Fordham Alum Shows Pre-Law Students Inner Workings of Court

Mark Hyland

The courtroom is much less mysterious place for eight Fordham pre-law students, thanks to Mark J. Hyland, FCRH' 77, LAW' 80.

Hyland, a partner at the law firm Seward & Kissel, LLP and co-head of the firm’s Litigation Group, invited three groups of students to shadow him as he tackled cases in court in April and June.

In each session, Hyland briefed the students on the particulars of the case they’d be attending by sending them briefs to read, and chatting with them in person before entering the court.

Hyland said the idea of inviting students to shadow him was first broached when he visited the Rose Hill campus last year to speak to the Prelaw Society at the Walsh Library. 

He chose three cases that he felt were substantial and presented thorny, interesting legal issues. They concerned a securities fraud claim, a suit by lenders who were suing a guarantor of failed real estate development, and an insider trading accusation.

“The life of a litigator means you don’t do rote things every day. Every case is its own problem. You have to master that case and that business, and it can be very exciting to master all of that and apply the law to the facts and commit to a strategy that will lead your client to the best result,” he said. 

In the insider trading case, which Hyland argued on June 19th, one of the defendants in the case had already pleaded guilty. His client worked at the same company but pleaded not guilty, making for what he called an "interesting factual matrix." The appearance before United States District Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York was spirited and lively, lasting from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

“I wanted the students to see the intellectual stimulus first hand, the excitement about it, and the ups and downs. This is a profession where you don’t go through your life on a straight level emotional path,” he said. 

“When you win a big case, it gives you that thrill of being 12 years old and hitting a home run. In this area that I do, you can still have that experience, and most people don’t get to do that. Now of course, the lows are tough too, but that’s life.”

Daniel Carter, a rising junior majoring in American Studies and history at Fordham College at Rose Hill, was one of two students to shadow Hyland on the 19th. 

It was the first time in a court room for Carter, a pre-law student currently volunteering at the Fordham Law clinic, and although some of the jargon in the briefs made for a challenging read, he was able to follow the proceedings.

“The judged asked him to elaborate on points that weren’t straightforward in the documents, so that was great for us,” he said. 

“I thought Mr. Hyland did the best job explaining it and afterward he explained some of the things that happened, what was good for him and what he didn’t like so much.”

He’s hoping to practice constitutional law when he graduates, but found the experience enlightening nonetheless. 

“We sat in on the case prior to this, and one of the lawyers wasn’t even there. The judge called him on the phone and said where are you?” he said. 

“So I joked with Mark that we got a taste of the pros and the not so pros.”

Justin Henry, also a rising junior at Fordham College at Rose Hill majoring in American Studies, echoed Carter. He’s currently interning at Macaluso & Fafinski in the Bronx and considering a career in public interest law.

“Knowing who everyone was on the panel was really exciting for me, because it wasn’t like I was just walking in and hearing what they had to say and then leaving. It was more of an educational experience, because I did already know what was going on, I could pay attention, and I felt engaged in the matter,” he said. 

“I thought it was really cool to see different lawyers defending different viewpoints and arguing the case very logically.”

—Patrick Verel

Lincoln Center Construction Showing Progress

On a sultry June afternoon like today, the heat makes it feel as if the entire city might grind to a halt. Not so at the Lincoln Center Campus, where construction continues unabated on the new Law School and residence hall, scheduled to open in the fall of 2014.

The view from the Robert Moses Plaza, just outside the Lowenstein Center

Checking out the top floor from the 20th floor of McMahon Hall

Just one of innumerable welds holding the steel skeleton together.

The building as seen from Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park

The new looms over the old in this view from Columbus Avenue

—Photos By Patrick Verel

Fordham Law Honors Grads in Diploma Ceremony

The Fordham School of Law celebrated its 105th diploma ceremony on Sunday, May 20 by honoring one of its own.

Michelle DePass, LAW ’92, assistant administrator for the Office of International and Tribal Affairs at the Environmental Protection Agency, received a doctorate of letters, honoris causa, and addressed the graduates at a ceremony at Radio City Music Hall.

The school awarded a total of 486 J.D.s (Juris Doctor) and 143 LL.M's (Master of Laws). Congratulations to the class of 2012!

