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February 2007 |
Welcome to our first online newsletter for the Hastings Community! The law school is a thriving, bustling place these days under the leadership of Dean Nell Jessup Newton '76, and our graduates continue as leaders making a difference in the world.
We're delighted that you are part of our Hastings community, and we hope you will stay in touch. Please send your comments to newsletter@uchastings.edu.
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Alumni News |
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Faculty News |
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Academic Programs |
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Alumni Opportunities and Resources |
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Alumni Events and Receptions |
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Leadership Academy for Women, May 31-June 2 and July 19-21 |
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Public Events |
Alumni News
Below are a few of the many accomplishments by Hastings alumni.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has approved class-action status to The Impact Fund's sexual discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart on behalf of seven women. Brad Seligman '78 is the founder of The Impact Fund and the lead attorney in the case.
Nationally known trial lawyer Joseph Cotchett '64, of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, is the lead trial lawyer in the civil lawsuit filed by ex-CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson against Vice President Dick Cheney, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Karl Rove, and Richard Armitage. For the past ten years, Cotchett has been on the list of the 100 most influential lawyers in the nation.
Noted litigator Jeffrey Randall '87 of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom was named one of the Top 50 Young Litigators by The American Lawyer magazine.
Fresno County Superior Court now has its first female presiding judge. First appointed to the bench in 2002, Hilary Chittick '79 was elected presiding judge by her peers last September. She started her new role in January.
Chair, president, and CEO of Honolulu-based American Savings Bank Constance Lau '77 was included in U.S. Banker's list of the 25 most powerful women in banking.
Jeff Ross '81 and Professor George Bisharat are in Japan this month, participating in an international law conference and sharing their expertise in criminal clinics. Bisharat serves as an international adviser for Omiya Law School, and Jeff Ross is the chief of the criminal division in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.
Noted San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi '85 is getting rave reviews for The Slanted Screen: Asian American Men in Film and Television, a documentary film he wrote, produced, and directed.
On January 31, the Daily Journal published a list of the "20 to Watch under 40," highlighting lawyers under the age of 40. Raj Chatterjee '94, a partner at Morrison & Forester, was on the list.
John Huang '95, a leading lawyer in venture capital financing, foreign investment, IP law, and international arbitration and litigation, has co-founded MWE China Law Offices in Shanghai.
The California Supreme Court appointed San Francisco Superior Court Judge Katherine Feinstein '84 to the Commission on Judicial Performance for a four-year term beginning March 1. Feinstein has been a California judge since June 2000.
The Sacramento County Bar Association named Alice Wong '92 the 2006 Attorney of the Year. Wong appeared on the cover of the November/December issue of Sacramento Lawyer magazine, which described her as an advocate for "the often voiceless victim." After 14 years with the Sacramento County DA's Office, Wong now works in private practice.
The National Association of Estate Planners & Councils gave Harold Small '70 the 2006 Hartman Axley Lifetime Service Award. Axley is recognized for years of dedicated service to estate planning.
James B. Preston '72 was elected chair of the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association.
Jackson Lewis LLP has established a new scholarship for an incoming Hastings student interested in employment law. The recipient will be selected from the class of 2010. Three Hastings alumni are partners in the San Francisco office of Jackson Lewis: Rob Pattison '81 (managing partner), Mitchell Boomer '85, and Patrick Mullin '76.
Derek Arteta '99 is part of the 2007 television season of The Apprentice. Although filmed last summer, the show started airing on January 7. Arteta is vice president in charge of business and legal affairs at New Line Cinema in Los Angeles.
Recent Books by Hastings Alumni
Judith Volkart '84 contributed to Impeach the President: The Case against Bush and Cheney.
Identity Crisis: How Identification Is Overused and Misunderstood (CATO Institute) by Jim Harper '94.
Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back by Michele Simon '95. Simon is the founder and director of the Center for Informed Food Choices.
Monkey Grass: Poems for Those Who Are Not All that Fond of Poetry by James ("J.R.") Dunworth '73.
Alumni Events and Receptions
For more information, visit the UC Hastings alumni calendar. If you'd like to join us or receive more info about alumni events, please email rsvp@uchastings.edu or call us at 415.565.4827.
Thursday, February 15
Professor Joseph Grodin Lecture and Luncheon
San Francisco
Tuesday, February 20
Small Firm Talk with Alumni and Students
San Francisco
Wednesday, February 21
Legally Blonde: The Musical - Reception & Show
San Francisco
Thursday, February 22
Networking Bar Night/Hoops Viewing Party
Cheer on Cal as they take on the UCLA Bruins
Vertigo
New York, NY
Thursday, March 1
Orange County Meet the Dean Breakfast
Palmieri Tyler Wiener Wilhelm Waldron
Irvine, California
Thursday, March 1
Newly Admitted Students & Alumni Reception
Pachulski Stang Ziehl Young Jones & Weintraub
Los Angeles
Tuesday, March 13
Silicon Valley Meet the Dean Alumni Reception
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
Menlo Park
Wednesday, March 14
Celebrating the Legacy of Ralph Abascal
Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin
San Francisco
Wednesday, March 21
Sacramento Area Meet the Dean Reception
Downey Brand
Sacramento
Thursday, March 29
San Diego Newly Admitted Students Reception
Location to be announced.
