STA FORD LAWYER Winter 1967 the Law School Arms
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STA FORD LAWYER Winter 1967 The Law School Arms One of the standard heraldic background elements has for centuries been a conventionalized representa tion of ermine, which in medieval times was restricted to royalty, but which later became a symbol of the judiciary office. On the Law School arms a vertical strip, or pale, of ermine is overlaid on a purple back ground, purple being the color symbolizing the legal discipline and appearing on the academic robes of lawyers. In the flags and arms of the seven schools of Stanford University there is a common element-the characteristic triple frond of the Palo Alto redwood tree, the tree so long associated with Stanford. In the Law School's flag and arms, the Stanford cardinal red wood frond is superimposed upon the strip of ermine. Thus, the Law School's flag and arms import a com bination of Stanford, law and justice. CONTENTS An Anniversary Message From the Dean 1 Property Law at Stanford . 2 Commencement 1967 4 President Sterling A.ddresses Alumni Group. 6 STANFORD LAWYER Winter 1967 Stanford Law Review 9 Published by the Stanford School of Board of Visitors and Alumni Classes at Law, Stanford University. Law School. 11 Editor: Kathleen McInerney "The Case for Legislative Revision of the Law of Evidence: an Address to the Continuing Legal Education Meeting of the Oregon Cover picture: Portrait of Nathan Ab State B,ar," by Professor John R. McDonough 20 bott, 1854-1941, Professor of Law and first head of the School, from 1893- Class Notes 24 1907. Painting of the portrait of Dean LL.B.-M.B.A Program . 25 Abbott was made possible through the Alumni Activities . 26 initiative and generosity of the School's Historical Committee under the Chair Law School News . 28 manship of Perry Moerdyke '39. Faculty and Staff Appointments 31 AN ANNIVERSARY MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN paying for only 18 % of the operating costs of the University as costs have risen. Tuition charges in fall 1968 will be $1920 and will doubtless continue to rise. Living alumni who hold a law degree from the Law School number about 3200, of whom about 70 were graduated in the School's first quarter century, about 750 in its second, and about 2,450 in the last 25 years. The faculty has moved from the era of great remembered names of Hohfeld and Huberich, through that of C'athcart and Vernier, to that of the men This year marks an important birthday anniversary who are the School's current professors emeriti for the Law School. The Class of 1968 is the 'Walter Bingham, Marion Kirkwood, George Osborne, School's 75th graduating class. William Owens, Harry Rathbun, Harold Shepherd In recognition of the School's 75th year, this issue and Lowell Turrentine. Taking their place in the of "Stanford Lawyer" bears on its cover the portrait classroom is a young and still growing faculty of great of Nathan Abbott, the first head of the School and strength and promise. the guiding figure in its early development. When the Beginning from nothing, the School developed Law Department first opened its doors in 1893, it over the years an excellent working library. Today it had an unusual faculty of two. One was the University has stepped up to a long, expensive task of assembling librarian. The other was Benjamin Harrison, a legal research collection of first quality through former President of the United States, who taught escalation of current acquisitions and the start international law. But Nathan Abbott was Stanford's of a pursuit for additional needed volumes that were first full-time professor of law. A gentle, scholarly published at an earlier time. man whose major interests were Latin poetry, The same order of progression may be seen in the subtleties of 14th century land tenures and his the School's physical facilities. Originally homeless, garden, Abbott assembled around him the School's with a couple of classrooms assigned to it in the first small faculty and imparted to it from its very inner Quadrangle, the Law School achieved beginning a standard of rigor and commitment to physical recognition of its coherent self when in 1949 excellence that most schools attain, if they attain them it moved into the remodeled administration building. at all, only after a long period of internal develop Now, a generation later, with students, faculty and ment. Nathan Abbott remained head of the School books overflowing the present law building, the until 1907 when he left Stanford to become a member School is looking forward to having its first home of the C'olumbia law faculty, leaving behind him specifically designed for Law School use and for its an unpayable debt of gratitude. own needs-a building to house 500 students, a Some things have changed at the Law School faculty of 40 and a library of 500,000 volumes. If