November 13              Women Empowered
Reception and photo exhibition sponsored by the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, San Francisco.

November 29               Soul of Justice: Thelton Henderson's American Journey
The award-winning documentary by Abby Ginzberg '75 will be shown at the University of Hawaii .       

November 29              
Wine Tasting Reception with IP Professor Robin Feldman
Menlo Park. Hosted by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

December 7                 Swearing-in Ceremony
4 pm registration; 5 pm ceremony, followed by the Hastings Holiday Party.
The Class of 2007 and other Hastings alumni bar-passers are encouraged to invite their families and friends to the first-ever swearing-in ceremony at Hastings.
RSVP by email or call 415.565.4667.

December 7                 Holiday Party
6 to 8 pm, Hastings.
RSVP by email or call 415.565.4667.

December 20               Handel's Messiah
Performance by the American Bach Soloists. Discounted tickets for Hastings alumni.
San Francisco.

January 3, 2008           New York Alumni Cocktail Reception
New York.

January 17, 2008         E-Discovery Panel with Professor Richard Marcus
Los Angeles. Hosted by Heller Ehrman.

January 24, 2008         Class of 2008 Class Campaign Kickoff Reception
San Francisco.

January 24, 2008         Recent Alumni Happy Hour
San Francisco.

Save the Dates!

February 21, 2008       HPILF Auction
Donate items and plan to attend the annual Hasting Public Interest Law Foundation (HPILF) auction. For more information, send an email to HPILF .

May 29-31 and July 17-19, 2008 Leadership Academy for Women
For information, contact Linda Marks.

For more information about Hastings Alumni Association events, visit the UC Hastings alumni calendar.

Professor Richard Marcus delivered the 2007 Pope & John Lecture on Professionalism, "The Impact of Computers on the Legal Profession: Evolution or Revolution," at Northwestern University.

Professor William Dodge's chapter, " The Paquete Habana: Customary International Law as Part of Our Law, " appears in the Noyes, Janis & Dickenson book, International Law Stories.

The New York Times quoted Karen Musalo, director of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, in an article about genital mutilation and U.S. asylum laws.

The ABA appointed Professor Rory Little to the Standing Committee on Federal Court Improvements. He contributed to and edited the recently published book, 1977-2007: Thirty Years (and Counting) of Making a Difference in the Law.

Distinguished Professor Joan Williams spoke on "Why Bad (Stereotyping) Things Happen to Good People " at Cornell University.

Adjunct Professor Michael Salerno spoke about political reform in California at the University of Urbino, Italy.

Professor Richard Boswell joined legal educators from Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the U.S. in a world video conference on the challenges of collaboration in transnational projects.

The American Constitution Society distributed the issue brief, "International and Foreign Law Sources: Siren Song for U.S. Judges?" by Professor Chimène Keitner.

A Tax-Smart Gift to Hastings
From now until the end of 2007, you can use your IRA creatively to help Hastings. If you are 70-1/2 or older, you can transfer up to $100,000 from your IRA directly to Hastings without paying the income tax normally associated with a disbursement from your retirement savings. For details, consult your financial adviser, email Gerti Arnold, or call 415.565.4621.

New Career Services Feature
You may recruit or search for jobs on our new online system at https://law-uchastings-csm.symplicity.com/students.

Self-Study and ABA Accreditation
The ABA will visit Hastings early in 2008 as part of the accreditation process, and we welcome your thoughts on curriculum, faculty, student body, support services, alumni and community relations, and any other subjects related to the school. Send an email message to the faculty committee.

Alumni Communications Online
Read the 2006-07 Annual Report of Philanthropy by going to the Alumni publications page on the Hastings website.

Volunteers Needed for Mediation Competition
Judges and mediators are needed for the ABA's Regional Representation in Mediation Competition, which will be held at Hastings March 1-2, 2008. To volunteer, please email Jolynn Jones, or call 415.581.8941.

Class Campaign Committees
The next Alumni Weekend will be held in fall 2008. Class campaign committees are forming for classes of 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, and 2003. To volunteer, email Lynnette Teti or call 415.565.4852.

Cy pres Distribution

The Civil Justice Clinic received a significant award from the Polyester Staple Antitrust Cases cy pres fund. Special thanks to Zelle Hoffmann and attorney Susan Kupfer for selecting Hastings as a recipient.

Elizabeth Klebaner '08 won third prize in the American Judges' Association 2007 Law Student Essay Competition for her paper, "International Financing for Hybrid Tribunals in Post Conflict Societies: A Case for World Bank Involvement."

Moot Court Successes

The Moot Court team of Josh Deitz '09, Kakuti Lin '09, and Lindsey Shinn '09 won the Best Brief Award at the John Marshall Competition. Paul Kozina '08 won the Best Oral Advocate Award for the Western Region of the National Moot Court Competition. Special thanks to our dedicated alumni coaches: Leah Bolstad '05, Cary Chen '04, Mark D'Argenio '02, Kevin "KC" Donovan '07, Tami Fisher '05, Eliza Hoard '05, David Kestenbaum '07, Michelle Law '06, and Nathan Quigley '05.

The Alumni Center received many messages about the southern California wildfires last month, and we share excerpts from some of your messages below.

"We were evacuated in Irvine only Sunday evening, and returned to our home Monday, safe and sound. My partners, associates and staff in our San Diego offices are not as lucky. . . I'm doing fine but am very busy serving as legal counsel to the San Bernardino County Fire Department--Office of Emergency Services while also acting as Sheriff's Legal Counsel to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. . . . We are choking in smoke and ash but otherwise okay. . . . I had to leave because the smoke was so bad . . . Our home was threatened (we were evacuated as of last Tuesday) but we came through unscathed . . . Thank you for thinking of us. My wife and I and our two cats were finally able to go back home earlier this afternoon, after having left on Monday morning. We consider ourselves very lucky that our home was not damaged. . . . I am a member of the executive committee of the State Bar's Small Firms and Solos section, and we are discussing ways to help our members deal with and recover from the disasters. I am hopeful we can do some worthwhile things. . . . I think everyone in the County is affected in one way or another. My family and I were evacuated on Monday but then told we could go back to our home last night. . . . Thank you so much for the kind email and the concern. . . . This is absolutely unbelievable --we have had firestorms before, but this one is the worst. Pray for rain. . . . I am truly impressed with the generosity and strength of the community here in San Diego during this difficult time. The kind thoughts and offers of help from friends like you help to keep us going. . . . We pray for those who have lost their homes and for the courageous firefighters that have saved lives and property. . . . Please let me know if I can do something to help others affected by the fires. . . . Thank you for such a nice email message. It seems that the people at Hastings always are so thoughtful and follow through. . . . We are among the lucky ones out of the path of the fires. All we can do is stand by and watch the courageous efforts of those on the firelines and help friends under evacuation orders. . . . Many thanks for the concern.  I'm sure that there will be more than a few Hastings alums affected by the fire. . . . Our thoughts are with all those affected and I am grateful to you folks for extending the hand. . . . The community is pulling together, and there has been an amazing outreach to those who have been evacuated. . . . There has been an incredible outpouring of support, and it is heartening to see everyone pulling together in this difficult time. Your concern is very much appreciated - it truly helps to know that your thoughts are with us. . . . I wanted to thank you and the community at Hastings for remembering us down here in Southern California during this stressful time. . . . I appreciate your checking in with me -- it makes me feel connected to the Hastings community."

The State Bar of California has set up a special website for victims of the California fires. For resources, visit State Bar of California Disaster Response to the Southern California Fires.