September 2006
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 jitters of the first week of class (on the part of both incoming 1L's and faculty!) have given way to the energetic hum of animated hallway conversations and colorful classroom exchanges that make their way into legend over beer-darts. The summer seems to be fading quickly, though I will have lasting fond memories of backpacking with my family along the Continental Divide Trail in Wyoming and the Pacific Crest Trail in California, and white water rafting through the spectacular scenery of Dinosaur National Monument and the heart-stopping big water of Cataract Canyon. (I shall have fewer fond memories of my first 120-mile-an-hour skydiving free-fall--which was every bit as horrifying as it was thrilling!)
Upper-year students returning to the College have fascinating tales to tell of summer experiences that have already worked transformative changes in their lives. For example, Amber Evans (2L) spent the summer at the University of Cairo in Egypt studying International Criminal Law, International Oil and Gas Law, and Islamic Law while teaching English to Sudanese refugees. Amber is interested in pursuing a career with the United Nations, and these summer experiences added valuable depth to her extensive past work experience in third-world economic development. Josh Whitman (2L), a former National Football League tight end, had an internship with Foley & Lardner LLP, a Milwaukee law firm that represents Major League Baseball. Josh would like to pursue a career in collegiate or professional athletics, and his summer experience was a valuable means of testing his dreams.
My colleagues had similarly enriching experiences--all far more responsible than doing a 360-gainer out of a Super King Air plane at 14,000 feet! For example, Professor Patrick Keenan spent a big part of the summer in Africa helping grass-roots human rights activists learn to use radio documentaries and dramas to share their struggles with a wider audience. The project is part of an ongoing collaboration between the College's Human Rights Clinic and the Kenya Human Rights Commission and has inspired the development of a new cross-listed course in Law and Journalism at Illinois (co-taught by Professor Keenan and journalism Professor Nancy Benson) on investigating and reporting human rights and globalization issues. Professor Peter Maggs was a principal participant in meetings in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on the revision of the first part of the Civil Code of the Republic of Tajikistan. Professor Maggs had contributed in the 1990s to the preparation of a model Civil Code, which served as a basis for the first codification effort. Professor Maggs also worked on a revision of the Fourth Part of the Russian Civil Code, which was formally introduced into the Russian Parliament in July 2006.
As we begin the fall, 2006 semester, I want to give you some highlights from many other stories of the summer:
- The College Recruits Its Second Top-15 Entering Class and Attracts Transfer and Graduate Students from Around the Globe
- The College Kicks off the "Great American Cities Program"
- Professor William Davey Invested as the Guy Raymond Jones Chair in Law
- The College Expands its Career Services Office and Sets Lofty New Goals
- The College's 38-Person Faculty Writes 35 Books in One Year, and Ranks 7th in the Nation in Per-Faculty-Member Article Publication!
- The Women's Law Society Launches Another Ambitious Year of Activities with its Ambulance Chase 5K
- The College Takes Illinois Law in its 2nd Television Season!
- Adjunct Professor and Alumnus James Holderman Becomes Chief Judge
- Illinois Alumni Dominate This Year's "40 Under 40" List
- The College Establishes a New Program in Law and Business Policy
- College of Law Alumni Suzie Saxman and Michael Melbinger Host a College of Business Roundtable Series in Chicago
- The College's Trial Advocacy Program Releases a Champaign County Courtroom Study
- Governor James Blanchard to Kick Off Homecoming 2006
The College Recruits Its Second Top-15 Entering J.D. Class and Attracts Transfer and Graduate Students from Around the Globe
Over the past two weeks, the College community has welcomed another impressively credentialed incoming class comprising 186 students from 28 states and 3 foreign countries. This class once again ranks among the nation's Top 15 law classes with test scores that put it on par with classes entering law school at Duke, Cornell, Berkeley, and UCLA. The Class of 2009 is divided almost equally between men and women and 35% of its members are students of color, making it again #1 in the Big Ten and in the state for student diversity. Incoming students hail from 102 different undergraduate institutions and bring to their studies past experiences as teachers, engineers, firefighters, human rights activists, military servicemen, police officers, nurses, and psychologists.
