Access Restricted to Northwestern Law CommunitySummer Letter 2004
A Letter from Dean Van Zandt: Welcome Back to Northwestern Law |
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Dear Students: I hope you are enjoying your summer. As I do each year, I write to bring you up to date on the changes that have occurred at Northwestern Law and the key developments that await you. First, I am pleased to inform you that Northwestern Law advanced two places in U.S. News & World Report's 2004 graduate school rankings to secure an overall 10th place for the first time since U.S. News began ranking law schools in 1989. More importantly the long-term trend is positive - we are up from 14th in 1996 to 10th this year. We also broke into the top 10 in the area of tax law for the first time, ranking sixth. Our clinical program moved up to fifth from previously being ranked ninth, and our trial advocacy program ranked third, up from fourth. |
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We've had a busy and productive three months and are looking forward to welcoming the incoming class as well as all returning students. We are increasingly active on a year-round basis. Enrollment in our summer programs has increased from 125 students last summer to 163 this summer. We also welcomed two rising scholars to our research faculty this summer and one to our clinical faculty. In addition, we've made several improvements to our campus, including the installation of a 50-inch plasma screen on a pillar in the Atrium facing the Chicago Avenue entrance. The screen will display Law School events as well as a cable news feed with close captioning. We have also installed three electronic directories at the main entrances of the Law School in Levy Mayer, McCormick Lobby, and the Atrium, and increased the number of student lockers in the basement of Levy Mayer from 661 to 950. A new ATM operated by U.S. Bank, the University's new banking services provider, will also be installed on the Law School campus, most likely by Harry's Cafe. I hope you will enjoy using these new additions to the Law School and continue to provide us with your feedback about improvements. We look forward to welcoming the incoming classes for orientation on August 20. The Student Affairs team, with the help of second-year JD students Meredith Shafe and Tiffany Fobes, has planned a week of activities, including community service projects, diversity- and team-building workshops, and fun social events. Many second- and third-year JD students have already returned to the Law School to take part in on-campus interviewing (OCI), which begins August 16 (see OCI schedule). Fall classes will start on August 30 (see academic calendar). Enjoy the rest of your summer and return ready to go for an exciting year. Sincerely, | |||
Increased Enrollments Leads to Improved Overall Quality of Class
The quality of our incoming classes continues to improve thanks to our unique admissions program that focuses on applicants experience, interpersonal skills, maturity, and judgment, as much as their academic abilities. The 2004 JD entering class has a median GPA of 3.7 and a median LSAT score of 169. Students in the bottom quarter of this year's entering class are actually stronger than those who were in the middle only a few years ago.
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We understand, however, that succeeding in today's world takes more than a high LSAT score or GPA. In 2004, alumni, students, and staff interviewed more than 3,400 JD and JD-MBA applicants (out of 4,800) in order to determine interpersonal and communication skills; 75 percent of entering JD and JD-MBA students were interviewed. We are also beginning to interview our international LLM, LLM/Kellogg, and LLM Tax applicants as well, looking for the same qualities as in our JD and JD-MBA applicants. Our message about the importance of work experience is also making an impact. This year more than 90 percent of the entering JD and JD/MBA students have at least one year of post-undergraduate work experience; almost 70 percent have two or more years. And all of our LLM and LLM/Kellogg students bring an average of more than three years of work experience to the classroom. |
Today Northwestern Law is one of the most geographically diverse law schools in the country. More than 70 percent of this year's entering JD and JD/MBA students come from outside the Midwest, making for perhaps the most regionally diverse first-year class at any law school. Almost 25 percent of our total entering student body and nearly 5 percent of our entering JD and JD-MBA students this year come from outside the United States. In addition to adding to the diversity of the current student body, it also means that more Northwestern Law students will take jobs outside the Midwest when they graduate, enhancing our reputation as a national law school. We also continue to enroll as many women as men and minorities make up one-third of the entering class.
