Fall 1996 – Issue 50 - Stanford Lawyer - Stanford University
Fall 1996 – Issue 50 - Stanford Lawyer - Stanford University
Fall 1996 – Issue 50 - Stanford Lawyer - Stanford University
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Board of Visitors<br />
School Invites Practitioner Input<br />
Some 80 alumni and<br />
friends converged on<br />
the School in May for the<br />
annual Board of Visitors<br />
meeting. Their mission, in<br />
the words of Chairman<br />
Pamela Ann Rymer '64:<br />
"To shed light on issues of<br />
real concern, where our input<br />
can be valuable."<br />
ew members of the<br />
Board received a special<br />
welcome from Judge<br />
Rymer, who was completing<br />
her third year at the<br />
helm. Incoming chair<br />
James Koshland '78 and<br />
Professor Robert Weisberg<br />
'79 also attended the newmember<br />
orientation session.<br />
Speaking for the<br />
Dean and faculty, Weisberg<br />
said: "Visitors are people<br />
who are very good at giving<br />
advice to their clients,<br />
and we are your client."<br />
The focus of this year's<br />
Board of Visitors meeting<br />
was new realities in the<br />
working world and how<br />
<strong>Stanford</strong> Law School can<br />
best prepare students for<br />
this world. Three sessions<br />
were devoted to the subject,<br />
including one on the path<br />
from associate to partner.<br />
Participants in the day-long<br />
meeting included not only<br />
senior law firm partners<br />
and mid-career attorneys,<br />
but also recent graduates<br />
with fresh experience of the<br />
transition from schooling<br />
to practice.<br />
The strong representation<br />
of younger alumni is<br />
part of a conscious effort by<br />
the Board's executive committee<br />
and the School to increase<br />
the range of advice<br />
and perspectives the Board<br />
is able to provide. Linked to<br />
this are increased opportunities<br />
for Board members to<br />
interact with current students.<br />
Other features of the<br />
annual meeting included<br />
Supreme Court Justice<br />
Stephen Breyer's talk at the<br />
lL Dinner (see page 17);<br />
the Dean's State of the<br />
School report and discussion;<br />
informal talks by recently<br />
arrived professors.<br />
John Donohue and George<br />
Judge Pamela Ann Rymer '64 (then Board chair) with Judge Susan IIIston '73,<br />
James Koshland '78 (incoming Board chair), Carlos Watson '95, and G. Bradford (Brad) Jones '81<br />
in a breakout discussion.<br />
Robert Keller '58, Elaine Chiew (then 3L), and J. Sanford<br />
(Sandy) Miller '75 at one of several Visitor-student events.<br />
Fisher; a report on the recent<br />
telephone survey of<br />
<strong>Stanford</strong> Law alumni (see<br />
STANFORD LAWYER, Spring<br />
<strong>1996</strong>, pp. 18-19); and a<br />
music-filled Cinco de Mayo<br />
celebration.<br />
FRUITFUL DISCUSSION<br />
The working sessions were<br />
introduced and moderated<br />
by Dean Brest. Noting that<br />
there is much talk about<br />
"the decline of satisfaction<br />
in being a lawyer," he invited<br />
the Visitors to give<br />
their views on trends in the<br />
legal profession. The Dean<br />
specifically mentioned the<br />
increased emphasis on bill-<br />
able hours; recruitment<br />
and retention of minorities;<br />
and barriers to the<br />
advancement of women.<br />
Can the profession and legal<br />
educators do anything<br />
to improve present conditions?<br />
he asked. Or is it<br />
"just the way the market<br />
is?-a conclusion that we<br />
should be reluctant to<br />
reach."<br />
Here is a sampling of<br />
comments from the Visitors:<br />
"We never heard the term<br />
'quality of life' five or six<br />
years ago. We worked<br />
2<strong>50</strong>0 hours. 'I had to do<br />
it; Why shouldn't you?'<br />
It's an emotional reaction.<br />
We had a young guy who<br />
said he was burned out after<br />
six months with the<br />
firm. Give me a break!"<br />
-LeRoy Bobbitt '69<br />
"The '60s and '80s are<br />
over. The economy is<br />
changing due to globalization<br />
and computerization.<br />
Work is going to be different.<br />
We're not going to see<br />
the collegiality of the '60s<br />
and '70s or the income of<br />
the '80s again. There's<br />
nothing the School can do<br />
about it except to make<br />
sure students understand<br />
it. "<br />
-Robert Keller '58<br />
FALL <strong>1996</strong> STANFORD LAWYER 19