Summer Letter 2001

Since we made the transition from paper to e-mail a few years ago, developed the Notebook program, and created Esqwire Central, electronic communication has become the norm here at the Law School. Consistent with our strategic initiatives to improve the technology infrastructure, we have added networking stations and study tables along the Rubloff second floor Teigler Bridge and installed wireless technology to Law School common areas including the Atrium, Harry's Café, the Library, and the Bluhm Legal Clinic.

The American Revolution - Political Theory will be taught by Professor Gordon Wood and will deal with the origins, nature, and consequences of the American Revolution from the middle of the eighteenth century to the making of the federal Constitution in 1787 and its aftermath, arguably the most creative period of constitutionalism in modern history.

• New seminars to be taught by Northwestern Law research and adjunct faculty include:

International Legal Theories , an examination of classical and modern international law theory, focusing on legal positivism, natural law, and the emerging theory of human rights, which Professor Tony D'Amato will teach in the fall.

Public Housing Redevelopment, an examination of law, policy, practice, and consequence of public and private initiatives designed to redevelop and revitalize neighborhoods and communities, which Professor Len Rubinowitz will teach in the fall.

Advanced Problems in Criminal Procedure and Evidence, an in-depth examination of a selection of current criminal procedure and evidentiary areas, which Professor Ron Allen will teach in the spring.

• New interdisciplinary seminars include:

Empirical Study: Judicial System, an empirical and theoretical political science study of the judicial process, which will consider, among other things, studies of the policy-making role and impact of federal appellate and trial courts; the politics of judicial selection; and the dynamics and determinants of judicial decision-making, will be taught by Professor Tracey George in the spring.

Transformation of the Legal Profession, a seminar to be taught by Professor Jack Heinz in the spring.

Theory of the Firm and the Law, an exploration of the seminal literature on the theory of the firm, with particular emphasis on agency theory, then moves on to explore the application of these theories to legal issues, will be taught by Professor Rob Sitkoff in the spring. (Business Associations or Corporations are prerequisites for this couse.)

Policing in America, a look at the means through which police officers and their employers can be held accountable for their actions including criminal prosecution, civil litigation, and departmental disciplinary proceedings, will be taught in the fall by adjunct professor Mark Iris, Executive Director of the Chicago Police Board and long-time adjunct faculty member at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

• Several courses that have not been taught for some time will be taught this year by our talented adjunct faculty as well as full-time faculty:

Admiralty Law will be taught in the fall by adjunct professor William Theis.

Banking Law and Regulation will be taught in the fall by adjunct professor John Freechak, an attorney at Barack, Ferrazzano, Kirschbaum, Perlman & Nagelberg.

Tax Policy and Procedure will be taught by Professor Charlotte Crane in the spring.

Domestic Violence will be taught by Professor Cynthia Bowman in the spring.

Federal Criminal Evidence will be taught by adjunct professor Marvin E. Aspen, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

• And we have created a second course emphasizing Appellate Advocacy:

• Notebook Program: All incoming students are now required to won a laptop computer. We strongly advise you to purchase a computer through our Notebook Program with Dell Computer. (For more information contact the Law School Information Technology Department.) A new screen-saver and wallpaper will be installed on all computers newly purchased through the Notebook Program. (Students can also have the screen-saver and wallpaper installed on their current laptops.)

• Wireless technology has been installed in Law School common areas. Students purchasing computers through the Law School's Notebook Program will receive wireless network adapters and a second battery as part of the package.

• Networking stations and study tables have been installed along the Teigler Bridge.

• Enhanced high-speed T-1 access and connectivity to Westlaw and Lexis will be installed, and new PCs will be placed in the Electronic Reference area and the Westlaw lab. New Westlaw printers will be installed to help improve printing.

• We have moved to WildCARD printing for students in the Library and Career Strategy. The price of printing has been held constant at 5 cents/page with 200 free pages per year.

