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US Supreme Court Justices Meet with European Counterparts at Cardozo
Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the US Supreme
Court, with Judge Fidelma O'Kelly Macken, the first woman appointed
to the Court of Justice
When members of two of the world's most important courts met at Cardozo,
Associate Justice Stephen Breyer of the United States Supreme Court came
prepared with a greeting in French. However, the historic conference made
it clear that the Supreme Court justices and their colleagues on the Court
of Justice of the European Communities have begun to develop a common language.
They are applying similar principles to complex issues confronting both
the United States and the 15-member European Union and beginning to learn
from each other.
Eight judges and advocates general of the
European court gathered at Cardozo with three of their American counterparts - Justices
Breyer, Sandra Day O'Connor, and Anthony M. Kennedy - for a round of judicial
shop talk cosponsored by Cardozo and the New York University School of
Law. This marked the first official visit of the European Court of Justice
to the US. The European jurists also participated in a day-long series
of panels at NYU on current constitutional issues in antitrust policy,
environmental regulation, and Internet privacy. The European delegation
then visited the United States Supreme Court in Washington, DC and the
Texas Supreme Court.
The program continued a di
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alogue begun two
years ago when United States Supreme Court justices visited the European
court in Luxembourg. Dean Paul Verkuil and Prof. Michel Rosenfeld, president
of the International Association of Constitutional Law, accompanied the
American delegation.
Judicial review has been entrenched in the US since the Marbury v. Madison
decision of 1803. The European Court of Justice, the supreme judicial authority
on matters governed by European Community Law, was created only in 1952,
so its role and powers, like those of the integrated Europe it serves,
are still evolving. Thus, Dean Verkuil pointed out in his opening remarks,
the European judges had traveled from the "New World" of constitutionalism
to the "Old World." When it comes to judicial review, "they are new at
it," the dean said. "We are experienced."
Unlike Europeans, Americans like to talk about
the law, said David A. O. Edward of Scotland, president of the Fourth and
Fifth Chambers of the Court of Justice. "You like to argue about it. Above
all, you like to debate the quality of it." But Europeans and Americans
share "the accepted standards of right conduct." First Advocate General
Nial Fennelly of Ireland said that much of European Community Law was based
on the principles of "proportionality" and "subsidiarity." Proportionality
requires policymakers to consider whether their actions are suitable and
necessary to achieve a desired end. To Justice O'Connor that sounded like
the "strict scrutiny" American courts apply in certain constitutional cases.
Americans talk a lot about "federalism," although,
according to Justice Kennedy, they do not understand it fully. The term
is controversial in Europe, where it often connotes centralized power.
However, the recently formulated principle of "subsidiarity" is akin to
the American notion of federalism. It means that the Community should act
only if its objectives cannot be achieved by member states. "This is more
a political than a legal question," Fennelly said. "The contours are far
from clear."
Meanwhile, said O'Connor, "I cannot think
of anything that has split our court more" than debates over the respective
powers of the state and national governments. She said, quoting Justice
Kennedy, the Constitution of the United States "splits the atom of sovereignty,"
reserving a significant role for the states. Kennedy added that there is
a moral and ethical component to federalism, that "it is wrong to surrender
control of your destiny to a remote entity." Breyer, who has been in the
minority in a series of 5-4 decisions affirming the power of the states,
said that Europeans face similar issues as they work to provide both the
right to participate in government and the liberty from government. "Do
you keep power in Naples or transfer it to Luxembourg?"
Nial Fennelly, First Advocate General with Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy
In briefing their colleagues about the American judicial scene, the American
justices covered a variety of issues. Kennedy cited the importance of the
First Amendment in the American system. "Our free speech jurisprudence
gives citizens a real stake in the Constitution," he said.
On the second day, the confe
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rence turned to
specific legal issues, where members of the European Court met with academics.
Prof. John O. McGinnis argued that a "revolution" in American antitrust
law has "something to teach the world." Increasingly, American antitrust
policy is guided by the objective of consumer welfare and respect for the
free market.
Advocate General Francis G. Jacobs of England
said that the increasing integration of the European market has made American
precedents more relevant to the development of European "Competition Law."
