Loyola Lawyer Law School Publications 2009 Loyola Lawyer Loyola Law School - Los Angeles Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/loyola_lawyer Repository Citation Loyola Law School - Los Angeles, "Loyola Lawyer" (2009). Loyola Lawyer. 65. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/loyola_lawyer/65 This Magazine is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School Publications at Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Loyola Lawyer by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 2009 IN THIS ISSUE Trial by Fire: Financial downturn forces firms to rethink how they do business Back in Balance: How Justice Department leadership can restore faith in the system War Games: A new commander in chief faces tough decisions on military detainees LAWYER A Legacy of Leadership LoyolaLawyer 2009 LoyolaLawyer 1 LEADERSHIP A NOTE FROM THE DEAN “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you That need for leadership has never been greater. The global there.” Lewis Carroll. economic crisis has created the worst legal job market in memory The theme of this year’s Lawyer is leadership. The essential and may be forcing the profession to rethink how it does business. qualities of leadership are: know where you are going, articulate a As clients demand better value from their lawyers, law firms will clear vision of that goal, and inspire others to pursue that vision. only hire law school graduates with marketable skills. The days When times are good, leadership is less important. We can wander when law schools could spend three years teaching students how off in almost any direction and still be reasonably happy with where to read an appellate case are over. we find ourselves. But in tough times, good leadership is the With our historic focus on practical skills training, Loyola is difference between failure and success. well positioned to succeed in this new environment. While Loyola Loyola alumni have been in the lead of the legal profession has always excelled in teaching advocacy skills, our innovative in Southern California for four generations. A full 20 percent of Business Law Practicum teaches the skills needed by transac- the current judges on the Los Angeles Superior Court are Loyola tional lawyers and has quickly earned the support of many top graduates—far more than any other law school. Our graduates Southern California transactional firms. Combining skills training DEAN VICTOR J. GOLD Speaking to a capacity crowd at his clinical component, assist veterans in protecting their legal rights. dominate the local trial bar, are senior partners at the top national with Loyola’s long-held commitment to social justice, we launched installation, Loyola Law School’s new Dean Victor Gold laid out “Loyola has a longstanding relationship with our nation’s law firms, and have reached the highest levels of corporate this fall the Immigrant Justice Practicum, which combines an ambitious goal: preparing students, alumni and the community veterans,” Gold said. “We plan to honor their service by making power. The future is even brighter—the most recent edition of classroom instruction in immigration law with a field externship to achieve greatness. it easier for veterans to attend law school and help navigate Southern California Super Lawyers magazine lists 179 of our at a legal-aid group. And this spring we will begin our Military “What is most important at Loyola,” Gold said, “is to provide legal hurdles in keeping with our mission of social justice.” alumni as “rising stars” in Southern California, again placing Veterans’ Benefits Practicum, which will meld classroom instruc- opportunity, teach the skills needed to seize that opportunity, Gold has also worked to broaden Loyola’s reach in the Loyola first among all law schools. tion with real-world practice in assisting veterans with disability model the values that give that opportunity meaning, and then community. Under his watch, Loyola’s Center for Juvenile Law At the same time our alumni have become leaders of our claims. We also are expanding other clinical opportunities for our live those values through service.” & Policy launched the Youth Education Justice Clinic, a program profession, the school has achieved distinction on the national students. In our new Youth Education Justice Clinic—a part of Gold’s plans include several initiatives to make Loyola Law a dedicated to ensuring that youths in the Los Angeles County level. Based on a national survey of 18,000 law students, the the Center for Juvenile Law & Policy—Loyola students advocate more valuable experience for all its constituents. For prospective juvenile justice system receive the educational services to which Princeton Review ranks Loyola second in the United States in the on behalf of youth in the criminal justice system to ensure they students, he plans to make law school easier