THE MAGAZINE FOR TEMPLE LAW SCHOOL ALUMNI TEMPLE LAW SCHOOL SPRING 2024 Today Law Temple2 Temple Law School Temple ESQ. is published by the Temple University Beasley School of Law for alumni and friends. Dean and Peter J. Liacouras Professor of Law Rachel Rebouché Content, Art Direction and Design Leapfrog Group Photography Ryan Brandenberg Rick Kauffman Kelly & Massa Joseph V. Labolito Contributors Books Schatschneider Lori Woehrle Send letters and comments to: lawalum@temple.edu Temple ESQ. James E. Beasley School of Law 1719 N. Broad St. Philadelphia, PA 19122 To change your email, home or office address: law.temple.edu/resources/alumni/contact-update Board of Visitors Joseph William Anthony ’74 Dennis A. Arouca ’77 Kila B. Baldwin, Esq. ’04 ’10 Leonard Barrack ’68, Chair The Honorable Phyllis W. Beck ’67 Mitchell W. Berger ’80 Daniel S. Bernheim, III, Esq. ’94 Ellan Rubin Bernstein, Esq. ’83 Na- deem A. Bezar ’91 Vijay V. Bondada ’94 James A. Bruton III ’75 Anthony Warner Clark ’79 Richard T. Collier ’79 Doneene Keemer Damon ’92 Carolyn Chernick Davis ’87 Alan M. Feldman ’76 Allan M. Fox ’72 Koji Fukumura, Esq. ’93 The Honorable Mitchell S. Goldberg ’86 Frederick S. Humphries Jr. ’86 Hayes A. Hunt ’97 Marina Kats ’88 Leonard M. Klehr ’76 Susanna Lachs ’78 John B. Langel ’74 Judy L. Leone, Esq. ’84 Marsha L. Levick ’76 Vincent J. Marella ’72 The Honorable Theodore A. McKee William R. McLucas ’75 William J. Merritt ’87 Leslie Anne Miller ’94 Mitchell L. Morgan ’80 Stephen J. Neuberger ’03 Samuel H. Pond ’84 Marcel S. Pratt ’09 Grant Rawdin ’87 Abraham Charles Reich ’74 The Honorable L. Felipe Restrepo The Honorable Annette M. Rizzo ’83 Gilbert T. Schwartz ’74 The Honorable Anthony J. Scirica Ambassador Martin J. Silverstein ’79 James T. Smith ’83 Eugene Arthur Spector ’70 Joe Tucker ’89 James A. Walden ’91 Richard H. Walker ’75 Bette Jean Walters ’70 Mission Statement Temple University Beasley School of Law is committed to excellence in teaching, learning, scholarship and service. The faculty is dedicated to preparing students to enter and continue in the legal profession with the highest level of skill possible, with a firm commitment to the principles of professional responsibility and with a sense of personal obligation to lead and to serve the communities in which they live and practice. We are dedicated to our foundational ideal of making legal education accessible to all talented individuals, including individuals who otherwise might not have that opportunity or who might encounter barriers because of race, creed, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, socioeconomic background, or other personal characteristics. We endeavor to create and sustain a law school community that is diverse, inclusive and committed to equal justice under the law.4 Profiles in Generosity Six Stories of Giving 13 2 AMICUS CURIAE From the Dean 16 EVENTS 18 STUDENT SPOTLIGHT 19 FACULTY NOTES 23 ALUMNI NOTES 28 IN MEMORIAM CONTENTS Temple Law At-a-Glance Stats Tell the Story 12 Temple Law Today A Look at What’s New2 Temple Law School AMICUS CURIAE I am deeply proud of who we are as an institution and a community today, and excited for where we are headed tomorrow.” “ 3 ESQ. SPRING 2024 The past few years have been defined by change and by the unexpected. This issue of ESQ is about something different: intentional, innovative, transformational change that has fostered new growth and opportunity, amplifying Temple Law’s reputation locally and across the nation. That is why I am excited for you to read the stories that follow about “Temple Law Today.” Let me start by telling you what has not changed: our mission of access and excellence; our shared commitment to students and service in our communities; and the values of justice and inclusion that are infused in the education we offer. Those values remain at the heart of who we are. Take, for example, our trial advocacy program (p. 5), which is shaping advocacy education around the world through innovative programs like our Chilean pre-LL.M. initiative, Advocacy and Evidence Resources website, and collaborations with leading professional organizations — all while delivering the gold standard in advocacy education to our students. Our trial advocacy program, ranked number 1 in the country, is complemented by Temple Law’s one-of-a-kind first-year course, Introduction to Transactional Skills (p. 7), which puts students into the role of legal counsel just a few weeks into their law school career. Both programs carry forward Temple’s longstanding commitment to experiential education in new ways. I am also proud of our commitment to our part-time day and evening programs (p. 8), our ability to reflect on lessons learned over the past few years and to create tailored online opportunities that support academic access while building community and ensuring students achieve their professional ambitions. Commitment to student success drives all of these changes. We have identified four key elements that, operating together, shape our students’ development in law school and beyond: academic excellence; wellness; diversity, equity and inclusion; and professional development. With these elements in mind, we launched a Comprehensive Student Success Program (p. 10) that we believe