May 2005

Dean Heidi M. Hurd
David C. Baum Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy
Co-Director of the Program in Law and Philosophy
Telephone (217) 333-9857
hhurd@law.uiuc.edu

Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, Campus Administrators, and Friends,

The academic year is fast drawing to a close and the College is a bustle with bleary-eyed students madly outlining their Spring classes, frantic faculty scrambling to prep exams and complete year-end summaries, busy staff members ironing out the details of end-of-semester celebratory events, and dedicated alumni actively recruiting new students to our hallways and helping to find current students exciting job prospects. In this final letter, I want to cap some of the highlights of the year by telling you about the following:

• Professor John Colombo testifies before the House Ways and Means Committee
• The College revises its first-year lawyering skills program as a result of ground-breaking changes in the Jenner Law Library and fresh vision from the College's Legal Writing Faculty
• The Street Law Program takes the law to local high schools
• The Transactions & Community Economic Development Clinic bridges town and gown
• The 2005 class gift campaign achieves record-breaking participation rates
• The Latino/Latina Law Students Association has a banner year
• Our European Alumni invite all to the Brussels European Alumni Reunion
• The College celebrates Visiting Scholar of the Month, Youngkee Lee
• Wanted! Alumni volunteers to boost Annual Fund participation
• Alumni leaders set a 20% Annual Fund participation goal

Professor John Colombo Testifies Before the House Ways and Means Committee

A number of issues regarding nonprofit organizations have been making the news lately, and the House Ways and Means Committee invited Professor John Colombo to testify before the full committee on April 20th in Washington. He gave the Committee a general overview of the legal rules for tax exemption under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code, including a comparison of the regulatory schemes for public charities and private foundations. Professor Colombo also spoke with the Committee about his "donative" method of identifying exempt charitable organizations. This system would limit tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Code to organizations that substantially relied on donations for their operating income each year. Professor Colombo's justification for this approach is that donations signal that the general public believes that an organization is doing something that the public should support, and that the organization does not have sufficient financial resources from either the private market or government funding to accomplish its mission. Tax exemption allows these organizations to "compound" the value of donations by avoiding the corporate income tax that otherwise would be due on their income. Organizations that do not get substantial donations, according to Professor Colombo, either are not doing anything the public thinks worthwhile, or have sufficient funding without assistance from the general public. In either case, such organizations would not need tax exemption. Professor Colombo's prepared statement is available on the Ways and Means Committee website: http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=detail&hearing=400.

The College Revises its First-Year Lawyering Skills Program as a Result of Ground-Breaking Changes in the Jenner Law Library and Fresh Vision from the College's Legal Writing Faculty

Law librarians are the experts in legal research and our expanding faculty of exceptional law librarians (who hold tenure-track/tenured positions on the faculty of the University's Library) will be bringing their expertise to the College of Law's classrooms next fall for the first time in the College's remembered history! I am delighted to tell you that the College's faculty has revised the first-year lawyering skills curriculum, bifurcating legal research and legal writing so as to enable our experts in each to do what they love most and so best! Next fall, all first-year students will take a one-hour course in legal research in the first seven weeks of the fall semester from Jenner Library faculty who are superbly situated to instruct in both print and electronic research techniques. With our librarians pioneering new research pedagogies, our acclaimed legal writing faculty will be able to devote their energies to teaching a revised first-year legal writing course that focuses on developing the techniques of written advocacy, as well as newly conceived and developed advanced legal writing courses.

This curricular innovation was made possible by a partnership between the College, the University Library, and the Provost that created four new law library faculty positions within the Jenner Law Library. National searches are currently underway to hire our new library faculty and those searches have already borne fruit.

Professor Jim Kelly is the newest addition to the growing Jenner Library reference staff. Professor Kelly has his J.D. from the University of Louisville, where he was a member of the Brandeis Law Journal and Managing Editor of the Journal of Law and Education, and his M.A. in Library Science from the University of Kentucky. Additionally, Jim has a second Master's in Communication from SUNY Buffalo. Jim taught classes in legal research and writing and in law and literature at Louisville, and practiced with Arthur Andersen for two years in tax and bankruptcy. We are thrilled to have Jim join our library faculty and we are confident that our students will count themselves very lucky to study legal research with him in the fall.

The Street Law Program Takes the Law to Local High Schools

The student-initiated Street Law Program has grown from a modest experiment that paired a small number of law students with 15 high school students last year, to an ambitious outreach effort that this year touched the lives of over 200 area high school students. The Street Law curriculum committee worked hard to produce easy-to-understand educational units that would enable law students to teach teenagers about their legal rights and responsibilities, and dozens of law students volunteered to go into local high school classrooms to take students through these creatively-conceived lessons. Each educational unit contains an introduction to the law, instruction on a topic of law such as "search and seizure," and a culminating mock trial that allows students to apply and display the information they have learned. High school teachers and students raved about this year's impressive program. As one student said, "it was the most socially applicable information I've ever learned in school." Next year, Street Law is planning to expand into all four public high schools in the area and to set up an annual mock trial competition for teens.

