It is with deep pride and enthusiasm that I welcome you to this edition of The Journal, in which we explore how Penn Carey Law embraces our past, drives innovation, and forges paths into the future.

In today’s rapidly evolving legal landscape, Penn Carey Law is dedicated to bridging disciplines and preparing our students to become tomorrow’s leaders. Our Legal History Consortium, led by Prof. Karen M. Tani L’07, PhD’11, exemplifies this approach, providing a deep understanding of the law’s historical roots while fostering the next generation of legal historians. Looking ahead, our alumni and faculty are at the forefront of emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, energy and environmental law, and the legal complexities of the cannabis industry, shaping the future of the law. To that end, this fall, we launched the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy in partnership with five other Penn schools—an interdisciplinary initiative to address the complex intersections of policy, media, and technology.

Led by Sarah Pierce, Denise A. Rotko Dean for Legal Practice Skills, and Jessica Simon C’95, Associate Director of Legal Practice Skills, LPS convenes students in small groups while also challenging and supporting them with one-on-one instruction—a format designed for collaboration on assignments, meaningful engagement with individualized feedback, and skill-building that equips them to enter the workforce as confident new attorneys.

“The purpose is to connect the doctrine of law that they’re learning in their other classes, such as torts, contracts, criminal law, with the practice of that law, when representing a real client, one who’s embroiled in the criminal justice system or engaged in a contract dispute, for example,” said Pierce.

When Adam Tsao L’17 was asked to revive the Asian Alumni of Penn Carey Law (AAPCL) affinity group in 2020, he wanted to create something that would have wide resonance within the Law School community, stretching across generations and geographies.

“The first event that I put together was the Lunar New Year event,” Tsao recalled, “just because it’s such a significant cultural event for a large variety of different Asian and Pacific Islander-affiliated folks.”

Jack Regenbogen L’15 and Rae Shih L’18 were finalists for the award. All were honored at TPIC’s annual Pro Bono Recognition Dinner, at which students, supervising attorneys, and organizational partners are honored for their commitment to pro bono work. Regenbogen was unable to attend.

n being awarded this prestigious honor, Prof. Dorothy E. Roberts said, “I hope this award will shine a light on Black women’s visions and struggles for reproductive and family justice.”

Dorothy E. Roberts, George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology & Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, has been named a 2024 MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The MacArthur Fellowship is a five-year grant to individuals who show exceptional originality in and dedication to their creative pursuits.

“Dorothy Roberts’ groundbreaking work at the intersections of law, race, and social justice has profoundly impacted scholarship, public policy, and political mobilization,” says Dean and Bernard G. Segal Professor of Law Sophia Lee. “Her recognition as a 2024 MacArthur Fellow is fitting for a scholar who has reframed debates on critical issues ranging from child welfare to the biological basis of race. We are incredibly proud of her achievements and fortunate to have her as a faculty member at Penn Carey Law.”

Founded in 1923, ALI is an independent organization that produces scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and improve the law. Its elected members include eminent lawyers, judges, and academics from across the world, selected based on professional achievement and demonstrated interest in improving the law.

“I’m honored and humbled to join so many Penn Carey Law colleagues, and I look forward to participating in the ALI’s important work improving the administration of justice, a key aspect of the rule of law,” said Shaw.

The program, which is made possible by an endowed gift from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, honors the 15 illustrious years that Eric Friedman L’89 served as Skadden’s Executive Partner as well as his extensive contributions to the legal profession and steadfast commitment to making the profession more accessible.

The first 1LAP three-day program took place August 5-7, 2024, at the Law School.

Anjelica Hendricks researches and writes in the fields of policing, criminal law, and criminal procedure. Her academic work draws on her experiences as a Senior Policy Analyst for Philadelphia’s Police Advisory Commission (PAC), where she worked to identify systemic barriers to police accountability, and as a Philadelphia Public Defender, where she represented indigent clients in criminal proceedings. Hendricks also serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Greater Philadelphia Chapter.

The Center will be housed in the Penn School of Engineering and Applied Science (Penn Engineering) and will operate in partnership with five other schools at Penn, including the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School as well as Penn Engineering, Penn Arts & Sciences, the Annenberg School for Communication, the Wharton School, the School of Social Policy & Practice, and the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

“There is a critical societal need to better understand—and respond to—the way media and information technologies mediate and even influence global conversations,” said J. Larry Jameson, Penn’s Interim President. “Championing truth and upholding democracy are important elements of Penn’s strategic framework, In Principle and Practice. We are uniquely positioned to lead on this great challenge through our accomplished faculty in AI and data science who work across disciplines. We are deeply grateful to the Knight Foundation for partnering with us on this critical endeavor.”

s a vital hub for academic collaboration, the Legal History Consortium embodies Penn Carey Law’s commitment to interdisciplinarity, uniting the Law School and Penn’s Graduate History Department to foster innovative research, scholarship, and education in law and history.

The 2023 retirement of Sarah (Sally) Barringer Gordon, Arlin M. Adams Professor of Constitutional Law and Professor of History, Emerita, marked a pivotal moment for the Consortium, which continues to flourish under the leadership of Karen Tani L’07, PHD’11, Seaman Family University Professor.

Tani, who coordinates the Legal History Consortium, returned to Penn Carey Law in 2020 and holds joint appointments in the Law School and History Department. Her research and scholarship focus on social welfare law, administrative agencies, the role of rights in the modern American State, and the history of disability law in the late 20th century.

n the question of national cannabis legalization, Elliot Choi L’10 measures the answer in years rather than decades.

Choi is a longtime legal advisor to the cannabis industry and Deputy General Counsel at C3 Industries, a private multistate cannabis company with retail locations and cultivation and manufacturing facilities. He points to public opinion polls that consistently show a vast majority of Americans in favor of making cannabis available throughout the country for medical and adult use.

He also notes that signals from the Drug Enforcement Agency suggest the federal regulatory agency is ready to consider removing cannabis from the Schedule 1 classification of controlled substances, where it has been grouped since 1970 with heroin and LSD. This action, Choi said, could change perceptions about the dangers of the drug and open the door for more research on its potential benefits.

Fine Print

1960s

Charles Clayman L’69 received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the New York Law Journal. For more than 50 years, Clayman has fought for justice in the courtrooms of New York City and is considered by many to be one of the elder statesmen of criminal defense lawyers. He was one of the very first attorneys to establish a boutique white collar criminal defense law firm directly after leaving a prosecutor’s office, a practice that has now become standard in the criminal defense bar. Clayman is a pioneering attorney and steadfast advocate for justice, who combines his legal acumen with a deep philanthropic commitment and civic engagement, all of which makes him a deserving recipient of the New York Law Journal’s Lifetime Achievement honor.