If you cannot read this message, please go to http://www.drexel.edu/law/docket/october07

October 2007

Welcome to The Drexel Docket – Drexel Law's e-newsletter. The Docket brings you updates about the college; stories about what the faculty and students are doing; and news we think will be of interest to current and prospective students, pre-law advisors, co-op sponsors, alumni of the University, and friends of the law school. If you have comments or suggestions, please send them to us using the link at the end of this issue. We invite you to visit us at http://www.drexel.edu/law.

1. Orientation Proves It’s Always Sunny at Drexel
2. Student Spotlight: Daniela Ivancikova
3. Students Provide Legal Relief in NOLA
4. Co-op Spotlight: Exelon Business Services Company
5. Bestselling Author Visits Drexel
6. Upcoming Events

Orientation Proves It's Always Sunny at Drexel

It may not be “always sunny in Philadelphia,” as this year’s incoming class can attest, but the wrath of Mother Nature during Orientation was nonetheless no match for the students who braved soaking rains to participate in a fun scavenger hunt and happy hour.

Throughout the first three days of Orientation at the National Constitution Center, the soggy weather was not able to squelch the enthusiasm of the 120-strong class of first-years as they were introduced to the law through a whirlwind of informative and interactive sessions. In one of the highlights, the Honorable C. Darnell Jones II, President Judge of the First Judicial District in Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas, gave an inspiring talk about the value of developing a solid reputation, being involved in the community, and building bridges with others.

The importance of professionalism and ethics was emphasized throughout the 10-day Orientation, with a full day at the National Constitution Center devoted to those very topics. During a large-group talk and breakout sessions coordinated by Associate Professor of Law Chapin Cimino Cody and Assistant Professor of Law Dana Remus Irwin, students grappled with hypothetical professional judgment issues and ethical pressures faced by lawyers. They also participated in off-site small-group lunch discussions with faculty advisors and enjoyed a reception with judges and lawyers in Philadelphia City Hall.

“My sense is that the students generally appreciated getting so much so soon and having a real chance to meet each other,” says Jennifer Rosato, senior associate dean for student affairs and professor of law. “In just the first two weeks, they received a solid grounding in the law and found out what they needed for classes. They are truly ready to start their first year and their career.”

The sun finally came out once activities moved to campus with the start of the Legal Methods course. This year, students also benefited from a new Orientation Mentor program inspired by second-year student Rebecca Thorne.

“I am the first person in my family to go to law school, so my greatest challenge was not having anyone close to me who could answer general questions and anxieties like what it would be like to get ‘cold called’ on for the first time,” says Thorne. “I kept thinking how nice it would be if there were upperclassmen here to help answer my questions. And I felt that because Drexel Law is unique with co-op opportunities, there were many questions 1Ls would have that they couldn’t get answered anywhere else. Now that I am the upperclassman, I wanted to be able to be there for someone who was going to be starting at Drexel.”

Through the program, about 30 2L volunteers were each assigned a small group of four or five 1Ls to mentor. The students got to know each other over lunch in an unstructured fashion so that they could discuss things freely. Hot topics included finding out what mentors thought about professors’ varied teaching styles and getting tips for how to succeed in each class.

“Many of the 1Ls told me that they were glad to be able to talk to a peer rather than a professor or faculty member about certain things,” adds Thorne. “All of the mentors have agreed to keep in touch with their groups throughout the year by sending emails every once in a while to check in and see how everyone is doing. I hope that we can repeat this program next year at Orientation with as much success as we did this year.”

Students also enjoyed an on-campus reception sponsored by the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division (YLD) as part of its law school outreach program, a continuing effort to increase involvement in the Philadelphia legal community. At the reception, held in the Behrakis Grand Lounge of the Creese Student Center August 28, students met with representatives from the YLD and several local and statewide minority bar associations to learn about their respective programs and events.

“The Philadelphia legal community is small, and it is extremely helpful to meet as many people in the practice as possible,” says Anthony Chwastyk, a 2L who worked with Dean Rosato and YLD Executive Committee member Jocelyn Gabrynowicz to plan and facilitate the reception. “At events like this, students are able to develop their professional skills through networking, which is an important aspect of the law school experience.”

Orientation wrapped up with a fun picnic at Belmont Grove in Fairmount Park, where students chatted, ate together, and played volleyball, touch football, and soccer. After the long Labor Day weekend, students were ready for the official start of classes.

