<< Front page News November 21, 2003

Conference woos law alumni

More than 160 alumni spanning five decades and every region of the country converged on Oberlin last weekend to share their expertise and gather insight in a conference about law, liberal arts and social change in the 21st century.

The conference featured 50 alumni panelists on eight panels and speakers dissecting several topics, including family law, tort reform, affirmative action, intellectual property, capital punishment, environmental law, the Supreme Court and social change.

The conference featured a workshop for students interested in law school, a faculty symposium on how a liberal arts degree fosters social change and a networking lunch.

Politics professor Ron Kahn, Law and Society chair, said the conference was the first of its kind at Oberlin. Kahn, who has dreamt of the conference since 1997, wanted to teach students about their options in law as well as to form a bond between students and alumni.

“This conference was a celebration of these hardworking people and the values of Oberlin,” Kahn said. “It also showed students that these alumni were once where they are now.”

Kahn, who wants to launch a network in February for students and graduates involved in law, believes that the conference brought back many alumni who did not regularly attend reunions.

“At class reunions you only tend to know six people,” Kahn said. “With this, even if you don’t know anybody, you at least have a similar interest.”

One of eight students directing the conference, Megan McNamee,was responsible for publicizing the event, registering people, assisting panelists and hounding lawyers to sign their Continuing Legal Education forms.

“I think it went well,” McNamee said. “My favorite part was getting to meet people at the meals.”

The panelist selection process began two years ago with input from several faculty, Kahn said. “I originally came up with 14 panels with 25 panelists each,” he said.

Kahn chose panels by what he felt would interest students most, as well as which panels would allow alumni to earn Continuing Legal Education credits by attending.

Panelists were chosen more for their expertise than diversity, Kahn explained. While students appreciated the knowledge of panelists, some wished that more diversity in viewpoint and experience could have been represented.

“Though I respect that diversity wasn’t Professor Kahn’s goal, perhaps next time he could invite people who’ve interacted with law through their activism or personal life as well,” senior Zina von Bozzay said.

“For instance, in the intellectual property panel, maybe someone who’s gone on to be a musician and dealt with censorship. In law there’s principles and dialogues in fancy exclusive chambers or educational institutions, and then there’s the reality for everyone else and the perceptions they have.”

Joel Feldman (OC ’74) was ecstatic to return to Oberlin as a panelist on tort reform. “It was a great honor to come back to my alma mater, which shaped me ethically, socially and spiritually,” Feldman said. A partner in Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP, he was excited to see the accomplishments of his colleagues and inspired by his interaction with students.

“I was concerned that Oberlin was going downhill after seeing their rating drop in U.S. News, but the students I spoke with were every bit as bright as when I was there,” Feldman said.

He said that he hoped Oberlin could hold a conference on ethics on the private sector sometime down the road.

In the same vein, administrators are considering holding similar conferences on different fields in the future.

Possible agendas could include anything from medicine to media. “The key is getting scholars, practitioners and agents for social change all in the same place on the same page,” Kahn said.

Associate Vice President of Major Gifts Jeremy Weaver said he expects the conference will be good for fundraising.

“The school is strengthened anytime you can bring alumni back and get them interacting with students who are where they once were,” Weaver said.

Kahn credited the conference’s success to Oberlin Alumni Activity Director Margaret Erikson, as well as to Administrative Technician Kim Kosonovich for making sure all administrative and alumni needs were met.

He also praised Wendy Miller and career services for their help with the law school workshop.

The conference was also made possible by the cooperation of the offices of development, college relations, printing services and AV, support from Dean Clayton Koppes and President Nancy Dye and a student committee.

   

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