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Director's Message
We have some good news to share with you this spring. The US News & World Report survey results have just come out. BU Law now ranks # 20 out of 184 law schools (up from #22 last year). That means there are now three law schools in New England ranked in the top 20: Yale (#1); Harvard (# 2); and BU Law (# 20). In specialty rankings, BU Law placed in the top ten in three areas: Health Law: #7; Tax Law: #8; and Intellectual Property Law: #10.
As you know, both the University and BU Law strive to make the law school a truly top tier school. We’ve dropped the entering class size from a high of over 400 students in the early 1990’s to approximately 275 today. This means we forego a large amount of tuition income, but it also means we select very high quality students and we are able to give them a richer educational experience with more faculty attention and interaction. Students in our entering class now have an average LSAT score of 165 (roughly the 93rd percentile) and an average GPA of 3.68. Our faculty continues to get rave reviews for both teaching and scholarship and our curriculum is exceptionally strong with 12 study abroad programs, great clinical programs and access to the University’s graduate schools in addition to the traditional core legal courses.
We’ve begun to spread the news about the high quality of BU Law’s faculty, curriculum and students and we think it’s having an effect. We could use your help in this endeavor. While we don’t believe the US News & World Report survey is the final word on law school quality, it is a measure used by many prospective students and employers. BU Law’s assessment by judges and lawyers in the US News survey did increase this year and we are committed to raising the School’s profile even more. We are asking all our alumni to do specific things to help:
Help Spread The Word About BU Law
1. If you receive a US News survey or know someone who does, please fill it out, recognize the high quality of BU Law and encourage your colleagues to do so.
2. Tell your colleagues in the legal profession, including judges, about the School's high-quality education and stellar graduates.
3. If you’re involved in hiring law school graduates, please keep BU Law students in mind—they are outstanding. As you can see from our newsletters, catalog and Web site, our alumni enjoy success in all fields of law, in large and small firms, in non-profit organizations, in corporations and in government.
4. Take a look at the latest J.D. catalog we recently mailed to you and share it with a prospective law student you know. The catalog was recently redesigned as part of the School’s branding campaign. If you haven’t kept in touch with the law school over the years, you may be surprised by what you read.
If you did not receive a J.D. catalog and would like one, please let me know and we’ll send you one. If you have ideas about helping us raise the School’s profile with lawyers and judges in your area, please let me know that, too (abarbuto@bu.edu). We may be able to share your ideas with alumni in other areas. Everyone in the BU Law community benefits when our school gets the recognition it deserves. Thanks for your help.
Anthony Barbuto
Director, Development and Alumni Relations
BU Law Ranks in Top 25 for Graduating Leading Lawyers and Judges
Having published six guides to the nation’s leading lawyers and judges (called “the Lawdragon 500”), Lawdragon Magazine thought it had a unique perspective to add to the debate about which law schools are the best. This year, Lawdragon published its "Top Law School" list, based on where leading lawyers and judges went to school. BU Law graduates are well represented among the leading lawyers and judges in the nation, with BU Law placing #21 on this list of top schools. >>Full story
Black Law Students Association Once Again Named "Chapter of the Year"
BU Law's Black Law Students Association (BLSA) recently received the 2007 National Black Law Students Association (NBLA) Northeast Chapter of the year award. This is the second consecutive year the BU chapter has received such an award.>>Full story
Improving Student Life at BU Law
Over the past three years, Dean O'Rourke has worked to improve the quality of student life throughout the law school's facilities and programs-- and students are noticing.
This year, BU Law's Office of Student Affairs joined with BU Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Services to offer an innovative "Live Well, Learn Well" program. The program's goal is to improve students' academic performance and general well-being through small changes in exercise and diet. Posters throughout the halls and stairwells remind students that "walking from Kenmore Square to Boylston Street can equal 2.3 pounds not gained this year" and "walking the stairs of the building for five minutes a day can equal 1.3 pounds not gained this year." "Healthy choice" snacks are now common options at school events.
"We initiated the program because law school is so stressful and people forget that part of being a successful student is also taking care of yourself," says Josh Cooper, Student Services Coordinator. "Sometimes it's a matter of taking some time to relax, eat right and exercise. That can really have a positive outcome on your work as a student."
Every Thursday afternoon, students, faculty and staff can be seen striking the warrior pose or lotus position from Barristers Hall. The School began offering weekly yoga classes in 2004, and this year students can engage in both hatha yoga and a new core strengthening course for flexibility, toning and relaxation.
"Dean O'Rourke's commitment to improving the atmosphere and environment at the School has been demonstrated since I came to work here in 2005," says Bill Pesanelli, Director of Finance and Administration. "BU Law is a top-ranked law school, and the dean's setting the pace by adapting new technology throughout the building." Flat-screen plasma TV's broadcast the School's daily announcements and events from the lobby, a TV in the first-floor café streams CNN footage, and the Morin Center offers LL.M. students the latest Bloomberg news on its plasma screen.
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The new student lounge, still a "hidden gem," is a rare spot in the building where students are encouraged not to engage in quiet study. "It's a place where students can wind down, watch TV or DVDs and spend time with classmates in a relaxed setting," says Cooper.
Larger-scale building projects have included elevator modernization, restroom and faculty suite renovations and refinished locker rooms. Now, from their first orientation day at BU Law, students are given personal lockers which they can keep for three years, including during the summer, all the way through the bar exam.
"It's great that the dean created an environment where students can interact and feel comfortable when working long hours," says Mark Douglas ('09). And the School continues to work to create a comfortable environment for students. Renovations are in the works for a number of student study spaces, and plans to increase the number of smaller classrooms for seminars are underway.
Alumni in the News
Learn about your classmates’ recent accomplishments and activities, including awards, promotions, publications and government appointments.