In addition to the hard work of everyone on our Admissions team, many of you deserve credit for helping us continue to attract the students we want. The incoming students' interactions with many of you during their campus visits and Day at Northwestern Law played an important role in their decisions to attend Northwestern.
| This year finalizes the strategic initiative that began in 2002 to increase the size of the entering JD and JD-MBA classes from the originally contemplated 200 to about 240. Of the 240, about 20, or nearly 10 percent, are JD-MBA students, making the JD-MBA the largest program of its kind.
In addition, 30 full-time and three part-time students have enrolled to earn an LLM through our highly ranked tax program. Two students have enrolled in our joint degree program with the Medill School of Journalism, in which they will earn a master of studies in law (MSL) and a master of science in journalism (MSJ). |
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In our international programs, five students have enrolled in our Two-Year JD Program, designed specially for lawyers with first degrees in law. Our Executive LLM program in Seoul, Korea, has increased from 25 students in 2003 to 34 this year. Our domestic LLM programs continue to prosper, although at somewhat lower enrollment levels due to the influence of current world economic and political situations on recruitment efforts. In June, 18 students from 11 different countries joined us for the one-year graduate program in law and business (LLM/Kellogg), in which they earn an LLM from the Law School and a certificate in business administration from the Kellogg School of Management. And 75 students from 26 different countries have enrolled in our general nine-month LLM program.
Northwestern Law Students Employed at Graduation Despite Tough Economy
The Center for Career Strategy and Advancement team has worked diligently to equip students and alumni with the knowledge and tools for managing job searches in both strong and challenging economic cycles throughout their multi-job careers. The legal profession has not been immune to the effects of the recent economic downturn, and although the economy appears to be slowly recovering, the legal services market, particularly for new associates, still lags.
That being said, we continue to focus on our overall strategy to admit and educate students who will be more attractive to employers in all types of economic environments. We are giving students the tools to conduct aggressive independent job searches, in conjunction with providing formal on-campus and off-campus recruitment programs. With strong interpersonal skills, substantial work experience, and excellent academic credentials, our graduates are better prepared than many graduates at other top schools. Based on preliminary data, more than 94 percent of our 2004 JD and JD-MBA graduates had accepted positions by graduation, and 99 percent of the class of 2003 was employed nine months out. More than half have taken jobs outside the Midwest. We also are focused on placing more students in judicial clerkships. The experience gained by working with a federal or state judge is beneficial for any career path - whether in transactional work, litigation, business, or public service - and will broaden career opportunities. We strongly encourage all students to consider a post-graduate clerkship. Thirty-two Northwestern Law graduates will serve as law clerks for the 2004 term (nine with the Federal Court of Appeals). |
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To further improve our service to students and alumni, we have also recently revamped the Career Strategy Center Web site to provide better navigation and access to the most current information. The Job Postings database has also been upgraded to 1) allow employers to enter jobs directly into the database, 2) provide more search options, such as searching by job deadline or by date posted, and 3) allow students to download the database as an Excel sheet, so they can manipulate the data, such as for mail merging. We encourage you to visit our site and provide us with your feedback.
Endowed Chair Ceremony
An appointment to an endowed chair is the highlight of an academic career, and these important positions help us attract and retain faculty who set Northwestern Law apart. This fall we will honor, with a ceremony and reception, the installation of Robert W. Bennett as the Nathaniel L. Nathanson Professor of Law, Shari Seidman Diamond as the Howard J. Trienens Professor of Law, and Dorothy Roberts as the Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law. Alumni, faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend the ceremony, which will take place in Lincoln Hall during Reunion weekend on Friday, October 29, at 12:15 p.m.
We have also appointed the following faculty members to rotating chair positions: Professor James Lindgren, the Benjamin Mazur Research Professor for 2004-05; Professor John McGinnis, the Class of 1940 Research Professor for 2004-06; Professor Emerson Tiller, the Stanford Clinton Sr. Research Professor for 2004-06; and Professor Steve Calabresi, the George C. Dix Professor of Constitutional Law for 2004-07.