"We are, after all, for the first time confronted with the same forces
on both sides of the Atlantic," he said. However, he added, Europeans generally
are less trustful of the market than their American counterparts.
Giuliano Amato, a former Italian prime minister
who is on the NYU faculty, countered McGinnis's position. "You have to
go case by case," he said. "You cannot be so ideological as to say the
market will always take care of itself." McGinnis responded that government
should act against blatant cartelization and other inefficient practices,
but he insisted that officials have a hard time marshalling the information
needed to identify such practices.
Recalling Justice Breyer's greeting, Dean Michael Herz had a word of welcome
of his own for the law school's guests: "Shalom." He then traced the development
of American environmental law from its common law period, through the passage
in the 1970s of a spate of federal "common-and-control" measures, to a
growing reliance on economic incentives, voluntary cooperation, and flexibility
in American regulations. According to Judge Leif Sevon of Finland, Europe's
own environmental movement was triggered by a series of industrial catastrophes.
Professor Rosenfeld moderated a session about the effect of new technology
on privacy at which Prof. David Rudenstine sketched the legal framework
for fighting off a "massive invasion of privacy." He offered a "doomsday"
scenario in which the Internet has assumed the role of Big Brother, who
knew everything about the citizenry.
"So we have a problem - broad scale online privacy
invasions - and no easy solutions," he concluded. "Although we can turn to
the national government for assistance, and we can pressure the private
sector to exercise restraint, it is uncertain whether we will be successful
in securing effective constitutional legislation, and whether the Internet
industry will adopt and implement programs that effectively protect online
privacy." Judge Christian Gulmann of Denmark said that the Europeans have
focused on the protection of databases and on safeguarding the free flow
of information; they have not yet grappled with privacy issues posed by
the Internet.
From
left: Justice Kennedy, Cardozo Board Chairman Earle Mack, Judge Edward,
Thomas Susman, Esq., NYU Dean John Sexton, Prof. Rosenfeld, Justice O'Connor,
Judge Leif Sev - n, Judge Macken, Judge Claus Gulmann, Justice Breyer, Judge
Jean-Pierre Puissochet, Dean Verkuil, Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme
Court Thomas Phillips, Registrar Roger Grass, Judge Nial Fennelly, Advocate
General Philippe
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L*ger, Advocate General Francis G. Jacobs
The Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy plans to support research
by scholars and policymakers, conferences, publications, and consultancies
both here and abroad. One important goal will be to encourage cross-fertilization
in a time of global constitution building through workshops for public
and private leaders in developing countries. A leadership program in constitutional
law is contemplated that will offer scholarships to outstanding students.
Bennett Addresses Attorney Ethics
Robert S. Bennett, partner, Skadden, Arps,
Slate, Meagher & Flom and former special counsel, US Senate Select
Committee on Ethics, gave the annual Jacob Burns Ethics Center lecture.
He dwelled in part on the conflict faced by lawyers who are expected to
serve as guardians of the law, playing a vital role in the preservation
of society and conforming to "the highest standards of ethical and moral
conduct," while also serving as zealous advocates for clients who are less
interested in the high-minded pursuit of truth than in preserving their
fortunes, their reputations, or even their lives. "The zealous advocate
often speaks and acts in ways which to many are morally reprehensible,
and do not promote respect for the law in the eyes of the public," Bennett
said. An advocate cannot sponsor perjured testimony, obstruct justice,
or falsify evidence, but he can use cross-examination "to rip to shreds"
an elderly victim the lawyer knows is telling the truth. He can maneuver
to pick jurors who will be guided by emotion and passion rather than the
truth. And he can use his own credibility to advance an argument that he
knows beyond all reasonable doubt is untrue. He concluded that too often
the "game" overwhelms the pursuit of justice.
Advising Emerging International Markets Panel
Cardozo International and Comparative Law
Journal and the Financial Women's Association co-sponsored "Advising Emerging
International Markets." Panelists were (from left) Jennifer Frankel '97;
Aviva Werner, senior legal counsel, Emerging Markets Traders Association;
Bob Strahota, Securities & Exchange Commission; Alison Hardwood, World
Bank/IFC specialist; and Professor Ingo Walter, NYU Stern School of Business.