uniquely prepares our talented Temple Law students to identify, pursue and achieve success on their terms. I am deeply proud of who we are as an institution and a community today, and excited for where we are headed tomorrow. I know we would not be here without your generosity, your partnership and your commitment to our shared values, and I look forward to our continued work together. With gratitude, Rachel Rebouché Dean and Peter J. Liacouras Professor of Law from THE DEAN4 Temple Law School Today Law Temple TEMPLE UNIVERSITY BEASLEY SCHOOL OF LAW holds its fundamental mission close. The school is committed to excellence in teaching, learning, scholarship and service. At the same time, Temple Law continues to evolve in ways that respect and respond to a changing landscape in legal education. School leadership has identified three core priorities: developing a comprehensive approach to student success; strengthening its national/international reputation; and fostering an inclusive, diverse, healthy community. What follows is an introduction to some Temple Law programs that have changed, or are emerging, which grew from the core priorities. The stories, while not an exhaustive list, are a slice of what is new and different at Temple Law Today.5 ESQ. SPRING 2024 A POWERHOUSE Evolves with the Times That foundation has allowed the program to thrive, grow and innovate, said Epstein, the Edward D. Ohlbaum Professor of Law. While the program continues to use Ohlbaum’s model of advocacy education and other innovations created by Ohlbaum, the program has incorporated new elements in recent years. Temple Law has expanded its international footprint, Epstein said. In 2021, the school began partnering with an advocacy academy (Academia de Litigación) in Santiago, Chile. The partnership, which is a pre- LLM certificate, supports efforts in Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina to transition to a jury trial system, to increase public participation, and to provide more accountability and fairness in the fact-finding process. Since the program’s initiation, Temple has conducted online classes and has had several week-long in-person trainings at the law school with practitioners and judges from across South America. The intensive program has included Evidence, trial skills and special lectures on topics including forensics, investigations and gender equality. ACTIVE IN THE ADVOCACY COMMUNITY Another new element is the Trial Advocacy Program’s online communications, including the A&E (advocacy and evidence) blog, part of the Advocacy & Evidence Resources webpage (law.temple.edu/aer). The program also offers free online conferences for advocacy educators and maintains the country’s first and only listserv exclusively for professors teaching trial advocacy, which has more than 300 participants. Temple Law is taking a leadership role in sharing ideas and scholarship through other means. One is “Collective Wisdom,” a white paper project started by Temple Law in conjunction with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy Foundation, in which Epstein selects a topic and invites trial advocacy professors from across the country to publish short pieces (nita.org). There have been eight published, and another, entitled “Opening Statement,” is underway, Epstein said. The Trial Advocacy Program has developed an extended partnership with the organization Mass Torts Made Perfect (MTMP) and its Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame, which in 2014 asked Temple Law to house its Hall of Fame portrait gallery. Featured are legendary trial lawyers who have established themselves as champions for U.S. justice. In addition to housing the portrait gallery, the Trial Advocacy Program brings in newly named Hall of Fame lawyers as visiting fellows and MTMP identifies internships annually for Temple Law students at Hall of Fame law firms. Further, MTMP has contributed funds to help create modern courtroom-style classrooms at the school. anked #1 in U.S. News and World Report’s 2025 Law School Rankings, Temple Law’s Trial Advocacy Program has been a powerhouse for many years. Professor Jules Epstein, director of trial advocacy programs, credits the foundational work of his predecessor, the late Edward (Eddie) D. Ohlbaum ’76, trial advocacy professor, for the program’s firm foundation.6 Temple Law School NEW PARTNERSHIPS Through the Hall of Fame partnership, the program developed a connection with the Trial School, a nonprofit collaborative that provides free trial advocacy training for lawyers who represent people and groups fighting for social justice. Temple Law has hosted Trial School training and will host another one, Epstein said. The trial advocacy faculty is deeply involved in the continuing education of lawyers and judges locally, across Pennsylvania, and nationally, Epstein said. Program professors are asked to contribute to a wide range of education programs on evidence, trial and appellate advocacy, and more. The American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) offers a continuing legal education (CLE) course, Masters of Litigation, which is put on collaboratively by the ACTL and Temple Law. Now in its seventh year, the course teaches advanced advocacy skills, including courtroom