On Oct. 20, SW hosted a special meeting of the Los Angeles Police Department Board of Police Commissioners.  The special meeting was called to facilitate an open forum between the public and the LAPD.
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The Women’s Law Association held its annual Meet Your Professors event on Sept. 17, featuring a panel of female SW professors. The professors related unique stories and experiences about their legal careers, from attending law school to becoming professors, and balancing work and family life.

Prof. Judy Sloan described how she was one of only three women in her law school class. Her criminal law professor purposefully called on a woman when discussing a rape case “The case involved an old man accused of rape who was impotent. In other words, he couldn’t have raped anyone,” said Sloan.

“My husband was a urology resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital [then] and … he coached me on the details of male impotence. Sure enough, I was called on. I used this as an opportunity to lecture everyone on male impotence, to the point that even the professor had to blush! It was my way of dealing with the difficulty of being a woman in a male atmosphere. It was also my way of saying: ‘Don’t mess with me!’”

When Sloan began teaching, she was the only woman teaching classes on the faculty. “The first class I taught, when two men in the back saw that I was a woman teacher, they slammed their books shut and walked out the door. So what did I do the next class? I called on them. I didn’t know a whole lot, but I was further ahead in the book than they were, and that was enough.”

Prof. Catherine Carpenter began law school in 1973, and there were about 10 women in her class of 300. She was a part of the first Women’s Law Association at SW. “We wanted to get together; we <em>needed</em> to get together to talk about the things that were happening to us,” said Carpenter about starting the Women’s Law Association.

Carpenter spoke about the importance of the growing number of women in the legal field. “Since women are going to be such an important part of the legal workforce, we have the opportunity to frame the conversation in terms of how and to what extent we want to shape or change our professional environment - what is important to us and what sort of demands we want to make,” said Carpenter. “Women only have that ability because of the critical mass in the workforce, and consequently women have a little more power than the previous generation had.”

Prof. Karen Smith recounted a story from her days as a young attorney. She was discussing a case with a man who looked at her very strangely. When she asked him why he was looking at her in this way he responded, “I’ve never seen a woman speak intelligently before. The only women in my life are my wife and secretary.”

“You sit here today as a representative of women, because there will be people even in this day who will remember having a class with you and meeting you,” Smith said. “And this will break down the barriers in people’s mind of what women can do.”

Prof. Nyree Gray shared her experiences as a young attorney in the courtroom. “I would show up to court at 8:30 and somehow hit the trifecta - I was the only woman, the only black, and the youngest person in the room,” said Gray. “How did I get so lucky?”

“The good thing about Southwestern is that there are so many women here. We’re all here, together, pulling for each other to do well,” she said. She advised students that once they become successful attorneys, “don’t forget to look back and share what you have experienced and learned with another woman.”

Prof.Sung Hui Kim worked as a corporate lawyer before teaching at SW and described it as a very competitive environment for women. She told a story about a pregnant attorney who was advised by her doctor that for health reasons, she could not work more than 40 hours per week. When she informed the firm of this, a female partner said to her, “I worked more than 40 hours a week when I was pregnant. I don’t see why you can’t.”

“The workplace has not really caught up to our notions of equity,” said Kim.

Prof. Karin Graver recounted an incident from her early years as an associate in a large firm. One of the partners, who had just become a grandfather, got on an elevator with her, and asked, “Do you have a kiss on the cheek for the new grandfather?”

“I was surprised that this kind of thing still happens, although I don’t think it happens as much as it used to,” said Graver. “Some more senior attorneys may not recognize when they’re being sexist.”

Prof. Isabelle Gunning, who attended Yale University, said, “I went to a college where there weren’t any women in undergrad, let alone law school.” She stressed the importance of women coming together and sharing their experiences. “Come and talk to us, because that’s what will empower you,” said Gunning. “An association like this is so wonderful because it allows you to learn who you are.”

To find out more about the WLA, please contact: swwomenslaw@gmail.com

Written by Stephanie Herrick, 1L

On the eve of the seventh anniversary of 9/11, SW hosted a National Lawyers Guild Public Forum on government repression since 9/11.  The Public Forum drew a huge turnout - including concerned citizens, local civil rights attorneys, several members of the National Lawyers Guild, representatives for the Center for Constitutional Right (CCR), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), as well as a local television reporter from KWBU-TV, Channel 34.