IP and Dispute Resolution Programs Rank in Top
Ten
In the US News and World Report Best
Graduate Schools issue, Cardozo found itself listed on two top-ten lists.
In Intellectual Property Law, Cardozo ranked sixth, making it the top-ranked
program in New York City. NYU and Columbia ranked ninth in a three-way
tie with University of Texas-Austin. University of California-Berkeley,
George Washington University, and Franklin Pierce Law Center ranked first,
second, and third, respectively. This is the third year that the program
ranked in the top ten. The Cardozo program in Dispute Resolution made the
list for the first time, taking eighth place - the only New York law school
to be listed. University of Missouri-Columbia, Ohio State University, and
Pepperdine University ranked first, second, and third in this category.
Specialty programs are ranked by a survey of faculty members who teach
in the field at 174 accredited law schools.
Search is On for New Dean
Dean Paul Verkuil announced that he will step
down as dean in December 2000, although he will continue as a member of
the faculty. A search committee composed of members of the board, faculty,
and student body under the leadership of Yeshiva University Vice President
Morton Lowengrub was appointed to find his successor. According to YU President
Norman Lamm, "We have all been fortunate to have Dean Verkuil at the helm
of the Law School. His experience, sagacity, and clear vision have kept
us on a course of success."
Heyman Lectures Provide Range of Lessons
At the two Heyman Center lectures this spring,
attendees received a primer in the operation of a private equity company
and were warned not to expect too much from boards of directors when it
comes to "managing" the corporation.
Cardozo Board Member Thomas H. Lee, who is
not a lawyer, said that "the next five years look very good" for the Thomas
H. Lee Company, which is one of about 500
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private firms that have marshalled
several hundred billion dollars of investment in the last 20 years. These
firms function as a "kind of private stock market." Mr. Lee's company specializes
in financing "high-quality" companies. Of the 1,000 deals the firm sees
each year, 700 are not a good fit. Of the remainder, it may acquire an
equity stake in 50. Today's deals, unlike those highly leveraged ones popular
during the heyday of junk bonds, usually have a debt-to-equity ratio of
two or three to one. The Thomas H. Lee Company then holds its equity stake
for an average of three and a half years, contributing analytical skills,
the ability to forecast the future, and an understanding of management
capabilities. Although it receives a fee, most of the company's profit
comes on "the back end," when the company is sold.
Attorney Robert E. Denham, partner, Munger,
Tolles & Olson, discussed what directors contribute to public companies,
a hot topic among those who are concerned with the reform of corporate
governance. Textbooks often describe the board as "running the corporation."
Denham described that as a "very curious" statement. According to him,
directors are important because they pick a company's CEO and decide how
he or she should be compensated. Once the CEO is in place, however, the
board's role is limited by the fact that the CEO has readier access to
crucial information. Some directors become close to the CEO and "boards
hate to tell the CEO no," Denham said. He suggested that boards can, however,
play a larger role in setting and enforcing expectations for ethics and
compliance. He observed that directors of e-commerce and other "new model"
firms seem more involved in operations. "This is akin to the way boards
functioned in earlier times."
Dean Appoints Sterk Senior Associate Dean
Stewart Sterk has been on the faculty since
1979. He has known every dean in the history of Cardozo, sat on most committees - including
the current dean search committee - and will now take his first administrative
position as senior associate dean. "I don't think there is a prescribed
job description," said Professor Sterk. "I will do whatever the Dean wants
me to do and then whatever else needs to be done." Sterk, the H. Bert and
Ruth Mack Professor of Real Estate Law, is editor of the New York Real
Estate Reporter and writes and teaches in the areas of property, conflict
of laws, trusts and estates, and copyright.
According to Dean Paul Verkuil, "Having Stew
Sterk in this critical position will be a great benefit to the entire law
school community. He is respected by his colleagues as a scholar, by the
students as an excellent teacher, and as a leader by the administration."
Prof. Michael Herz, who has been in the position for four years, will step
down in August.
