Boalt Hall's faculty, alumni and students are recognized for
their contributions to legal issues and society. Because of
their expertise, members of the law school's community are
frequent newsmakers and commentators in the media. Here we
highlight some of the local and national news stories that
feature the Boalt community.
'The O.C.' star Makes Appearance at UC Berkeley
Oakland Tribune, 5/10/05
Chatting it up with George Lucas at Skywalker Ranch in the afternoon, feted by Boalt Hall law students at UC Berkeley in the early evening—it was, in the words of actor Peter Gallagher, "A perfect day."
"There was this model of the X-Wing (starship fighter) near the (Ewok) lake and Storm Troopers mowing the lawn," says Gallagher, who stars as attorney Sandy Cohen on Fox's hit "The O.C."
"OK, maybe there weren't Storm Troopers mowing the lawn, but it was still really cool. ...
The New York native credits UC Berkeley for inspiring him to become an actor.
He was attending a course at Berkeley back in the '70s when Gallagher decided to chuck his economics studies to try his hand at acting. It paid off.
So it was a bit of deja vu when his character, Sandy Cohen, turned out to be a Boalt Hall grad.
Unbeknownst to Gallagher, while "The O.C." was in its first season, a group of Berkeley law students began weekly gatherings to watch the series. That viewing group spawned "The O.C. at Boalt" — the only social club on the law school's campus. The club, in turn, begat the Sandy Cohen Fellowship.
When Gallagher became aware of the group, he threw some "cabbage" at the scholarship and then actually showed up when the group handed out the first scholarship. This is the second year of the scholarship, which is given to a student who will intern at a public defender's office. ...
'O.C.' Star Gives Award in Spirit of Character at UC-Berkeley
The Daily Californian, 5/9/05
A flurry of orange shirts and flashing lights surrounded Simon Hall on Friday night, as hundreds of students prepared for the arrival of "The O.C." star Peter Gallagher.
Gallagher, who plays former Orange County public defender and Boalt Hall School of Law alumnus Sandy Cohen on the show, presented a $5,000 fellowship to first-year Boalt law student Ronnie Lin.
The annual Sandy Cohen Public Defense Fellowship, created two years ago to offset the financial burden of an unpaid internship in the field of public defense, is funded through contributions from Gallagher, Fox Broadcasting Company, and "The O.C." at Boalt, a club for fans of the show.
"Public defense is a noble departure in law, one of public service and indigent defense," Gallagher said in an interview. "This fellowship is something that's encouraging to genuinely provide adequate public defense."
Lin, who will intern at the San Francisco Public Defender's Office this summer, said the fellowship will help his law career by giving him experience in various fields.
"I want to explore and see what's out there," Lin said.
The organization annually selects a recipient for the fellowship based on an essay on the influence of Gallagher's character.
"Ronnie provided the most insight in Sandy Cohen's character and showed the spirit of the show," said Ilona Turner, head of the club. "We felt that he was a great representative of the club." ...
Boalt Improves, Others Slide on List of Top 100 Law Schools
The Recorder, 4/4/05
Boalt Hall School of Law has regained 11th place in U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings of top law schools. Boalt came in 11th in 2003, but fell two notches last year after its former dean resigned amid sexual harassment allegations.
A school spokesman called it "good news," and said officials there are "optimistic about further significant progress in light of the ambitious plans being implemented" by the new dean, Christopher Edley Jr., who came from Harvard Law School nine months ago.
Stanford Law School remained third, after Yale Law School and Harvard.
Hastings College of the Law dropped one ranking, to 39th, and McGeorge School of Law tied for 90th.
There was bad news for Santa Clara University School of Law and University of San Francisco School of Law, which after tying for No. 94 last year fell from the top 100 into the third tier. ...
Read the story [subscription required]
Boalt Expands Public-Interest Fellowship Program
Oakland Tribune, 3/9/05
The law school at University of California, Berkeley is making it easier for students to spend their summers working for the common good.
