Our skills programs have long played a central role in our curriculum. I have conveyed my belief to many of you that the innovative programs – legal writing, trial and appellate advocacy, clinic, and externships -- prepare students for the practice of law perhaps better than at any other school in the nation. We recently received external validation of our commitment to skills training.

Chicago-Kent students Joshua Jones (2L) and Keya Rajput (3L) won the 32nd annual National Trial Competition after defeating six nationally ranked trial teams during the final rounds of the contest held March 29 to 31 in Houston. The students benefited greatly from the dedication of Trial Advocacy coaches Appellate Court Justice Warren D. Wolfson, Judge David A. Erickson, Margaret Firnstein ’99 and Nicholas A. Caputo ’01.

Moreover, the Chicago-Kent Moot Court team of Joanna Brinkman (2L), Brian Koppen (3L), and Rachel Moran (2L) advanced to the final four in the ABA's National Appellate Advocacy Competition out of an original pool of almost 200 teams. In addition, moot court teams this season earned three Best Brief awards, no doubt due in part to our justly famed legal writing program. Congratulations to Professor Kent Streseman for leading the students in such an outstanding season.

Alumni, students, and professors gathered on Thursday, April 19 at Chicago-Kent for celebratory cocktails and hors d’oeuvres to commemorate the recent successes of both teams.

As another example of Chicago-Kent’s fine skills training, Kevin Case ‘06 was named a Burton Award Winner. The Burton Awards were established in 1999 to reward effective legal writing by partners in law firms and law school students. Each law school is permitted one nominee, and the fifteen top student-written articles across the nation are honored. Chicago-Kent nominated Kevin’s note “Lewd and Immoral: Nude Dancing, Sexual Expression, and the First Amendment,” which appeared in volume 81 of the C-K Law Review. Kevin is presently clerking for a federal district court judge. He and other Burton Award winners will be honored at a ceremony at the Library of Congress in June. You may read Kevin’s winning article here. Congratulations to Kevin Case ’06 for being named a 2007 Burton Award winner!

I wish you well and look forward to seeing you at upcoming alumni events.

Sincerely,

Harold J. Krent
Dean and Professor of Law

The winning Trial Advocacy team, (front, l-r) Keja Rajput (3L) and Joshua Jones (2L) celebrate with (back, l-r) The Honorable Lauretta Wolfson '88 and Joel Daly '88, winners of the 13th annual National Trial Competition in 1988.

Class of 2007 Commencement – Sunday, May 20th

This year’s Commencement will take place at the Arie Crown Theatre, McCormick Place on Sunday, May 20th at 2:00 p.m.

We invite all alumni to join us at Commencement to hear this year’s keynote speaker, Justice Anne M. Burke '83, as well as to recognize retiring IIT President Lew Collens and his extraordinary 33 years of leadership at the helm both of IIT and Chicago-Kent.

Alumni are invited to attend commencement at no charge. If you are interested in attending, please email the office of Alumni Relations at alums@kentlaw.edu or call (312) 906-5240. Additional information about parking and location can be found here.

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Institute for Law and the Workplace annual Reception

Alumni and friends of Chicago-Kent convened on April 18th for the Institute for Law and the Workplace’s annual reception. The event celebrated ILW’s role as a national center for research, training, dialogue, and reflection on the law that governs the workplace. Professor Martin H. Malin, Director for the ILW, spoke, along with Alumnus Phil Strzalka ’98, and current students Tami Lee (3L) and Bhairav Radia (3L). The institute was created at Chicago-Kent in 1996 to pool the resources of leading academic scholars and the practicing professional community to train students and professionals, monitor policies and trends, and reflect upon issues confronting the labor and employment law community in a neutral setting. Please click here for pictures from the ILW reception.

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Minority Networking Reception

The Office of Alumni Relations teamed with the Black Law Students, Hispanic-Latino Law Students, the South Asian Law Students and the Asian-Pacific Islander Law Students Associations on Friday, April 13 to create a networking event encouraging members of these student organizations to meet with alumni and friends of Chicago-Kent. Students and Alumni enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in Chicago-Kent’s elegant 10th floor event room, overlooking the Chicago skyline at sunset. Students and Alumni made connections and discussed the many initiatives they are involved in to promote diversity in the legal profession. The reception followed a $50,000 gift in January of 2007 from SmithAmundsen LLC to support diversity initiatives at Chicago-Kent.

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Please Support Chicago-Kent this Year

Please consider making a tax deductible gift to Chicago-Kent before May 31, the end of our 2007 fiscal year. Support the program of your choice by making a gift online or mailing your donation with the brochure you recently received in the mail. Our goal is to increase alumni participation for 2007 to 15% of our graduates.

Support the Ralph Brill Chair
More than 350 alumni, friends and colleagues have shown their support for Professor Ralph Brill and our effort to establish Chicago-Kent’s very first endowed chair. We have raised more than $1 million toward our $1.5 million goal. Please join the effort to honor Ralph’s 45 years of devoted service to Chicago-Kent and his students by making a gift to the Brill Chair.

Join the Senior Partner Council
By making a gift of $1,000 or more to Chicago-Kent, you will join the Senior Partner Council. (Alumni who have graduated in the past 10 years can join the Council by making a $500 gift.) Members of the Senior Partner Council are recognized in our Honor Roll of Donors and receive special event invitations and communications from the Law School on a preferred basis.