The College has also enthusiastically adopted 38 transfer students into the Class of 2008 from 22 different law schools and 9 different states. These hearty "academic immigrants" have brought to the College a rigorous work ethic, a boundless sense of optimism, and a deep affection for Illinois. Their delight at being at the College is infectious and it has invigorated those in the returning 2L class who say that without the 1L-like enthusiasm of the transfer students, they might otherwise succumb to the temptations of upper-year nonchalance!
Finally, we were also very pleased to welcome 26 international graduate students into the College's LL.M. Class of 2007. Hailing from Argentina, Brazil, China, the Dominican Republic, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, Thailand, and Venezuela, these already highly-credentialed and experienced lawyers bring an astonishing array of life experiences to their studies here in Champaign. Amongst them is a member of the Taiwanese Air Force, a public prosecutor from Japan, a Senior Legal Advisor in the Ministry of Economic Development in Azerbaijan, and a legal assistant to the Taiwan Appellate Court.
We look forward to very rewarding years with these bright and engaging new students, and we wish them the very best as they pursue a life in the law.
The College Kicks off the "Great American Cities Program"
Drawing an audience of almost 100 students this week, the Career Services Office inaugurated a very creative initiative entitled "The Great American Cities Program." This monthly series is designed to introduce students to diverse practice opportunities and lifestyles within America's most exciting, interesting, and livable cities. Featuring alumni from all walks of the legal profession, the program allows students to run "thought experiments" about living and working in such far-flung places as Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, Tucson, Minneapolis, Houston, Dallas, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Nashville, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Charleston, Atlanta, and Miami (to name just a few!). This week's kick-off event featured a College-wide luncheon with Washington, D.C., alumni Jackie Goff ('73), who talked about opportunities within the Federal Government, David Lewis ('73), who talked about his career at Sidley & Austin, and Michael Strautmanis ('94), who talked about his role as Chief Counsel to Senator Barack Obama. Students met with these distinguished visitors in one-on-one and group counseling meetings throughout the afternoon, and the day culminated in Peer's Pub with music, food, beverages, and decor on a Washington, D.C. theme.
Professor William Davey Invested as the Guy Raymond Jones Chair in Law
In late August, the College community gathered for the public investiture of Professor William Davey in the prestigious Guy Raymond Jones Chair in Law--in a ceremony presided over by Chancellor Richard Herman and Vice-Provost Ruth Watkins. Professor Davey is a prolific scholar and teacher in the areas of international trade law, European Union law, international business transactions, and corporate/securities law. He joined the faculty in 1984 and held the Edwin M. Adams Professorship prior to being named to the Guy Raymond Jones Chair. From 1995 to 1999, Professor Davey served as Director of the Legal Affairs Division of the World Trade Organization, and he has since served on WTO arbitral panels to settle international trade disputes between Canada and Brazil, the European Union and Korea, and the European Union and the United States. He is a member of the faculty of the Masters Program in International Law and Economics at University of Berne in Switzerland, a Faculty Associate of the Institute of International Economic Law at Georgetown Law Center, a visiting professor in the Academy of International Economic Law and Dispute Settlement in Geneva and the Academy of International Trade law in Macau, and the Jean Monnet Professor at the University of Bielefeld in Germany. Two years ago, Professor Davey received the Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement, the highest award that can be bestowed upon a University of Illinois faculty member for international achievement. Our heartiest congratulations to Professor Davey on his appointment to membership within the University's elite circle of faculty chair holders, and our sincere thanks to him for forging his lustrous career at Illinois!
The College Expands its Career Services Office and Sets Lofty New Goals
This year, the College of Law tied with Harvard and the University of Chicago in achieving the 5th highest job placement rate in the nation nine months after its students' graduation. But under the determined leadership of Interim Director Donna Miller, the staff in the Career Services Office declared that this nationally-celebrated accomplishment, while good, wasn't good enough. While virtually 100% of the College's graduates are happily employed by the time they have learned of their Bar results, it would be far better if yet more of them secured their first permanent job prior to graduation. According to the hard-working staff in the Career Services Office, when the College achieves an at-graduation placement rate that allows virtually all of our students to graduate free of enduring employment worries, then we'll boast, but not before!