When Professor Sterk moves to the dean's office,
at the top of the list of things he hopes to accomplish will be to build
a better relationship between the administration and the students. He explains,
"I want to help create a cooperative environment so that the students have
a more positive experience while they are at Cardozo." He indicated that
this will mean creating more opportunities for social interaction between
the administration and the students and building an accessible staff that
is prepared to meet students' legitimate needs. In describing the management
style that is going to help achieve this objective, Professor Sterk said,
"I want to make people feel a part of the decisions and the programs. It
may take longer in the beginning, but it will pay off in the end as staff,
faculty, and students come together as a community."
Professor Sterk has agreed to serve for one
year, believing it appropriate for the new dean to choose his or her own
associate dean. In terms of
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the dean search, Professor Sterk said, "It
is impossible to find every quality that you would want in one person.
However, the most important thing is to find someone with strong academic
and leadership credentials." Second, he feels that a candidate should show
the ability to market Cardozo's strengths in the law school, legal, and
donor communities so as to both help students looking for jobs and benefit
the law school in the long term. "What we really need is an impresario
who can take everything that is wonderful about Cardozo and put it into
a terrific package for the world to see."
Art Wars Generals and Infantry Attend Conference
(From
left) Professor Rudenstine, Prof. John Henry Merryman, and sculptor Richard
Serra
In his opening remarks, New York City's Commissioner of Cultural Affairs
Schuyler Chapin took literally the title of the conference, "Reports From
the Front Lines of the Art and Cultural Property Wars," and gave the audience
of more than 150 artists, museum directors, gallery dealers, and lawyers
a behind-the-scenes look at the "Brooklyn Museum fracas," when Mayor Rudolph
Giuliani halted city funding of the century-old institution. Commissioner
Chapin gave a simple reason for the six-month ordeal that the city, the
Museum, and the art world lived through: The Mayor "lost his temper." A
simple explanation for a complicated issue that ended with a federal judge
upholding the museum's First Amendment rights. "The battle of the Brooklyn
Museum is over, but the war has not been won. We are a very nervous nation
when it comes to public support of the arts," he continued, making it clear
that he feels that support of the arts is "one of our major responsibilities
as a city and a nation."
But public support of the arts was not the
day's major topic. It was, in fact, a celebration of Prof. John Henry Merryman's
contributions to art and cultural property law. The esteemed Stanford University
law professor is widely credited with being the seminal figure in this
area of the law, having developed the first course (1972) and its accompanying
text (1979). In his keynote speech, Professor Merryman explained that with
regard to the export of cultural property and artifacts, two competing
forces are at work: the international commitment to free trade and the
commitment to fundamental human rights. If, he posited, one has the right
to travel, does one also have the right to take along one's goods?
His attendance at all of the sessions provided weight and import to the
day's proceedings.
The internationally acclaimed sculptor Richard
Serra spoke about Tilted Arc, a site-specific commissioned public
sculpture that was removed in 1989 from in front of the Federal Building
for which it was designed, after a long and contentious legal battle that
played out in the press and that Mr. Serra qualified as "akin to book burning."
The artist is now working to have moral rights legislation passed that
would make the destruction of an art work a crime.
Commissioner
Schuyler Chapin
Prof. Marci Hamilton, who represented the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
against the City of New York in the Brooklyn Museum case, said at the panel
on Suppression and Liberty that "censorship of art is the mark of tyranny."
However, she added, "strings of accountability come with government funding"
and the government should forswear control only when public funding is
eliminated. Prof. Jane Ginsburg of Columbia discussed the
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perplexing issue
of moral rights in a digital age, when legislation gives authors the right
to be credited and preserves the integrity of their work while the Internet
presents many opportunities for copying, distorting, and controlling original
work. Citing the Tilted Arc case, Justin Hughes, adjunct professor,
indicated that the argument was really about the sculpture's context, and
he asked whether the artist has a right to control the framework or the
context in which a piece is seen as well as the art work itself. This,
according to Hughes, is an untenable position, since "art is becoming less
and less context dependent" and the Internet is contributing to the decontextualization.
