"Make it Monday" forum - Why Alaska's Merit-Based Judicial Selection System is Good for Business

Alaska’s merit-based judicial selection and retention system is designed to ensure that highly qualified, fair and impartial individuals become judges.  Unlike other states with very politicized selection systems,

Alaska’s merit-based process selects judges who rule on the law and facts, providing a level playing field for businesses that find themselves in court.  Retired Alaska Superior Court Judge Karen Hunt will describe how the state’s judicial selection and retention process works.  

Additional panelists include Greg Razo, vice-president of government contracting for CIRI and Don McClintock, who leads Ashburn & Mason’s business and real estate practice.

RSVP AND SHARE ON FACEBOOK >> 

SPEAKERS

Don McClintock

Don McClintock serves on the board of directors of Justice Not Politics Alaska, a statewide group of Alaskans that are working to preserve Alaska’s merit-based judicial selection and retention system.

Don is an attorney in the law firm of Ashburn & Mason in Anchorage and leads the firm’s real estate and business practice.  Prior to joining the firm, Don served as a law clerk for Justice Warren Matthews of the Alaska Supreme Court and as an assistant attorney general for the State of Alaska in the transportation section.  

Don has served on a number of civic committees over the years.  He was a former president and board member of Anchorage Community Mental Health Services, a Campfire Alaska Council Project volunteer and a member of the board of directors of the Family Resource Center.

Retired Alaska Superior Court Judge Karen Hunt

Retired Alaska Superior Court Judge Karen Hunt was appointed as a judge in 1984.  She holds the distinction of being the first woman from Anchorage to be appointed to the Superior Court. Judge Hunt served until her retirement in 2000.

She is the only person to have been president of the Anchorage Bar Association, the Alaska Bar Association, and the Alaska Judges Conference. She was also founding President of the Anchorage Association of Women Lawyers.  Active in judicial education before retirement, she continues that work to date.  She teaches judicial writing and decision making to American and foreign judges both in the United States and in their home countries.  She is also active in many Alaska non-profit organizations such as Commonwealth North.  She was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Alaska at Anchorage in 2015 for her voluntary public service.

Gregory P. Razo, CIRI Vice President, Government Contracting

Greg Razo heads up Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI) efforts pursuing minority-preference, small business contracts.

Razo is Yupik/Hispanic and a CIRI shareholder. He grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and earned a bachelor's degree in English from Gonzaga University and a Law degree from Willamette University.

Currently, Mr. Razo serves as the chair of the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission. 

Previously, Mr. Razo practiced law in Kodiak, Alaska for 21 years as the owner of his own law firm and as Assistant District Attorney.  Razo was a law clerk and Deputy Magistrate for Superior Court Judge Roy H. Madsen (Ret.).  Judge Madsen is the first and only Alaska Native to serve as a Superior Court Judge. Razo has been a director of CIRI, Cook Inlet Tribal Council and The CIRI Foundation. 

He is an active member of the Alaska Bar Association and is President of Alaska Legal Services Corporation and Vice Chair of the Alaska Native Justice Center.  Razo was appointed to the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission in 2014. He has served as Justice Commission Chair since October 2015. Mr. Razo is also a Director for the Alaska Federation of Natives and is Co-Chair of the AFN Executive Governance committee.  Mr. Razo is a Commissioner on the Alaska Court System’s Fairness and Access Commission and serves on its Fairness, Diversity & Equality committee. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor with the Alaska Pacific University – MBA Alaska Native Executive Leadership Program. Finally, he serves as a Director with Cook Inlet Native Head Start.


____________________________________________