“Orientation far surpassed my expectations,” says John Dougherty, a former Drexel University Student Government Association president who was involved in the early stages of Drexel Law’s formation. “The staff did an excellent job of providing a great glimpse into what was ahead of us when classes began, which helped relieve any angst. And the schedule left sufficient time for personal items that needed to be taken care of while providing us with lots of opportunities to interact so we could establish some familiarity with fellow students before classes set in.”

First-year student Van Pham, who’s balancing studies with marriage and parenting a one-year-old son, echoes that sentiment.

“Orientation helped alleviate a lot of my anxieties and solidified my reasons for going to law school and attending Drexel,” she says. “At no point did I feel like just a ‘student ID number.’ The faculty were very approachable and did not display any pretense that could be justified by their prestigious backgrounds! I loved Dean Rosato’s how-to talks on preparing for classes and studying for exams, and I loved ALL of the faculty’s candor with regards to making it through law school. Plus I met and got to know great fellow students before classes started. My overall impression was very positive.”

return to top

Student Spotlight: Daniela Ivancikova

Where business management, politics, and international relations intersect at Drexel, you’ll likely find Daniela Ivancikova – a first-year student with more than her share of life experiences who’s eager to learn everything she can about the law.

“It seems that everything in my past has led me to law school,” says Ivancikova. “I like the law, I respect the depth of it, and I have seen significant political and economic change take place.”

That’s an understatement for someone born and raised in the former Czechoslovakia, which battled the challenges inherent with the collapse of communism and split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.

Ivancikova came to the United States for the first time at age 16 as an exchange student who spoke no English, but she learned quickly and obtained her high school diploma. After returning to Slovakia in 1996 to earn a bachelor’s degree in business management from Comenius University, she got involved with the European Union’s Structural Fund, providing logistical support for large developmental projects to improve local infrastructure in compliance with EU regulations.

“I became increasingly aware of the need to effect positive change in the difficult transition from communism to democracy,” she says. “I am very pleased to have had the opportunity, in my small way, to be a part of the first baby steps Slovakia took toward becoming a member of the European Union.”

But the allure of America drew her back to the United States in 1999, and she continued her studies at Comenius University as a distance learner and completed her master’s degree in strategic management in 2004. It was while working in Philadelphia for the Parkway Corporation, a family-owned parking and real estate development business, that she became intrigued by compliance and regulatory issues as she enjoyed learning from the company’s attorneys. The opportunity to pursue a law degree at Drexel was a chance she felt she could not pass up.

“Drexel College of Law generated an amazing buzz in the legal community in a very short time,” she says. “They really paid attention to how the classes were structured and how the curriculum was developed, and they also recruited a fabulous faculty and a great staff.”

Ivancikova, who recently joined the Law and Human Rights Society, says she is particularly looking forward to participating in Drexel Co-op and the Pro Bono Program. “I have worked in the Philadelphia Hispanic community for the past five or six years with a couple of nonprofits in the Empowerment Zone, and I would love to be able to continue doing that through the Drexel pro bono program,” she says.

Having spoken with several 2Ls since beginning classes, she says their enthusiasm has confirmed her initial impressions of Drexel Law. “We are all tickled to have a new school with everything the best a law school can offer,” she says. “It’s a true community, and you can tell the professors love teaching and want to make sure we draw connections between the various topics. I think it’s been a wonderful experience so far.”

return to top

Students Provide Legal Relief in NOLA

The impact of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina may not be making headline news any more, but its effects remain all too vivid for the Gulf Coast residents still struggling two years later to rebuild their lives. The French Quarter and Garden District have regained much of their pre-Katrina charm, but in other parts of the city such as the Lower 9th Ward and New Orleans East, homes and hearts remain battered and broken as residents living in cramped FEMA trailers attempt to start over.

To provide much-needed legal relief assistance to the community, 14 Drexel Law students, along with two administrators and several Philadelphia-area attorneys from Harvey, Pennington and Blank Rome, traveled in August to New Orleans as part of Drexel’s Pro Bono Program. The trip was coordinated by Public Interest Law Coordinator Karen Pearlman in conjunction with the Student Hurricane Network, an organization created and run by law students from across the country.

“Aside from the physical losses and emotional damage to the people of New Orleans, the monumental legal problems facing many of these individuals remain largely unresolved,” says Pearlman. Maria Martenstyn, a 2L student with family ties to the region, has been a part of the relief effort since the hurricane hit over two year ago and notes, “With evidence, paperwork, and witnesses lost in the storm, the criminal justice system is overwhelmed, and thousands of pre-Katrina cases are still awaiting trial. Outraged homeowners frequently return to find their homes bulldozed by city authorities due to the passing of ordinances that often fail to provide adequate notice. Property taxes have skyrocketed, and fraudulent contractors and loan sharks abound.”