To that end, the College has worked very hard over the past year to expand significantly its Career Services Office so as to provide the sorts of student counseling, resume and interview training, and employer development that is crucial to ensuring that graduating students go on to careers that match their motivations for going to law school to begin with. Now boasting one of the very best counselor-student ratios amongst peer institutions of its size, the College has added three new permanent career professionals who are planning an ambitious agenda of placement activities during this academic year.
Joining the College of Law as its new Assistant Dean for Career Services is Anthony E. Waller, who comes to Illinois from the University of Georgia Law School where he served as Associate Director of Legal Career Services for the last six years. Tony earned his B.S.A. in Agricultural Economics and his J.D. from the University of Georgia and went on to work as an associate county attorney for Calvert County, Maryland, an associate at Linowes and Blocher, LLP, in Silver Spring, Maryland, an assistant county attorney in Montgomery County, Maryland, and a human resources director with AXIOM Systems, Inc., before returning to his alma mater to help others find their pathways into lives in the law.
Also new to the College's staff is Jolynn Caroline, the new Associate Director of Career Services--a double-alumna of the University of Illinois, who received a B.S. in Community Health and her J.D. from the College of Law, serving as Notes Editor of the Law Review and a Teaching Assistant in a 1L statutory interpretation course. Upon graduation, Jolynn became a Chicago associate first with Ungaretti & Harris and then with Holland & Knight, where she cultivated an expertise in employment law and litigation. And transitioning from a visitorship to the permanent position of Career Services Programming and Events Coordinator is Amanda Lindemann (J.D. '05, Kentucky) who has revolutionized the College's On-Campus Recruiting Program, added Chicago-based recruiting fairs, and launched numerous new initiatives that will help prepare students for entry into the job market.
In addition to welcoming these permanent staff members, we also celebrate the well-earned promotion of Donna Miller (J.D. '97, Northwestern) to the permanent position of Director of Career Services, and we extend our most sincere thanks to alumnus Joe Gavin ('80), who retired from a celebrated career as an attorney for the First National Bank of Chicago, only to be persuaded last year to resume a ferocious work schedule as a not-so-part-time Associate Director of Career Services. We are also institutionally blessed with the dedicated staff assistance of Vileta Austin and Jennifer Hill who join our counseling professionals in doing all they can to help our students realize their ambitions.
The College's 38-Person Faculty Writes 35 Books in One Year, and Ranks 7th in the Nation in Per-Faculty-Member Article Publication!
If you walk into the lobby of the College's Deans' Suite the first thing you see is a large bookcase displaying dozens and dozens of books on a wide variety of legal topics. This bookcase does more than provide decoration and stimulation for captive visitors waiting to meet with one of the College's academic administrators: it tells the story of the University of Illinois College of Law--a story that reflects decades of path-breaking work by many of the nation's leading legal scholars. And the legacy continues! In the last year, the current Illinois law faculty has penned 35 new books in fields ranging from conservation to constitutional law, bankruptcy, health law and medical malpractice, elder law, criminal law, corporate law, labor law, cybersecurity, family wealth management, internet and computer law, family law, art law, dispute resolution, and even a College Administrator's Survival Guide (no I didn't write that one!: my colleague, C.K. (Tina) Gunsalus threw me a lifeline with that one!).
As if writing books weren't enough, however, the College of Law's faculty continues to place 7th in the nation in productivity and impact, as measured by the number of articles submitted to, and downloaded from, the Social Science Research Network (SSRN)--the database which stores virtually all papers, essays, and articles produced by law professors in America. Submitting more than 60 papers over the past 12 months and averaging 77 downloads per paper, the faculty is clearly providing sought-after contributions to the important policy debates of the day--which is what legal scholarship is all about!
