This issue of The Journal continues our exploration of what sets this Law School apart—our people, our values, and the strength of our interconnected community—while highlighting the programs, partnerships, and philanthropic support that sustain our mission and enrich the student experience.

Over the past year, our faculty have shaped critical conversations in law and policy—from the future of artificial intelligence to access to justice. Our investment in experiential learning has deepened through our clinics and centers, where students work directly with clients, courts, and communities.

Across Philadelphia and beyond, many people navigate these courts without the guidance or benefit of legal representation. Through Justice Lab, Shanahan is equipping students with hands-on experience to become advocates for social justice. Working with organizational partners, they take on complex, real-world challenges that reveal how legal systems can better serve those most affected by inequity.

Shanahan’s scholarship examines the mismatch between the problems people bring to these courts and the laws and procedures the courts use to address them. In many cases, individuals spend only minutes before a judge, yet the outcomes can have life-altering consequences. Focusing on courts that disproportionately affect vulnerable communities, her empirical work sheds light on what happens in lawyerless courts, while her procedural and theoretical work offers new ways of thinking about and designing civil justice systems.

The U.S. Army War College is located two hours from Philadelphia in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and trains officers in the U.S. military and from militaries around the world for leadership roles.

“One of the students I had in my JD/MBA summer class—he and his father had both been stationed at the War College,” Theodore K. Warner Professor of Law and Professor of Real Estate Michael Knoll explained. “He came to me and suggested it would be a great idea to offer one of these simulations at Penn Carey Law, and I thought, absolutely.”

Knoll’s student was Aaron McKenney L’19, WG’19, now a Lecturer in Law at the Law School; his father is Adjunct Professor of Law Colonel (Ret.) Paul McKenney.

Joining from around the globe, attendees enjoyed a full weekend of events, including traditional favorites such as the State of the Law School with Sophia Z. Lee, Dean and Bernard G. Segal Professor of Law, and the Alumni Affinity Mixer.

New this year was “Courtroom Quest,” an interactive game that invited alumni to explore the Law School campus to earn points through an app. Participants dressed up as judges in the moot court room, took a picture with the Goat statue, and solved a riddle to find the Clock. The alumnus with the most points at the end of the weekend won a prize.

t the core of Penn Carey LAW’s success lies an exceptional faculty, who produce cutting-edge legal scholarship while teaching and mentoring the next generation of lawyers and leaders. Endowed chairs enable the Law School to recruit and retain faculty who bring pioneering perspectives to the classroom and drive pathbreaking research. Their wide-ranging expertise enables the Law School to expand its world-class curriculum and provides students with an exceptional academic experience.

Elizabeth Pollman was named the Perry Golkin Professor of Law starting in the 2025-26 academic year. An expert in business law, she teaches and writes in the areas of corporate law and governance, as well as startups, venture capital, and entrepreneurship. She has been named to the Corporate Practice Commentator’s Top 10 List eight times in the last eight years, including most recently for “The Making and Meaning of ESG,” which was published in the Harvard Business Law Review.

General academic support, class preparation strategies, and professional identity formation are all major components of 1LAP, with built-in opportunities for students to foster community, mentorship, and create their own legal networks.

“Reflecting on my 1LAP experience, I’m incredibly grateful for how it helped me build early connections with peers who became some of my closest friends throughout 1L,” said Christy Xie L’27. “As someone who went into law school without any existing connections, the program provided an early opportunity to form friendships and build a sense of community that supported me throughout my first year. Whether it was bonding over case readings in preparation for the mock class or chatting over mini golf, those first few days made a big difference in helping me feel part of the community.”

ifts to Penn Carey Law in memory of departed members of the Law School community allow family, friends, and classmates to come together in support of initiatives that honor their loved ones and create a lasting impact. Our vibrant, close-knit community is one of our enduring strengths, and one of the many reasons so many aspiring lawyers and leaders choose the Law School for their legal education. The friendships and connections students make with their classmates, faculty, and staff shape their careers and last a lifetime.

This makes it particularly heartbreaking when the Law School loses a member of the community. In these difficult moments, family, classmates, professors, and staff feel compelled to join together to mourn their loss, recall fond memories, and uphold the legacy that their loved one leaves behind.

Jo Pulvermacher was not an alumna of Penn Carey Law and was not affiliated with the Quattrone Center. However, after her husband, Louis Pulvermacher L’51, passed away in 2006, she wanted to honor his connection to the Law School and his desire to give back to the institution that played a major role in his professional life.