Boalt Hall School of Law will offer a $4,000 fellowship to any qualifying student who wants to pursue public-interest or public-service work during the summer.
Summer jobs in those fields are typically unpaid, and the school in the past has only been able to offer a limited number of fellowships to students.
But a fund-raising campaign initiated by Boalt Hall Dean Christopher Edley will allow the university this year to extend the program to any student who qualifies.
Last year, about 100 Boalt students applied for summer funding, but only about half of them received any money, said Dean of Students Victoria Ortiz.
Ortiz said many students who are interested in public-interest law forgo summer work in the field in favor of paying jobs, sometimes in big law firms but often in areas outside the law. The fellowships will allow students to pursue their interests without worrying how their bills will get paid.
The Boalt Public Interest/Public Service Summer Fellowship Program receives support from a number of law firms.
The San Francisco Office of Sidley Austin Brown & Wood has pledged $20,000 a year toward the new fellowships, and the firm of Brayton Purcell in Novato will increase its support, Boalt officials said. ...
Bye-Bye to the Safety Net
East Bay Express, 2/23/05
Sambath Dy, 53, sleeps in the living room of her one-bedroom Oakland apartment. Lining the walls of the small room—she has given over the bedroom to her fifteen-year-old son—are photos of Dy's children and relatives. One faded black-and-white print shows her family in Cambodia, most of whom are long dead, victims of the country's brutal Khmer Rouge regime. Pill bottles line a shelf against the wall and sit in a cluster on the table. According to an evaluation from her welfare file, Dy suffers frequent flashbacks and nightmares from the Cambodian war, as well as a series of medical problems. On the table next to the pills is the small journal where Dy records her blood-sugar levels each morning.
A small woman with a worn face but still-black hair, Dy found out she had diabetes right around the time she was laid off from her job at an Oakland factory—minimum-wage work that, combined with supplemental welfare payments, had allowed her to support herself and her four children (three of whom have since come of age and moved out). At the same time, she discovered she was no longer eligible for welfare because she had timed out under welfare-to-work rules that limit recipients to five years of aid. Soon, her story would inspire a campaign to change the system, but for the time being, she was out of luck. ...
The hardworking immigrant is practically a case study of the sort of person welfare is designed for—someone who needs help despite her legitimate efforts to live independently. Instead, she has become a poster child for the inequities of welfare reform. Financially speaking, Dy would have been better off not working. At least that's the conclusion advocates at Berkeley's East Bay Community Law Center reached after meeting her. The reason: The welfare checks she got while employed were far smaller than what nonworkers received—some months she took in as little as $60 in aid, while a nonworker in her situation would have gotten up to $700. ...
Cal Football Stadium; Plan Finally in Place for Memorial Face-Lift
San Francisco Chronicle, 2/4/05
Chancellor Robert Birgeneau has announced his plan for the long-awaited renovation of Cal's Memorial Stadium—including it in a project that envisions major changes in the southeast corner of the Berkeley campus.
The three-part plan released Thursday outlines broadly defined stadium improvements, a new academic building to be used as a study center for athletes as well as provide additional facilities for the university's business and law schools, and a new plaza area to the west of the stadium.
The announcement does not include any word on cost, the status of fund raising, a working timetable or design specifics—such as the seating capacity of the renovated stadium.
However, it does include some major new developments. The project will be run by a private management firm, and not the university. Improved team facilities for the football program will be incorporated into a major renovation of the west side of the stadium, and not in an expansion, as previously discussed. The university hopes to have an architectural firm hired by early next month.
The new academic commons buildings would be built across Piedmont Avenue from the stadium. It would house the Athletic Study Center, Hass Business School's executive education and MBA programs, and provide additional space for Boalt Hall.
The public plaza is intended, according to a university news release, "to tie together more effectively the stadium side of the road and the main campus." New landscaping and paved plazas would be incorporated into the existing grove of trees to the west of the stadium. ...
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