advocacy, learning from and avoiding mistakes, ethical problems and responses, evidence law and advocacy, and proper use of artificial intelligence. Epstein said the Trial Advocacy Program is a leader in helping to diversify advocacy, supporting women and people of diverse backgrounds in gaining and improving their advocacy skills. A year ago the American Bar Association’s Diverse Lawyers Academy asked Temple Law to host their program, so the school conducted the training to provide young lawyers of diverse backgrounds with advanced advocacy skills. APPELLATE ADVOCACY BOLSTERED In recent years the program has been strengthening appellate advocacy, Epstein said. The school was invited by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to create a clinic that allows students to handle cases with assistance from a law firm. “We’ve had incredible success,” Epstein said. Students represent clients in existing federal appellate litigation and meet the standards of professionalism required in practice. Students also further develop and strengthen their written and oral advocacy skills. In addition, the clinic affords law students, and the law school, an opportunity to provide quality legal representation to an underserved community, that is, pro se appellants, and to assist the Third Circuit by accepting court appointments. Students handle all aspects of representation for an assigned appeal such as ensuring that the appeal has been perfected procedurally, researching the substantive issues, preparing interim motions or correspondence for the court and/or client, including regular client status reports, drafting appellate briefs and presenting oral argument before the court. They handle immigration matters, prisoner civil rights litigation and habeas appeals. The school has hosted appellate court proceedings, Epstein said, giving students access to watch appellate arguments and an opportunity to interact directly with judges. The U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals, the Army’s highest court, has heard oral arguments at Temple Law on several occasions. And in October 2023 the Superior Court of Pennsylvania sat in session at the school. Another advance has been the incorporation of technology into the program. The school has a course entitled Advanced Trial Advocacy: Online Advocacy and Technology in Trials, Epstein noted. It is the first of its kind nationally. Bringing in all these new elements does not mean the Trial Advocacy Program’s basics have been left behind, Epstein said. Instead, the program is taking those fundamentals it was “gifted” by earlier leaders and evolving to stay abreast of the needs of today’s students and tomorrow’s attorneys. PROFESSOR JULES EPSTEIN The Trial Advocacy Program is a leader in helping to diversify advocacy, supporting women and people of diverse backgrounds in gaining and improving their advocacy skills. 7 ESQ. SPRING 2024 emple Law School works hard to graduate students who are practice-ready. The school’s Introduction to Transactional Skills program — a mandatory intensive course for first-year students — is one element of that education. A central element of the course is its client simulation. Students are paired as co-counsel and represent one of two hypothetical friends, a star chef and a financier, who want to open a restaurant in downtown Philadelphia. Students interview their clients to understand their goals, draft a memo to practice leaders, draft a term sheet, negotiate terms and write a contract. The final simulation is a surprise negotiation. The course exposes students to “a lot of the soft skills that are essential to lawyering,” said Professor Andy Monroe, faculty coordinator of the 12-year-old program. “It’s built into the bones of this place. We are absolutely a ‘learn-by-doing’ school. Whether you’re going to be a litigator, district attorney, public defender, family lawyer, nonprofit lawyer or not a lawyer at all, these are the kind of skills you’re going to need.” The program stands out in part because it is taught in the first year, when the curriculum leans heavily on reading cases and learning doctrine. One outcome is early exposure to lawyering other than litigation. “Through my participation in ITS, first as a student and then as a teaching assistant, I have learned many skills that have tremendously helped in my legal career so far and continue to shape me into the lawyer I wanted to be coming into law school,” said Abena O. Ampofo LAW 25, writing in Voices at Temple Law. “ITS confirmed that law school was the right step for me.” Today Law Temple STUDENTS Jump Monroe said it also has the effect of helping to develop community at Temple Law because students are intentionally paired with a student not in their other classes. “It builds on one of the things that are strongest about the law school, the community we have,” she said. “It’s an innovative class, an important experiential experience,” Monroe said. “It builds confidence, it’s empowering and it’s educational. It’s a nice complement to the other things we do so well.” Monroe won Temple Law’s Great Teacher award in 2023, in part because of her leadership of ITS. Along with coordinating ITS, Monroe teaches taxation and business basics for lawyers. Start SkillsNext >