We continue to actively recruit talented scholars and teachers as we seek to carry out our strategic initiative to develop and retain an internationally renowned research and teaching faculty. We have had significant success in attracting the following new research faculty:
New Research Faculty:
- Tonja Jacobi joins Northwestern Law as an assistant professor. She recently received a PhD in political science from Stanford University, where she wrote her dissertation on the judiciary's strategic interactions with the elected branches in the American political system. Her research interests include game theory and the law, international law, jurisprudence, and American politics. She will be teaching constitutional law in the fall.
- Jide Nzelibe, an expert in international law, contracts, and conflict of laws, joins us as an assistant professor after serving as the Bigelow Teaching Fellow and Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and also holds an MPA in international relations from Princeton University. He has previously worked in Namibia and Nigeria. This fall, he will teach a section of first-year contracts.
New Clinical Faculty:
- Uzoamaka Nzelibe, a former contract attorney at Bank One, joins us a clinical assistant professor of law and will work with the clinic's Children and Family Justice Center on immigration practices.
New to the Communication and Legal Reasoning Program:
- Lesley Kagan, a former lawyering instructor at Harvard University and an associate at McDermott, Will & Emery specializing in estate planning.
- Jennifer Miller, a former adjunct professor at The John Marshall Law School and a legal research and writing instructor at Chicago-Kent College of Law and MacCormac College.
- Sarah Schrup, a recent instructor of child law appellate advocacy at Loyola University School of Law.
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Visiting Assistant Professors (VAP):
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Visiting Scholars
In addition, we welcomed Edward Hoseah, Director of Investigations in the Prevention of Corruption Bureau in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as a visiting scholar for the year 2004. Soojong Park, LLM '04 and a public prosecutor in the Central District Public Prosecutor's Office in Seoul, South Korea; and Sook Yeon Lee, a judge in the Jeju District Court in South Korea, are also visiting scholars for 2004-05. In addition, Tom Miles and Dan Kahan will also be visiting scholars for the 2004-05 academic year. Christopher Guzelian will join us as the 2004-05 Searle Fellow, and John Pfaff joins us as the 2004-05 Olin Fellow.
An excellent school must always work hard to keep its best faculty. The academic market for the best scholars is very competitive today. Recognizing the excellence of our faculty, other law schools regularly court the rising scholars we have recently attracted, as well as distinguished long-term members of our research faculty.
I am sorry to report that Professor Tracey George has left Northwestern Law to join the faculty at Vanderbilt University. In her short time at Northwestern Law, Tracey had become an excellent internal leader while completing course work for her PhD in political science at Washington University. Although we will miss Tracey, we wish her the best of luck in her new endeavor.
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We continue to revise and expand our curriculum
to meet the needs of the changing world. With the help of excellent
adjunct faculty and visiting professors in addition to our residential
faculty, we are able to offer as broad and diverse a curriculum
as substantially larger law schools. |
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| Lawyer as Problem Solver Program for First-year Students | |
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First year students will attend the award winning Lawyer as Problem Solver (LPS) program again this year. The interactive LPS curriculum provides perspective as well as training in creativity, decision making, negotiation, communication, conflict management, ethics, and counseling for the modern lawyer. At Northwestern Law, we believe in emphasizing these areas at the start of legal education and reinforcing them in the upper-class courses.
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LPS will be split into four two-hour modules: two will take place in the fall on October 21 and 28, and two will take place in the spring (dates still tentative).The classroom components will be complemented by social events for participants as well as opportunities to interact with representatives from the legal community and faculty, many of whom do not typically teach first-year courses. |
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View the Current Course Listing to find out more about any of these classes. Business Strategy for Lawyers (Kathryn Spier) Congress, Courts and Politics (Tonja Jacobi) International Law and International Politics (Karen Alter-Hansen) Litigation Strategies: Law, Literature, Psychology, Games (Steven Lubet) This seminar will explore strategic approaches to litigation, based on insights derived from other fields such as literature, film, psychology, and even poker. In particular, the class will explore the devices employed by narrators to use stories as a means of persuasion. While trial lawyers are understood to be advocates, the persuasive aspect of storytelling is not always obvious or even acknowledged in other contexts. By examining novels, plays, films, and other interactions, we will learn to identify the protagonist's point of view, whether it is evident or concealed, while searching out alternative or suppressed stories that might also be supported by the same facts.