Click Here to Make Your Gift Now!

Questions? Contact Tanya Pietrkowski at tpietrkowski@kentlaw.edu or 312-906-5243.

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Request your Online Directory Username and Password

We have received a great deal of feedback from alumni using the alumni online directory and community and want to encourage more of you to do so. The directory provides a convenient way to update your contact information and to submit your latest personal and professional news.

To request your username and password, click here, otherwise, log on to the online directory by visiting the Chicago-Kent Online Community.

 

26th annual Federal Tax Institute
Thursday & Friday, May 3rd-4th
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Chicago-Kent College of Law - Governor Richard B. Ogilvie Auditorium

Nationally recognized tax experts present a comprehensive, practical update on this year's newsworthy tax developments and their impact on tax planning, compliance and controversy techniques. For more information and to register, visit: www.kentlaw.edu/depts/cle.

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"Who Owns Your Body? Legal and Social Issues in Michael Crichton's NEXT"
Monday, May 21
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Chicago-Kent College of Law - Governor Richard B. Ogilvie Auditorium

In a world in which institutions can patent genes found naturally in your body, researchers have financial incentives to undertake certain types of research, bodies donated to medical schools for research can end up in the black market for organ donation, and physicians can claim ownership to tissue taken from your body, what can we do about it? Patents on human genes, disputes over the body, the commercialization of academic science, and conflicts in biomedical research raise important legal, ethical and social issues. This conference, sponsored by the Institute for Science, Law and Technology at the Illinois Institute for Technology, will discuss current laws, proposed legislation, and other policy solutions to address these issues.

Michael Crichton to speak at 4:00 p.m. Reception to follow.

The conference is open to the public and is free but registration is requested. For attorneys seeking CLE credit (4 hours), a $20 fee applies. Visit www.whoownsyourbody.org for a full agenda and to register.

For more information about the event, please contact Jill Craig at jcraig@kentlaw.edu or 312-906-5122.

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26th annual Conference on Not-For-Profit Organizations
Friday, June 8
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Chicago-Kent College of Law - Governor Richard B. Ogilvie Auditorium

This one-day seminar is designed for experienced attorneys, accountants, not-for-profit executives, and board members. The conference features a comprehensive program on the most current developments in taxation, legislation and regulation on non-profits presented by leading experts in the area. For more information and to register, visit: www.kentlaw.edu/depts/cle.

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Lori Andrews is Coming to a City Near You

Chicago-Kent Professor Lori Andrews will be visiting several cities in the coming weeks as she tours to promote her new book, The Silent Assassin. Special Alumni Events will be held in the following cities:

May 31, 2007 - 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Kate’s Mystery Books
2211 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140

June 12 , 2007 - 7:00 pm
Partners in Crime
44 Greenwich Avenue
New York, New York 10011

. . . .
News from the Career Center
. . . .

Introducing the New Alumni Advisory Network

Remember when you were a law student, wondering what it was going to be like to actually practice law someday? Remember trying to figure out what different areas of law are really like? Or, perhaps you were thinking of an alternative career? Whether you practice law or have taken your career in a different direction, your professional experience can be an invaluable resource for Chicago-Kent students, as well as alumni seeking a lateral move or career change. In an effort to foster the sharing of information among alumni and students, we have moved our Alumni Advisor Network to a secure, searchable database on our on-line Symplicity career management system. This database can be used to seek the advice of volunteer advisors about practice areas, networking, and job search strategies.

One of the Career Services Office most valuable and utilized career resources is the Alumni Advisor Network. Many alumni wonder how they can give back to the Law School. Becoming an Alumni Advisor is an excellent way to do so. As an Alumni Advisor, all you have to do is agree to make your contact information available to students who may want to ask you career-related questions. In doing this, you will not only help C-K law students and recent graduates in their professional development, you will also stay connected to the Law School, its students, and alumni.

We hope you will consider joining the hundreds of other alums who previously signed up for the Alumni Advisor Network. If you previously signed up as an Alumni Advisor, we ask that you please submit your current information into the new Symplicity system. Please visit the career services office Web site.

Any questions regarding this service can be emailed to Elizabeth Pohlman McQuillen, Director of Career Services.

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Contract Attorney Resume Book

Are you a new grad seeking a temporary position while you search for a full-time an entry level position? Are you a more seasoned attorney seeking a temporary arrangement while in transition between legal jobs? Are you someone looking to transition to an alternative career but seeking temporary legal work to produce income while making this transition? Or are you an employer seeking temporary help?

In the past several years many legal employers have begun to routinely hire “contract” attorneys to help with large complex cases and many lawyers have turned to these types of positions for a variety of reasons. Through Chicago-Kent’s Symplicity career management system, Chicago-Kent alumni who find themselves interested in pursuing contract work can add their resume to an on-line password protected Contract Attorney Resume Book which is searchable by employers looking to fill a short-term or temporary need. Individuals interested in submitting a resume will “opt in” to the resume book. They may remove themselves from the database at any time by simply deleting their entry in the book. Upon request, employers will be provided a password which will enable them to search the Contract Attorney Resume Book by practice area and other criteria. Employers will have access to the book beginning June 1, 2007.

Alumni interested in submitting their resume to the Contract Attorney Resume Book should follow the instructions provided on the CSO Web site.

 

 
May 2007

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