John Anthony '05: President of the Langston Bar Association
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John Anthony ’05 traces his success in the courtroom back to the skills he learned from Loyola’s Byrne Trial Advocacy Team. “Byrne is by far the greatest legal education I could have hoped for – it made me a good lawyer before I even had a Bar card,” he said. The experience, in addition to the lasting friendships formed with his teammates, shaped his career. In February 2014, he was elected the 38th president of the John M. Langston Bar Association of Los Angeles.
Anthony has served on the Langston Board of Directors since 2008, and he looks forward to continuing the tradition of service and camaraderie that the organization embraces. “During my year as president,” said Anthony, “Langston will focus on connecting groups that have all too much distance between one another. This focus is embodied in this year’s theme of 'Bridging the Gap,' which represents our mission to serve as a conduit between senior and junior lawyers, attorneys of color and preeminent law firms, and the public with pro bono legal services.”
Professor Gary Williams, holder of the Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Chair in Civil Rights, was also honored at the Installation and Awards Gala with the Excellence in Academia Award. “Professor Williams taught me Evidence at Loyola, and I consider him a great friend and mentor,” Anthony said. “Though, no matter how much time passes, I’ll still call him Professor Williams,” he said with a laugh.
Anthony believes that Loyola fostered his talent for trial advocacy through participation in the Byrne Trial Advocacy Team and Scott Moot Court Team. Through rigorous practices and competitions, Anthony left Loyola with an invaluable skill set and numerous awards. He received the Court Call Award and was recognized as an Honors Oralist on the Scott Moot Court Team and Honors Advocate on the Byrne Trial Advocacy Team.
Seeking work experience during law school, he applied and was selected from a national pool to clerk for the U.S. Army JAG Corps. He also clerked for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office in his third year. “I’ve worked in many different legal environments, and I’ve felt comfortable in every situation due to my Loyola education,” said Anthony.
After graduation, Anthony joined Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP and chose to specialize as a labor and employment associate. He wanted experience in general litigation with an opportunity to learn a substantive body of law. After working in employment law for a few years, he stumbled across his Loyola personal statement, and to his surprise, he had written about wanting to practice in that very field of law.
Today, Anthony represents employers as a senior associate at Seyfarth Shaw, LLP. He litigates all phases of single-plaintiff discrimination, wrongful termination, medical and family leave, reasonable accommodation of disabilities cases and class-action wage/ hour cases. “After going to Loyola and experiencing Byrne, I left with the motto: I might lose, but you won’t beat me,” he said. Anthony also worked as an adjunct professor teaching Deposition Skills during Loyola’s 2013 Intersession.
But no matter where his career takes him, whether it is teaching or practicing, he will always be grateful for his time in law school. “One of the best decisions that I’ve ever made was going to Loyola. I left school with great friends and felt incredibly prepared to practice,” he said. Anthony is proud to announce that he’s engaged to be married in May and three of his groomsmen are Loyola alumni -- two of whom he met on the Byrne Trial Advocacy Team.