Our News & Stories: October 2009 Archives

Penn Law Alumnus Wins Writing Competition

Michael O’Connor, a 2009 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, is the winner of the Alliance Defense Fund’s William Pew Religious Freedom Scholarship Competition for 2008-2009.

O’Connor will receive a $2,500 award for his entry, Legitimate Defense of Civil Rights or Raw Congressional Power Grab? The Constitutionality of the Freedom of Choice Act.

O’Connor argues in his paper that the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) – legislation that proponents say would codify Roe v. Wade but which O’Connor believes would reach further – is a questionable exercise of Congress’ power under the Commerce Clause and an improper exercise of Congress’ power under Section Five of the Fourteenth Amendment.

“Issues surrounding FOCA spoke to my interests in states’ rights and the Constitution,” O’Connor explains. “Plus, I could really sink my teeth into the issues because they are so undecided.”

O’Connor became interested in FOCA as a result of taking Professor Kermit Roosevelt’s Constitutional Law course – which he describes as “one of the most enlightening classes I’ve ever had” – and serving as articles editor for the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law. O’Connor also credits Professor Stephen Burbank, for whom he served as a research assistant throughout his time at Penn Law, for inspiring his “curiosity about complicated issues and cases with lots of moving parts.”

As a student, O’Connor served as vice president of Penn Law’s Federalist Society chapter and helped prepare Penn Law’s successful bid to host the Federalist Society’s National Student Symposium for 2010. O’Connor points out that Penn Law also hosted a national symposium for the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) in the previous year.

“The Federalist Society and ACS are opposing groups on issues related to Constitutional law. The fact that Penn Law hosted their symposia in consecutive years really demonstrates the school’s openness to dialogue across the ideological spectrum,” he says.

Since graduating in May, O’Connor has taken (and passed) the Pennsylvania bar exam and volunteered for Penn Law’s Supreme Court Clinic. He starts at White & Case in Washington D.C. this month, where he plans to practice international litigation.

Published October 29, 2009 11:15 AM

Professor Yoo Speaks on Technology Policy

Penn Law Professor Christopher Yoo, co-director of the Center for Technology, Innovation and Competition, is speaking at two events in Washington, DC, on technology policy.

On Wednesday, Oct. 28, he is speaking at a briefing for Capitol Hill staff on “Net Neutrality: Understanding the FCC's Proposed Rule Making,” sponsored by the Congressional Internet Caucus. See: http://www.netcaucus.org/.

On Thursday, Oct. 29, he is speaking at the technology policy forum on “New Media, New Networks: The Evolution of Content on the Internet” co-sponsored by Arts+Labs and GW’s Institute for Politics, Democracy & The Internet. See: http://www.ipdi.org/Calendar/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=25406

Published October 28, 2009 1:52 PM

Penn Law Awards Cohen Public Interest Fellowship

The University of Pennsylvania Law School has awarded its Cohen Public Interest Fellowship for 2009-2010 to Victoria Messina L’05. The fellowship will support Messina’s work at Penn’s Toll Public Interest Center, where she will develop and supervise student-run pro bono projects.

“As our Cohen Fellow, Tory will help ensure that students don’t just do pro bono work, but also step back to reflect on their experiences,” explains Arlene Rivera Finkelstein, assistant dean and executive director of public interest at Penn Law. “We want to make sure that students embrace the educational value of their pro bono experience.”

Penn Law requires students to complete at least 70 hours of pro bono work to graduate as one way of instilling an ethic of professional responsibility and providing students with hands-on opportunities for professional development. Finkelstein compares leading a pro bono project to running a “mini non-profit,” because students must learn to budget, plan strategically and train and supervise staff – all while focusing on what’s best for their clients. “Being a student leader imparts a valuable skill-set, no matter what the individual’s career trajectory,” she says.

Most pro bono hours are spent working in placements arranged by the Law School. But a proliferation of student-led pro bono projects – there are now 16 – resulted in the need for a practicing attorney to mentor the student-leaders and guide the projects. The projects range from environmental law to international human rights, and from broad-based policy development to direct representation of indigent clients.

“I’m excited to help students have meaningful pro bono experiences,” says Messina. “This is one of the best ways to foster a lifelong commitment to public service work."

Messina’s background demonstrates that students can integrate public service into whatever career paths they choose. After graduating from Penn Law, Messina worked as an associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, where she augmented her private practice with significant pro bono asylum and anti-death penalty advocacy. She subsequently shifted to full-time public interest work as a program coordinator at Pro Bono Net, a non-profit organization that applies technology to increase access to justice for underserved populations.

“Tory’s fluency in the languages and cultures of both private-practice pro bono and public interest law is vital to her role as a Cohen Fellow,” says Finkelstein, noting that Messina will mentor students who plan public interest careers as well as those interested in private practice or non-traditional legal careers. “Tory’s approach to working with students – to offer guidance through expertise, rather than a heavy hand – creates the delicate balance of support and autonomy that our students need to grow professionally.”

