Celebrating Women and their
Contributions to Law
Keynote Address:
Quarterly Meeting and Luncheon
The Philadelphia Bar Association
October 16, 2007
I am honored to join you today to celebrate Lynn Marks and all the women who, like her, have made such significant contributions to the legal community of greater Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the entire nation.
Lynn, I feel so privileged to share the program with you today. You have made a career of representing and defending people—particularly women—from all walks of life. Through your work in securing access to fair housing, your efforts to protect the privacy of victims of domestic abuse, and your drive to eliminate bias in the legal system, you have taken on some of the most important policy issues of the day.
With your incredible legal acumen, your dedication to social justice, and your advocacy for equal rights, you are an inspiration to your colleagues in the legal profession and to women everywhere. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition.
Thank you to the Philadelphia Bar Association for inviting me to recognize the tremendous impact women in the law have had on the lives of so many. The Sandra Day O'Connor Award celebrates the many contributions women make as leaders in society, and you need not look further than Philadelphia for evidence of this impact. Women hold leadership positions in some of the most important organizations in our region.
Justice O’Connor poignantly said, “The power I exert on the court depends on the power of my arguments, not on my gender.” This afternoon, we celebrate the power of legal reasoning and argument and the example of women who through their accomplishment, have opened the way for many young women to learn to excel on the basis of their arguments.
I am proud of Temple University’s role in developing women leaders—particularly in the legal profession. Of the 14 women who have received the Sandra Day O’Connor Award since 1993, seven have connections to the Beasley School of Law at Temple:
- 1995 recipient Deborah R. Willig is a 1975 graduate and former member of the Law School Board of Visitors. She was also the first female Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar.
- 1996 recipient Marina Angel is a distinguished member of the Beasley School of Law faculty.
- The 1997 recipient was The Honorable Dolores K. Sloviter, an adjunct professor of the Law School and 1953 graduate of Temple’s College of Liberal Arts.
- 1999 recipient Leslie Anne Miller holds her master of law degree in Trial Advocacy from Temple and is a member of the Law School Board of Visitors. She was also the first female President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
- The 2001 recipient was the late Judith Jamison, a 1948 Temple graduate who served as a judge in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and was the first woman to serve as an Orphan's Court judge in Pennsylvania.
- 2005 recipient was former Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Phyllis Beck, a 1967 Temple graduate and member of the Law School Board of Visitors. An endowed professorship has been established at Temple in recognition of her many contributions to the school.
- And, last year’s recipient Roberta D. Pichini, is an adjunct faculty member and friend of the Beasley School of Law.
These women are incredible role models—shining examples of the many connections between Temple University and the Philadelphia Bar Association. They serve as distinguished members of the Philadelphia legal community.
In the past few months we have lost two of Temple’s and the legal community’s most distinguished leaders.
Our dear friend Howard Gittis’ untimely death last month was a profound loss. His leadership as Bar Association Chancellor and as Chairman of the Temple Board of Trustees permanently shaped both organizations. We all miss him greatly.
The memory of another leader reflects the history of service that Temple University and the Philadelphia Bar Association share.
The Law Education and Participation Program, known as “LEAP,” was initiated by one of Temple’s most prominent graduates, the late civil rights pioneer and U.S. District Court Judge, Clifford Scott Green. A 1951 graduate of Temple law, Judge Green was a tremendous presence. He served the university as a trustee for more than 20 years and was an adjunct professor in the law school. We mourn the recent loss of his inspiration and leadership. I am thankful that I was able to meet him before his passing.
The LEAP program is a wonderful tribute to Judge Green. For more than 30 years, Temple and the Association’s Young Lawyers Division have co-sponsored this program that provides Philadelphia high school students with a challenging and motivating preview of a legal career.
Both Howard and Judge Green would have been delighted to know that this year, the entering class in Temple’s Beasley School of Law includes a woman who won the Philadelphia High School Mock Trial competition in 2001 while attending Overbrook High School. Last year, Temple’s award-winning National Trial Team included two law students whose interest in the law began as high school students in the program.
LEAP typifies the commitment to service that is at the very core of Temple University’s mission. We strongly believe that a vital urban university is not just a provider of “outreach,” but a gateway for the exchange of resources that flow in both directions.
Temple's Service Mission
Great cities need great universities, and great universities need great cities. As Philadelphia’s largest public research university, Temple plays a leading role in advancing quality of life in the city and region through research, education and service.
At the same time, much of Temple’s recent growth has been driven by the vibrancy of Philadelphia. Temple attracts students from a growing geographic radius who want to experience the excitement of the city, with its array of social, cultural, retail and entertainment offerings.
More students now attend Temple on a full-time basis than at any other time in our history—77 percent. For the current academic year, the university has enrolled the largest class in history, drawn from a strong pool of talented young people.
Exemplifying the same values that inspire the Sandra Day O’Connor Award, community service is central to the Temple University experience. Whether they are from Philadelphia, the surrounding suburbs, or beyond, students come to Temple and engage. In August, 2,000 freshmen and student leaders participated in Freshserv, and took to the streets to sweep, paint and clean in neighborhoods across the city.
This first public service outing for new Temple students will surely not be their last: Across the university, Temple volunteers provide more than 35,000 hours of annual service to the community. In addition, many Temple faculty pursue research activities that benefit the urban area, including sustainability, education, crime, community development and healthcare.
I am extremely proud of Temple’s social impact, but it is only part of the story: Temple is also a major economic engine. A 2004 study by Econsult estimated Temple’s annual direct expenditures in the region to be approximately $2.7 billion. Temple’s operations account for one out of every 50 dollars spent in the city each year. These figures do not include the considerable impact of Temple University Health System.
