EVENTS
Write-on in 2008
Don't miss the chance to become a member of Law Review or
Law Journal. The Southwestern University Law Review and Southwestern
Journal of International Law* 2008 Write-on Competition
packet will be available at the Library Circulation Desk and online (via a special TWEN page) at the following times:
- For all students who have completed at least the first-year
day, second-year evening, or second-year PLEAS programs: Monday, May 19 at 10
a.m.
Submissions Due: Wednesday, May 21 by 5 p.m.
- For all SCALE students who have completed the first year of the
program: Monday, June 23 at 10 a.m.
Submissions Due: Wednesday, June 25 by 5 p.m.
Additional information is available online or through the Law Review and Law Journal offices.
*See article below regarding Law Journal's name change
STUDENTS
Student Commencement Speaker Yoo Honored to Address Peers
Graduating day student Miriam Yoo has been selected to deliver the
Class of 2008 Student Commencement Address at Southwestern's Commencement
Ceremony on Sunday, May 18 at the Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles.
She was selected from a field of 11 candidates by a panel of students,
faculty and administrators based on her written speech and oral presentation.
Having served as secretary of the 2006-2007 SBA Executive Board, Yoo was also
Vice President of the Native American Law Student Association (NALSA) and the
National Lawyers Guild (NLG) during her second year at Southwestern. She also
completed two externships: one at the William Morris Agency and another at
Lionsgate Entertainment, calling both experiences "priceless."
"Being given the opportunity to address my classmates is an amazing honor and the best way I
can think of to express how proud I am to be in their company," Yoo
said.
First-Year Southwestern Students Impress Prominent Jurists in Moot
Court
(back,
from left) Judge Wilson, Justice Kistler, Justice Butler, Justice
Levinson, Justice Lacy (front, from left) Johnson, Vasquez, Professor Turner and
Dean Bryant Garth
Ashley Johnson and Camille Vasquez,
first-year advocates with different, yet equally effective styles,
wowed the panel of State Supreme Court
Justices and a Court of Appeals Judge at the Richard S. Chambers United
States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena on a hot
April afternoon. Both had triumphed earlier that day in their semi-final
rounds where Johnson competed against Michael Azat and Vasquez squared
off with Jenny-Anne Sinson. Read
more.
Prince Team Earns Second Place Brief
Southwestern continued its superior performance in the Moot Court
arena when the team of Danielle Ochi, Raheleh (Rachelle) Mehrinfar
and Rosemary Do traveled to Brooklyn Law School to compete in the 23rd
Annual Dean Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition. The team won
Second Place Brief and reached the semi-final round, winding up
in the top four out of 38 entrants. Southwestern's team defeated Emory
and Georgetown in early rounds and bested San Diego in the quarterfinals. "We
can be very proud of the team's performance in this incredibly difficult
competition," the team's Faculty Advisor Professor Garland said.
Recap of Moot Court Wins for the Year
Honors Programs Announce 2008-2009 Leadership
Southwestern congratulates the following students on their appointments
to leadership positions in two of the school's honors programs:
- Jillian Savani, Chair
- Jennifer Bandlow
- Leah Cohen-Mays
- Shara Davenport
- Jessica Muñoz
- Matthew Weiner
- Aaron Case, Chair
- Sylvia Chiu
- Danielle Daroca
- Lindsay Gardner
- John Perry
Students Elect 2008-2009 Boards
Following elections held last month, the Student Bar Association announced
next year's governing board. The elected officers are:
- President: Eric Anthony
- Vice President - Day: Justin Mikita
- Vice President - Evening: Chad Derby
- Treasurer: Danielle DeRose
- Secretary: Lila Seif
- ABA/LSD Representative: Lovette Mioni
The Public Interest Law Committee, who works hard to facilitate programs
such as Public Interest Law Week (PILW), also elected their board for
the 2008-2009 year. They are:
- Co-Presidents: Elizabeth Adams & Fritzgerald Javellana
- Co-Vice Presidents: Garen Aliksanian & Neil Vanderwoude
- Treasurer/Secretary: Betty Khin
- PILW Leaders: Isela Barrios, Betty Khin & Julian Treves Sigal
SBA Honors Students and Organizations with Awards
At the recent Annual Student Awards Banquet, the following "SBA
Awards" were presented in recognition of outstanding service during
the 2007-2008 school year:
SBA Student Organization of the Year Award
Public Interest Law Committee
SBA New Student Organization of the Year Award
Teen Court
SBA Staff Member of the Year Award
Danielle Daroca
Law Journal Gets a New Name
In an effort to accurately reflect changes in the global
legal landscape, the Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the
Americas has been
renamed as the Southwestern Journal of International Law as of the 2008-2009
academic year. The Journal will broaden its scope and publish scholarly
articles relating to international, comparative, and foreign law
issues.
