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First Reflections
A lawyer friend of mine always said, “When
you negotiate a deal, it’s never better
than it first looks. They are never holding back
any of the good stuff!” When I think about
my decision to join The George Washington University
Law School as dean, my friend was wrong. The
deal has, in fact, been better than I could have
known.
The reason the deal now looks better than when
I negotiated it is that there are things I have
learned about our alumni, our students, and our
faculty since becoming dean that have impressed
me beyond my already high opinion of this Law
School formed over my many years in the law community.
In this, my first dean’s message, I would
like to share with you some of what it is I have
learned about our Law School in my first three
months at the helm.
Before becoming dean I was aware that the GW
Law alumni included leaders of all branches of
government, federal and state, as well as leaders
of the bar in many fields. What I have learned
since becoming dean is that besides being accomplished
professionals, our alumni are deeply dedicated
to their school and remain committed members
of the GW Law community. The hallmark of many,
many conversations with alumni, beginning my
very first week as dean, has been hearing, “Dean,
how can I help?” I cannot tell you how
much it means to a new dean joining a faculty
to receive this kind of support from the school’s
alumni. These early impressions were richly confirmed
in October over our reunion weekend during which
hundreds of GW Law alumni returned to our school.
These alumni, along with the members of our wonderful
volunteer leadership boards—the Board of
Advisors, the Board of Directors of the Alumni
Association, and the Intellectual Property Advisory
Board—spent several days in meetings and
receptions. The energy level during the weekend
was both infectious and inspirational. I believe
that all in attendance were impressed by our
newly renovated facilities as well as by the
dedication of our professional staff who organized
the series of events throughout the weekend.
There is great satisfaction to be taken from
all that we have accomplished, and I know that
there is great excitement about all that we will
yet achieve.
I
consider myself most fortunate that
as a new dean I am a successor to the
distinguished deans who have gone before
me.
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Before becoming dean, I knew that GW Law students
were a bright and capable group. One need only
look at such objective measures as composite
LSAT scores and grade point averages to know
this. What I have learned since I became dean
is that beyond being bright and capable, our
students are fine people. They are the kind
of students you would like, they will be the
kind of lawyers you would trust, and they are
the kind of people you would admire. I have observed
this both in my own section of criminal law
that I am teaching this fall and in the student
body generally whom I have met as dean. Perhaps
the best illustration of the quality of the character
of our student body is its response to Hurricane
Katrina. As discussed in more detail in the
article on page 28 in this issue, in the immediate
aftermath of the hurricane, our Law School, like
many law schools, agreed to admit a number of
students from Tulane Law School and Loyola of
New Orleans Law School as visiting students.
In fact, we admitted 14 students altogether,
including an LLM student in international law
along with second- and third-year JD students.
Prior to the arrival of our visitors from New
Orleans, our GW Law students arranged for class
notes to be taken and for student mentors to
be available for the visiting students. Moreover,
more than 120 students volunteered emergency
housing for our visitors as well as 18 others
from the Law School community, vastly exceeding
the need. In every way, our students have sought
to make the Katrina evacuees feel comfortable
here at GW. Finally, our students have raised
nearly $10,000 that will be donated to Habitat
for Humanity to provide housing for families
in the affected Gulf Coast region. I have assured
them that the Law School will match the funds
that they have raised. It is my great pleasure
to do so. I know that you as alumni will be as
proud of our students as I am as their dean.
Before becoming dean, I knew of the scholarly
reputation of the GW Law faculty. As a law
professor for the past 17 years, I had read books
and articles by GW Law faculty members and heard
them speak at conferences around the country.
Since becoming dean, I have learned that these
well-regarded scholars are also deeply dedicated
teachers who are devoted to the overall law school
community. It is all too easy for talented scholars
to turn inward and focus primarily or even exclusively
on their scholarship. I am delighted that my
colleagues, though taking a back seat to no
one as scholars, understand that the core mission
of our Law School is and will remain the training
of young lawyers. Indeed, it is our great privilege
as GW Law faculty to play a key role in producing
the leaders of the bench and bar of the 21st
century. I appreciate my colleagues’ support
in this mission and I admire their dedication
and their commitment.
I consider myself most fortunate that as a
new dean I am a successor to the distinguished
deans who have gone before me. I am only
the fourth person to become the permanent
dean of this school in the last 25 years.
Deans Jerome Barron and Jack Friedenthal,
still productive scholars and dedicated teachers
on our faculty, are not only an inspiration
to me but are a valued source of advice and
counsel. My immediate predecessor, President
Michael K. Young of the University of Utah,
has been a generous adviser as well. All
three have taken our law school to new heights
during their tenures as dean. As I chart the
coming years at GW Law, I have a set of short-
and long-term goals that I look forward to
accomplishing together.
Among our first orders of business will be
adding to the faculty endowment funds that
we currently have so that we will be able
to retain the outstanding faculty that we
now have and attract scholars and teachers
of equal caliber in the months and years
ahead. Specifically, I aim to add at least
five endowed faculty chairs over the next five
years. Moreover, we will augment our student
scholarship funds such that no student who
is able to meet the exacting standards for
admission to our law school will be unable
to attend for financial reasons. Our long-term
goals include yet additional faculty endowment
and scholarship funds as well as the next
stage in the development of our facilities,
namely a new library/learning center and
a residence hall. Even these long-term goals
must be part of our short-term planning.
I already know that I can count on the support
of our alumni in achieving these goals.
It is no overstatement to say that GW Law School
has become one of this nation’s premier
law schools. Our location in the heart of the
nation’s capitol, along with all of the
wonderful attributes of our law school community
that I have just discussed, make our potential
literally limitless.
Henry David Thoreau said, “In the long
run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore,
they had better aim at something high.” I
urge you to join me as we aim very high. We have
accomplished great things at our Law School.
With your help we will accomplish greater things
still.
Frederick M. Lawrence
Dean
and Robert Kramer Research Professor of Law
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