As a member of the faculty over the past 14 years, I’ve become intimately acquainted with our esteemed institution. My commitment to Penn Carey Law’s success runs deep and I look forward to shaping the Law School during a new era that is ripe with possibility.

This inaugural column explores what truly sets this Law School apart—our people and vibrant community. Often described as the collegial law school, our modest size fosters close bonds among faculty, students, and staff, creating a dynamic environment in which respect drives creativity and innovation. This interconnected community is a hallmark of Penn Carey Law, shaping an intellectually stimulating atmosphere dedicated to legal excellence.

In late May 2020, while simultaneously working as an Associate at Hogan Lovells and providing care for her mother, who was terminally ill, Joseph was asked to work on one of the biggest pro bono matters the firm — and this generation — had ever taken on. The prosecution of the former police officers involved in the murder of George Floyd would not only forever impact Joseph’s life, but it would also change the fabric of social and racial justice in America.

“I did not see this coming,” Joseph said. “Being on what I think is the case of the century … was wild. At the time, my mom was at her sickest. And she always mustered up the energy to tell me how proud she was of me. That really kept me going even after her passing.”

n 2015 in Denver, Colorado, former President Bill Clinton toured a new health center site that would serve the homeless. Use of the New Markets Tax Credit made the facility a reality, and Clinton, who crafted the tax credit program in his final year in office, wanted to see his work in action.

“I pointed out a window to the parking lot across the alley and basically told him that once we got this one done, the next project was to build a recuperative center to meet the needs of people being inappropriately discharged from hospitals,” said John Parvensky L’79, who was then the CEO of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. “His words were, ‘I bet you will.’”

Clinton’s words proved prophetic. On the cusp of his spring 2023 retirement, Parvensky oversaw the crowning achievement of his 38-year career at the Coalition: the Renaissance Legacy Lofts and Stout Street Recuperative Care Center opened in October 2022.

Prior to joining the Department of State, Baylson was an attorney at Cozen O’Connor, focusing her practice on state attorney general investigations and litigation and white-collar defense. Throughout her career, Baylson has dedicated ample time and effort to pro bono efforts, and before entering the private sector, she spent four years as a Public Defender in Philadelphia.

Following his service as the Chief Counsel of the Federal Aviation Administration during the Obama-Biden Administration, Reggie Govan L’78 was a Senior Lecturer in Legal Practice Skills during the 2019–2020 academic year. To honor the forty-one 1Ls comprising the class, whose grace and thirst for learning provided a firm foundation for a rewarding and successful teaching experience, Govan donated the notable artwork, Forward Together, to the Law School.

Forward Together depicts Harriet Tubman leading enslaved African Americans to freedom via the Underground Railroad. The artist, Jacob Lawrence, is a master of twentieth-century American Realism. His artwork chronicles the profound influences of African Americans on the cultural, social, and intellectual life and history of America. That painting now adorns a wall on the second floor of Silverman Hall.

The students in Govan’s class were: Eleanor Allen, Ryan Baldwin, Corinne Belkoff, Rebecca Bierstein, Matthew Bunner, Canclong Cai, Amani M. Carter, Grace Haeun Cho, Alexandra Delaney, Bryan Dinner, Jordan Einstein, Evan Elam, Madeline Feldman Fenton, Abraham Flegman, George Frank, Susannah Gagnon, Gwyneth Harrick, Nicolas Harris, Jacob Hirshman, Catherine Kearney, Joseph Kim, Cole Kinie, Matthew Kut, Mackenzie Libbey, William Lyoo, Julia Malave, Zachary Malter, Sum-Mai Nguyen, Caroline Nowlin, Garcia Luis Pacheco, Oliver Paprin, Ravid Reif, Seth Rosenberg, Elle Rothermich, Seth Rubenstein, Carolyn Sharzer, Lucas Slevin, Sarah Stern, Aubrey Thompson, Daniel Turner, and Angela Wu.

Members of the prestigious American Philosophical Society (APS) voted to elect Dorothy E. Roberts, George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology and the Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights, as a new member. Founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin for the purpose of “promoting useful knowledge,” the APS is the oldest learned society in the United States.

With fewer than 30 new members elected annually, the APS honors and engages distinguished scientists, civic and cultural leaders, and preeminent scholars across a range of academic disciplines.