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
Q: After 20 years in private family law practice, what made you become a professor?
A: Well, I always had an interest in teaching and my partner had recommended it. He thought I would make a good teacher and so I applied. And I found that I enjoyed teaching, so I did it more and more. For a time I worked full time as a partner in a law firm and full time as a Southwestern professor. But the dean put his foot down and said I had to pick one or the other. So in 1981 I got out of my partnership because I liked teaching too much to give it up.
Q: How did you learn to be a law professor?
A: Just through teaching. I am a firm believer in the case method of study. When I first went to Southwestern to see about a teaching position, Dean Schumacher handed me a contracts casebook and I said, "My area's family law" and he said, 'Well, we have an opening in Contracts.'" So I said "Okay." Originally, I taught contracts, and then I taught Agency which used to be on the bar but no longer is, and when there was an opening, I took over in family law and I've been doing that since.
Q: What aspect of Southwestern makes you most proud?
A: The fact that we have so many former students who are judges and commissioners.
Q: Describe you're proudest achievement as a law professor.
A: There is a scholarship that bears my name (The Professor Max A. Goodman Scholarship Endowment) for outstanding students in financial need who are interested in family law. And now we have the Max Goodman Family Law Fellows Program, where former students of mine who are family law judges hire externs only from Southwestern to work in their courtrooms.
Q: What would you tell prospective faculty about the benefits of working at Southwestern?
A: Well, there really is academic freedom here. You can teach whichever way you think is best. There are no cliques in this school, which I'm very happy about. It is very collegial here and I think that is nice.
Q: What advice would you give to law students who are working toward practicing family law?
A: If you can, get a job clerking part-time for a family law firm. Or apply to become a Max Goodman Family Law Fellow, where you will become acquainted with the documents that are filed in family law cases, actually sit in on family hearings and advise the judges. You summarize the pleadings that have been filed because the judges have a tremendous volume and anything you can do to shorten it is helpful.
Q: Where are some of your former students now?
A: Some are judges and some are commissioners and some of those sitting commissioners are also adjuncts here today.
Q: What are some of the biggest changes that you've seen in the field of family law?
A: The biggest change was in 1970 when we went from "fault" divorce to "no-fault" divorce. It was the law throughout the United States, and not just in California, that people could not get divorced simply because they no longer loved each other, or because they didn't get along.
Q: What are some of the challenges of learning family law or going into the practice of family law?
A: Almost everybody thinks they can do family law, but that's not true, especially now, because it's gotten very technical.
Q: What do you believe is the most important class in law school and why?
A: I think community property is because it is so pervasive. It has its place in so many facets of the profession.
Q: What is the most important characteristic or personality trait someone should have to be successful in practicing family law?
A: I suppose one has to be able to avoid getting too emotionally attached to his or her clients. People who practice family law shouldn't take their work problems home with them.
Q: If you were to start a new career tomorrow, what would you do and why?
A: Well, assuming I can't be a professional athlete and I can't be because I don't have those powers, I would much rather practice law than any other profession I can think of because I think every story is different. You meet a lot of people. I enjoyed the practice and I certainly enjoy teaching it.
|
New Full-Time Professors to Join Faculty for 2008-09
Several
new full-time faculty members will join Southwestern in the 2008-2009
academic year. They include three exceptional young "rising stars" and
two prominent senior faculty who are top experts in their fields. All
bring outstanding academic and professional credentials as well as
tremendous enthusiasm for teaching and scholarship.
