Last Friday Cockle Law Brief Printing Company said farewell to Shon Hopwood. This week Shon and his family–Annie, Mark, and the new baby on the way–will move to Seattle so that Shon can attend law school at the University of Washington. He promised us three things before he left: that he would always be more Husker than Husky; that he would remain available to us as an appellate consultant; and that he would continue posting his insightful and provocative pieces on The Cockle Bur.
Many of you might know some of the highlights of Shon’s story (if not, just click his picture on the right). Today I would like to say just a little about what Shon has meant to us here at Cockle Printing.
When Shon first called for a job, we had already filled the document analyst position. But we couldn’t resist meeting this former prisoner and twice-successful petition writer who wanted to work for Cockle Printing. The man we hired didn’t know how to cut-and-paste in a computer document (he used a typewriter in prison), but he could tell you how the different Supreme Court justices assign work to their clerks, or the best way to punch-up a Questions Presented section so your Petition gets noticed. With his self-scholarship on the Court and its processes, and his natural capacity to engage our customers about their litigation efforts, Shon proved to be a major contributor in our effort to become the premiere consulting service for U.S. Supreme Court brief filers. He found new ways to connect with litigants, and made special efforts to reach out to prisoners so that their cases could be presented to the Court in the most compelling and professional way possible. He guided hundreds of briefs from draft through filing in many of the most important legal matters of our times. And he charmed us all. With his unbounded energy and enthusiasm, Shon reminded us every day how lucky we are that we get to do the work we do.
We are looking forward to reading Shon’s take on the law school experience. We hope that you will continue to join us here to see what he has to say about this new chapter in his remarkable life.