Martenstyn points out that another prevalent post-Katrina legal problem is the inability of homeowners to prove ownership of the property to which they wish to return. Homes are sometimes passed from one generation to the next without an official change of title, resulting in families not being allowed to return to their homes and being able to apply for funding from FEMA and “The Road Home,” a program designed to compensate Louisiana residents for hurricane damage.

During their trip, the Drexel Law contingent divided into three smaller groups in order to assist three separate organizations. One group worked with The Pro Bono Project, which provides free legal services to indigent clients in areas such as probate and successions law. Because Louisiana law dictates that heirs of legatees of an estate must open a succession to gain possession of a decedent’s property, the volunteers worked with clients to help transfer title into their name so that they could receive the FEMA and Road Home relief money to which they were entitled.

A second group worked with New Orleans Legal Assistance on various cases ranging from public housing and consumer affairs to family law. Volunteers helped cut through government red tape, settle family legal issues aggravated by the stress of Katrina relocations, and fight changes in public housing that could permanently displace some of New Orleans’ most impoverished residents.

And at the Office of the Orleans Public Defender, a third group of students participated in first appearances, helped update cases, and conducted interviews with clients – many of whom are declared indigent because they no longer have a source of weekly income. This leaves each public defender with a docket of nearly 100 open cases at any time, a challenge complicated by the fact that many of the office’s employees chose not to return to New Orleans after the hurricane.

After spending a week at the Office of the Orleans Public Defender, David Gannone points out, “To say that the PD’s office is overwhelmed is an understatement. They are extremely short-staffed and were grateful for the attorney and law student volunteers. Our group helped to alleviate the workload of the tireless defenders there and support them in any way possible.”

While the students say they hoped to make a small difference during their time in the Big Easy, many didn’t realize how much of an impact the experience would have on their own lives.

“I learned a great deal about legal research, client interaction, the Louisiana court system, and the day-to-day functions of a public interest organization, but I was most surprised to come away with a renewed sense of pride,” says Adria Delaune, who hails from the region. “I am proud to be a Louisianan and a Drexel Law student, but perhaps more than anything, I am proud to be making my way into a profession that has such an enormous capacity to reach out and help others.”

For Martenstyn, the effort became personal as she had direct contact with the people most affected by the storm. “I was honored to be able to utilize my legal skills to help build a case that would allow two families to move back into their hurricane-ravaged homes,” she says. “I enjoyed learning about successions law and had the opportunity to conduct interviews, draft legal documents, and obtain tax assessments in order to petition the court for possession of the property in question. It was very rewarding.”

Before making the trip, Lonn Selbst was concerned that the group would be limited in how much it could actually do. “Upon arriving in New Orleans, I hoped our assistance would be more than simply a drop in the bucket,” he recalls. “Upon leaving New Orleans, I felt very fortunate to have participated in The Pro Bono Project, knowing that our efforts helped to relieve the constant strain on the city.”

Other participants included Andrew Hodlofski, Mike Kagan, Lauren Koster, Dan Levine, Sandra Lex, Dave Martell, Dana Panek, Kristina Smith, Rebecca Thorne, and Lindsay Wagner. Pearlman says she believes the work profoundly affected all of the students.

“I hope to facilitate return trips to the Gulf Coast and make them a permanent part of the Pro Bono Program,” she says, “as long as there’s student interest and our fundraising techniques prove successful.”

return to top

Co-op Spotlight: Exelon Services Business Company

It takes a lot of energy to work at an energy company, but second-year Drexel Law students Julie Devine and Kate Arduini seem to be up to the task. In their first co-op placement, the two have been working since the fall term began for the legal department of Exelon Business Services Company, a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation that provides support services including legal, human resource, and financial services to Exelon’s business units.

As one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, Exelon distributes electricity to approximately 5.2 million customers in Illinois and Pennsylvania (where native Philadelphians know the company as “PECO”) and also distributes gas to 480,000 customers in the Philadelphia region. Its additional operations, which include energy generation and power marketing, help bring in more than $15 billion in annual revenues.

Both students express surprise at how many hands-on learning opportunities they have already had in just the few short weeks they’ve been at Exelon.

“I have completed research assignments for attorneys in several different legal departments, shadowed attorneys during their work days, and helped with a pro bono project,” says Arduini, who has been working primarily in the corporate division and assisting a labor attorney. “It’s interesting and exciting to experience first-hand how a corporate legal department operates, and I feel very fortunate to have been offered this rare and invaluable supplement to my legal education.”

