News

Welcome back to Northwestern Law! I hope you enjoyed your summer and are ready to start up the new academic year. As I do each year, I write to bring you up to date on the changes that have occurred at Northwestern Law and the key developments that await you.

We had a busy and productive three months and look forward to welcoming the incoming classes for orientation on August 19. The Student Affairs team, with the help of orientation coordinators Rebecca Stern (JD '07), Daniel Gandert (JD '07), and Lidija Rebic (LLM '99), has planned a week of activities, including community service projects, diversity- and team-building workshops, and fun social events.

New this year, the Student Affairs team in collaboration with the Student Bar Association will host an All School Welcome Back Party for all new and returning students. The event will take place from 6-9 p.m. on September 1 in the Law School Atrium. I encourage everyone to come and enjoy the food, drink, and festivities.

I hope you have returned ready to go for an exciting year.

Sincerely,

David E. Van Zandt

Incoming Students Continue Trend of Improved Overall Class Quality

The quality of our incoming classes continues to improve thanks to our unique admissions program that focuses on applicants experience, interpersonal skills, maturity, and judgment, as much as their academic abilities. The 2005 JD entering class has a median GPA of 3.7 and a median LSAT score of 169.

We understand, however, that succeeding in today's world takes more than a high LSAT score or GPA. In 2005, alumni, students, and staff interviewed more than 3,500 JD and JD-MBA applicants (out of 4,700) to determine interpersonal and communication skills; 75 percent of entering JD and JD-MBA students were interviewed. We have also begun interviewing our international LLM, LLM/Kellogg, and LLM Tax applicants, looking for the same qualities as in our JD and JD-MBA applicants. This past year we interviewed 196 out of 747 applicants to the international and LLM programs.

Our message about the importance of work experience is also making an impact. This year nearly 95 percent of the entering JD and JD/MBA students have at least one year of post-undergraduate work experience; almost 75 percent have two or more years. And all of our LLM and LLM/Kellogg students bring an average of more than three years of work experience to the classroom.

Today Northwestern Law is one of the most geographically diverse law schools in the country. Seventy percent of this year's entering JD and JD/MBA students come from outside the Midwest, making them one of the most regionally diverse first-year classes at any law school. Almost 25 percent of our total entering student body and nearly 5 percent of our entering JD and JD-MBA students this year come from outside the United States. In addition to adding to the diversity of the current student body, it also means that more Northwestern Law students will take jobs outside the Midwest when they graduate, enhancing our reputation as a national law school. We also continue to enroll as many women as men and minorities make up more than one-third of the entering class. 

In addition to the hard work of everyone on our Admissions team, many of you deserve credit for helping us continue to attract the students we want. The incoming students' interactions with staff, faculty, and current students during their campus visits and Day at Northwestern Law played an important role in their decisions to attend Northwestern.

This year finalizes the strategic initiative that began in 2002 to increase the size of the entering JD and JD-MBA classes from the originally contemplated 200 to about 240. Of the 240, 23, or nearly 10 percent, are JD-MBA students, making our unique three-year JD-MBA the largest program of its kind.

In addition, 29 full-time and three part-time students have enrolled to earn an LLM through our highly ranked tax program. Six students have enrolled in our joint degree program with the Medill School of Journalism, in which they will earn a master of studies in law (MSL) and a master of science in journalism (MSJ).

In our international programs, six students have enrolled in our Two-Year JD Program, designed specially for lawyers with first degrees in law. Our Executive LLM program in Seoul, Korea, has enrolled 32 students this year. Our domestic LLM programs continue to prosper as well. In June, 22 students, up from 18 last year, from 9 different countries joined us for the one-year graduate program in law and business (LLM/Kellogg), in which they earn an LLM from the Law School and a certificate in business administration from the Kellogg School of Management. Additionally, 80 students from 28 different countries have enrolled in our general nine-month LLM program.