In a panel on repatriation of cultural artifacts,
Nancy Wilkie, president of the Archaeological Institute of America, declared
"the looting must end!" James Cuno, director of the Harvard University
Art Museums, said it was the museum's responsibility to perform due diligence
regarding any art work that is being considered for acquisition. He also
made a distinction between cultural property and cultural patrimony - those
artifacts that belong to a country's collective identity. Prof. David Rudenstine
moderated the panel and presented his recent research on the Elgin Marbles,
putting in question the validity of England's legal right to have taken
and kept the marbles that Lord Elgin removed from the Parthenon, perhaps
without permission.
The final discussion, moderated by Daniel
Shapiro, adjunct professor, looked to the future and how the Internet and
computers may change the landscape for museums and artists alike. Museum
directors Michael Govan of the Dia Center for the Arts, Kenneth Hamma of
the J. Paul Getty Museum, and Stephen Weil of the Smithsonian Institution
enlightened the audience on such topics as the cloning of objects, the
role of computers in searching for stolen works of art, and art made for
the Internet. The conference was funded by the Jacob Burns Institute for
Advanced Legal Studies, The J. Paul Getty Trust, The Samuel H. Kress Foundation,
The Reed Foundation, Inc., and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual
Arts.
Students Honor Ambassador Holbrooke
(From
right) Tiiu Gennert í00 and Leila M. Zubi í00 present Ambassador Richard
Holbrooke with the International Advocate for Peace Award.
Ambassadors from Japan, Chile, Brazil, Israel, Portugal, Egypt, and Hungary,
consul generals, the media, students, and faculty packed the Jacob Burns
Moot Court Room to present Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, US permanent
representative to the UN, with the inaugural International Advocate for
Peace Award.
Students from the Cardozo Online Journal
of Conflict Resolution and the International Law Students Association
collaborated to create the annual award to recognize and encourage the
efforts of those in the international dispute resolution community. Ambassador
Holbrooke was selected for his work promoting humanitarian conditions and
peaceful resolution to armed conflict, especially for his mediation in
Kosovo. The event was co-sponsored by Cardozo's Center for Professional
Development and the New York State Bar Association.
Ambassador Holbrooke used the occasion to
make a policy statement regarding internally displaced persons, or internal
refugees. He explained that the plight of refugees is a subject with which
he is familiar. His mother, who attended the ceremony, fled Nazi Germany,
his father's family fled Bolshevik Russia, and his wife and her family
are refugees from Hungary. In addition, his work as a foreign service of
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ficer
in Vietnam and as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs under President Carter introduced him to the full dimensions of
the refugee issue. He has also served on the board of the International
Rescue Committee and as chairman of Refugees International.
His speech was a call to action to recognize
and develop a system for aiding those who are refugees within their own
borders. He noted that the international community officially recognizes
as refugees those who cross national borders, which makes them eligible
for assistance from the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and other
organizations.
Internal refugees - more than 21 million - suffer
the same degrading and unsafe conditions as international refugees, yet
are virtually ignored. He proposed that the international community officially
recognize these people as refugees and that the UN appoint the UNHCR as
the lead agency to coordinate relief and protection for these victims.
Intensive Trial Advocacy Program Rewards Students
Each year over 100 students and more than
200 visiting faculty participate in Cardozo's Intensive Trial Advocacy
Program (ITAP). Students learn how to do opening statements, cross-examinations,
closing arguments and all phases of criminal and civil trials. The visiting
faculty give demonstrations and student critiques (above) from which the
students learn effective techniques and have the opportunity to view different
courtroom styles. At the end of two weeks, students prepare and present
bench and jury trials before a practicing judge. Typically, students say
that ITAP is one of the most intense and rewarding law school experiences.
Artifical Intelligence and Judicial Proof Panel
At "Artifical Intelligence and Judicial Proof," an international group
of panelists explored the nature and mission of artificial intelligence
and its contributions to the study and practice of forensic investigation
and proof. Participants included (from left) Kola Abimbola, research fellow,
Amherst College; Prof. Paolo Garbolino, Scuola Normale Superiore; Paul
Snow, statistical consultant; Prof. Marianne Belis, École Central
d'Électronique; Prof. David Schum, George Mason University; and
Prof. Marilyn MacCrimmon, University of British Columbia. Other panelists
were Prof. Ward Edwards, University of Southern California; Prof. Ronald
Howard, Stanford University; Prof. Kathryn Laskey, George Mason University;
Tod Levitt, president, Information Extraction & Transport, Inc.; Prof.