The Women's Law Society Launches Another Ambitious Year of Activities with its Ambulance Chase 5K
The Women's Law Society will kick off an energetic year of events by hosting the fourth annual AMBULANCE CHASE 5K Run/Walk on Sunday, September 17. Participants will literally chase an ambulance around the park as a means of raising funds for A Woman's Fund (AWF), a non-profit agency that provides shelter and safety for battered women and children and helps women to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of violence. AWF provides free legal help, counseling, medical advocacy, parenting support, referrals, and education to survivors of rape, domestic violence, incest, and other forms of violence. Early registration for participants is $15 and can be completed here.
The College Takes Illinois Law to its 2nd Television Season!
Our statewide television program on legal issues in the news, "Illinois Law," kicks off its second season in early September. "Illinois Law" is hosted by Professor Amy Gajda and features our faculty members discussing current legal issues and timely topics of research, along with Illinois alumni and other experts. The program airs locally on WCIA-Channel 3 (CBS affiliate) and the expanded Illinois Channel statewide cable network, now reaching 90 markets throughout the state of Illinois.
Adjunct Professor and Alumnus James Holderman Becomes Chief Judge
College of Law graduate and Adjunct Professor James F. Holderman ('71) was installed this past summer at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago as Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District. In his new role, Chief Judge Holderman is responsible for the administration of a court with a budget of more than $ 27 million and a staff of nearly 450 people, including judicial support staff, court reporters, members of the clerk's office, and probation and pretrial services workers. His duties also include empaneling grand juries, handling whistleblower suits that have been filed under seal, and considering applications from the federal government to install wiretaps or conduct other forms of electronic surveillance. He is also the judicial coordinator in the District Court's transition from paper filing to electronic filing and is the co-chair of the 7th Circuit Bar Association American Jury Project Commission.
Judge Holderman and Adjunct Professor Paula Holderman, who is the director of professional development at Winston & Strawn LLP, have taught the popular Advanced Trial Advocacy course at the College of Law for many years. Our congratulations to the Chief Judge on this latest impressive appointment!
Illinois Alumni Dominate This Year's "40 Under 40" List
University of Illinois alumni dominated this year's "40 Under 40" list of high-profile, impressive young Illinois attorneys that is annually compiled by the editors of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and Chicago Lawyer magazine. In the 2006 edition, seven University of Illinois law graduates made the prestigious list--a record number that included Mark H. Remus '97 (Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione), Bari D. Wood '93 (Chuhak and Tecson, PC), Daniel T. Madigan '93 (Motherway & Napleton, LLP), Robert B. Ellis '91 (Kirkland & Ellis, LLP), Ross E. Kimbarovsky '95 (Ungaretti & Harris, LLP), Bradley C. Nahrstadt '92 (Williams Montgomery & John Ltd.), and Luke W. DeMarte '99 (Michael Best & Friedrich LLP).
Congratulations to our accomplished alumni and many thanks from your alma mater for letting us make your success our success!
The College Establishes a New Program in Law and Business Policy
The College has created its 10th specialty program, the Illinois Program in Law and Business Policy, coordinated by Professor Larry Ribstein, the Mildred Van Voorhis Jones Chair in Law. This new program capitalizes on the extraordinary faculty strength in corporate and business law that the College has recently built--a strength that includes, among others, Professors Amitai Aviram, Ralph Brubaker, William Davey, Cynthea Geerdes, Christine Hurt, Robert Lawless, Andrew Morriss, Larry Ribstein, Charles Tabb, and Cynthia Williams.
The Program's innovative Corporate Colloquium will yield immediate benefits for current students who have the opportunity to earn course credits by joining the College's business law faculty for an engaging semester-long series of seminars with some of the nation's leading scholars of corporate law and finance. This colloquium series kicked off last week with a lively lecture by Professor Olufumilayo Arewa from Northwestern University, and it will include amongst its guests renowned scholars from Yale, Boston College, New York University, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Duke, Delaware, Georgetown, and the University of Illinois College of Business.
The Illinois Program in Law and Business Policy will also host public lectures and conferences in Chicago and on the Urbana-Champaign campus and will sponsor theoretical and empirical research on unincorporated and closely held firms, securities markets, entrepreneurship, the role of social norms in business relationships, derivatives and other complex financial instruments, corporate social responsibility, bankruptcy, and private international law.
