Jl Capital City Washington. Ro. C
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Jl Capital City *** Washington. ro. C. Cover Note "L.A. Law" has the glamour, but "AU Law" is where the action is-in D.C. How the Washington College of Law uses its proximity to the nation's capital to enrich legal education is part of our special feature coverage of AU's law school. See story, page 3. Cover design: Tawna Grasty Vo l. 39 No. l 1tlble of Contents AMERIGIN American is the official alumni magazine of The American University. It is written and designed by the University Publications and Printing Office, Office of niversiry Relations. Personal views on subjects of public interest expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect official policies of the university. Suggestions and comments concerning American shou ld be sent to American Magazine, University Publications and Printing Office, The American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016 Anita F. Gottlieb, Assistant Vice President for niversiry Relations Martha . Robinson, Director, University Publications and Printing Managing Editor: Anne Kelleher Editorial Staff: jill Bernstein '83, Mary jo Sinker, Donna Perand, Roland S. Sweet Designer: Tawna Grasty American is published quarterly by The American Un iversity. With a circulation of about 55,000, American is sent to alumni and other constituents of the university community. Copyright 1988, The American University, an equal opportunity/affirmative action university. Pg. 13 Features AU Law ... ....................... .. ... .............. ... .. .... .. .... .................. ............... .............. ..... ........ .. ...... ...... 3 Washington Coll ege of Law students benefitfrom a strong traditional legal education, innovati ve prog.r a ~ s that build on the fundame ntals, and the school's ties to the nat1 on s legal cente r. A Capital Connection .... .. ................... .. ..... ......... ..... .................... ... ........... .......... ......... 4 From Classroom to Courtroom .. ... ............................................................................ 8 An Uncommon Experience .............. .. ....................................... ......... .... ................... 11 Facts and Figures .......... ................ ..... .. ........................ .............. ..... ...... .. ........... .. ........... l2 Upward Mobility............ .............. ....... .. .. .... .................................... ........ ..... ....... .... ......... l3 Departments President's Message ....................................................... ...................... ......................... ..... 2 Campus News ........................................... ..... ............... ... .................. ...... ............. ................. 15 Faculty ................. .. ............. .... ... .... ... ......................................................................................... 18 Class Notes & Alumni News ... ................................ ....................... ... ............................... 2l Sp orts ......................................... .. .......... ..... ..................................................... ........................... 30 Letters ..................... ........................................................................................................ .. ....... ... 32 l 1P88-00J WINTER 1988 · President's MeSSQge ounded in 1896, The Washington Col Flege of Law merged with The American University nearly forty years ago. Both benefit from their association. Both have grown in stature and size. One year ago, an American Bar Association accreditation team spent four days on cam pus. Its final report praised WCL's rock-solid curriculum, special activities, high standards, and student-faculty contact. It noted one in adequacy: the physical facilities. They thwart the school's devel opment. In the quarter-century since the law school moved on campus, its enrollment has more than doubled. We agree that the solution to the resulting overcrowding is a new, larger law center, one that is a part of our campus and yet is distinct. Our board of trustees made AU's commitment to such a goal official last fall. It also accepted gifts totaling $9 million, including $6 million from Alvina Reckman Myers for herself and on behalf of her late husband, former law school dean John Sherman Myers. In appre ciation, we will name the new facility the John Sherman Myers and Alvina Reckman Myers Law Center. WCL alumnus Herbert Morgan '60 heads the fundraising cam paign. Fortunately, WCL has loyal alums who will assure success for the project. But, AU is about more than buildings. It is about building edu cational excellence. The new law center will achieve that by sup porting the school's students, faculty, and activities. Some of the law school's achievements are reported in this issue. They contribute to WCL's reputation for being rigorous, innovative, and humane. We take pride in these accomplishments and look forward to the bright future of this important part of AU. JLQ___{) ~( Richard Berendzen 2 AMERICAN AU~lAW ( ...Jl Capital City * * * Washington. 'IJ. c. ,..... By Roland S. Sweet For nearly ninety years, AU's Washington College of Law (WCL) has been a pioneer in legal education. In the past decade, it has greatly strengthened its faculty, student body, curric ulum, and graduate placement. Its successful and expanding alumni relations and develop ment programs date from 1981. It has become even stronger where all law schools must be strong, in such fundamental fields as commercial transactions, business planning, corporate law, real property, torts, contracts, and tax, antitrust, and labor law. But does WCL go beyond the basics? We explored this question with faculty and graduates and found the answer to be a re sounding yes. "Ours is a law school known as much for its stimulating professional education and close faculty-student community as for its location in the nation's capital," WCL dean Frederick An derson says. "Our programs are at once broad and progressive, embracing innovative ap proaches to legal education while giving a firm grounding in fundamental legal analysis and skills." By providing distinctive and distinguished special programs and capitalizing fully on the legal resources of the capital, WCL is able to enhance its rigorous academic curriculum with invaluable experiential learning opportunities that enrich both its students and the legal profession as a whole. As a result, WCL is no longer just a pioneer, but also very much a leader. WINTER 1988 3 WCL's clinics "gave me great insight into how to run a practice and handle a client." Not all who start in Washington stay, A Capital however. Some WCL graduates take their talent, knowledge, and experience Connection to other states. Rose Mary Walker Fi lipowicz '40 went to work for the a tiona( Labor Relations Board in Wash Ties to Washington's legal es ington after graduation, then transferred tablishment enhance WCL's to the agency's Tampa, Florida, office. prestige and programs In 1975, Florida's governor appointed her the first woman on the state's Public Television's portrayal of the legal Employees Relations Commission. profession on "L.A. Law" may be glam orous, but many aspiring lawyers agree WCL graduates practice in every state that in real life D.C. is the place to be. in the Union. early 10 percent of the The heart of the nation's administrative members of the Nevada state bar, for instance, are WCL graduates. and regulatory system, Washington is a Wherever they end up, most agree legal mecca, home to some fifty thou that a large factor in their success is cap sand practicing attorneys. ital experience. Being in Washington The capital's vast legal network of opens the possibilities, and WCL makes seasoned practitioners and top-level g 0 the most of them. J: federal officials constitutes a umque re 0.. The school's faculty and administra source that attracts law students from all tion decided nearly ten years ago to de Andrew Popper over. More than 70 percent of the 1,058 vise specific programs that would use students attending AU's Washington Washington to expand students' edu College of Law (WCL) come ~rom out cational experience. According to law side the Washington metropolitan area. They represent 264 undergraduate professor Andrew Popper-who now di schools in forty states and several fore1gn rects one of the resulting programs-the countnes. challenge was figuring out how to avoid Studying in Washington demon compromising the school's academic in strates to students the power of a world tegrity. "Being in D.C. tempts one to value experience over classroom dignity political center and the full i~pact ~f and rigor," he says. the legal profession. It also snrs ambi tions, which many WCL graduates have Bv insisting that academic objectives dom.inate all other considerations, WCL realized by attaining prominence in the federal government (see box). developed what those involved believe Even more WCL graduates have is the most extensive federal internship launched successful careers in the cap program in the United States. The key ital, where job opportunities for young to its success, Popper says, is close su lawyers abound. Eighty to 85 percent of pervision, which "ensures academic in the school's graduates take their first job tegrity while taking advantage of Wash in the Washington area. Federal agen ington's educational opportunities." cies, major corporations, and lead1ng Student Observers Program private firms not only welcome