• Rubloff classrooms 140 and 150 are now equipped with smart podiums, including networked computer projection, video, electronic screens, and expanded audio capabilities.

• The Library staff is developing an interactive map of the Library to further aid students in finding materials.

Center for Career Strategy and Advancement

I am pleased to report that 96 percent of our graduates were employed at graduation, and geographic placement continues to be more widespread. The number of recruiters coming from outside the Midwest has substantially increased and more than half of the 2001 graduates chose to work outside the Midwest. This year, we have recruitment commitments from a number of companies and firms from all over the country, such as Sullivan & Cromwell based in New York with 11 offices worldwide.

As Don Rebstock, Associate Dean for Enrollment Management and Career Strategy, announced earlier this summer, Shonagh Aylsworth, who joined the Center as Senior Associate Director, has now taken over operations as Director. With her combination of law school career services experience here, MBA career services experience at the University of Chicago, and senior-level management experience in the banking industry, Shonagh is an ideal person to manage our Center for Career Strategy and Advancement.

Laura Villanueva, who joined the department in January 2001 as Recruitment Coordinator, has been instrumental in scheduling fall 2001 OCI and firm presentations, and in expanding our dialogue and relationships with the external law community. Jane Scarpellino will temporarily join the Center to work with LLM students. (pictured above from left: Eileen McKeon Roche, Administrative Assistant; Margaret Malinowski, Front Desk Receptionist; Shonagh Aylsworth, Director; Laura Villanueva, Recruitment Administrator; Rachel Sands, Associate Director.)

The Center for Career Strategy and Advancement mission is twofold. First, to generate opportunities for all clients, including JD students, LLM students, alumni, organizations that currently recruit on campus, and prospective hiring organizations. Second, and equally important, to help these clients prepare for the opportunities when they do arise. With that thought in mind, there are two new programs being launched this fall: the Alumni Coaching Program and the Independent Job Search Workshop. The Alumni Coaching Program consists of Northwestern Law alumni who will volunteer as interview coaches and resume coaches for current students. The Independent Job Search Workshop will focus on strategies and resources for non-OCI job searches.

On another high note, I announced earlier this summer that Kathryn Tounge '01 received a clerkship for the 2003 term from Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens '47. This is our first clerkship with Justice Stevens in some time. The benefits of judicial clerkships are exceptional and we strongly encourage all students to consider a post-graduate clerkship. The experience gained by working with a federal or state judge is foundational for any career path--whether in transactional work, litigation, business, or public interest--and will broaden career opportunities. This year, Rob Sitkoff, working with Shonagh, will be leading our clerkship efforts.

• During the last academic year, Clinic Lawyers and students represented a Somalian Woman who was accused of attempting to murder her young son. Charges were pressed against our client when the child was brought to a hospital emergency room with a sub-dural hematoma and retinal bleeding, a constellation of injuries often indicative of child abuse. Through the efforts of clinic lawyers and students, and with the help of leading pediatric neurosurgeons and an expert in the diagnosis of child abuse, it was discovered that a rare blood disease, not a criminal act of our client, was the cause of the child’s injuries.

• This summer, four students in our Small Business Opportunity Center provided assistance to approximately 25 clients including an Internet design firm, an engineering recruiting service, a producer of specialty food products and the Employment Resource Center on Chicago's south side. In June, the SBOC Student Board, which helps run the program, was named the outstanding graduate student organization at Northwestern University based upon its community outreach program, a collaborative program with MBA candidates at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and other initiatives.

• The Center for International Human Rights represented the Consul General of Poland in defending the right of a Polish national sentenced to death in Chicago to receive consular assistance. The case is currently on a petition for rehearing before the U.S. Supreme Court, in light of a June 27 World Court ruling in favor of Germany in a similar case against the U.S. Volunteer attorneys for the Center are also preparing a petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of victims of a Colombian air force bombing of civilians, in which American civilian contractors may also have played a role.

