September 2009 Archives
The seventh annual International Right to Know Day will be commemorated worldwide and celebrated with an awards ceremony in Bulgaria on Sept. 28. The annual promotion of open, transparent government and individuals’ right of access to information grew out of a meeting of freedom of information advocates who gathered in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sept. 28, 2002. Three members of the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania Law School have focused much of their recent scholarship on this issue: In a just-published paper in the journal Governance and in a recent op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Cary Coglianeseargues that President Obama’s rhetoric on transparency has raised unrealistic expectations. “As the chairman of an independent presidential transition task force that issued more than 25 recommendations to improve governmental transparency last summer, I share Americans' ideals of open government,” he writes. “But too much fishbowl-style transparency can dampen internal deliberations and official self-criticism…. Good government actually requires certain limits on transparency.” Coglianese, a political scientist, is a deputy dean for academic affairs and the Edward B. Shils Professor at Penn Law, and he is director of Penn’s Program on Regulation In papers published by the law reviews at the University of Pennsylvania and Lewis and Clark, Seth Kreimerpoints out that “the body of the Constitution provides no right to public information. What the Constitutional text omits, the last generation has embedded as a part of modern constitutional practice in the Freedom of Information Act.” Kreimer analyzes and applauds FOIA’s effectiveness at checking the functions of other institutions, even when “the tripartite constitutional structure which is said to guard against executive usurpation remained largely quiescent.” Kreimer is the Kenneth W. Gemmill Professor at Penn Law and is chair of the Legal Committee in the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. In an Election Law Journal review of the book Full Disclosure: The Perils and Promise of Transparency, Michael A. Fitts points to the important role that transparency – or its absence – plays in the failure of regulatory systems to avoid crises such as the current economic recession. “Blunt instruments such as the Freedom of Information Act allow private actors to force certain types of disclosure, but do not pretend to prioritize the types of information or organize its dissemination,” Fitts writes. “Mere availability of information does not mean consumers will use it effectively.” Fitts is dean and the Bernard G. Segal Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
While more states move to legalize same-sex marriage, California has instead eliminated this right with the passage of Proposition 8. Penn Law Professor Tobias Barrington Wolff and civil rights attorney Eva Jefferson Paterson discuss the uncertain future of marriage equality in California during a program at UCLA's Hammer Museum. (Watch video. Run time 1:49.) Wolff served as co-chair of President Obama's LGBT advisory committee during the 2008 presidential campaign. He writes and teaches civil procedure and constitutional law. Paterson is the president and founder of the Equal Justice Society and former executive director at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.
Penn Law staff members (from left, below) Silvana Burgese (back to camera), Nathan Hicks and Nancy Porcellini – co-winners of a contest to name the Law School’s new café -- cut the ribbon to open The Sidebar as proprietor Cassandra Somerville applauds (at right). Dean Michael A. Fitts (in bottom photo) makes the first purchase at The Sidebar: a coffee with lots of cream and sugar.
Now more than ever, prospective employers want to know that our students are engaged, energetic, enthusiastic and efficient – and have the professional skills necessary to hit the ground running. This fall, we are launching new programming through our Center on Professionalism that will help students develop their skills in five key areas: communication; lawyering skills; organization and management dynamics; self-development; and strategic planning and problem solving. As part of this effort, all first-year students will work in their cohorts to learn the skills of legal research and writing and to understand more deeply and develop professional skills. Each cohort works with faculty and staff liaisons with whom they will meet as a group, and we are launching a special intranet site that will allow students to track their own professional-skills development throughout their Law School careers. On Monday, Sept. 21, we held a Professionalism Day for 1Ls that included an alumni networking lunch, meetings with the cohorts and their liaisons and a discussion of how students can embrace their legal education in ways that build upon their professional skills.
Six University of Pennsylvania Law School graduates – including a justice on the Delaware Supreme Court, one of the country’s preeminent trial attorneys and a leading investor – are being honored for their career achievements, pro bono work, service to the legal profession and service to the Law School.
They are:
- Robert S. Blank L’65, a senior partner with the investment partnership Whitcom Partners.
- Randy J. Holland L’72, a justice on the Delaware Supreme Court.
- David Richman L’69, a partner with Pepper Hamilton.
- Richard Sprague L’53, a dominant presence in Philadelphia courts for decades.
- Leba Tolpin L’06, an attorney representing at-risk youth in Delaware.
- Stella Ming Tsai L’88, a partner with Archer & Greiner.
“These honorees have made – and continue to make – enduring contributions to the law, to the welfare of their clients and to the future of the law school that was a springboard to their success,” said Penn Law Dean Michael A. Fitts. “Each of them epitomizes the importance of being dedicated to something larger than one’s self, to helping create opportunities for others.”
The awards will be presented during an Oct. 7 ceremony and reception celebration at Penn Law.
The James Wilson Award, honoring service to the legal profession and named for the signer of the Declaration of Independence who was the first lecturer in law at Penn, will be awarded to Delaware Supreme Court Justice Randy J. Holland. Holland was the youngest person to serve on the Delaware Supreme Court when he was named to the bench in 1986. Prior to joining the court, where he is now serving a second 12-year term, Holland was a partner at Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell.