The Transactions & Community Economic Development Clinic Bridges Town and Gown

April has been a big month in the Transactions & Community Economic Development Clinic. Two weeks ago students met with the local credit union league to present their comparative research on payday lending and to encourage the credit unions to consider offering alternative products to payday loans. As they were leaving the meeting, a local credit union CEO turned to them and said, "Thank you for thinking of credit unions as possible partners. We feel we are often unfairly overlooked in this community." Another said, "I never knew the University could do anything good for us." Imagine our students' excitement at being able not only to spark the credit unions' enthusiasm about offering a new loan product, but to positively affect the views of prominent local citizens concerning the role of the University in their community.

April has also been the month of The House. Three Clinic clients have saved between $1000 and $2000 each and have had those funds matched 2:1 by a local nonprofit (which the Clinic co-founded). They have either bought or are buying houses with Clinic assistance. One of these clients, who qualified for prime credit, was offered a subprime adjustable rate mortgage loan with over $4000 in closing costs. A Clinic student helped the client find a fixed rate loan with approximately $1000 in closing costs, thus saving the client thousands of dollars in closing costs, as well as untold thousands in interest costs, and perhaps even avoiding a foreclosure down the road. Other Clinic clients are selling their homes. A Clinic student has negotiated a 15% increase in the purchase price of one of those homes with a potential buyer--even though the house is currently in foreclosure. Kudos to the Clinic's dedicated students for putting their developing transactional skills to great use in our community!

The 2005 Class Gift Campaign Achieves Record-Breaking Participation Rates

In what is only their second continuous year, students and staff have achieved remarkable success in introducing an annual class gift program that will have tremendous benefits for the College. This year, participation soared to new levels. The J.D. Class of 2005 boasts a 60% participation rate, as compared to 42% from the Class of 2004 (50% from Section A; 68% from Section B; and 64% from Section C), and graduating class member Stephanie Reinhart pledged $15,000 over the next 10 years, making her the second member in history to join the prestigious Cribbet Society as a student! And not to be out-done by their American classmates, our international LL.M. students busted all barriers, boasting a 103% participation rate (made possible by inspiring a gift from Visiting Scholar Junko Semmatsu of Japan!).

I want to extend my sincere thanks and my heartiest congratulations to the entire Class of 2005. I also ask that you join me in thanking this year's remarkably energetic and dedicated Class Gift Committee J.D. Chairs Emily Baskin, Zuleida Lopez, Kelly Salefski, and LL.M. Chair Renata Oliveira. We are very much indebted to them for their hard work, and we owe tremendous gratitude to the larger committee whose work they coordinated--Ryan Gwillim, Era Laudermilk, Sandra Enimil, Bruce Canetti, Shilpa Patel, Sheila Hathi, Brian Merrell, and Crystal Stewart. It is dedicated efforts such as this year's class gift campaign that will ultimately ensure that the College will always remain one of the valuable law schools of the land.

The Latino/Latina Law Students Association Has a Banner Year

The Latino/a Law Students Association (LLSA) concluded an eventful year with its Fifth Annual Student-Alumni Banquet. Organized by incoming President Vickie Argueta, the Banquet provided LLSA members with an opportunity to honor distinguished alumni, strengthen the relationship between College of Law students, faculty, and alumni and the broader Latino legal community, and celebrate the group's many accomplishments during the past two semesters. Those accomplishments include LLSA's Third Annual Minority Firm Visit, which provided minority College of Law students with an inside look at highly regarded law firms in Chicago and provided them with a chance to network with a variety of legal employers; outreach programs for first-year students, such as class reviews and workshops on exam taking and journal competitions; and several philanthropic events, including clothing and school supplies drives for local underprivileged Latino/a communities. In addition, LLSA members took an active role in helping the College of Law recruit minority students for future classes. LLSA members look forward to building on their accomplishments and hope that next year will be even more successful.

Our European Alumni Invite All to the European Alumni Reunion in Brussels, June 17-19

Spring always spells great anticipation amongst our European alumni as the annual European Alumni Reunion approaches. This year this marvelous tradition will take place in Brussels on June 17-19. Olivier Hinnekens (LL.M. '93) is organizing this year's gathering and his excellent arrangements are listed on our web site at www.law.uiuc.edu/alumni/more/brussels.htm.