Jim Lafferty, executive director of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, introduced the panel of speakers and set the tone for the forum:  “The USA PATRIOT Act, and the rest of the legislation and executive orders post-9/11 were not intended to make Americans safe from terrorism.  They were designed to make those that run this country safe from ‘We the People’ when we want to take to the streets to protest their wars and PATRIOT Act and FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) violations.”

The panel included Stacy Tolchin, an immigrant rights attorney; Ahilan Arulanantham, director of Immigrants Rights and National Security for the ACLU of Southern California; and Vince Warren, executive director of the CCR, which is based in New York.

Tolchin talked about the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles and across the country.  She praised the successful efforts of the attorneys and concerned citizens based here in LA who are able to advocate and secure basic rights for immigrants arrested and threatened with deportation.  She encouraged the LA-based advocates and attorneys to reach out to other communities around the country who have not been as successful.

Arulanantham discussed the work on which he and Tolchin collaborated to support immigrants who have been subjected to ICE raids.  He added that after 9/11, the environment Americans live in has changed with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.  He discussed international issues including the problematic term “refugee” as defined by the United Nations.  The ACLU is also working with the CCR to assist Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Warren praised both Tolchin and Arulanantham for their work to uphold citizens’ rights and to protect immigrants’ rights.  Warren, who represented the Guantanamo detainees in the U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down this June in Boumediene v. Bush, discussed the inadequacy of the Combatant Status Review Tribunals previously conducted in lieu of habeas corpus hearings.

Warren, along with many other advocates of the detainees, successfully presented the detainees’ case before the U.S. Supreme Court.  Guantanamo detainees are entitled to habeas corpus hearings as a result.

Warren said the next phase of representing the detainees in federal court will begin soon.  The biggest challenge the attorneys face is crafting a remedy for the detainees.  Warren’s passion for representing the Guantanamo detainees was evident.  He gave aspiring attorneys advice:  ”Be aggressive, and be a mouthpiece for your clients.”

When asked what percentage of detainees held in Guantanamo Bay were there for a legitimate reason, Warren responded with statistics.  Seton Hall University conducted an extensive study on the detainees and found that 92 percent of the detainees were there without a justifiable reason.  Since the Supreme Court ruling this past year, 246 of the original 775 detainees remain, and most were released without charge.  Of the remaining detainees, many will be cleared for release as well.  Warren said that of those still being held, the U.S. government will most likely put around 60 on trial.

Reflecting on the event, Rebecca Thornton, co-president of the NLG’s Los Angeles Chapter, said, “In this era of constant erosion of civil liberties in the name of security, it was inspiring to hear from lawyers of the National Lawyers Guild, ACLU and CCR who are fighting to restore constitutional rights on behalf of the most vulnerable people.  Without their commitment and passion, our treasured and fundamental principles of free speech, habeas corpus, due process and fair trial, among others, would be in even greater jeopardy.  Many thanks to the Southwestern Law School Chapter of the NLG for hosting this illuminating and insightful event.”

To become a member of the Southwestern Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, email swlaw.nlg@gmail.com.  For more information about the National Lawyers Guild, visit www.nlg.org.

Written by Barbara Rohr, 3L

Southwestern has opened a new Student Resource Center to help Southwestern students enhance their academic performance. The Student Resource Center is a joint effort of the Academic Support Program, the Dean’s Fellow Program and the Writing Center. The grand opening was held on Sept. 8.

“Both events were very well-attended,” said Robert Mena, director of Student Affairs. Mena said that the creation of the center was a collaborative effort between faculty and the offices of the Dean, Diversity Affairs, Academic Support and Student Affairs.

“Upon entering Southwestern, first-year students quickly realize that law school is a completely different animal,” said Mena. “You may have done extremely well in undergrad, but law school challenges you to the greatest degree. In addition, upper division students realize that this challenge continues past your first year. The center was created to help in all of these academic phases of law school.” Read the full story