“I’m very honored by the American Philosophical Society’s recognition of my scholarship, which I hope provides useful knowledge for building a more just and humane world,” said Roberts. “Penn has been a wonderful academic home, and it’s especially gratifying to join my distinguished Penn Carey Law colleague Anita Allen as an APS member.”

Unlike American universities, the chancellorships at British schools are largely ceremonial. As Chancellor, Judge Beetlestone, who has been a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania since 2015, presides over the University’s two annual graduation ceremonies.

“At each graduation ceremony over which I preside, I give (what I hope is) an inspirational speech, and as the students walk across the stage, doff my cap to each one of them.” Between ceremonies this summer, she gained an in-depth understanding of the University by talking with members of the academic faculty, as well as administrative and student leaders. “I’m spending time with the best and the brightest at an institution I love, which is unbelievably gratifying,” she said.

hen he was named General Counsel of the United States Air Force in 2018, General Thomas Ayres L’91 embarked on the momentous task of creating a new subset of the American military, which had not been done since the establishment of the Air Force in 1947.

Working closely with then-Vice President Mike Pence, members of Congress, and congressional staff and space professionals across the Secretary of Defense offices, he made the United States Space Force a reality.

General Ayres, who retired as an Army Major General after 33 years, joined Voyager Space in June 2021 as Chief Legal Officer and Counsel. His active military career included the role of Deputy leader of the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps in addition to several combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said navigating the bureaucracy of the federal government and getting all parties on board was the most difficult aspect of creating the Space Force.

“I care deeply about the health and safety of our financial markets and helping to ensure that we all have the ability to access the financial services we need to promote our financial wellbeing and guard against financial uncertainties,” Fairfax said.

“FINRA’s mission of investor protection and market integrity advances these ideals, and I am very excited and honored to join FINRA’s Board of Governors and play a role in support of such an important endeavor.”

“For me,” he said, “joining the faculty at Penn Carey Law is a dream come true.”

Morse studies voting rights, election administration, and the criminal justice system. He also has a secondary appointment in the political science department. In general, his work combines empirical methods and novel administrative data with traditional legal scholarship.

Drawing on her own lived experiences, Lee advises students to expect the unexpected. More than ever, she said, careers are malleable—where you start may be poles apart from where you end up. Her message is well-calibrated for this era of rapid change, both in society and in the legal profession.

“The career paths for our graduates are going to look really different than they did 20 or 30 years ago,” said Lee, Dean and Bernard G. Segal Professor of Law. “The legal profession is changing, so it is much less common to have a lockstep career ladder. I have tried to emphasize to my students that there are a lot of side paths off the main road.”

The Thriving & Dynamic Student Life at Penn Carey Law

t Penn Carey Law, the culture of collegiality extends far beyond academics. Students commit themselves to three years of demanding and difficult classwork, arriving with a natural appetite for community-centered learning and nurturing deep social networks. With a vibrant, diverse population of over 800 JD students, roughly 100 LLMs, and over 100 MLs, the Law School is home to 7 student-run academic journals, 30 pro bono organizations, and 70 other student clubs. From the Jessup International Law Moot Court Team, which participates in the largest moot court competition in the world, to the Baking Club, which relieves students’ stress with fresh baked goods, everyone can find an outlet for their extracurricular interests here.

The ratio of students to organizations at Penn Carey Law is unusually high for a professional school with about 1,000 students and around 100 active clubs. In the last two decades, the Law School has maintained a steady student body size while the number of student groups has grown by at least 60.

Penn Carey Law takes an open approach to student organizational life. To start a new club, students submit a strong mission statement, list of club leaders, and 12 supporting signatures to establish a club and receive start-up funding.

Fine Print

1960s

Daniel Cohen L’68 received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Lafayette College, where he earned his undergraduate degree. Cohen is a Partner at Hof & Reid LLC, a Beth­lehem, Pennsylvania law firm specializing in personal injury law. His practice has concentrated in land use law, business organizations and corporate matters, transactions and wills, trusts, and estates. Cohen has served as a member of a hearing committee of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and, in the nonprofit world, has served as President and board member of B’nai Abraham synagogue, Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, Lehigh Valley Jewish Foundation, and ­ProJeCt of Easton Inc., as well as having served on the boards for the Hugh Moore Canal Commission, Premier Bank, now Fulton Bank, Friends of the State Theatre Inc., and City of Easton Police Practices Commission. At Lafayette, Cohen has assisted Gateway Career Center as a volunteer in various capacities including job fairs, internships, and the 1826 Law Society.