The more than 600 guests attending the Reunion Class Gala at the Smithsonian Institution's Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture on Saturday night were treated to an off-the-record conversation between Dean Alex Aleinikoff and Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr., who attended the Gala with his wife Jane Sullivan Roberts (L'84). In their nearly 30-minute chat, Roberts and the dean discussed topics ranging from the role of the chief justice to the use of foreign law in interpreting the U.S. Constitution. And this was just one highlight of Law Reunion Weekend 2009.

Others included the presentation of the Paul R. Dean Awards, granted annually to graduates of the Law Center who have exhibited leadership to Georgetown Law and to the legal profession. This year's awardees were Barbara A. Moulton (L'89), assistant dean for Public Interest Programs at the Law Center; Cheryl M. Long (F'71, L'74), a judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia; Pascal C. Chadenet (L'88), partner at the multinational law firm Salans and founding chairman of Georgetown Law's European Law Alumni Advisory Board; E. Robert Lupone (L'84), senior vice president of Siemens Corporation; and Donald L. Waite (L'59), a business consultant and former executive vice president of Seagate Technology.

Alumni attending the Golden Years Luncheon on Friday reminisced about Professor Walter "Doc" Jaeger's contracts class, among others. Those who chose "back to school" events with Professors Charles F. Abernathy and Philip G. Schrag on Friday found first-year civil procedure classes considerably more enjoyable the second time around. Some came to admire Georgetown Law's Supreme Court moot court room - modeled after the real thing - and stayed to hear Professor David Cole discuss his new book, "The Torture Memos: Rationalizing the Unthinkable." Saturday brought the "Oktoberfest" celebration in addition to tours of CNN studios, Washington, D.C., and the presidential yacht U.S.S. Sequoia.

During the Dean's Welcome Back Reception, Aleinikoff filled alums in on the latest Law Center happenings - including the large numbers of faculty members and alumni entering the Obama administration and the accomplishments of Georgetown Law students pursuing public interest work. Indeed, as the dean noted over the course of the weekend, it's just part of what makes Georgetown special: great teaching, a commitment to service, and the ties that continue long after graduation day has gone.

"We hope as we do things here, that you continue to be proud of your school," Aleinikoff told the crowd.