to finance; for they are entitled. quality of classroom teaching. National Jurist magazine ranks us receive the educational resources to which they are entitled. alumni, make jobs easier to find; and for the community, provide A primary focus for Gold is increasing job prospects for second nationally in public interest programs. The American Bar Throughout all these endeavors, we will work to keep unprecedented access to services. Loyola’s alumni. The school’s Office of Alumni Relations recently Association awarded Loyola its 2008 award for law school public tuition as low as possible so that a Loyola education remains Acknowledging that the current economic climate has made launched Loyola Connect, a comprehensive site designed for interest programs and its 2009 diversity award. a good value. These goals will not be easy to achieve since it more difficult to finance a graduate education, Gold included in posting jobs as well as social networking. Gold has also pledged These accomplishments all grow from the same roots. clinics and skills training are expensive. But we know that this his first budget a significant increase in student financial aid. In to personally appeal to employers to hire Loyola alumni. “I will lobby Loyola Law School always has led with a clear vision—we is the road we must take if we are going to keep producing doing so, he made good on his promise that “anyone with ability every employer I meet on behalf of our students and graduates.” educate our students to be real lawyers by focusing huge generations of leaders. and the willingness to work hard can become a member of our In a quarter century at Loyola, Gold has earned myriad resources on skills training, small advanced classes and country’s most influential profession—a lawyer, with the capacity accolades as a legal educator and administrator. His tenure as clinical opportunities. At the same time, we teach our students Best regards, to summon to action the awesome power of the law.” associate dean for academic affairs from 2000-2005 saw an A centerpiece of Gold’s agenda is the Military Veterans increased focus on Loyola’s national stature, a drive to recruit that ethics and public interest work must be central to their Victor Gold Justice Project, which aims to increase accessibility to a degree topnotch professors and an emphasis on faculty research. professional identity. As a consequence, our graduates leave Fritz B. Burns Dean, Loyola Law School for veterans and enhance Loyola’s practical offerings. This project In 2007, Dean Gold himself earned an Excellence in Teaching law school with both the skills and values they need to be the Senior Vice President, Loyola Marymount University leaders of our profession. will offer scholarships to returning service members and in a Award from the graduating class. LoyolaLawyer 2009 LoyolaLawyer 2 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS: “ What is most important at Loyola is to provide opportunity, teach the skills needed to seize that opportunity, model the values that give that opportunity meaning and then live those 4 17 36 values through service.” ON THE COVER: 10 War Games: A new commander 28 Center for the Study of Law Loyola Law School’s legacy is attributable in chief faces tough decisions & Genocide to many leaders, past and present, who on military detainees have shaped the school. A few among this group 29 Youth Education Justice Clinic are: (l-r) Dean Joseph Scott, 1929-1934; Dean LOYOLA ALUMNI: 30 Loyola’s Innocence Project William Joseph Ford, inaugural dean, 1923-1929; 13 School Ties: Alumni Serve 31 Civil Justice Program Father Joseph Donovan SJ, regent, 1927-1971; on Loyola Boards Dean Gerald T. McLaughlin, 1991-2000; Dean 32 Business Law Practicum 14 Alejandro Mayorkas ’85 Frederick J. Lower, Jr., 1973-1979 and 1990; Dean David W. Burcham, 2000-2008; Dean 15 Hunter Lovins ’75 He taught in Loyola’s LLM program at the University of L O Y O la Fa C ulty : Victor Gold, 2008-present. 33 Professors of the Year Bologna, Italy and is a fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge 16 Jamon Hicks ’04 34 Newly Tenured Faculty Members University, England. Prior to teaching at Loyola, Gold was a tenured INSIDE COVER: 17 Julia Gold ’62 law professor at Arizona State University and an associate at Dean’s note 18 Sean Kennedy ’89 36 New Faculty Nossaman, Krueger & Marsh in Los Angeles, where he declined 19 Anthony “Tony” Rackauckas ’71 38 Faculty Transitions an offer to become partner to pursue a teaching career. Gold FEATURE ARTICLES: 39 New Faculty Chair Holders has also written numerous articles on evidence and advocacy law. 4 Trial By Fire: Financial downturn 20 Mike Hanna ’09 forces firms to rethink how they He lectures on evidence and contracts for students preparing to 21 Raymond Hekmat ’09 do business IN MEMORIAM: take the Bar exam in California, Arizona, Nevada and Oregon.