WUCL Honors Pro Bono Award Winners

April 22, 2008

In early April, the College of Law hosted the Sixth Annual Pro Bono Honors Program awards reception to recognize those law students who volunteered their time to pro bono activities and community service projects. For the 2007–08 academic year, Willamette law students volunteered almost 2,000 hours to pro bono causes.

A highlight of the reception was the presentation of the Col. Rupert E. Park Jr. Pro Bono Student of the Year Award, which is given to the third-year student who made the greatest pro bono contribution during law school. The award is named for Col. “Rudy” Park Jr. LLB’47 of Oregon City, Ore. A former JAG Corps officer, Park established an active legal practice in Oregon and contributed a significant amount of time to pro bono activities.

The 2008 Col. Rupert E. Park Jr. Pro Bono Student of the Year Award was presented to Todd Huegli, who amassed an impressive 520 hours of pro bono activities while attending Willamette. Huegli worked at Metropolitan Public Defenders Inc. in Portland and served on the Willamette University Public Interest Law Project (WUPILP) board.

Also recognized during the awards reception were the members of each law class who volunteered the most pro bono hours during the academic year:

• Josh Weissman was named the top volunteer from the Class of 2008 for his work at the Oregon Supreme Court.

• Ruby Herriott, a member of the Class of 2009, volunteered her time to the Sacramento County Public Defender’s Office and Willamette’s Street Law Program.

• Jonathan Strauhal contributed the most volunteer hours from the Class of 2010, working for Street Law, WUPILP, the ACS Civil Rights Film Services, and the Willamette MLK Programming Task Force.

“Most people come to law school because, deep down, they want to help people and they want to make a difference,” said Norma Freitas, assistant director of Career Services. “One of the best ways to experience that sense of helping is to volunteer. Our students have volunteered their time coaching youth sports; mediating neighbor disputes; representing low-income individuals in family law, health and social security benefits matters; and so much more.”

International Human Rights Expert Joins Clinical Law Program

April 07, 2008

The College of Law is pleased to announce that Gwynne Skinner will join the school’s Clinical Law Program as assistant professor of clinical law this fall. Skinner has considerable experience in the areas of international human rights, refugee law, civil rights, clinical practice and law school teaching.

A former criminal prosecutor and experienced civil litigator, Skinner practiced law for 12 years before leaving her litigation practice in 2003 to found the Seattle-based Public Interest Law Group PLLC, where she engaged in impact litigation in the areas of international human rights and civil rights. In 2005, she was named one of Seattle’s top civil rights lawyers. More recently, she served as a visiting professor at Seattle University School of Law, where she taught the international human rights clinic and significantly contributed to the development and growth of that new clinic.

Skinner holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Northern Iowa (summa cum laude), an M.A. in American studies and a J.D. from the University of Iowa (magna cum laude), and an M.St. (LL.M. equivalent) in international human rights law from the University of Oxford, where she earned Distinction.

Skinner will join Willamette in August and launch the law school’s first International Human Rights Law Clinic. This new clinic will complement the College of Law’s specialized Certificate Program in International & Comparative Law, which was designed to prepare students to meet the challenges of legal careers in an increasingly global profession.

“I am extremely pleased that Professor Skinner will join Willamette’s Clinical Law Program,” said Warren Binford, director of the program. “Professor Skinner has made a significant impact everywhere she has practiced law. We feel extremely fortunate to have her join our program and are looking forward to working with her as she continues to contribute to the advancement of human rights and clinical legal education for years to come.”

Outstanding Law Mentors Honored

April 06, 2008

The College of Law held a reception in early April to honor those dedicated attorneys and judges who volunteer their time as mentors to Willamette’s law students. The popular Mentor Program is administered by the college’s office of Career Services, which hosted the annual awards reception at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art on the Willamette campus.

College of Law alumna Kate Cooper Richardson JD’00 received the 2007–08 Judge Edward H. Howell Mentor of the Year Award, which is named in honor of the late Judge Howell, an enthusiastic mentor to Willamette law students for many years.

Richardson, chief of staff for the Oregon State Treasurer, was nominated by her mentee Stefyni Allen. A member of the Class of 2010, Allen praised Richardson for providing invaluable guidance and support and for always going “above and beyond” to help her. In addition to meeting with Allen on a weekly basis, Richardson advised her on ways to improve her summer externship prospects and even accompanied her to a Career Services meeting.

“Kate Cooper Richardson has been the best thing that has happened to me since I’ve been attending law school,” Allen said in her nomination letter. “When I first came here … people in Kate’s position were very intimidating to me. Throughout the year, largely due to Kate, I’ve come to realize that people are people.”