David Poole, University of British Columbia; Prof. Glenn Shafer, Rutgers
University; Prof. Vern Walker, Hofstra University School of Law; and Cardozo
Professors Melanie Leslie and Peter Tillers. The event was co-sponored
by the Cardozo Law Review and the Jacob Burns Institute for Advanced Legal
Studies.
Cardozo Establishes Holocaust Claims Restitution Clinic
John Marth '00 Named Skadden Fellow
For the first time, a Cardozo student was awarded the highly competitive
Skadden Fellowship. John Marth '00 was selected from a pool of hundreds
of applicants to participate in a two-year program doing public interest
legal work. The Skadden Fellowship Foundation pays recipients $37,500 per
year, provides benefits, and makes law school loan payments for the duration
of the fellowship. John, who intends to pursue a public interest law career,
said, "I believe that I can do something significant to relieve suffering,
to prevent injustice, and, if not to win the battle, then at least to help
even the odds for those who have come out on the losing end far too long."
The Skadden Fellowship was started in 1989
by the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Each year 25
recipients, who come from the nation's most selective law schools, are
chosen for their academic records and commitment to public interest work.
A foundation advisory committee of partners, Susan B. Plum, director of
the Skadden Fellowship Program, and the Board of Trustees oversee the selection
process. Ms. Plum remarked, "We were impressed with John's extensive history
of public interest work, the fact that he lives in the community he will
serve, and his drive to set up a full-time legal clinic in the soup kitchen
that he helped found and is a board member of - he is taking his involvement
to another level. John is a paradigm of the Skadden Fellow. Quite frankly,
we were dazzled by him."
In September, John will establish a full-time
legal clinic under the sponsorship of the Urban Justice Center (UJC), an
organization offering free legal services to poor people. Specifically,
he will provide direct representation of low-income residents in Bronx
Housing Court, help clients who have exhausted their welfare administrative
appeals, and educate people about welfare and housing rights, providing
skills for self-empowerment. Dean Verkuil said, "John's commitment to justice
brings distinction not only to him, but to the Law School as well. We hope
many students will be inspired by his example."
Public interest work has played an important
role in John's life. He volunteered in a shelter for homeless women, helped
refugees in El Salvador rebuild their community, was a caseworker in a
shelter for elderly homeless in NYC, interned at the UJC, and for many
years helped a small soup kitchen, Part of the Solution, grow into a well-established,
multiservice organization. John was a Mack Scholar and participated in
the Bet Tzedek Legal Services Clinic. He stressed the supportive rol
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es
of Professors Paris Baldacci, Toby Golick, and Leslie Salzman. "They helped
me gain the legal expertise I needed to undertake this project."
Moot Court Wins Top Honors
The Moot Court Honor Society had a memorable
year, winning top honors in two major competitions. Aglaia Davis '01 and
Seth Kaufman '00 were the winning team at the Widener University School
of Law Competition in March. The team of Alan Gotthelf '01 and Sonny Chehl
won the AIPLA Northeast Regional Competition; they also won best appellee's
brief. At the Fordham Securities Law Competition, Erin Naftali '00 won
best oralist in the preliminary rounds, and the teams of Christophe diFalco
'01 and Joshua Reitzas '01 and Pamela Cheong '01 and Erin Naftali '00 advanced
to the quarterfinals. At the Nassau Constitutional Law Competition, Jennifer
Loyd '01 and Lisa Tuntigian '01 won both best brief and second place. At
the Wisconsin Constitutional Law Competition, Pete McHugh '01 and Jason
Halper '01 advanced to the quarterfinals.