The Colloquium Series at Northwestern Law introduces faculty and students to leading outside scholars specializing in areas such as Constitutional Theory, Empirical Legal Studies, Law and Economics, and Legal History. This year Northwestern Law faculty, students, and guest lecturers will meet to exchange views and cutting-edge research in three new topics:
In addition to the new topics, Professor Andrew Koppelman has organized this year's Constitutional Law series and Professors Ronen Avraham and Robert H. Sitkoff have organized the Law and Economics series. Six colloquia workshops in each topic will be held in both the fall and spring semesters. During the workshops a leading scholar will present a paper growing out of his or her research. All interested Northwestern Law students are encouraged to attend the presentations, and up to 15 students enroll each semester in a three-credit seminar that is taught in conjunction with the colloquium.
Over the past several years we have increased the size of our Communication and Legal Reasoning (CLR) faculty from eight to 11 to meet the needs of a growing JD and LLM student body and to keep the size of each section to about 30 students. For academic year 2004-05, three professionals have joined our CLR faculty as visiting clinical assistant professors (see Faculty Welcome). All of our CLR faculty members are recognized for their expertise in teaching legal reasoning, analysis, and writing as well as for taking a unique approach by incorporating teamwork and oral presentations into the curriculum.
Another initiative of the CLR program addresses the challenges posed by an increasingly international student body. Over the past few years we have seen a marked increase in the number of international students enrolling in our JD program. For many of these students, English is not their primary language. Additionally, some entering JD students are first-generation Americans who learned English as their second language (ESL). Recognizing that some of these students might benefit from special instruction in writing English, we developed and launched a pilot tutoring program for ESL students in spring 2004. Upper-class student tutors provided one-on-one assistance to 15 ESL students on their first-year writing assignments and on an as-needed basis. This year, we will expand the program by screening incoming JD students for typical ESL writing problems and offer assistance to international LLM students as well as second- and third-year JD students. More than 100 students represented clients or pursued legal reform through the various centers in our Bluhm Legal Clinic in 2003-2004. In addition, 142 students worked for prosecutors, public defenders, legal services organizations, and other public interest organizations through our extensive externship program. Both our in-house clinic and our externship program are anchored on the preparation students receive for practice through our two sets of simulation based courses. Each year more than 100 students enroll in our Introduction to Trial Advocacy course offered through the Program on Advocacy and Professionalism, part of our Bartlit Center for Trial Strategy. The program, taught by Professors Steven Lubet and Bob Burns, uniquely integrates courses in evidence, ethics, and trial advocacy to reinforce the notion that skilled advocates must possess substantive knowledge, technical skills, and high ethical standards. This past year, we also offered nine sections of Negotiations, including two sections co-listed with Kellogg and one section of cross-cultural negotiations, for more than 160 law students. Over the past year, faculty and students working in the Center for International Human Rights filed habeas corpus petitions, drafted appellate briefs, and coordinated dozens of amicus briefs in cases of foreign nationals being imprisoned without charges, counsel, or judicial review at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Faculty and students working in the Center on Wrongful Convictions testified before legislative commissions, spoke to the press, and wrote law review articles in an effort to convince prosecutors and law enforcement officials to videotape interrogations. The number of students participating in the Small Business Opportunity Center each semester has increased from 12 to 18 students, and the center has served as a model for transactional clinics being established in law schools across the country. Attorneys and law students working in the Children and Family Justice Center helped write and file two separate amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Roper v. Simmons. The briefs assert that the juvenile death penalty is unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. This year, the Bluhm Legal Clinic launches a joint venture with Piper Rudnick LLP to create a fellowship position at the Law School. The Piper Rudnick Fellow, Carolyn Frazier, JD '02, will coordinate the firm and the clinic's efforts to provide children in the Cook County Juvenile Court with increased access to counsel. Bluhm Legal Clinic faculty and students will work with Piper Rudnick partners and associates on individual cases and on initiatives to improve the quality of legal and social services provided to the children and families who appear in juvenile court. |
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Through another initiative to expand our international reach, a select number of Northwestern Law JD and JD-MBA students now have an opportunity to spend one year in Paris earning a French DE SS (Diplôme d'études supérieures spécialisées). Each year up to two Northwestern Law JD or JD-MBA candidates will be selected to spend their third year studying in Paris, in a special "Global Business Law" graduate law program offered by Institut d'études politiques ("Sciences-Po") and Université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne (the "Sorbonne"). Students participating in the program will gain valuable exposure to international law and business. They will earn a JD or JD-MBA from Northwestern Law and a French DESS (Diplôme d'études supérieures spécialisées) from Sciences-Po. The experience will provide them with a global perspective that will enable them to excel in careers where they will drive significant political and economic changes as they open markets, put investment capital to new uses, and challenge human rights abuses.