But by far, Temple’s greatest contribution to the region is through our graduates—men and women educated for success. Approximately one of every eight college-educated residents in the Philadelphia region holds a Temple degree. In all walks of life, in all areas of human endeavor, Temple alumni are the backbone of the regional economy. They are leaders in the media, the arts, social services and government. They are your doctors, dentists and pharmacists. They are your children’s teachers. They are your lawyers.
Higher education is Greater Philadelphia’s single greatest asset, second only to Boston in impact, and we at Temple are proud to be among the more than 80 colleges and universities that bring students to the region and create our next generation of leaders. Increasing numbers of Temple students are choosing to live and work here after earning their degrees. The Brookings Institution recently (2003) reported that Temple graduates remain in the Commonwealth at rates higher than students at other area universities: 69 percent of our recent graduates remain in Pennsylvania and 61 percent remain in the greater Philadelphia region. In Temple’s law school, two thirds of each graduating class of J.D. students take the Pennsylvania Bar. This year, as in most years, Temple had more graduates who passed the bar and were admitted to practice in Pennsylvania than any other law school in the Commonwealth.
Temple Shapes the Philadelphia Legal Community
The far-reaching influence of Temple alumni extends to the Greater Philadelphia legal community. Since 1972, 13 Temple law graduates have served as Chancellors of the Philadelphia Bar Association. The Beasley School of Law places more associates in large Philadelphia law firms than any other law school; and Temple is first among regional law schools in placing graduates in public interest careers.
Let’s test this network: If you serve on the Beasley School of Law Board of Visitors or Alumni Association, are a Temple University alumnus or alumna, a faculty member, guest lecturer, a Temple parent, or are otherwise associated with Temple University, will you please stand?
(Nearly two-thirds of the audience rises.)
How’s that for impact? Temple proudly celebrates your initiative, determination and commitment. I also note proudly that Philadelphia’s Mayor, U.S. Attorney and District Attorney are all Temple graduates. And Judge and Governor Rendell’s son, Jesse Rendell, is now studying law at Temple.
Nationally, Temple is recognized as a premier educator of trial lawyers, and has a major presence in the judicial system. Twenty-two of our graduates are federal court judges; 100 Temple alumni serve as state court judges.
Our students graduate well prepared to enter every facet of legal practice. Temple alumni are partners and associates at every type of law firm from multi-national offices to rural solo practices. They are district attorneys and public defenders in large and small cities all over the United States. They head large non-profit agencies and staff legal aid offices. And they serve as legal counsel for a multitude of businesses and corporations of all sizes.
Excellence marks Temple law: The first-time Bar pass-rate for the Law School class of 2006 was 91percent, the highest for any Pennsylvania law school. This year, two Temple law graduates received the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg Law Student Writing Awards. Both are students of our esteemed professor, Susan DeJarnatt, who is with us today. Congratulations, Susan.
We believe our success is rooted in the fact that the Beasley School of Law offers a different kind of law school experience. First, because it is based here in Philadelphia, our students have access to the vast resources of this dynamic legal community.
Second, the School’s approach to legal education integrates classroom and experiential learning, so that our students are engaged from the outset in the work of real attorneys.
Most importantly, the hallmark of Temple faculty is their passion for teaching and their commitment to world-class legal scholarship.
Temple also is a major player in advancing the principles of the American legal system internationally. Over the past decade, our international law faculty has expanded exponentially. Nearly 25 percent of Temple's law students study abroad at our campuses in Italy, Japan and China. Our campus in Beijing is the first foreign law degree-granting program in the history of China, where we have made significant contributions toward the development of the rule of law. Our work there is helping to promote an understanding of the principles of due process and of Western law, critical to the development of international trade and business relationships.
Beasley has become an international law school while remaining faithful to its Philadelphia roots. Temple law students serve the North Philadelphia community pro bono publico as volunteers in an extensive array of clinical training programs. The Temple Legal Aid Office has represented economically disadvantaged citizens of North Philadelphia for more than 50 years. Hundreds of grass roots community organizations have been legally established by the Temple Community Non-Profit Organizations Clinical.
Those who know the Beasley School of Law at Temple University know that the driving force behind these many achievements, especially at the international level, has been Dean Robert Reinstein. Bob’s vision and long term commitment to legal education at Temple have been extraordinary. As many of you know, Bob has announced his intention to return to the faculty full time at the end of this academic year. I am most grateful for his remarkable service, and I am pleased that he will continue to be a valued member of our faculty. Please join me in recognizing Dean Reinstein for his many years of leadership.
(The audiences rises in a standing ovation for Dean Reinstein)
Bob, thank you for all you have done to serve Temple and the Greater Philadelphia legal community.
Temple's Commitment
I am proud to serve as president of an institution that gives so much back to its community, the greater region and the world. On this very special occasion, I am especially proud to be the president of the university associated with the contributions made by half of the recipients of the Sandra Day O’Connor Award. As we work to expand Temple’s role as the region’s leading public urban university, many more opportunities to build connections with members of the Philadelphia legal community will develop.
Like the Philadelphia Bar Association, we at Temple remain steadfast in our commitment to social responsibility and community action, and we will continue to work to advance Philadelphia for generations.
Thank you again for your generous invitation to be with you today to celebrate the tremendous achievements of women in the law. Men and women of good will, together, will work with diligence and commitment to assure the preservation of the critical values and principles that have sustained and nurtured our legal system.
Thank you.
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