Devine, who has been focusing on federal and state regulations governing the energy industry, concurs and adds that the diversity of issues she gets to explore is a great help in determining her career path. “Although I am part of the regulatory practice group, I am not restricted to issues within that group, so I have already been able to work with the corporate and labor practice groups and have been assigned an environmental law project,” she says. “It’s great to be exposed to such a broad range of legal topics, especially because I am still trying to figure out how to narrow down what I would like to do as a future career. As the co-op goes on, I will be able to do things like shadow a lobbyist, sit in on depositions, and visit an electric generation plant.”

Exelon is a natural fit for a Drexel Law co-op placement, considering the breadth of work and its commitment to diversity, best practices in management, and community service involvement. It has earned multiple accolades, including being named the number-one electric and gas utility company on Fortune’s list of “America’s Most Admired Companies,” the number-one utility company in Forbes’ ranking of best-managed companies, and one of the nation’s best IT organizations by Information Week. The company has also made the Latin Business corporate diversity honor roll and earned the American Red Cross’ 2005 Circle of Humanitarians Award for its support of tsunami relief efforts.

Drexel Law students chosen for an Exelon co-op have multiple opportunities to work with quite a few of the roughly 30 attorneys working in the Philadelphia offices. (Combined with its Chicago headquarters, the company’s legal department boasts nearly 70 attorneys.) Tony Gay, the Exelon regulatory attorney supervising Devine, says that the six-month placement offers the luxury of building a deeper educational framework for co-op students than the traditional summer program while enabling them to make meaningful contributions to the department.

“For all of our law clerks, we feel we have a responsibility to make sure there’s a clear educational component,” says Gay, a University of Pennsylvania Law School graduate who worked at the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and in regulatory affairs at Verizon Communications before coming to Exelon last year. “While we give all students the same level of work, the Drexel Law Co-op allows them to meet with clients, get feedback on their work product, and really see what we do. It’s certainly helpful for us to have their support because it frees up our attorneys to work on other things; but the more educational side is important, too. We’re trying to give them substance.”

Exelon attorney Jeff Simcox, who works in the corporate division and is supervising Arduini, says that the company takes its responsibilities to co-op students seriously. During the initial interview process, he notes, prospective co-op students met with Exelon’s general counsel Paul Bonney and PECO President and CEO (and Exelon Executive Vice President) Denis O’Brien, a Drexel alumnus who is a member of the University’s Board of Trustees.

“Working in a corporation allows you to think like a businessperson and do more than just research; you’re more on an equal footing with clients,” says Simcox, also a Penn Law grad who worked for Sun Oil Company, was in private practice, served in the civil division of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Philadelphia, and held the position of general counsel for a privately held company before coming to Exelon. “I’m extremely pleased with the people I’ve been working with, and I think this is a great opportunity for co-op students.”

return to top

Bestselling Author Visits Drexel

Lisa Scottoline, the New York Times bestselling author of 13 novels (as well as a former trial lawyer and judicial law clerk) visited Drexel on September 22nd to share her unique experiences as a Philadelphia attorney and writer.  The Admissions Office sent 150 copies of Ms. Scottoline’s book Daddy’s Girl to Drexel 1L students this summer as a part of their summer program to meet their classmates through the Accepted Students Chats.  The July chat between students and faculty discussed the Scottoline book and the movie Philadelphia, including their legal implications. 

As a follow-up to the July chat, Ms. Scottoline spent the afternoon at Drexel Law.  She started her visit meeting with the Women’s Law Society, members where she talked about the challenges of balancing work and family.  Her remarks were punctuated with humor and candor. This was followed by her lecture,  open to all Drexel Law students, where she discussed her book ideas and writing style.  The lecture concluded with a presentation to Ms. Scottoline making her an honorary member of the Class of 2010.  Her visit was topped off with a reception in the law school lobby, which gave students the opportunity to talk to Ms. Scottoline, take pictures, and get their copy of her book autographed.

return to top

Upcoming Events

return to top

If you have comments, questions, or suggestions about The Drexel Docket, please contact us.

The Dean is fully informed as to the Standards and Rules of Procedure for the Approval of Law Schools by the American Bar Association. The Administration and the Dean are determined to devote all necessary resources and in other respects to take all necessary steps to present a program of legal education that will qualify for approval by the American Bar Association. The Law School makes no representation to any applicant that it will be approved by the American Bar Association prior to the graduation of any matriculating student. Visit http://www.drexel.edu/law/accreditation.asp for more information about the ABA accreditation process.