A Call to the Bold
Law is not unto itself. It is interrelated, intertwined, integrated with the whole of society.Just pick up the newspaper, tune in the news, and that fact becomes clear. The social concerns and institutions that occupy our public life - terrorism, international trade, civil liberties, intellectual property rights, health care reform, corporate governance, affirmative action - all have legal issues at their core. As a result, lawyers find themselves at the very center of decision-making that affects virtually every aspect of our lives.
All around us, we see the old model of common law pushed forward by fast-spinning change, altering the way we work and the work we do. Certainly Penn Law and its graduates are experiencing this first-hand.
Today, Penn Law graduates work not only as attorneys, but also as policy-makers, deal-makers, corporate executives and entrepreneurs.They head multinational companies and health care institutions, advise government officials and forge market-changing mergers.
They manifest a fact of 21st century life: legal analysis is increasingly the framework by which society navigates its most fundamental problems. And lawyers, properly educated, are uniquely geared to chart our course.
As we prepare our students to lead in so many arenas, so, too, must the Law School advance the research that will support new ways of thinking.