Just as our approach to legal education sets us apart, so too does our approach to executive and professional education. In line with our strategy to further integrate the teaching of law and business, we are now working with Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management to expand opportunities for non-lawyer executives. During the past year, Law School faculty taught in Kellogg's Executive MBA program and in its executive education programs for corporate directors and non-profit organizations. This year, law topics will be added to the Advanced Executive Program and the Kellogg Management Institute. Negotiations are also underway for a Law School program for the Industrial Research Institute, an organization of research and development executives in more than 200 companies including DuPont, Boeing, Procter and Gamble, and Toyota. Additional programs are being planned for Standard and Poor's (tax law) and a Law School-Kellogg program for a Fortune 500 company is also in development. In addition, we successfully recruited a strong group of practitioners as faculty and brought in several high profile speakers as participants in our continuing legal education programs, which reached an audience of more than 1,200 attorneys this year. In our ongoing efforts to expand our reach and provide access to our programs, we raised the bar technologically with the launch of a new multi-media CD-ROM, which incorporates the video, audio, and supplemental materials for each of our programs and institutes. |
COMMUNITY Major League Baseball Executive and Others to Participate in Endowed Lecture Series Robert DuPuy, president and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball, will deliver the 2005 Pope & John Lecture Series on Professionalism on February 1. DuPuy plans to speak about issues confronting attorneys who work for professional sports leagues, including unique dynamics such as the way teams work together on the league's behalf but compete on the field and the intense media scrutiny they face. James Harvie Wilkinson III, U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, will visit Northwestern Law as the 2004 Howard J. Trienens Visiting Judicial Scholar October 6 -7. He will deliver a lecture titled "Building a Legal Culture of Affection." Michael Walzer, the UPS Foundation Professor at the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey will deliver the spring 2005 Julius Rosenthal Foundation Lecture Series with a lecture entitled "The Paradox of National Liberation." |
Students also started two new online journals this past year. The Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property addresses subjects relating to law at the intersection of technology and intellectual property, including law and biotechnology, copyrights, the Internet, media, patents, telecommunications, and trademarks. The Northwestern University Journal of International Human Rights seeks to provide a dynamic new forum for the vigorous discussion of human rights issues among scholars of all disciplines and perspectives. Each year student groups also plan and celebrate a variety of special events at the Law School , ranging from Public Interest Law Week and International Law Week to Latino Heritage Month and Black History Month. Students not only choose topics and enlist speakers but also develop budgets and raise funds. In 2003-04, students, working with our Firm and Corporate Relations team, raised nearly $100,000 from more than 25 firms and corporations sponsoring student events. |
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At Northwestern Law, we believe it is important not only to cultivate a sense of community here at the Law School but also to be active members in the greater community of Chicago. The Student Effort to Rejuvenate Volunteering (SERV), a student group on campus, has worked with the Orientation Committee, to plan four volunteering opportunities to start off your orientation to Northwestern Law and to the City of Chicago. On Saturday, August 21, you have the choice of volunteering at one of the following: Greater Chicago Food Depository, a not-for-profit food distribution center working to feed hungry people in Cook County. The City of Chicago Animal Care and Control, which operates the David R. Lee Animal Care Center, a state of the art facility with the capability to house up to 350 animals. The Lake Michigan Federation, which works with people from around the region to promote Great Lakes-wide policy reform and site-specific restoration in the Lake Michigan watershed. HOPE ALIVE, a volunteer program focusing on projects that raise community standards and provide a more attractive environment for children growing up in public housing. |
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We have a long history of fostering a commitment to public service at Northwestern Law, and each year the number of opportunities and the variety of public service projects grows.
