provides a basis for reporting on issues that are especially useful to consumers.
Most of Alicia’s legal practice involves representing plaintiffs in cases of insurance bad faith and corporate fraud, as well personal injury as a result of negligence and/or medical malpractice. She and Mike Abourezk have presented many seminars on insurance bad faith to attorneys around the country. In 2009 the South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association presented them with the “Toast of the Trial Lawyers Award” for their pro bono work to secure insurance payments denied to patients for high dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant treatment.
In 2006 Alicia Garcia’s story of success as both a trial lawyer and television anchorwoman was the subject of a feature article, “Two Careers, Four Kids and a New Life in the Black Hills” in Lawyers Weekly. Alicia loves to travel, particularly to Costa Rica, where her family originated, and enjoys participation in the Black Hills Community Theatre. She is the proud mother of two sons and two daughters.
Honorable Jeffrey L. Viken, Esq.
JEFFREY L. VIKEN (Moderator) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. Born in Huron, South Dakota, Viken earned a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of South Dakota (Vermillion). He was admitted to the South Dakota bar under the diploma privilege, which, prior to 1983, allowed law graduates in the state to practice law without passing a bar exam.
From 1977 to 1981, Viken served as an assistant United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota and in 1981 became the Acting United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota. From 1981 to 1982, Viken was a partner in the Rapid City, South Dakota law firm of Finch, Viken & Viken, and then from 1981 to 1992, Viken was a partner in the Rapid City firm of Finch, Viken, Viken & Pechota. From 1992 to 2003, Viken served as a partner in the Rapid City law firm of Viken, Viken, Pechota, Leach & Dewell, LLP.
In 2003, Viken was appointed the federal public defender for the District of South Dakota by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. In 2005, the Eighth Circuit appointed Viken the Federal Public Defender for the District of North Dakota and he led a combined-district organization for both North Dakota and South Dakota.
In President Barack Obama nominated Viken to a vacant seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota and he was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 29, 2009. He served as Chief Judge from 2013 to 2019. He assumed senior status on October 1, 2021 and retired from active service on October 1, 2023.