A 1956 graduate of Bryn Mawr College, Jo enjoyed a successful career in the fashion industry, rising steadily from saleswoman to chief designer and co-owner of Malcolm Starr, a dressmaker based in Manhattan. She was introduced to Louis at a party, a meeting that blossomed into a marriage of 35 years.

or generations, student-faculty mentorship has been a cornerstone of the Penn Carey Law experience, shaping careers, fostering innovative scholarship, and building lasting connections across classes and time. These invaluable relationships are part of what makes a Penn Carey Law education one of the best in the world and create the warm, collegial community that defines the Law School.

Blair Sadler L’65 knows this firsthand, attributing the trajectory and success of his career in healthcare to the impact of a Penn Carey Law professor he had nearly 60 years ago. In early 1966, Sadler and his twin brother, Dr. Alfred Sadler, wanted to create a medical-legal team to address gaps in healthcare, but were unsure how to proceed. They approached Professor Anthony Amsterdam L’60 with their idea, and his response, Sadler says, changed the course of both brothers’ careers.

“We asked him if we should do it now or if my brother should finish his [medical] residency,” Sadler recounted. “And he said, ‘it’s too good of an idea—do it now.’”

Kelly began giving to the Law School as soon as she graduated and has continued to provide support each year since. Recently, she served on her 30th reunion committee, which she said was a lot of fun and reminded her of the friendly, enduring community that inspires her to give.

“The reason I give is to give back to future generations of students,” she explained. “[Law School] was a good experience for me, and it’s wonderful to see how much the school has grown and prospered since I was there.” She particularly admires the interdisciplinary direction the school has taken since she attended. “Seeing these things makes me want to do my little bit to contribute,” she remarked. “I’m not a big dollar donor, but I like to consistently do my part to help.”

“This ranking reaffirms Penn Carey Law’s leadership in legal scholarship and our faculty’s dedication to producing work that has a meaningful impact on law and society,” said Dean and Bernard G. Segal Professor of Law Sophia Z. Lee. “Our interdisciplinary approach, collaborative research culture, and commitment to innovation continue to distinguish Penn Carey Law as a pillar of legal thought.”

ach year, students contribute thousands of hours to a wide range of projects through the Toll Public Interest Center (TPIC), which serves as the hub for the Law School’s renowned pro bono program. In the 2024–25 academic year, students volunteered over 27,000 pro bono hours benefiting nearly 50 nonprofit organizations. These efforts included initiatives addressing housing insecurity, youth advocacy, and support for incarcerated individuals, among other things.

“Externships are a wonderful opportunity for Penn Carey Law students to fulfill their experiential credit graduation requirement,” said Rachel Mayover, Executive Director of the Externship Program and Director of Administration for Academic Affairs. “These hands-on learning experiences give students the chance to explore various areas of law while being embedded within different placement sites, all while receiving full support from both their site supervisor and the Law School’s Externship Program.”

Students can pursue two different types of externships with the Law School. Gittis Externships are pre-approved, local opportunities with top government and nonprofit organizations. Typically, students can complete semester-long externships with placements like the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Philadelphia Regional Office), the Federal Defender’s Office, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, the Public Interest Law Center, and Community Legal Services, among others.

Established in 1988, the Skadden Fellowship allows students and recent graduates to pursue impactful public interest legal projects. Towns joins 28 fellows from 18 law schools in the 2025 class.

Towns, a Toll Public Interest Scholar, will work with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) in Washington, D.C. Her project aims to engage in multidisciplinary advocacy to safeguard and lawfully expand targeted programs so that low-income students of color can access higher education and employment opportunities.

“Low-income students of color often experience systemic inequities in K-12 education and beyond that, through no fault of their own, persist and hinder their opportunities at every stage of their academic and professional journeys,” she said in a spotlight from the Skadden Foundation. “I aim to bridge this gap by defending programs that dismantle barriers and create pathways to connect these talented students with the opportunities they need.”

“Dwayne has distinguished himself in his public service career and has been at the forefront of protecting LGBTQ+ students and teachers and ensuring access to public education for low-income students and students with disabilities,” said Ayanna Williams, TPIC’s Director for Public Interest Initiatives.

“Beyond his success as an advocate, Dwayne has also been a mentor to countless Penn Carey Law students and young alumni and served as a pro bono project and post graduate fellowship supervising attorney.”

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H. Ronald (Ron) Klasko L’74 was recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for immigration law. Klasko, a founding partner and current chairman of Klasko Immigration Law Partners, LLP, has been listed in Best Lawyers since 1991 and is widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading immigration attorneys. A former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), he is the only attorney to have received the AILA Founders Award twice for his contributions to immigration jurisprudence. Under his leadership, Klasko Immigration Law Partners has been consistently ranked among the top immigration law firms in the country.

The Honorable Gordon Goodman C’74, L’77 was honored as the Special Honoree at the Houston Bar Association’s 34th Annual Appellate Judicial Reception on April 23, 2025. The event recognized the justices of Texas’s First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals. Judge Goodman serves on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston, Texas.

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