SBA Auction Raises $47,000 for Public Interest
Stipends
At the 8th Annual Goods and Services Auction,
Cardozo raised $47,000 for public interest stipends, which allow students
to take public interest summer internships that pay no salary. Live and
silent auction items brought in more than $22,000, and Melvin I. Weiss,
parent of alumnus Stephen Weiss '90, gave $25,000, the largest single gift
ever given to the auction. Guest auctioneer Ricky Kleiman (above), Court
TV commentator, kept the bidding fast and energetic. Auction items included
meals with faculty members, tickets to sporting events and theater performances,
and bottles of vintage wine. A winning bid of $1,200 - the highest of the
evening - was made by six students for dinner with Prof. Stewart Sterk.
Cardozo/BMI Moot Court Competition
Judy Saffer, assistant general counsel, BMI (center), is shown here with
members of the Moot Court Honor Society: (from left) Jisoo Lee '01; Deborah
Rubino '00; Jennifer Davis '00; Danielle Attias '00; Sarah Opatut '00;
Arti Tandon '00; Jody Sharp '01; Nancy Abdelrahman '01; Michael Hoffman
'00; and Jaimie Rothman '00. The Honor Society organizes the annual Cardozo/BMI
Entertainment and Communications Law Moot Court Competition. More than
20 teams from law schools around the country compete each year. BMI is
dedicated to the protection of the rights of writers, composers, and publishers
of music.
BALLSA Completes Active Year
Dr.
Lenora Fulani (back row center), former US Independent Party vice presidential
candidate, is shown with students (from left, back row) Marcus Ferguson
'01; Khalilah Taylor '01; Vivian Walton '01; Ryan
Sharpe '00. (Front row) Tamecca Greene '02; Marian Schand
'00, BLSA president; Tracey Cosby '00
The Black, Asian, and Latino Law Students Association (BALLSA) played a
significant role in enhancing campus life this semester. Students invited
prominent political figures to campus, organized panels and art shows,
and hosted several parties. BALLSA and the Law & Politics Society hosted
civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton; the pastor of Riverside Church, Reverend
James Forbes, Jr.; NYCLU executive director Norman Siegel; and attorney
Colin Moore at "The Aftermath of Diallo: The Case for Federal Intervention
and Comprehensive Police Reform." The panel was a call to action to end
racial profiling by the police department and to propose policy and legislation
f
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or police reform.
Earlier in the semester, former vice-presidential candidate Lenora Fulani
spoke about "Ending Minority Politics as a Key to Black Political Power."
The event was televised by C-Span. Judges L. Priscilla Hall, New York State
Supreme Court, and Charles Tejada, New York State Court of Claims; Etta
Ibok '93, attorney in employment law; Maria Celis '99, associate, Neville,
Peterson & Williams; Vivian Lee Brady, associate, Kramer Levin Naftalis
& Frankel; Nouko Kumada-Lawrence, associate, Proskauer Rose; and Prof.
Terry Smith, Fordham Law School were panelists at "Race in the Legal Profession."
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| Norman Siegal, Esq. | Rev. Al Sharpton | Rev. James Forbes, Jr. | Paul Wong í00, APALSA president, welcoming students to art opening |
Y2K Law Revue Show Provides Comic Relief
Joshua Greenberg '00 (left), Andrew Berkowitz '00, and Joshua Fine '00
(seated) were among the stars in the Y2K Law Revue Show, "I'm Here to Be
a Millionaire," which featured comedic performances by students, faculty,
and the dean.
Squadron Symposium Explores Key Issues of
the Internet
Practitioners and academics addressed issues
of privacy, online anonymity, e-commerce, and communications policy at
the symposium "Legal and Social Implications of Trusted Systems and Hardware
Identifiers." Speakers included Lorrie Cranor, Information Systems and
Services Research Laboratory, AT&T Labs - Research, and chair, "Computers,
Freedom, and Privacy 2000" Conference; Donald Hawthorne, associate, Paul
Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Cardozo adjunct professor; Scott
Kurnit, founder and CEO, About.com, Inc.; and Jonathan Weinberg, Squadron
Scholar-in-Residence, and professor of law, Wayne State University School
of Law. The symposium was cosponsored by the Howard M. Squadron Program
in Law, Media and Society; the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law
Journal; Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy at Oxford University;
and Young Lawyers Committee of the Intellectual Property Law Section, New
York State Bar.