In addition to Richardson, other WUCL mentors were honored during this year’s reception, which was expanded to include additional attorneys who received an Outstanding Mentor of the Year Award nomination. Those attorneys include:

• Julie Bates JD’01, mentor to Chris Vandenberg
• Jeff Dover JD’04, mentor to Jennifer Paul and LaReé Felton
• Tom Elden, mentor to Megan Banks and Sarah Hagerty
• Joe Groshong, mentor to Jake Wakeland and Justin Rothboeck
• Elizabeth Harchenko BS’72, JD’76, mentor to Sara Cassidey, Jennifer Hunking and Lauren Miller
• Cathy Highet, mentor to Mary Lang
• Michelle Ing JD’01, mentor to Marianne LaBorde and Meng Ouyang
• Dennis Koho JD/C’04, mentor to Amanda Keller and Lane Toensmeier
• Holly O’Dell, mentor to Jenny Nokes
• Heather Vogelsong JD’05, mentor to Kathryn Stoufer and Alana Guiney

The College of Law’s Mentor Program enables students, early in their legal careers, to forge an individual relationship with experienced legal practitioners who provide great insight into and advice on the practice of law. For more information about becoming an attorney mentor, please contact the Career Service Office at law-career@willamette.edu or register online at www.willamette.edu/wucl/careers/mentor/ for the 2008–09 Mentor Program, which begins in September.

OHBA Honors Angel Lopez

March 13, 2008

Angel G. Lopez JD'78 recently received the Honorable Paul J. De Muniz Award from the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association during the organization's second annual awards dinner. The De Muniz Award is presented annually to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of professionalism, enhances Oregon’s legal community and makes significant contributions to the state’s Latino community. The inaugural award was presented last year to Paul J. De Muniz JD’75, chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court.

Lopez is a partner in the firm of Squires & Lopez PC in Portland. The firm specializes in criminal defense and plaintiff personal injury work, with a sub-specialty in assisting Spanish-speaking clients. Lopez has twice served as chair of the Commission of Hispanic Affairs of Oregon. He is past-president of the Oregon State Bar and the Multnomah County Library Board and was the first person of color to hold these positions in Oregon.

The OHBA awards dinner was on held Feb. 22, 2008, at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Portland.

Stanford Law Review Calls Symeonides a Conflicts Giant

March 03, 2008

The Stanford Law Review has published a laudatory review of Dean Symeon C. Symeonides’ latest book, The American Choice-of-Law Revolution: Past, Present and Future (2006).

The following are excerpts from the review, authored by Hillel Y. Levin and published in 60 Stanford Law Review 247 (2007) under the title “What Do We Really Know about the American Choice-of-Law Revolution?”

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“[T]the conflicts giant Dean Symeon Symeonides has been at the forefront of the project [of empirical inquiry]. His highly anticipated and ambitious new book, The American Choice-of-Law Revolution: Past, Present and Future, is the pinnacle of his efforts and aims to be the authoritative word on the impact of the revolution. First delivered as a series of lectures at The Hague Academy of International Law in 2002 and now widely available for the first time, it should be required reading for anyone engaging in conflicts scholarship. . . . Revolution offers the finest, most rigorous account of conflicts doctrine as it functions in the courts, as well as a penetrating and thoughtful analysis on how the doctrine should evolve. . . . Revolution is exemplary within both meanings of the word: it is the best example of conflicts scholarship. . . .

Revolution is both an introduction for the foreign student to contemporary American conflicts doctrine and a serious empirical and normative commentary on the doctrine. As such, it occupies a middle space between a basic text and an academic tome, addressed equally to the beginner and the specialist. Surprisingly, it occupies that space quite comfortably, serving both audiences well.

Revolution succeeds in reaching its first audience, the foreigner unfamiliar with the common law and federalist traditions, by virtue of Symeonides’ patience in explaining core concepts, his easy, uncluttered, and engaging style and clear organization, and his use of easily interpreted tables, charts, and diagrams. Yet, despite his care for the novice, the apparent straight talk belies a deep and rich critical discourse on the law.

[Symeonides] presents his findings with marvelous clarity, which, standing alone, is a gift to anyone who grapples with conflicts theory. To lay plain what courts actually do with the doctrine is an enormous achievement, for it demystifies a complex doctrinal area and provides actual guidance for scholar, judge, and practitioner alike.

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Revolution is Symeonides’ 19th book. His next book, American Private International Law, will be released by Kluwer International in March 2008.

Symeonides will deliver a lecture about his book at Stanford Law School on March 5, 2008.