Georgetown Law Alumni Magazine - Res Ipsa Loquitur
Spring/Summer 2009 - Online Volume 1
Letter From the Dean
All eyes seem to be on Washington, D.C., these days. As our nation grapples with the economic crisis and a new presidential administration makes its mark on the world, we at the Law Center are proud to be part of these historic events. We feature in these pages three members of the faculty who have joined the new administration — Professors Lisa Heinzerling as senior climate counsel at the EPA, Neal Katyal as principal deputy solicitor general and Martin Lederman as deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel — and a fourth, Professor Daniel Tarullo, who was selected late last year to be a member of the Federal Reserve Board.
A number of alumni have also been tapped to serve the nation in the Department of Justice, the State Department, the Office of Management and Budget and elsewhere. In January, former Senate majority leader George Mitchell (L’61) was appointed special Middle East envoy and (proof that Georgetown’s representation is bipartisan) Michael Steele (L’91) became the new head of the Republican National Committee. You can read more about these alumni in this issue. View a running list of appointees.
The fast-moving events of the last six months seem to signal fundamental changes in how we understand the role of government. We need analysis and new tools to fully understand these changes, and the Law Center is uniquely placed to provide them. A wide range of speakers, workshops and conferences at the Law Center this year have been exploring the crucial issues of the day from both theoretical and policy perspectives. And I will be teaching a colloquium next spring semester on “The New Governance,” which will explore new approaches to administrative law and the study of congressional process.
The current economic situation has had — and will continue to have — dramatic effects on the legal profession. The layoffs and firm dissolutions are without precedent, and we may well be seeing in days ahead a basic restructuring of the way legal services are delivered. At the same time, the new world of regulation will, inevitably, require more lawyers. Once again, we feel that Georgetown is well positioned to analyze these trends and changes, especially with the addition of our new Center for the Study of the Legal Profession. We offer in this issue a detailed look at the Center and the future of the profession.
These have been deeply difficult days for our nation and the world, presenting both significant challenges and real opportunities for the Law Center. Most importantly, our commitment remains to prepare the next generation of Georgetown lawyers for the ever changing world they will inherit.
Sincerely,
T. Alexander Aleinikoff
Dean of the Law Center
Executive Vice President, Law Center Affairs