Cardozo Team Wins at ABA Advocacy in Mediation Competition
Peggy Sweeney '01 and Ryon Fleming '01 shown here with Judge Paula Pace,
a NY-area mediator and trainer, were one of the two winning teams at the
2000 ABA Advocacy in Mediation Competition, beating Columbia, CUNY, Fordham,
and NYU.
Employment Stats are Good for Class of '99;
Salaries Up
With only seven alums not reporting, 97.4%
of the Class of '99 is employed at an average salary of $74,141. This is
a significant increase over the preceding year and does not include recent
salary "bump-ups" at larger firms. Jacquelyn Burt, assistant dean, Center
for Professional Development, noted, "The high cooperation from our alums
is significant and validates our statistics." Of particular interest to
note from this year's data survey is an improved "at/before" graduation
rate of 75.3% and that the Class of '99 employment pattern reflects the
nationwide trend showing a decrease in private practice and an increase
in business and government jobs. Of those graduates reporting employment
in private practice (55%), 51% are in firms of 51 or more attorneys.
Noahide Code Panel Packed
More than 300 guests attended "Application of the Noahide Code to Contemporary
Social Problems." The big crowd reflected the resurgent interest in this
ancient set of basic legal and moral principles among the clergy, academics,
and, most notably, the wider public. The symposium was sponsored by Cardozo's
Leonard and Bea Diener Institute of Jewish Law and the Tree of Life Society.
Panelists included (from left) Rabbi Alter Metzger, Rabbi Israel Chait,
Rabbi Michael Katz, and Dr. Aaron Lichenstein. Rabbi Yoel Schwartz, Nakum
Rakover, and Cardozo Professor Rabbi J. David Bleich also participated.
Morris B. Abram: In Memoriam
Morris B. Abram was an American original. About 30 years ago I worked with
Morris at Paul, Weiss, Goldberg, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison. He was
a terrific mentor - never ruffled, open to suggestions, and always eager
to talk about the issues of the day: Vietnam and civil rights, of course,
dominated the "classroom." As a litigator, Morris never overprepared. I
vividly remember briefing him on a case as we went by taxi to the Appellate
Division, First Department, for oral argument. At first, I thought, he
was testing me (did I know the case?); but I soon realized I was testing
him by preparing his oral argument points. Such moments were anxiety producing,
but, nonetheless, knowing Morris was a memorable experience for a young
lawyer.
When I became dean at Cardozo, Morris was
emeritus on the Board of Directors and living abroad, so I did not get
to see him. When he died on March 16, 2000, I was distressed that we had
not reconnected after so many years.
Morris was the first chair of the Cardozo
Board of Directors, selected by President Samuel Belkin when the law school
was still a gleam in Yeshiva's eye. I am sure Morris was instrumental in
securing Monrad Paulsen as our founding dean. They had been law school
roommates at the University of Chicago in the early '40s, and the two of
them were great buddies. I can only imagine the cajoling that went on between
them to get Monrad here from the University of Virginia. Morris had a remarkable
academic record. He was the first Rhodes Scholar from the University of
Georgia, class of 1938, and went to Oxford in 1947, just after the war
ended. Despite his then-controversial civil rights activities, he was a
revered alumnus of Georgia even as he later became a citizen of the world.
The many highlights of his
5ba
career include
serving as a prosecutor in the Nuremberg trial, as UN Ambassador for Human
Rights, and as the first general counsel of the Peace Corps. What a rich
and varied career these posts evoke. He serves as the very model of a committed
and productive lawyer, the kind we aspire to produce at Cardozo.
Let me close by quoting from the citation
that accompanied the honorary doctor of laws degree given to him at Yeshiva
University's commencement on April 11, 1976, the year Cardozo opened its
doors: "As a distinguished attorney and lifelong champion of causes
for the underprivileged, your dedication and integrity have greatly enhanced
the dignity of the practice of law."
Amen. - Paul R. Verkuil, Dean
(From
left) Cardozo's first dean, Monrad Paulsen, Dr. Norman Lamm, John
Trubin, Herbert Tenzer, Morris Abram, and Charles Bassine
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