SAVE THE DATE!
October 5-7
Alumni Weekend: Building Rededication and Reunions 2007
San Francisco
Public Events
Thursday, February 22
Film: Race to Execution
6 pm, Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin St. (Civic Center)
Post-screening panel discussion with filmmaker Rachel Lyon and others, moderated by Hastings Professor Rory Little.
Leadership Academy for Women
Sponsored by the Project for Attorney Retention and the Center for WorkLife Law
May 31-June 2, 2007 and July 19-21, 2007
UC Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco
One of the first of its kind in the nation, this six-day program is a career-enhancing opportunity for women law firm partners. Distinguished educators from academia, law, and businesses will teach practical, hands-on classes; provide individual coaching; encourage peer-group interaction; and more. Read more here.
Faculty News
We welcome four outstanding professors who will join the Hastings faculty in fall 2007:
- Hadar Aviram, currently an instructor at Tel Aviv University; she earned her LL.B. from Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
- Clark Freshman, a professor at University of Miami Law School; he earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School.
- Chimene Keitner, a Rhodes Scholar who earned her J.D. at Yale Law School and whose new book, The Paradoxes of Nationalism: The French Revolution and Its Meaning for Contemporary Nation Building, was published in January.
- Dorit Rubenstein, who earned her LL.B. from Hebrew University and is a PhD candidate in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program at UC Berkeley.
Hastings Professor to Present Massey Lectures
In 2007, Distinguished Professor Joan Williams, director of the Center for WorkLife Law, will give the Massey Lectures in American Civilization at Harvard University. Williams joins other distinguished lecturers, including Eudora Welty, Eugene Genovese, Toni Morrison, Gore Vidal, E.L. Doctorow, Arthur Miller, and Robert Venturi.
Professor Vikram Amar has been quoted in newspapers around the country about domestic spying and the case, American Civil Liberties Union v. National Security Agency, 06-2095.
On January 28, Professor David Faigman was quoted in the New York Times in the article, "Evidence from Bite Marks, It Turns Out, Is Not So Elementary." In a discussion about an innocent man who spent 15 years in prison, Professor Faigman raised concerns about bitemark evidence in particular and forensic identification testimony in general
Professor Lois Weithorn was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle on January 19 in the article, "Spank a Little Kid, Go to Jail, If Bill Becomes Law."
The Wall Street Journal quoted Professor Frederick Lambert about the backdating of options at Apple Computer and how the company cleared executive Steve Jobs of wrongdoing.
Academic Programs
Cy Pres Grant Benefits Hastings Clinic
Two cy pres awards totaling $157,000 were granted to the Civil Justice Clinic, with the help of Michael Lehmann '77 and Chris Lebsock '96 of Furth Lehmann & Grant. A two-year clinical teaching fellow will work with students to represent low-income people in need of legal services.
New Report on Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)
The Center for State and Local Government Law, led by Professor David Jung, has released a report, Supplemental Environmental Projects: A Fifty-State Survey with Model Practices. This report is the first comprehensive study of the laws, policies, and practices under which SEPs are established.
Sloan Foundation Supports Work/Life Law
A $690,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation will help the prestigious Center for WorkLife Law promote flexible workplaces. Center Director and Distinguished Professor Joan Williams says the money will be used to research work/life practices at law firms, identify and disseminate best practices in the legal profession, educate law students about flexible jobs, and more.
New Human Rights Clinic
The Center for Gender and Refugee Studies has expanded its work to include a new Human Rights Clinic. Students will advocate at the legislative level, prepare appeals, draft reports in support of national advocacy campaigns, and present before regional and international human rights bodies, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations.
Alumni Opportunities and Resources
Mock Trial Judges Needed!
Hastings is co-hosting the Western Regional Competition of the National Mock Trial Competition on Saturday, February 17 in San Francisco. Teams from 25 law schools will compete, and attorneys are needed to serve as judges. Are you interested in volunteering? If so, contact Pat Paulson at Golden Gate University School of Law at 415.442.6640 or ppaulson@ggu.edu.
Help Us Compile a History of GAAP
The General Assistance Advocacy Program (GAAP) has been helping poor people in the Tenderloin neighborhood for more than 20 years. Were you involved in GAAP while you were at Hastings? Please share your experiences and help us compile the program's history. Send us an email with your stories or with contact information so we can call you and find out more.
Were You a Judicial Clerk?
Professor Rory Little and Career Services Director Sari Zimmerman are compiling a list of resources to assist students and alumni seeking clerkships. If you served as a judicial clerk and are willing to share information about your experiences, please send an email to Professor Little or call him at 415.565.4669.
Are You Working in Public Interest?
UC Hastings has a loan repayment assistance program for people working in public interest jobs. For the 2007 application and information, visit www.uchastings.edu/PICAP.
List a Job or Find a Job
The Hastings Career Services Office invites you to post a job available in your organization or use our service to find a new job. To find out more, visit the Career Services web page at www.uchastings.edu/careers.
Do you have news to share? Send us an email at newsletter@uchastings.edu.
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