• The Clinic has long represented Leroy Orange, a condemned prisoner who, since the day of his arrest, has alleged that area 2 police officers used electro-shock, bagging, and beating to coerce a statement from him. The Clinic was successful in obtaining a new sentencing hearing for Mr. Orange, but has been unsuccessful in convincing Illinois courts to grant him hearing on his claim that his confession was coerced. The Supreme Court of Illinois recently held that Mr. Orange was not entitled to a hearing on the latter issue, despite compelling evidence that police officers in Area 2 engaged in systematic torture of suspects. Because of its involvement in Mr. Orange’s case, the Clinic has accepted appointment in two additional death penalty cases in which defendants allege that they were tortured by Chicago police officers.

• Clinic attorneys worked with a team led by Sam Tenenbaum (’76) to win an acquittal for a defendant whose conviction for murder was reversed by the Illinois Supreme Court. Sam’s team of lawyers from Sachnoff & Weaver won reversal of the conviction. After the conviction was reversed, Sam asked Tom Geraghty to become involved in the re-trial. Sam and Tom are now working on a death penalty case together in which Sam and lawyers from Sachnoff & Weaver won a new sentencing hearing for their client. After remand to the Circuit Court of Cook County, new evidence of innocence was discovered. The innocence claims are scheduled for hearing in September.

• Richard Goldstone, the distinguished South African judge best known for his commission of enquiry into political violence in the early 1990's, will give a lecture for the Howard J. Trienens Visiting Judicial Scholar Program at the Law School on October 2. Throughout his career, Judge Goldstone has been deeply committed to promoting human rights in his own country and abroad. He became involved in the transition of South Africa from an apartheid state to a democracy, and in 1992, he headed the commission investigating criminal conduct that accompanied the transition.

• Philip S. Beck, the lead trial attorney for the Bush legal team in their victory in the Florida recount case, will deliver the Pope & John Lecture Series on Professionalism at the Law School on November 14. Recently named one of the top 10 litigators in Illinois by the National Law Journal, Mr. Beck is a founding partner of the law firm Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott, one of Chicago's top litigation firms. Mr. Beck regularly argues in high-stakes litigation and has long been recognized and respected in the corporate legal community.
• Garry Wills, a cultural historian and adjunct professor in the Northwestern University Department of History, will deliver this year's Julius H. Rosenthal Lecture in April. Wills' books include penetrating studies of George Washington, Richard Nixon, the Kennedy family, Ronald Reagan, and religion in America. His numerous prizes include the Merle Curti Award of the American Historical Association, the National Book Critics Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and an honorary doctorate from the College of the Holy Cross

As we mark the centennial of the Law Alumni Association, we will welcome hundreds of our alumni returning to campus for class reunions on October 5 and 6. Reunion 2001 will provide a variety of activities designed to reconnect our graduates with one another and with the Law School. Two years ago, we began a new tradition of hosting these individual class parties in and around the Law School; the courtyard will be tented for the Grand Celebration cocktail party. As always, we invite you to participate in reunion activities, including a Career Symposium hosted by the Center for Career Strategy and Advancement and a family event at the Children's Museum on Navy Pier.

Alumni support through volunteering continues to flourish. Northwestern is currently the only major law school that seeks to interview every Law School applicant; last year some 400 alumni interviewed more than 2,300 applicants for the 2000-2001 academic year. Also, this past spring, the Julius H. and Arlyn Miner Moot Court competitions boasted a record 150 alumni who volunteered their time and experience to serve as judges.

The Law Alumni Association is also working closely with the Center for Career Strategy and Advancement to develop great opportunities for students to meet, network with, and learn from our talented and successful alumni. They are currently working to develop more online-networking resources, as well as to bring more alumni back to campus for your benefit.

The Alumni Association office moved into its new home off of the Atrium last fall and is now comfortably settled. Nicole (left) and Anne Reed (right) are here to help our "future alumni" - you - as well. Stop by to say hello!