Reflections from the Dean of Northwestern Law
Welcome friends of Northwestern University School of Law. I hope you will enjoy these observations about our Law School, about legal education and the rapidly changing legal profession, and about (on a somewhat lighter note) the adventures of a new transplant to the City of Big Shoulders.
I welcome your feedback: daniel.rodriguez@law.northwestern.edu
Pre-March madness
For college basketball afficionados looking forward to March Madness, I note that Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology on the ESPN site lists Northwestern as one of the last teams to make it into the NCAA Tournament. Dare to dream!
Guest post: Best of 2011 law-related movies
Dana Hill teaches Communication and Legal Reasoning at Northwestern Law. Following a stint writing movie reviews while attending Northwestern Law for Hoops, the student weekly, Dana has been sending out Academy Awards predictions since 2000. Her friends assure her that they enjoying reading them.
With the Academy Awards coming up on Sunday, February 26, it seems appropriate to highlight some of the best recent movies involving lawyers and legal issues. While two movies on this list have received Oscar attention, a few have been overlooked and all are worth checking out.
The Descendants
This Best Picture nominee stars George Clooney as Matt King, an Oahu real estate lawyer, who is also the trustee for the last piece of privately-owned non-developed land on Kauai. As descendants of one of the last members of Hawaii’s royalty, Matt and his extended family are required by the rule against perpetuities to dissolve the estate within the next seven years. As trustee, Matt has the ultimate decision on which developer to sell to. Take note property professors: this story would make a great starting point for an exam question. (Between this film and PBS’ “Downton Abbey”, land transference is having a pop culture moment.)
The land issues are background to the main story. A workaholic, Matt has neglected his wife, an extreme sports enthusiast who suffers a traumatic head injury during a speedboat race. While she’s in a coma, Matt must take charge of his two daughters, a precocious pre-teen and a misbehaving high schooler who has been shipped off to private school. As Alex, the older daughter, Shailene Woodley is nominated for Best Supporting Actress and she carries a lot of the movie. Along with her deeper-than-he-appears boyfriend, Alex helps Matt deal with his wife’s impending death and track down the man his wife was having an affair with prior to her accident.
Director Alexander Payne gets right the details of a lawyer’s lifestyle: Matt works on a legal pad in his wife’s hospital room; his office is stacked with files; he wasn’t around much to spend time with his kids. As in “Michael Clayton”, I bought Clooney as a lawyer – when he stops to think, you actually believe he’s thinking and he’s nearly always a few steps ahead of the other characters.
The Descendants is not the feel-good movie of the year, but is an excellent family drama about smart, decent, yet flawed people with a plot that takes some unexpected turns. The Descendants is playing in theaters. Read more 
Of law clinics and legislatures
Unfortunate situation with law clinic and legislature at U. Maryland. Just as the legislative hassling of the clinic seems to abate, another element of the controversy rears its ugly head.
It is important, IMHO, for all those in the law school world who support clinical education and the good works they do, is to stand in solidarity with our colleagues at Maryland. More generally, legal educators need to do better at communicating why these clinical programs further important public values — even where such clinics get cross ways with individuals and institutions in and around the legislature.
Personal Panini Pledge (triple P)
A law student wrote me earlier today expressing frustration about the fact that the credit/debit machine in Harry’s Cafe is occasionally broken and, when so, students without cash handy are unable to purchase their lunch, coffee, or other snacks. Empathizing with her situation, I quickly extended my personal guarantee to any law student who, stuck at the cash register, wants credit from Harry’s so as to move along with their food in hand. After extending this promise — which I have taken to calling my personal panini pledge — I immediately worried that this might end up costing me some money if students skipped out on the check and didn’t pay Harry’s (or me) back.
So, I am scrambling to ensure that we can fundraise in an amount adequate to support, hopefully with a generous endowment, this “triple P.” Please contact the Development office to arrange your substantial financial gift!
Northwestern in the Southeast
Visiting with alums on both coasts of Florida.
In addition to the obviously lovely attractions of this spot of the world, we have been struck by the energy and vitality of this ever-growing region. NU Law alums practicing in law and business sectors are pleased with both the quality of work and quality of life in this area. They tell me to encourage students to think hard about south Florida when they are exploring professional options.
Also, I have been thinking hard about developing further connections between our law school and Latin America. And Miami is a fruitful launching pad for these connections. Chicago-Miami-Mexico-Brazil . . . the ever-growing NU Law global footprint!!
Summer jobs
Interesting piece on summer job situation for law students. NU Law’s numbers are within the range of the other top schools mentioned.
Civil rights
I have been quite wary of using this blog for comments on an expressly ideological themes. All respect to my friends and colleagues whose blogs are about politics, public policy, even partisan electoral debates. But this blog, which is framed around matters of interest to the Northwestern Law School family, as well as interested friends, has a different purpose.
That said, I will break this rule in this instance because, frankly, I cannot help myself. I am speaking here of the remarkable developments of this past week in recognizing the civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans, first by the decision of U.S. Court of Appeals in California invalidating the voter-approved initiative proscribing same-sex marriage and, second, the passage by the Washington legislature of marriage-equality legislation. Simple justice, wisely executed through key institutions in our political system.
Having worked a small amount on these legal issues, and having spoken in various venues about the twists-and-turns of the same-sex marriage controversies, I cannot hide my enthusiasm about this small steps toward equal justice and anti-discrimination. A happy week.
Law school boring?
maybe so, and in a good way, or so says this poster on Prawfblawg.
(as an administrative law teacher myself, I have only sympathy for the Yale law prof).
Part-time law programs
going the way of the dinosaur? Maybe so, reports NLJ.
Key question at the end is what innovations will emerge out of this movement away from such programs. Self-interest pleading on my part says Northwestern’s accelerated JD is one answer. Other ideas?