the since 1893. necessary financing can be found, it is hoped that Stanford law students used to be drawn mainly construction of the building will begin in the fall from the immediate vicinity; today the School's of 1969, with a targeted completion date of 1971. students are from every part of the United States. There have been changes at the Law School over Admission to law study at Stanford in 1893 was not its 75 years of institutional life. But its most keenly competitive; this year 1,700 students will important element-Nathan Abbott's conception apply for the 150 places in next fall's entering class. of the Stanford School of Law as a small school of the In 1893, because of the size of the University's highest professional and scholarly excellence in endowment, tuition was zero; now the University's the law- has not changed, and will not change as endowment per student has dropped from first in the School moves past its 75th anniversary and into its the nation to 27th, with endowment income today future of centuries. 4£ ~ PROPERTY LAW AT STANFORD . One of the important measures of a law school must land use and land use planning. Second-year and be its offerings in property law, including the strength third-year students may choose from courses in oil of its faculty, its curriculum, the opportunities it and gas law, mortgages, trust and estates, real estate allows for the application of classroom knowledge in transactions, water law and land use controls. both the theoretical and practical realms and its library Aside from the publication of student material in holdings. property law in the Stanford Law Review, recent and The Law School has a tradition of fine scholars upcoming publications by the School's students in and teachers in real property law, beginning with clude an article by John Brooks, Jr. '66 on "Legal Nathan Abbott and including Dean Marion Rice Kirk Problems of the Geothermal Industry" in the Natural wood and Professor George Osborne. The current Resources Journal, Vol. 6, 1966, an article by Stephen faculty includes five members who teach various as Hill '66 on rhoeatophyte control-to be published during the winter of 1967-68 by The Land and Water pects of the broad and growing field of property law. Resources Review (of the University of Wyoming) First-year property courses are taught by Professors and an article on developments in water-distributing Moffatt Hancock and Charles Meyers; Professor Han organizations in the West, which is scheduled for cock is deeply interested in conflicts of laws and has publication during the winter of 1967-68 by Peter published widely in the field. Professors Charles Mey Rosenow '67 in the Natural Resources Journal. ers and Howard Williams are the coauthors of the One of the School's newer seminars is Community seven-volume standard treatise on oil ,and gas. (They Development Laboratory, an interdisciplinary course alternate teaching that subject and real estate trans in which law students participate with students from actions every year.) Professor John Henry Merryman the departments of engineering, business and architec specializes in problems of land use controls and urban ture. The participants work together to devise a gen planning and, in addition, has published a number eral plan for the development of some nearby city of works on the civil law, which he also teaches. Dale or town. Often, the Laboratory seeks to develop action Collinson shares instruction in the field of future proposals that city officials can submit to the appro interests with Mr. Williams. priate agencies for the relief of pressing community First-year law students are required to take Prop problems. erty I, a basic course offered in the spring term. Con During the academic year 1965-66, law students sideration is given to estates in land, divided interest, joined architectural and engineering students in a relationships between landlord and tenant and com six-month study of the town of Morgan Hill, a rural mercial transfers of land, including real estate community 18 miles south of Palo Alto. Of particular contracts. Students study deeds, title insurance and interest to the law students were matters of zoning and the recording system. Finally, they consider private the responsibilities and rights of citizens in community restrictions on the use of land, public regulations of planning. Seven law students and four architecture 2 students drew up the final plan, which they presented Hunter's Point, a temporary wartime housing develop to the town of Morgan Hill in the spring of 1966. ment ,at the southernmost tip of San Francisco. The In 1966-67, in C'ommunity Development Labora community is populated almost exclusively by minor tory, seven law students and eleven advanced archi ity groups and was the scene of an outbreak of riots tectural students spent the fall semester drawing up in September of 1966.