In the Fall, Professor Arthur F. McEvoy,
a veteran of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, law faculty, will
join Southwestern as a tenured Professor of Law and will teach in the
areas of Torts, Legal History, Environmental Law and Water Law, and Professor Cristina C. Knolton will join the Legal Analysis, Writing and Skills faculty. In the Spring, Professor Carrie Menkel-Meadow from Georgetown will teach Alternative Dispute Resolution and Civil Procedure as a Visiting Professor of Law, and Professor Gary D. Rowe
from the University of California, Los Angeles, will be teaching here
in the areas of Federal Courts and Legal History as a Visiting
Associate Professor of Law. As announced earlier, Professor Andrea Ramos
will leave her post at Public Counsel to direct our new Immigration Law
Clinic as an Associate Clinical Professor of Law, beginning in July.
In
announcing the new appointments, Dean Garth said, "We are extremely
fortunate again to have several extraordinary members of the academic
community joining our faculty in the coming months, and look forward
with great anticipation to welcoming all of them to Southwestern."
TRUSTEES
O'Melveny & Myers Partner Robert Willett Joins Board
Mr. Robert E. Willett, a partner and Vice Chair of the law firm of
O'Melveny & Myers LLP, was elected to Southwestern's Board of Trustees
at the Board's meeting in April. One of Los Angeles' leading
litigators, Mr. Willett is a long time friend of the law school who
previously served on the Board from 1985 to 2001.
Dean Bryant Garth noted, "As a highly respected leader in the legal and
business communities, Robert Willett brings tremendous insight and
perspective to the Board. He has long been an enthusiastic and loyal
supporter of Southwestern, and we are delighted that he has agreed to
return as a member of our Board to once again play a more formal role
in directing the future of the law school." Read more.
FACULTY ACTIVITIES
PROFESSOR RON ARONOVSKY
- Panelist, "Clarity or Confusion: The Aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's
Landmark 2006-07 Environmental Law Decisions," 22nd Annual LACBA Environmental
Law Spring Symposium, Los Angeles
- Participant, Research Roundtable on "Expansion of Liability Under Public
Nuisance," Searle Center on Law, Regulation and Economic Growth, Northwestern
University School of Law, Chicago, IL
PROFESSOR ALAN CALNAN
- Presenter, "Instrumental Justice" at the Imagining Justice
and Injustice Conference, Association for Law, Culture, and the Humanities, University
of
California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law
ASSOCIATE DEAN CHRISTOPHER CAMERON
- Harry Pregerson, The Real Mayor of Los Angeles, 36 SOUTHWESTERN LAW
REVIEW 311 (2007)
- Speaker, "The Road to Representation Under the National Labor Relations
Act," 46th Annual Short Course on Labor Law, Center for American and
International Law, Dallas, TX
- Member, AALS Accreditation Team, Florida International University School
of Law, Miami, FL
- Interviewed regarding wage and hour class action litigation over the status
of workers as employees or independent contractors, Marketplace, NPR
- CLICK HERE FOR MORE FACULTY ACTIVITIES -
FACULTY
Professor Parrish Named Vice Dean for Academic Affairs
Professor Austen Parrish,
a member of the Southwestern faculty since 2001, has been appointed as
Vice Dean for Academic Affairs commencing with the 2008-2009 academic
year. In this capacity, Professor Parrish will be responsible for
coordination of the first-year curriculum and programs aimed at
enhancing student success in law school and on the bar examination. In
addition, he will oversee the overall academic program, faculty
appointments, faculty development, and Southwestern's self-study
process.
In announcing the appointment, Dean Garth said,
"Professor Parrish is not only an outstanding scholar and a revered
teacher, but also a great listener and wise administrator. He is an
ideal choice to succeed Christopher Cameron's
extraordinary ten year service as Associate Dean. He will continue the remarkable
period of curricular innovation that Dean Cameron brilliantly
orchestrated." Read more.
Professor Laura Dym Cohen Named Director of Street Law Program
Professor Laura Dym Cohen has been named Director of the Street Law
clinical program at Southwestern. After joining the law school's
adjunct faculty in 2006 to establish the clinical externship, which
is based on the national Street Law Youth in Transition curriculum,
Professor Cohen received national recognition when she was named 2007
Street Law Educator of the Year.