The Public Service Strategy was developed by students and faculty in 2002 to build an ethic of service and giving among all students. The program, which includes curricular, extra-curricular, and career related activities, broadens the definition of public service beyond just public interest lawyering and pro bono to include community service and philanthropy, policy development, and government service
All students, regardless of their career aspirations, are encouraged to give back to the community and are expected to complete at least 40 hours of public service prior to graduation.
Maureen Stratton, Public Service Coordinator, works to develop partnerships with organizations in the Chicago area to facilitate students’ public service efforts.
Firm and Corporate Affiliates Help Sponsor Law School Programs |
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During the 2003-04 academic year, more than 40 law firms and corporations sponsored activities and events, including student programs and continuing legal education courses, as Northwestern Law Firm and Corporate Affiliates. In total, affiliates contributed more than $335,000 in support. As a result, our campus is bustling with programming that further educates and advances the Northwestern Law community by connecting it with the local and national legal community. |
| The Firm and Corporate Affiliates Program facilitates student fundraising efforts by connecting Firm and Corporate Affiliates directly with our diverse student body for a variety of sponsorship opportunities. Our affiliates ensure that Northwestern Law continues to lead the way in preparing students for productive leadership, professional success, and personal fulfillment in a complex and changing world. | |
Hundreds of Alumni Returning to Campus for Reunions in October
In October, we will welcome hundreds of our alumni to campus for Reunion 2004. Members from the classes of 1954, 1959, 1964, 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, and 1999 are invited to return to campus for Reunion Weekend on October 29-30. Weekend activities will include brunch with students and faculty of our acclaimed Bluhm Legal Clinic, a tailgate with fellow Law alumni at the Homecoming football game in Evanston, and a grand celebration at the Law School that includes cocktails, dinner, and dancing. |
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Alumni support through volunteering also continues to flourish. This year more than 500 alumni interviewed about 1,000 applicants. This past spring, more than 200 alumni served as judges in the Julius H. and Arlyn Miner Moot Court competitions; almost 400 graduates served as career mentors; more than 500 alumni volunteered as JD and LLM admissions interviewers; and another 200 served as firm and corporate representatives, class signers, and members of the Law Board and Law School Fund Board. The Class of 2004's Graduating Class Gift effort also was a big success, raising more than $40,000 with 36 percent participation, including a record 42 graduating students who made pledges qualifying them for membership as "Young Wigmores" in our John Henry Wigmore Club giving society.
Building Renovations and Technology Upgrades Accommodate Expanding Student Body
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As part of our ongoing efforts to meet the changing needs of our community, building renovations have taken place over the summer. Our Administrative Services team has worked with the SBA to implement the following student-initiated facilities projects:
New ATM - This spring, the University accepted a bid by U.S. Bank to become the banking services provider for Northwestern. As part of the changeover, U.S. Bank will install an ATM on the Law School campus. The location is to be determined (although it will most likely be in Harry's Cafe). Installation is scheduled for late August. Lockers - New lockers were installed in Levy Mayer across from Harry's Cafe in June, bringing the number of student lockers from 661 to 950. Office Space - The Law School will likely acquire additional office space on the fifth floor of the Rubloff building since the American Bar Foundation has moved into the space previously occupied by the American Bar Association. |
| We also continue to improve upon the computing and audio-visual infrastructure to provide the best service for students, faculty, and staff. Some of the improvements that have taken place this summer or will take place soon include: | |
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