College of Law Alumni Suzie Saxman and Michael Melbinger Host College of Business Roundtable Series in Chicago
Two College of Law alumni, Suzie Saxman '81, a partner with Seyfarth Shaw LLP and a member of the College's Board of Visitors, and Michael Melbinger '83, a partner with Winston & Strawn LLP and the author of Executive Compensation, will host a College of Business Leadership Roundtable entitled "The SEC's New Rules on Executive Compensation Disclosure -- You Must Act Now." This much-discussed event will take place on September 20 at the Illini Center in downtown Chicago and is jointly sponsored by the Law Alumni Association and the MBA Alumni Association. Visit the College of Business website at www.business.uiuc.edu to register by September 13.
The College's Trial Advocacy Program Releases a Champaign County Courtroom Study
The College's Trial Advocacy Program and the League of Women Voters of Champaign County teamed up in 2005 to initiate a court watching program in the Champaign County Courts. This summer, the results of the second annual Champaign County Courtroom Study were released, triggering considerable regional media coverage, including feature stories in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and the Chicago Tribune. Coordinated by Professors Steven Beckett and C.K. Gunsalus, this unique partnership has, according to Professor Beckett, "received great cooperation from Champaign County elected officials and has led to an improvement in the accuracy of juror data and a better response rate to juror summons. It appears that the Courtroom Study results have also led to improved demographic representation of the minority community in the jury selection process." The program brings together 95 Trial Advocacy students and numerous volunteers from the League of Women Voters to analyze every aspect of trials held between September and December, including such matters as jury demographics, judicial behavior, and defendants' relative comprehension of the proceedings. Students find it a very rewarding experience, because not only are they learning about the justice system, but they are also helping to ensure that it is worthy of its name.
Governor James Blanchard to Kick Off Homecoming 2006
A public servant of extraordinary stature within state, national, and international circles, Governor James J. Blanchard will present the annual Vacketta-DLA Piper Lecture on the Role of Government and the Law on Thursday, October 5 at 3 p.m. in the Max L. Rowe Auditorium. Governor Blanchard served as ambassador to Canada from 1993 to 1996, after serving two terms as Governor of Michigan (1983-1991) and four terms as a member of the United States Congress (1975-1983). In recognition of his outstanding public service, Secretary of State Warren Christopher presented Governor Blanchard with the Foreign Affairs Award for Public Service in a ceremony at the Department of State, making him one of only a handful of ambassadors to receive this prestigious award. As ambassador to Canada, Governor Blanchard managed a broad range of trade, natural resources, environmental, and national security issues between the United States and Canada, providing support critical to the passage of both NAFTA and the Open Skies Agreement.
The College's 96th Homecoming will be on October 5-7 and this year's reunions will reunite the Classes of 1966, 1981, 1991, and 1996. On Friday night please join us for an All Class Reception from 6-8 p.m. at Lincolnshire Fields Country Club as we honor this year's Distinguished Alumni Award recipients. On Saturday, come out to Cribbet Field for the annual Pre-Game Brunch (8:30-11 a.m.) before the Illinois-Indiana football game (11 a.m. kickoff). For more information on Homecoming, visit the alumni section on our website or contact our Development and Alumni Relations staff at 217-333-2628. Go Illini!
And with that cheerful note, I shall conclude this first message of the year with a warm welcome to newly arrived students and faculty and fond greetings to those who are returning to the College. Please remember that my door is always open and that I am anxious to be of help to all those who work, study, and care about the College of Law.
Sincerely,
Heidi M. Hurd
Calendar of College of Law Events
May 2006
May 12 6:00-8:00 pm, Pedersen Pavilion: Class of 2006 Graduation Open House.
May 13 12:30-2:00 pm, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts: Class of 2006 College of Law Convocation, Speaker: The Honorable Wayne Andersen '70, Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
May 14 10:30 am, Assembly Hall: University of Illinois Commencement, Speaker Thomas Siebel, Founder & Former Chairman/CEO, Siebel Systems, Inc.
May 26-28: European Alumni Association Reunion - Berlin, Germany. For more information contact Sherry Cibelli at 217-244-1476 or scibelli@law.uiuc.edu.