Joseph M. McShane, SJ, the President of Fordham,  John N. Tognino, PCS ’75, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Michael M. Martin, Dean of Fordham Law, give Michelle DePass her hood signifying her new honor

DePass addresses the graduates

Photos By Chris Taggart

Lincoln Center Construction Progress

Progress on construction of the new Law School and residence hall at Fordham's Lincoln Center campus in October.

Student Activist Tells How He Took On Diebold and Won

A student who successfully sued industrial security giant Diebold spoke on Nov. 19 at Fordham Law about copyright law, free culture and privacy issues in an increasingly technological world.

When Nelson Pavlosky was an undergraduate at Swarthmore College, he sued Diebold in a precedent-setting case aimed at protecting freedom of speech from the abuse of copyright law.

In 2003, internal Diebold e-mails that focused on flaws in the company’s electronic voting machines were brought to light by hackers who retrieved them from the company’s computer network.

For example, in one message, an employee wrote that in the 2000 presidential recount, one district had recorded Al Gore receiving negative 16,000 votes. Another employee mentioned that when a voting machine would not cooperate during a demonstration, that employee would fake the results.

To alert the public to the problems with Diebold’s software, Pavlosky and his peers published the e-mails online. Diebold responded with a claim of copyright infringement and threats of legal action under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA).

Pavlosky joined forces with the Online Policy Group (OPG) to file counter-litigation asserting that Diebold’s claim of copyright infringement was illegitimate.

Pavlosky argued that the e-mails fell under fair use copyright laws because:
• he wasn’t making a profit,
• it was in the public interest,
• the e-mails were not creative works,
• Diebold was not losing profits over the e-mails, and
• by publishing all 13,000 e-mails in their entirety, the public could discover for itself what information was troubling.

In the end, Diebold was found to have abused the DMCA by claiming a violation of copyright laws occurred when it knew no such violation actually took place—all in an attempt to restrain legitimate speech.

After winning the case, Pavlosky co-founded Students for Free Culture, a student activist group that promotes awareness about technology, copyright and free culture issues, affects changes in policy on the local and federal levels, and trains the next generation of activists. The group has branches at universities across the country, including Fordham Law.

—Jenny Hirsch

Double Alum Honored for Work with Student Press

Adam Goldstein (FCLC '99, LAW '02), attorney advocate at the Student Law Center, is being spotlighted as one of "10 individuals who have mattered most to college media over the past academic year," by College Media Matters.

"If you are a college administrator who likes to grind kids under your boot, Adam Goldstein is your worst nightmare," says Frank LoMonte. "He is a ferocious and relentless advocate, and if you try to argue with him, he will quickly expose you for a fool. Adam will admit that he’s a bit of a scary-looking guy– it doesn’t help that he dresses head-to-toe in black every day– but you have nothing to fear from him unless you’re intentionally hurting kids."

Goldstein is a former editor-in-chief of The Observer, and worked as a freelance producer and editor for FoxNews.com for three years.

C-Span Civics Bus to Visit Law School

Fordham students who are well-versed in all matters of the United States Supreme Court can get an even better look on Wednesday, Sept. 30 when C-Span’s Civics Bus rolls into town.

The bus, which houses the cable station’s mobile production studio, will be parked outside the Law School on West 62nd Street from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fordham students, faculty and staff and anyone who is interested in the Supreme Court are invited to stop by for a sneak preview of “The Supreme Court: Home to America’s Highest Court,” which will air on the channel on Sunday, Oct. 4.

The original documentary, which kicks off "Supreme Court Week” from Oct. 4 to Oct 11, features ten current and retired Supreme Court justices discussing the role of the court, its traditions and its history.

It also offers a video tour of the building and public spaces like the Great Hall and Supreme Court Chamber, as well as areas accessible only to the nine justices and staff, such as the Robing Room and John Marshall Dining Room.

For more information, visit www.c-span.org/supremecourt

—Patrick Verel

Bishops Recognize Labor, Feerick Center

In its Labor Day Statement, "The Value of Work; The Dignity of the Human Person," the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) discussed its ongoing dialogue with Catholic health care workers as an example of the values that the church should pursue in labor issues.

William F. Murphy, bishop of Rockville Centre and chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, wrote that an example of "a positive step forward in respect for workers," was a consensus statement, Respecting the Just Rights of Workers: Guidance and Options for Catholic Health Care and Unions, between the Catholic Health Association, the AFL/CIO, the Service Employees International Union and USCCB, which he said offers guidance on how workers can make a free decision about whether or not they want to be represented by a union.