Supreme Court Justice Nominee and Others to Participate in Endowed Lecture Series

The Hon. John G. Roberts Jr., U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia , has agreed to visit Northwestern Law as the 2007 Howard J. Trienens Visiting Judicial Scholar. Roberts was recently nominated by President Bush to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Kenneth R. Feinberg, Special Master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund , will deliver the Fall 2005 Pope & John Lecture Series on Professionalism on September 13. Feinberg, one of the nation's leading experts in mediation and alternative dispute resolution, will discuss his role governing the controversial fund.

John J. Donahue, the Leighton Homer Surbeck Professor of Law at Yale University , will deliver the spring 2005 Julius Rosenthal Foundation Lecture Series April 4-6. Donohue is the author of "Foundations of Employment Discrimination Law.” He specializes in corporate finance, employment discrimination, criminal law, law and economics, contracts, law and statistics and torts, among other subjects.

Student Programs and Events Enrich Law School Community

Students play an important role in shaping life at Northwestern Law. Each year more than 40 student organizations plan and celebrate a variety of events to engage and educate the Law School community. Students not only choose topics and enlist speakers but also develop budgets and raise funds. In 2004-05, students, working with our Firm and Corporate Relations team, raised more than $130,000 from more than 60 firms and corporations to sponsor student events.

I hope you will take the time to attend some of the upcoming Law School events scheduled for this fall. For more information or to post an event, visit Esqwire.

Student Bar Association Organization Fair, August 31

All School Welcome Back Party, September 1

Lawyers as Problem Solvers, September 17

Fall Leadership Retreat, September 30 and October 1

Law Students for Choice Regional Conference, October 8 and 9

ACLU Week, October 24-28

Federalist Society Week, October 31 - November 4

Public Interest Law Week, November 7-11

South Asian Law Students Association (SALSA) Week, November 14-18

Firm and Corporate Affiliates Help Sponsor Law School Programs

During the 2004-05 academic year, more than 60 law firms and corporations sponsored activities and events, including student programs and continuing legal education courses, as Northwestern Law Firm and Corporate Affiliates. In total, affiliates contributed more than $473,000 in support. As a result, our campus is bustling with programming that further educates and advances the Northwestern Law community by connecting it with the local and national legal community.

The Firm and Corporate Affiliates Program facilitates student fundraising efforts by connecting Firm and Corporate Affiliates directly with our diverse student body for a variety of sponsorship opportunities. Our affiliates ensure that Northwestern Law continues to lead the way in preparing students for productive leadership, professional success, and personal fulfillment in a complex and changing world. Students interested in finding out more about sponsorship opportunities for their events should contact Erin Veazey, Director of Firm and Corporate Relations.

Hundreds of Alumni Returning to Campus for Reunions

In October, we will welcome hundreds of Northwestern Law alumni to campus for Reunion 2005. Members from the classes of 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, and 2000 are invited to return to campus for Reunion Weekend on October 27-29. Weekend activities will include brunch with students and faculty of our acclaimed Bluhm Legal Clinic, a tailgate with fellow Law alumni at the Homecoming football game in Evanston, and a grand celebration at the Law School that includes cocktails, dinner, and dancing.

The Law Alumni Association continues to work closely with the Center for Career Strategy and Advancement to develop great opportunities for students to meet, network with, and learn from our talented and successful alumni. This past year, more than 700 graduates attended events such as Admit Dinners, where newly admitted students in Los Angeles, New York, and Washington D.C have the opportunity to network with young alumni in those cities.

Alumni support through volunteering also continues to flourish. This past spring almost 200 alumni served as judges in the Julius H. and Arlyn Miner Moot Court competitions; more than 350 graduates served as career mentors; more than 450 alumni volunteered as JD and LLM admissions interviewers; and another 200 served as firm and corporate representatives, class signers, and members of the Law Board and Law School Fund Board.

The Class of 2005's Graduating Class Gift effort was also a big success with an all-time high participation rate of 80 percent, beating the 1989 record of 63 percent. They raised $65,881, which totaled $73,381 with challenge gifts from me and alumnus, Randall Kaplan (JD '93). More than 75 students also made pledges of $600 over the next three years, qualifying them for membership as Young Wigmores in our John Henry Wigmore Club giving society.

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