University of Maryland School of Law : Catalog, 1988-1989

practice early in the educational
process. In addition, the association
provides refreshments during
orientation, complimentary coffee
and donuts during exams, a graduation
award for the student who
exhibits outstanding service to the
school, a reception for graduates
and their families at graduation,
and an "After-the-Bar Bash" following
the July bar exam. For the
alumni, the association publishes a
semi-annual newsletter, and sponsors
numerous programs including
career development seminars, admission
workshops for relatives and
friends of alumni, class reunion
dinner dances and other social and
educational events.
Westminster Preservation Trust
The closing of the Westminster
Church, adjacent to the law
school, in 1977 represented an
important challenge to Maryland:
the challenge of restoring and preserving
one of its most significant
and interesting landmarks. To solve
the problem in a creative way,
many interested Marylanders, in
conjunction with the University of
Maryland School of Law, established
the Westminster Preservation
Trust, Inc. This private, nonprofit
corporation brought together
individuals who worked toward the
preservation and adaptive use of
the landmark.
The church, which dates from
1852, is the only one of its kind in
the United States, built on arches
over a graveyard. The graveyard,
perhaps most famous as the burial
place of Edgar Allan Poe, also contains
the tombs of many of the
most prominent figures in Maryland
history since the Revolutionary
War.
The restoration was completed
in 1983 and the property is now a
resource available to the School of
Law and to community and cultural
groups. The interior space
provides a handsome gothic reading
room for the adjacent law library
in addition to an area for
concerts, ceremonial functions,
parties and meetings.
With careful landscaping, the
cemetery was developed into a
walled garden, restoring and retaining
its historic features.
Endowed Lectures and
Programs
]udge Simon E. Sobeloff Lectures.
Established in 1977, this lecture
series honors the memory of Simon
E. Sobeloff who for many years
served the people of Maryland
both in public office and as a private
attorney. A graduate of the
law school class of 1915, Judge Sobeloff
was named by President
Eisenhower as Solicitor General of
the United States in 1954, and
later served the nation as Associate
Justice and then Chief Judge of the
Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
The Sobeloff Lecture is held annually
in the spring, bringing to
the school speakers of national
prominence.
Gerber Memorial Lectures. The
Pearl and Lawrence I. Gerber Memorial
Lecture Fund brings to the
School of Law lecturers of national
prominence in the law. Established
in 1978 through a gift by Lloyd M.
Gerber, a 1960 graduate of the law
school, the lectures are given in
memory of Lawrence I. Gerber,
whose love of the law was evident
through 60 years of private practice,
until his death in 1976 at the
age of 84. Held each fall, the
Gerber Lecture features nationally
prominent speakers.
Stuart Rome Lectures. The general
subject areas included in the series
are health care law, the challenges
facing the profession of law, and
the critique of our existing systems
and suggestions for change. The