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Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009 2:33 p.m.

Homeland security secretary speaks at law school, outlines ‘new course’ for department

by Lauren French

This article was written by Hatchet Reporter Amanda D’Ambra.

Photo courtesy of Abdul El-Tayef/WPPI. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano spoke to students at the Law School Wednesday afternoon. Napolitano said the Department has a 'new course' focusing on terrorism, illegal immigration.

Photo courtesy of Abdul El-Tayef/WPPI. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano spoke to students at the Law School Wednesday afternoon. Napolitano said the Department has a 'new course' focusing on terrorism, illegal immigration.

Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, announced an “ambitious new course” for the her department Wednesday in a discussion with a group of GW law students.

Napolitano spoke to a full auditorium about the current goals of the department, as well as the challenges it faces in the coming years.  She spoke of the “ambitious new course” for the department, which, with over 225,000 employees, is the third largest in the federal government.

“I am often asked, ‘how do you intend to manage this thing, it is unmanageable,’ ” Napolitano said.  “Actually, it is not unmanageable.  It is very manageable, if you look at four main areas.”

Napolitano said the main focus of the department is on terrorism within our own borders and on an international scale.  The department was established after the Sept. 11 attacks and has the central task of ensuring such an attack would not reoccur.

“[This is a] one-of-a-kind agency that is responsible for protecting the homeland.  And that is a very broad mission, and it has many aspects,” she said, naming a larger number of departments the DHS works with.

The second mission of the department, Napolitano said, is to secure our nation’s borders.  This begins with agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, coordinating with international governments to monitor who is traveling across the world and where they are traveling.

Napolitano stressed the importance of monitoring immigration to the U.S. To do this more effectively, she said, the department must make adjustments to enforce the laws more strictly.

“We have the enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws, we have the process by which those who are legally seeking to be in our country can do that, and then of course we have the ongoing effort working with the Congress to really update and reform those immigration laws which are out of sync with the law enforcement and the economic needs of our nation in this sector,” Napolitano said.

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Monday, Sept. 21, 2009 1:59 p.m.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy to speak at Law School Oct. 15

by Lauren French

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy will be the keynote speaker at the GW Law Review Symposium, Law School Dean Frederick Lawrence announced on Monday.

The symposium will begin Thursday, Oct. 15 and is traditionally a two-day event with several speakers and discussion panels. Kennedy, 73, was appointed to the Court by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1988.

Last year’s speakers included law professors from GW, Cornell University and the University of Toronto. The symposium also hosted a Supreme Court Justice in 2005, when Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered remarks about the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

Registration is required through the GW Law School but online registration is not yet open for the 2009 conference, Lawrence said.

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Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:36 p.m.

Supreme Court nominee appeared at GW in 2006

by Lauren French
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor heard arguments during the Van Vleck Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition in 2006. She was joined by her colleague from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Guido Calabresi, and Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor hears arguments during the Van Vleck Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition in 2006. She was joined by her colleague from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Guido Calabresi, and Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. Hatchet file photo

Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor is no stranger to GW.

Back in 2006, the federal judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals served as a judge for GW Law School’s Moot Court competition, after a request from fellow Yale alumnus Frederick Lawrence, Dean of the GW Law School.

Lawrence said he remembers Sotomayor fondly, both from their time at Yale and when Sotomayor came back for the competition.

“She has a rare combination of a powerful influence but at the same time a deep sense of responsibility to humanity,” Lawrence said.

He said he thinks the Hispanic judge will be a good addition to the court if approved by Senate, something he sees as a good possibility.

“I think it is a strong nomination. She adds the trial experience that is currently lacking in the Supreme Court,” Lawrence said.

After the Moot Court competition, Lawrence said he was impressed by the dedication Sotomayor put into the whole event, noting that the judge opened herself up to both students and faculty at the awards ceremony where she stayed for over an hour to answer questions.

As Americans begin to learn more about Sotomayor’s background, Lawrence said he thinks they will see the “kind-hearted” person he knew while at Yale.

“She has a great sense of humor and she never takes her self too seriously,” he said.

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Thursday, April 23, 2009 9:21 a.m.

Law School drops in U.S. News rankings

by Nat Grossman

Update, 1:51 p.m. This post has been changed to correct inaccuracies in the original.

GW Law School placed 28th in the 2010 U.S. News and World Report survey of the nation’s best law schools, released yesterday. The rank represents a substantial drop for the Law School, which was ranked No. 20 last year.

The drop may have been largely due to a change in the methodology U.S. News uses to compile the rankings. For the first time, the organization combined admissions data for part-time and full-time students. In past years, they had only included full-time students.

Director of Data Research Bob Morse told the Wall Street Journal his magazine believed some schools were “gaming the system” by funneling students with less impressive credentials into part-time programs.

Of the other five schools in the top 50 that have part-time programs, Fordham University and George Mason University both dropped three places, while the University of Maryland dropped one position. American University moved up one spot to 45, while Georgetown kept its 2009 ranking at 14.

In the category specifically for part-time schools, GW was ranked second in the country, behind Georgetown.

In a statement, Law School Dean Frederick Lawrence attributed the drop to the change in methodolgy, claiming the school “continued to improve in many ways that cannot be measured accurately or adequately by any ranking system.” He further cautioned students against placing too much emphasis on the rankings, saying that most academics view the rankings as “flawed.”

Hatchet Reporter David Heller examined the changes to the methodology in an article last semester.

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Thursday, April 9, 2009 8:04 p.m.