"Professor Cohen's combination of passion for the public interest
and ability to organize to get things done guarantees that she will
make a major difference for Southwestern and its students," Southwestern
Dean Bryant Garth said.
Law students enrolled in Professor Cohen's externship
teach law-related critical life skills to teens in the Los Angeles
dependency, delinquency
and special education systems. The goal of the program is to give the
youth legal information that will assist them for a successful transition
to adulthood. Read
more.
Southwestern Welcomes New Adjunct Faculty
A number of practitioners and experts in a variety of diverse fields have joined Southwestern's adjunct faculty for the 2008-2009 school year. Read more.
Professors Hart, Kim and Cohen Receive 2008 Excellence in Teaching Awards
Southwestern Law School is pleased to announce that Professors Danielle Kie Hart, Janine Young Kim and Laura Dym Cohen have been selected to receive the law school's 2008 Excellence in Teaching Awards. Southwestern Dean Bryant Garth said, "It is gratifying to see these
honors going to professors who embody the kind of commitment to
teaching excellence and student support that we so highly value."
Professor Hart, who has taught at Southwestern since 1999, was selected for her work as a First-Year Professor. Read more about Professor Hart.
Professor Kim, who was given the award for Upper Division Professor,
has been teaching at Southwestern for two years. Read more about Professor Kim.
Professor Cohen, who spearheads the Street Law program at
Southwestern, has been honored for her work as an Adjunct Professor. Read more about Professor Cohen.
ALUMNI
Alumni and Friends Honored at Annual Event
(top) Gregory and Leah Bergman, (bottom) Hon. Scott Gordon, Professor Robert Lind
AROUND CAMPUS
New Staff/Transitions
Vivian Kiss, Student Services Assistant, Career Services
Office - Ms. Kiss received her B.A. degree in International
Studies and German from the University of California, Irvine (UCI). While
attending UCI, Vivian worked as an International Peer Advisor at
the Center for International Education. Most recently, she taught
English at Hope for Rural Children and Orphans in Ethiopia and served
an Admissions Advisor at the American InterContinental University.
Promotions
Berthania Carswell - Student Services Assistant,
Administrative Services
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
"W.A.Y." - Who Are You & Why Are You here?
This Month - Anne Goldin, Third-year Day Program
Anne Goldin's writing didn't just impress her Southwestern professors: it made an impact on the Ivy League. Her paper, "The California 'Three Strikes' Law: A Violation of International Law and a Possible Impediment to Extradition," was one of eight student papers selected - and one of only four from law schools other than Yale - to be presented at Yale University's Sixth Annual Young Scholar's Conference.
Goldin attended the March event, where Dean Harold Koh of Yale Law School provided her with feedback. "My argument was that the 'Three Strikes' law may be viewed by other countries as a violation of human rights law, and this may lead to extradition conflicts," she said.
A Lead Articles Editor for the Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas, Goldin credits Professor Jonathan Miller with giving her the idea for her article when she was a student in his Law Journal Seminar in Fall 2006. She says Professor Miller and other Southwestern faculty, including Professors Lutz, Faerman, Raeder, Carpenter and Parrish, helped her cultivate a passion for international human rights and criminal law and provided her with feedback on her article, which she has sent out for publication.
Although Goldin is originally from the Los Angeles area, her recent trip back east took her near familiar territory. She earned her B.A. in Religious Studies and B.S. in Business Administration at Boston University. There she took a class about genocide around the world taught by famed author, intellect and Holocaust survivor Eli Weisel. His class piqued her interest in genocide and pursing a career in international work.
She wanted to return to L.A. to pursue her law degree. "Southwestern has a great reputation in Los Angeles," Goldin said, and she seized all the opportunities she could during her time in law school, completing a summer externship in Argentina (she's fluent in Spanish) and working two summers at Human Rights Watch. She has also been a part-time paralegal at Hadsell & Stormer, a civil rights law firm in Pasadena where she had the opportunity to work on the Doe v. Unocal international human rights case.
With an interest in litigation, criminal and international law, Goldin is currently externing in the Public Defender's office where she was recently hired for full-time employment after graduation. "I never thought I would be a litigator before coming to law school. I like writing, and I am looking forward to developing my other trial skills," she said.
|