- Equal Rights Crusader Glendora Putnam ('48) honored as a "living legend" by the Museum of African American History >>Full story
- Jane Michaels ('73) named one of Lawdragon Magazine's "500 Leading Lawyers in America" >>Full story
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- The Honorable Edward W. Brooke ('48) publishes autobiography, Bridging the Divide: My Life >>Full story
- William S. Cohen ('65) publishes Love in Black and White: A Memoir of Race, Religion, and Romance >>Full story
- David Bunis ('87), Ellyn Lazar-Moore ('93), Daniel Manning ('73) and Samuel Perkins ('76) named "Lawyers of the Year" by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly >> Full story
- Phil Beck ('76) receives Boston University Alumni Award, the University's highest alumni honor >>Full story
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- Maria Lopez ('78) appears on her own syndicated show, "Judge Maria Lopez" >>Full story
- Paul Rosen ('65) successfully argues milestone privacy case impacting labor union organizing >>Full story
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- Karen Katz ('89) publishes "Attorney Man" comic book >>Full story
- The late Allan Stone ('58) is the subject of documentary, "The Collector" >>Full story
*Alumni features are automatically populated by a news alert system
Faculty Focus
- Professor Wendy Gordon's scholarly work was recently the focus of the post-graduate course "Advanced Seminar on Intellectual Property" at Hokkaido University in Japan. Each semester, the seminar chooses a different IP scholar to highlight. The course, informally known as "The Gordon Seminar," was held in the fall semester of 2005. >>Full story
- BU Graduate Tax Faculty #1 in Social Science Research Network Downloads >>Full story
- BU Law Professors Defend the Teaching of Law: In a letter to the editor, BU Law Professors Tamar Frankel and Wendy Gordon recently responded in opposition to last month's Wall Street Journal article, "Taste: Meet the Clients," by Cameron Stracher. >>Full story
>>View all faculty activities and engagements.
Upcoming Events
- May 20: BU Law Commencement, Speaker: Martha Coakley, MA Attorney General
- May 30-31: BU Law will host "Law and Ethics in Rationing Access to Care in a High-Cost Global Economy," the second Biennial Seminar in Health Law and Bioethics. Panels include: "Choosing a Legal and Ethical Framework for Access to Care: Perspectives from Both Sides of the Atlantic," "Perspectives on Rights to Health and Health Care," "Access to Biotechnology in a Global Economy" and "The Effect of Cost Control on Rights to Care."
- May 31- June 2: In the "National Health Law Professors Conference," professors of law, medicine and health from around the country will gather to hear presentations, report on works-in-progress and exchange ideas about medical and legal issues.
- October 29: The annual Edward Lane-Reticker Speaker Series Lecture will be delivered by Congressman Barney Frank. This year's lecture, sponsored by the Morin Center, will focus on financial services policy.
Reconnect with your Student Group
Were you involved in a student group during your time at BU Law? We want to know about it! Reconnecting with your extracurricular groups is just one more way to strengthen our alumni network. We'll update you on your group's events and activities at the School, and help you connect with current students and reconnect with former members. >>Connect here
Thank You for Thinking of BU Law
Alumni support is a critical component of BU Law's success. Each year, alumni contribute to our annual fund, which is a vital resource for the School. We gratefully acknowledge those gifts on our Web site and in our annual donor report.
One way to contribute to BU Law is through bequests and estate gifts. Some of these gifts come from alumni or family of alumni. We’ve even received bequests from people who chose to honor and support the School without having a direct connection to BU Law. Including the School in your future financial decisions is a special way to recognize the law school, and one that we highly value.
A sample of recent estate gifts include:
- John Larkin Thompson ('63), a lawyer and businessman, directed a generous gift to BU Law. Thompson had a significant positive impact on the Greater Boston area in his public and private endeavors. As president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross & Blue Shield, chairman of the Vault, president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, director and former chairman of the Artery Business Committee and leader on many other Greater Boston area medical, cultural, educational and civic boards, he demonstrated an unwavering commitment to serving the city of Boston and the citizens of Massachusetts. A tireless worker and a natural leader, Thompson was known for his personal warmth, good humor and charm.
“John always had a soft spot in his heart for the law school because it gave him the legal skills that he put to such wonderful use in his multifaceted career,” said Thompson’s wife, Adrienne Thompson. “Although he had been a trustee of the University, his primary affection was always for the law school.”
- Mary G. Vincent, whose husband, father-in-law and son all graduated from BU Law, recently made a generous gift in the name of her son Shelly D. Vincent III ('65 LLB, '67 LLM). Mrs. Vincent’s donation will benefit the Shelly D. Vincent III Scholarship Fund at BU Law.
“Those of us who support the Shelly D. Vincent Scholarship Fund believe in the importance of facilitating the education of those individuals who wish to enter the law profession,” said Donna Kahn, Mr. and Mrs. Vincent’s daughter and graduate of the Boston University School of Nursing.
- Brenda and Barry Winston, daughter and son-in-law of the late prominent New Bedford attorney, M. David Scheinman (’35), have made a generous gift to BU Law that will fund the M. David Scheinman Scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded yearly to a worthy student specializing in trial advocacy.
“He got so much joy from being a trial lawyer and he faced each trial with the challenge to win, and in a way his whole life was a challenge because he lived his life with the affliction of having had polio as a very young child and never once asked for any special treatment,” said Scheinman’s daughter, Brenda. “It is with his love for the law and my love for him that this scholarship has been created.”
If you are doing your own estate planning, please consider a gift to BU Law. Your gifts make an enormous difference. The University Web Site outlines several types of estate gifts. Please consider the options and see which one may be the right choice for you and your loved ones.
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Did you Know?
Barbara Jordan ('59) was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994. She was also the first woman to deliver a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 1976. >>Listen to speech