Senior Day on May 5 featured the first parent-child speakers in the 158-year history of the Law School—Richard “Dick” Pogue, ’53, and David Pogue. “We are beyond proud to be here,” said David, the self-proclaimed black sheep of the Pogue family who diverged from the legal career path of his siblings, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. “Yes, especially since only one of us knows anything about being a lawyer,” added Dick, a longtime antitrust and corporate litigator. He served as managing partner at Jones Day in Cleveland in the 1980s, and led the firm’s growth into international markets.
“This is true. But, on the other hand, only one of us knows what it is like not to be a lawyer,” said David, the tech critic for Yahoo Finance. He also is a monthly columnist for Scientific American, hosts PBS’s NOVA, and is a correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning. In addition, he is one of the world’s bestselling how-to authors with more than three million copies in print.
Despite their different career paths, Dick and David noted two commonalities—their need to embrace change, and the influence of technology, particularly on lowering costs. Firms already are using software extensively in the document review process, David noted, and there have been huge strides in quantitative legal prediction, where software analyzes the data and suggests outcomes. This shift in legal practice is an opportunity for graduates to take what they have learned in law school and be equipped to excel in practice, the Pogues said.
“A Michigan degree, with all it says about excellence, is a tremendous asset,” said Dick. “Just know that whatever your pursuit, your Michigan Law degree will stand you in exceedingly good stead.”—JP