Law School adjunct professor to lead ATF

by Nat Grossman

Kenneth E. Melson, an adjunct professor in the GW Law School, has been named the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Department of Justice announced yesterday.

In a news release, Attorney General Eric Holder called Melson a “dedicated public servant” and “extremely capable and experienced.”

Since 2007, Melson has been the director of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, and has held positions in various state and federal agencies for over 30 years. At the ATF, he will lead an agency with more than 4,500 employees and a $1 billion operating budget. Melson’s move to ATF was part of a series of personnel changes by Holder.

In addition to being an adjunct professor, Melson is also an alumnus, having received his J.D. from the law school in 1973.

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Wednesday, April 1, 2009 2:13 a.m.

Obama’s Nominee for General Counsel of Department of Veterans Affairs is a GW alum

by Sarah Scire

Another day, another GW-connected nomination from the White House.

William Gunn, who has a Master’s of Law degree in Environmental Law from GW, is President Barack Obama’s nominee for General Counsel of Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a White House release posted on Tuesday.

Gunn, who also holds degrees from Harvard Law School and the United States Air Force Academy, currently represents military members and veterans in private practice. In 2003, Gunn was named the first Chief Defense Counsel in the Department of Defense Office of Military Commissions.

“Gunn built a defense team and supervised all defense activities for detainees selected for trial before military commissions,” according to the White House press release. “His efforts earned respect and admiration for his principled leadership and commitment to ensuring that detainees received effective representation.”

The 50-year-old career military lawyer is also a licensed minister and former CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington. He has a fascinating Web site, which features some intense sound effects.

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Saturday, March 14, 2009 9:20 p.m.

Law School complex evacuated due to fuel spill

by Andrew Nacin
Multiple GW buildings remain closed after heating oil leaked from underground tanks into the basement of Lisner Hall.

Multiple GW buildings remain closed after heating oil leaked from underground tanks into the basement of Lisner Hall. Andrew Nacin/Hatchet photographer

Updated March 15, 5:45 p.m. Multiple GW buildings were evacuated Saturday night after “possibly a few hundred gallons” of heating oil leaked from underground tanks into the basement of Lisner Hall, a University spokeswoman said.

University spokeswoman Tracy Schario said the heating oil came from two underground tanks adjacent to Lisner Hall, each able to hold 6,000 gallons. Schario said someone reported an odor to the University Police Department at about 8:30 p.m. UPD evacuated the building and contacted the D.C. Fire Department. The odor was still perceptible in the area for much of the evening.

The emergency response included more than a dozen DCFD units, among them a hazardous materials team and at least four fire chiefs.

The emergency response included more than a dozen DCFD units, among them a hazardous materials team and at least four fire chiefs.

The incident elicited a large emergency response, including more than a dozen DCFD units. Among them were a hazardous materials team and at least four fire chiefs. Schario said a member of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty’s staff was on scene, as was John Petrie, GW’s assistant vice president for Public Safety and Emergency Management. DCFD cleared the area shortly after 11 p.m., once the spill was believed to be contained.

She said about 60 people were evacuated from the Law School complex, which includes Bell, Lisner, Stuart and Stockton halls, and the law library. While the rest of GW just started Spring Break, the Law School is currently in session. Schario said Sunday the complex reopened after cleanup efforts early Sunday, but had no new information.

Schario said late Saturday there was no indication what caused the leak. “We don’t know whether it was a spill or a leak,” she said. “We’re classifying it as a heating oil fuel spill.”

The environmental impact will be part of the assessment, she said Saturday, noting that the tanks were underground. The D.C. Water and Sewer Authority and Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs were notified of the incident.

There were no injuries reported. A DCFD spokesperson was unavailable for comment.

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Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008 9:35 p.m.

Scalia to judge moot court competition

by Nat Grossman

Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia will judge the GW Law School’s annual Van Vleck Moot Court competition on January 22.  His appearance will mark the third time in four years that a Supreme Court justice has presided over the annual event.

In addition to Scalia, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Marsha Berzo, and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey Sutton will hear law students argue both sides of a fictional case written by other students.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito presided over previous moot court competitions in 2006 and 2007 respectively. Although last year’s event did not feature a member of the nation’s highest court, Law School Dean Frederick Lawrence hinted that he hoped to invite a Supreme Court justice in 2009.

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Friday, Dec. 19, 2008 1:30 a.m.

Alumnus, Watergate’s ‘Deep Throat,’ dies

by Alexa Millinger

W. Mark Felt, former associate director of the FBI who anonymously supplied insider information during the Watergate scandal under the alias “Deep Throat,” died yesterday at age 95 near his home in California.

Felt, who kept his role in the scandal a secret until 2005, graduated from GW Law School in 1940.

The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward reflects on his relationship with Felt, that eventually led to the downfall of the Nixon administration.

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Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008 6:36 p.m.

New SEC chief is a Law School alumna

by Nat Grossman

While many GW seniors might hope to land an entry-level job in the Obama Administration after they graduate, one alumna already has her position sewn up, pending senate approval, of course. Mary Schapiro, a 1977 graduate of the Law School was nominated by President-elect Obama Thursday to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Described by the Washington Post as a “veteran regulator,” Schapiro most recently served as the CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a self-regulatory organization that oversees the securities industry. During the Clinton Administration, she was the chairwoman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

At the SEC, Schapiro will lead an agency that has been widely criticized for its handling of the recent financial crisis. The agency admitted last week that it had failed to properly investigate the business dealings of Bernard Madoff, a financier accused of defrauding investors of $50 billion.

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