Bishop Murphy cited the Feerick Center for Social Justice at Fordham Law School, and its dean, John Feerick, in helping to "look at real situations and genuine differences in light of some basic themes in Catholic social teaching."

The consensus statement was informed by the encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, published this year, according to Bishop Murphy. He said, "decent work, according to the encyclical, 'means work that expresses the essential dignity of every man and woman in the context of their particular society: work that is freely chosen, effectively associating workers, both men and women, with the development of their community; work that enables the worker to be respected and free from any form of discrimination; work that makes it possible for families to meet their needs and provide schooling for children, without the children themselves being forced into labor; work that permits the workers to organize themselves freely, and to make their voices heard; work that leaves enough room for re-discovering one’s roots at a personal, familial and spiritual level; work that guarantees those who have retired a decent standard of living.'”

Fordham Law Clinics Get Chronicle Nod

The law clinics at Fordham's School of Law got a nod from the Chronicle of Higher Education this past week:

The Securities Arbitration Clinic, at Fordham's law school, recently won $23,000 in compensatory damages and $44,000 in punitive damages for an elderly couple who had been defrauded out of $25,000. Their broker had "basically stolen" their money by making phony investments with it, says Paul B. Radvany, a clinical associate professor who directs the clinic. Ten students juggle about a dozen cases there now.

From "Amid Downturn, Law Students Give Aggrieved Investors a Day in Court" (subscription required)

Fordham Law Grads Tapped by Top Firms

Fordham University School of Law has broken into the top 20 go-to law schools for recruiting of graduates by the nation’s biggest law firms, The National Law Journal has reported in their Feb. 23 issue.

The law school came in at 17th place among those schools most recruited by the country's top 250 firms, sending 43.7 percent, or 205 out of its 469 J.D. graduates, as first year associates to the most coveted firms in 2008. Columbia Law School took the top spot, with 71.5 percent of its graduates being hired, and Boston University School of Law rounded out the list at number 20, at 41.2 percent of its graduates taking jobs.

William Treanor, dean of the Law School, noted that the school has worked to target large law firms in its placement efforts by bolstering contact with alumni who practice in large firms.

“We have very much focused on a concerted effort for firms to hire our graduates,” said Treanor.

According to the Law Journal, approximately 55 percent of students graduating from the top 20 most prestigious law schools in the country have ended up at the nation’s most prestigious firms in the last two years.

—Janet Sassi

Silent Running

Sorry for the absence. The past week saw a lot of nasty head colds among the staff and several high profile events:

Fordham Law Kicks Off $100 Million Campaign
Bolivian President Outlines Plans for Sharing Nation's Wealth
Documentary Shows that Kindness Gets Results

We'll resume regular blogging tomorrow.

Top Firms Turn to Fordham Law for New Associates

Where do the most elite law firms in the United States go to hire new lawyers? According to a study released on October 13, Fordham Law School is among the 15 law schools that leading law firms turn to most often when they hire new lawyers.

Using Vault.com’s list of the most prestigious law firms in the U.S., Professor Brian Leiter of the University of Chicago identified the 15 top law firms whose search engines permitted efficient identification of where their associates went to law school and prepared a report comparing how leading law schools fared at these firms. Fordham Law ranked 15th among law schools nationally. The results are posted at www.leiterrankings.com.

Professor Leiter, whose law school rankings website is an influential source of analysis of the comparative strengths of leading law schools, described Fordham as “long a favorite with New York firms.” He attributed Fordham’s presence among the top 15 sources for elite law firms, in part, to its New York City location. New York is home to more elite law firm headquarters and branch offices than any other American city. “Fordham’s presence in New York, the superb quality of our education, and our fiercely loyal alumni combine to give our graduates virtually unrivaled career opportunities,” noted Fordham Law’s Dean William Treanor.

This new ranking is the latest measure of the extraordinary strength of Fordham Law School and a Fordham Law School education. For example, Fordham Law is one of the 15 most selective schools in the nation, measured in terms of the LSAT scores of the most recent graduating class, six of its programs are rated among the top 20, and it is one of the top five law schools, measured in terms of the number of attorneys working at the top 30 law firms. For more information about Fordham Law’s strengths, go to the Fordham Law Facts Page.

Update Oct. 16: Ranking site down due to spam attack, according to Leiter's blog.
Update Oct. 18: www.leiterrankings.com is back up.