Holland, former national president of the American Inns of Court Foundation, has been an active leader in the areas of ethics and professional responsibility. He chaired a national advisory committee to the American Judicature Society’s Center for Judicial Ethics and the American Bar Association’s National Joint Committee on Lawyer Regulation. He has served on the ABA Presidential Commission on Fair and Impartial Courts, the Appellate Judges Conference’s Executive Committee, the Standing Committee on Client Protection and the Judicial Division’s Ethics and Professionalism Committee. U.S. Chief Justices Rehnquist and Roberts appointed Holland as the State Judge Member of the Federal Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules. Holland is author or editor of several books: Middle Temple Lawyers and the American Revolution; The Delaware Constitution: A Reference Guide; Delaware Supreme Court: Golden Anniversary; The Delaware Constitution of 1897 – The First One Hundred Years; and Appellate Practice and Procedure.
The Distinguished Service Award honoring service to Penn Law will be awarded to Robert S. Blank, senior partner of Whitcom Partners and co-chair and co-CEO of its affiliate, Whitney Communications Co. The firms make investments in public and non-public companies and have operated large-market FM radio stations and network-affiliated television stations, cable television systems, trade magazines, newspapers and other publications. Blank began his law career as an assistant U.S. attorney in Washington, DC, and later worked in mergers and acquisitions at Goldman, Sachs. He joined Whitcom in 1971. Blank is a director of Toll Brothers Inc., a member of Penn’s Board of Trustees, a member of the Penn Medicine Board, an overseer of both The Wharton School and Penn Law, and he serves on the board of managers of The Wistar Institute.
The Alumni Award of Merit, recognizing professional achievement and service to the Law School, will be presented to Richard A. Spragueand Stella Ming Tsai.
Sprague is principal with the firm of Sprague & Sprague, where he has represented a variety of high-profile figures, including basketball star Allen Iverson and radio personality Howard Eskin. In 2000, Sprague was listed in Philadelphia magazine’s Power 100 as the 25th most powerful person in Philadelphia. He has served as special prosecutor for the Allegheny County District Attorney since 1999 and as special prosecutor for the Philadelphia County District Attorney since 2000. Sprague was chief counsel and director of the House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations, investigating the murders of President John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Sprague’s 50-year career has also included leading roles in a test of the insanity defense and in prosecuting United Mine Workers president Tony Boyle for the murder of Joseph “Jock” Yablonski.
Tsai, a partner with Archer & Greiner, focuses her practice on corporate governance and governmental affairs, and she has extensive commercial litigation experience, including trial work. She has served as one of the city of Philadelphia’s top lawyers, managing the 45 attorneys of the Health and Human Services Unit. She also supervised attorneys who represented the city in civil rights and labor relations matters in state and federal courts and before local, state and federal labor boards and commissions. During her tenure at the Law Department, Ms. Tsai made substantial contributions to the system-wide implementation of court reforms designed to achieve the safety, permanency and well-being of at-risk children and youth in Philadelphia. She subsequently served as an inaugural member of Philadelphia’s Board of Ethics and helped rewrite the city’s complex and outdated zoning code to help facilitate sustainable growth. She is a former president of Penn’s Law Alumni Society.
The Young Alumni Award, honoring professional achievement of a student who graduated within the past 10 years, will be presented to Leba Tolpin. Since September 2006, Tolpin has served as a staff attorney and the Steven J. Rothschild Skadden Fellow at the Disabilities Law Program at Community Legal Aid Society Inc. in Wilmington, Delaware, where she represents at-risk youth. She also advocates within the juvenile justice facilities and the juvenile delinquency system and has represented children in Social Security and Medicaid appeals and in school disciplinary removal hearings. She recently accompanied her husband, a doctor, on a service trip to the Himalayan Mountains, establishing medical clinics in remote villages.
The inaugural Howard Lesnick Pro Bono Award, named for a longtime Penn Law professor and awarded to a graduate who has shown a sustained commitment to public service as part of a private-sector career, will be awarded to David Richman. A partner with Pepper Hamilton and a trial and appellate lawyer, Richman previously served 18 years as a court-appointed counsel to the inmates of the Philadelphia Prison System in a federal class action. He has worked as an Assistant DA for Philadelphia, following service as counsel to an ad hoc committee of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives investigating corruption in the state government. He co-founded the PA Innocence Project in 2008 and is the organization's president.
The University of Pennsylvania Law School is welcoming 255 students as part of its Class of 2012, one of the most academically accomplished, talented and diverse group of students in the Law School’s history. More than 6,230 students applied for admission. Of the 255 who are enrolled, 48 percent are women, 36 percent are students of color and they range in age from 20 to 35. They come to Penn Law from 37 states, the District of Columbia and 101 colleges and universities. Beyond the statistics, the Class of 2012 is filled with incredibly accomplished, talented and dedicated students. For example: - The new students are already committed to the integration of knowledge across disciplines: they hold advanced degrees in education, environmental science, literature and divinity (among others), and they plan to pursue joint degrees in law and bioethics, business administration, international studies, social work and many more fields.
- They have worked for change globally and within local communities as teachers, Peace Corps volunteers and health educators.
- The Class of 2012 includes artistic, clever and uncompromising voices: professional performers, college newspaper editors and a senior writer for President Obama’s transition team.
- They are professional, poised and devoted to shared sacrifice and responsibility: several are commissioned officers in the Army, Navy and Marine Corp.
- And they have followed unpredictable, amusing and inspiring journeys as a former NFL player, a champion baton twirler, and a member of the U.S. National Rowing Team.
  
New students at the University of Pennsylvania Law School spent part of their orientation participating in a neighborhood cleanup around 46th and Market streets in University City. Penn Law's innovative public interest program requires students to integrate pro bono service into their lives as law students. To graduate, students must provide at least 70 hours of public service support to the community, which also provides opportunities for students to challenge themselves in new areas of practice and research.    
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