Messina says she was hooked on public service during her first year at Penn, when she worked in the school’s Immigration Clinic (now the Immigrant Rights Project), representing an Iraqi refugee who had been placed in deportation proceedings based on an alleged criminal act.

“My client had escaped Saddam Hussein’s regime, only to be imprisoned in the U.S.,” explains Messina. “When we took his case, he literally had nowhere else to turn. Our client was eventually freed and back on the road to citizenship. The experience was both humbling and inspiring.”

Messina also knew from her work before law school – teaching English as a Second Language to adults in the U.S. and teaching in the French public schools – that she found it highly rewarding to develop personal connections and help empower other people. “There’s no greater feeling than helping people achieve their goals,” she says.

As a Cohen Fellow, Messina will have the opportunity to empower a new set of clients – law students. She says she’s been impressed so far by the students, who she describes as “active, thoughtful, and deeply reflective on their pro bono experience.”

The Cohen Public Interest Fellowship is made possible by a gift from David and Rhonda Cohen, who attended Penn Law together in the late 1970s. David is Executive Vice President of Comcast Corporation. Rhonda was formerly a partner at Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll.

Published October 20, 2009 10:47 AM

The Supreme Court Became the Classroom for Penn Law Students

Eight students and their professor were at the Supreme Court Oct. 13, seeing their work in action in a case before the nation’s highest court.

As part of Penn Law School’s new Supreme Court Clinic, the students and Professor Stephanos Bibas helped shape the arguments for a case that tests the limits of the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of effective assistance of counsel for non-citizen criminal defendants. The Supreme Court Clinic integrates clinic work with an academic seminar on how the Court works.

“It is extremely rare to have this opportunity so early in a career,” said student Matt Cushing.

The case, Padilla v. Kentucky, involves Jose Padilla, a legal permanent U.S. resident who lived in the U.S. for 40 years. His attorney told him that although he wasn’t a citizen, he would not be deported if he pleaded guilty to a drug charge. The attorney was wrong.

The students, working with the Supreme Court practice at a Washington law firm, Paul Hastings, researched state laws to see whether there are different laws concerning the ethical obligations of attorneys advising clients on the consequences of a guilty plea on their immigration status.

“They have to take a mass of trial transcripts and exhibits and synthesize it into a compelling statement of facts,” Bibas said. “I'm learning from teaching them, and they're learning by strategizing, researching, writing and rewriting.”

“It is quite exciting to know our work in Padilla, and other cases for the clinic, will play a role in shaping the law in this country,” student Rachel Fendell said.

The students arrived at the Supreme Court at 7 a.m. and waited in line for three hours to get in, but say it was worth the wait to see the magnificence of the courtroom and to see and hear the justices interact with attorney Stephen Kinnaird, a Penn Law lecturer from Paul Hastings, the firm representing Padilla.

“The hardest part was identifying whose voice it was when they were speaking, since I'd never heard the justices’ voices before,” said student Priya Narasimhan.

“It's been a godsend to have Penn Law students assisting in the case. They're engaged and committed and bring intellectual horse power to bear," Kinnaird said.

The opportunity to work on the case and to attend the oral arguments is an invaluable experience.

“It gives a different view and weight to what we're doing academically,” said student Dane Reinstedt. Added Bibas: “They can see how lawyers do things and hear justices thinking out loud. They see some very good lawyers, some not so good lawyers, and that's how they learn.”

Bibas, seated at the counsel’s table with Kinnaird, was back at the Supreme Court for the first time since he clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy. “I never thought I'd be sitting at the table and seeing my old boss in a different perspective and trying to persuade him,” Bibas said.

Published October 13, 2009 1:25 PM

Penn Law Student Receives Gay Leadership Scholarship

Christopher Howland, a third-year student at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, was among five gay men awarded a $4,000 scholarship during a reception sponsored by Bread & Roses Community Fund on Oct. 1.

Bread & Roses’ Jonathan Lax Scholarship Fund was established in 1994 by the late entrepreneur, Jonathan Lax. The purpose of the fund is to encourage gay men—especially community leaders—to obtain higher education.

Howland received his B.A. in English from Hendrix College and a master of arts in English from the University of Arkansas. During his second year at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, he served as co-chair of Lambda Law, an LGBT organization. During Howland's tenure, Lambda was a highly visible presence at the University, including holding a forum on the issue of gay marriage. He also actively serves on the board of directors of Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia as a student representative.

Over the past 15 years, the Jonathan Lax Scholarship Fund has distributed over $600,000 to help make it possible for 129 scholars to attend college or a post-secondary program.

Published October 1, 2009 5:27 PM

Our News & Stories

October 2009 Archives

Penn Law Alumnus Wins Writing Competition

Professor Yoo Speaks on Technology Policy

Penn Law Awards Cohen Public Interest Fellowship

The Supreme Court Became the Classroom for Penn Law Students

Penn Law Student Receives Gay Leadership Scholarship

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