This academic year has been a rich one for the University of Pennsylvania Law School. In September we welcomed three new faculty and a total of 319 new J.D. and LL.M. students to the Law School. New courses debuted such as “Biotechnology and the Law” and “The Law of Electronic Commerce.” Internationally known scholars and practitioners visited the school throughout this year to deliver timely and insightful lectures.

As the song goes, “everything old is new again” - because of the generosity of Henry Silverman L’64, who funded the renovations of the original Law School Building, named Lewis Hall in 1970, and Silverman Hall in 1998, our historic home is restored to its shining glory. Through the generosity of Karen and Paul S. Levy L’72, Sharswood Hall and the second floor of Silverman have been transformed into the Levy Conference Center. We are proud to showcase our rejuvenated Law School campus in this special year in our history.

Amidst what’s new, we pay homage to that which is older. The gala celebration of the Law School’s Sesquicentennial anniversary in November was a feast for the senses. Many of you, almost 2,000, returned to the Law School to witness the building renovations for yourself and to mill among the Law School community to reminisce and revel in your memories of Penn Law. As far as we can tell, there were more Penn Law alumni here than had ever come to a single event in the history of the Law School. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor honored the Law School by delivering a moving speech in which she paid tribute to the University of Pennsylvania’s contributions to the development of legal education in our country.

As I complete my first academic year as Dean of this wonderful institution, I can report that our future is a promising one indeed. In these pages you will learn about alumni who are entrepreneurial and committed to the profession. Lisa Scottoline L’81 used her Penn legal education to become a best-selling author of legal thrillers. Rebecca Lieberman L’97 has taken the experiences she gained on the road with the presidential campaign to lead The Democracy Compact. And David Richman L’69 has completed an almost two-decade long pro bono commitment that resulted in improvements in Philadelphia’s prison system.

As the warmer months roll out before us, sit back and take a moment to enjoy this issue of the Penn Law Journal. There’s a lot in these pages that will give you pride in the faculty, students, alumni and future direction of your law school.

- Michael A. Fitts, Dean