Our European alumni are among the most impressive, highly-positioned, and influential lawyers in Europe, occupying positions of leadership in private practice, business, government service, the judiciary, and the academy. They would be delighted to meet and share camaraderie with College graduates (both J.D. and LL.M.) who have recently made their homes in Europe, as well as with current students, faculty, and American alumni who might find reason to be in Europe at the time of their annual get-together. So I hope that everyone in our community will think about heading to Brussels in June to reminisce with College of Law friends, learn about current College activities during the Reunion's General Assembly, explore the European Parliament, and raise a glass with all of us at "The World's Biggest Bar Counter." It is sure to be a warm and happy gathering in a great venue. But don't think for long! As the special reunion rate at the Hotel Novotel in Brussels will be available only until the middle of May, please be sure to make your reservations today and please return your registration form (available on our website at www.law.uiuc.edu/alumni/more/brussels.htm) by May 15 to Sherry Cibelli. I am looking forward to seeing you all in Brussels soon!

The College's Visitor of the Month, Youngkee Lee

As I have every month this year, I want to tell you about one of the College's international visiting scholars, Youngkee Lee. Mr. Lee is currently the Head Prosecutor of Special Investigation in the Department of Cyber Crime and Intellectual Property of the Cheongju District Public Prosecutor's Office in Korea. In that capacity he has prosecuted high-profile trademark piracy cases involving Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Burberry, and brought action against Soribada, a Korean music download site similar to Napster. Prior to becoming Head Prosecutor, he worked on organized crime cases as part of the Violent Criminal Department in both the Pusan and Wonju District Public Prosecutor's Offices, and managed economic crime cases in the Seoul District Prosecutor's Special Investigation Department.

While at the College of Law, Mr. Lee is collaborating with Professor Tom Ginsburg and conducting research entitled "American Intellectual Property in Cyber Space." He is also researching the differences between federal and state criminal procedure.

Mr. Lee received his J.D. from Korea University Law School, completed the Judicial Research Training Institute, and passed the National Bar Exam. He has been accompanied on his visit by his wife, Ms. Eugene Chung, who is a doctoral student in the University of Illinois Department of Linguistics.

Wanted! Alumni Volunteers to Boost Annual Giving Participation

Law School Annual Fund Co-Chairs Lynn Murray '85 and Greg Read '67 have enlisted 25 College of Law alumni as Class Representatives to write their fellow classmates about the critical importance of annual giving to the future success and reputation of their alma mater.

Class Representatives signed up to date are: Peer Pedersen '48, Tom Miner '53, Sam Garber '58, Norman Thorpe '58, Ron Galowich '59, Roger Jones '62, Carl Vacketta '65, Delmer Mitchell '66, Roland Porter '67, Ed Zulkey '73, Joel Rubinstein '73, Jane Hays Henneman '79, Carol Gavin '80, Nancy Brown '81, Mark Wanda '86, Lawrence Mason '89, Jeannette Harms '90, Michelle Greenberg Novick '91, Daniel Winters '92, Sang-yul Lee '95, Ngozi Okorafor-Johns '98, Tyler Petersen '99, Jeffrey Waldhoff '00, James Pinkstaff '02, and Carrie Herschman '04.

We are still recruiting for those classes that do not have a Class Representative. If you are a donor to the Law School Annual Fund and would be willing to help us reach our goal by writing to your fellow classmates, please contact Marianne Downey at downey1@law.uiuc.edu or call 217-244-6765.

Alumni Leaders Set a 20% Annual Fund Participation Goal This Year

Annual Fund Co-Chairs Greg Read and Lynn Murray have set a three-year goal of reaching 30% alumni participation in the Law School Annual Fund. This participation rate will position the College alongside the law schools with the top participation rates in the Big Ten (though still under the rates of top-20 private law schools with which the College must compete to retain top-tier status). This year's goal is to reach 20% alumni participation by June 30, 2005. As of the end of March 2005, College alumni achieved 17.3% participation, and we are very hopeful that the tremendous efforts of our alumni leaders will result in greater participation in the remaining two months of the annual fund campaign. Check out where your class ranks in the Alumni Participation Class Competition at www.law.uiuc.edu/alumni/giving/lawfund.asp. The top 10 participating classes to date are:

1. 1933 @ 100%
2. 1934 @ 50%
3. 1946 @ 43%
4. 1943 @ 40%
5. 1955 @ 39%
6. 1952 @ 34%
7. 1944 @ 33%
8. 1956 & 1960 @ 31%
9. 1968 @ 30%
10. 1965 @ 29%

Our goal calls for 230 more alumni to give by June 30, 2005. You can move your class ahead in the competition and help the Annual Fund Alumni Committee to meet their ambitious goal by making your gift to the Law School Fund today at www.law.uiuc.edu/igive/index.asp or by contacting Marianne Downey at downey1@law.uiuc.edu (217-244-6765).

And so it is time to wish students the very best of luck on final examinations; to wish faculty a productive summer spent puzzling over head-scratching problems in their fields; to wish staff a much-needed break in pace; to wish alumni happy summer months that offer times for travel and relaxation; and to wish campus friends the rejuvenation of backyard barbeques and bicycle rides through the green corn and soybean fields of Illinois. My best to all of you until the fall.

Sincerely,

Heidi M. Hurd
Dean, College of Law
David C. Baum Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy
Co-Director of the Program in Law and Philosophy

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