The picture is from my son's graduation day, 2008, following his commencement ceremony where I handed him his diploma: Philip M. Tatarowicz, Professor, Graduate Tax, LL.M. (Tax) 1983; son, Christopher P. Tatarowicz, Law 2008.

I had professors talking about the Commerce Clause, foxes, promissory estoppel, eggshell plaintiffs, Volkswagens, and who knows what else. In large part, the material might as well have been in Greek. Eventually, of course, the professors started to get through to me (not entirely as, after all, the professors are academics). My first year professors in particular, including Dan Ernst, Jim Oldham, Robyn West and Steven Goldberg (RIP Professor Goldberg), had such an impact on my life. All of that incomprehensible stuff has been part of it for 25 years and absolutely necessary. In addition to the professors, the wonderful students I met at GULC who accepted the old guy (I turned 35 in my second week of law school--seems mighty young now) remain very dear to me and were as much a part of my education as were the professors. Thank you to Georgetown University. I know you are not perfect, but I appreciate how you try.

the construction of which was incomplete when we started in 1974. After graduating, I served as a lawyer in the White House Counsel’s Office, and among my duties was dealing with the Nixon Presidential papers that were left at the White House after his resignation. One of my most interesting meetings was in Judge Sirica’s chambers (another GULC graduate) over issues surrounding access to those papers. Judge Sirica’s law clerk was Robert Ruyak who also graduated with me in 1974. It was quite a time with all of us GULC graduates discussing the related issues along with representatives from the Watergate Special Prosecutor.

Here are photos from the first day and last day of our law school careers. Two USC alumni become GULC alumni, too!

In August of 2013, I organized the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington. I wanted to begin the commemorative march such that the distance was not too far for the elderly marchers who had participated in the original March. Therefore, GULC was the logical place to begin. Fortunately, the Dean and his staff welcomed the idea. Coincidentally, the March was scheduled to take place on the first day of classes. (In fact, GULC made a video wherein the March and the first day of classes were mentioned by the Dean.). Early that morning, on the steps of GULC, the Dean, I, and other speakers welcomed the enthusiastic crowd. As a civil rights lawyer and graduate of GULC, I feel very blessed and fortunate that GULC understood the importance of this event to me but most importantly its significance to our nation.