San Francisco Citizen

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“USF School of Law Celebrates 100 Years in San Francisco - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Speak at Convocation

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 17, 2012  – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will kick off a year-long celebration at the University of San Francisco School of Law, which is commemorating its 100(th) birthday and a century of providing a premiere legal education at the city’s first university.

Kennedy will deliver a keynote address during the public convocation on Wed., Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. inside St. Ignatius Church on the USF campus. Kennedy is a professor of environmental law at Pace University and co-director of that school’s Environmental Litigation Clinic. He was named one of Time magazine’s “Heroes for the Planet” for his success in helping restore New York’s Hudson River.

“Our centennial celebration is about far more than longevity,” said Jeffrey Brand, dean of the USF School of Law. “It’s about one hundred years of offering an education with a conscience, and graduating top attorneys who empower the powerless and help change a world plagued by injustice. As we begin our second century in this magnificent city, we rededicate ourselves to our vital mission of educating for justice.”

Social justice is a cornerstone of the school’s identity. In 2011-12 alone, USF law students provided 22,000 hours of pro-bono legal work to underserved communities, and the school-sponsored seven free law clinics, including the Investor Justice Clinic where students represent investors in actions involving allegations of wrongdoing by securities firms or their employees, and the Child Advocacy Law Clinic in which students receive training and, under the supervision of the clinic director, represent abused, neglected, or abandoned children in child welfare proceedings.

The USF School of Law began on Sept. 18, 1912 on the corner of Market and 7(th) Streets in downtown San Francisco with three faculty and 39 students. Today, it has 40 influential legal scholars who teach 700 students on the USF Law School campus near Golden Gate Park. The school is proud to be one of the nation’s most diverse with nearly half of its law students identifying themselves as ethnic minorities, and 53% are women.

The USF School of Law is sponsoring a number of notable events during its year-long centennial celebration, including:

    —  Sept. 27: Presentation by Clarence B. Jones, former speechwriter,
        attorney, and advisor to the late Martin Luther King Jr.: “Pivotal Legal
        and Leadership Policy Decisions Faced by Martin Luther King.”    

–  Nov. 9: Public Interest Law Foundation Annual Auction and Award Ceremony
        honoring David Boies, chairman of the law firm Boies, Schiller &
        Flexner. This is a fundraiser to provide grants to law students working
        in unpaid public interest law jobs during summer break. 

–  Feb. 7: Centennial Gala Dinner, San Francisco City Hall.

For a detailed calendar of all centennial events, please visit www.usfca.edu/law/about/centennial/events/

About the University of San Francisco School of Law

The University of San Francisco School of Law is located in the heart of one of the world’s most innovative and diverse cities. The law school pursues excellence in a humane, diverse, and intellectually vibrant learning community of outstanding teachers and scholars dedicated to training ethical professionals. Its diverse student body enjoys direct access to faculty, small classes, and innovative programming that educates students to be skilled and effective lawyers ready to practice law. Now celebrating its centennial year, the USF School of Law is ranked as one of the “Top 170 Law Schools” by Princeton Review and the 10(th) most ethnically diverse law school in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. For more information, please visit www.usfca.edu/law.

Journalists interested in covering the Sept. 19 convocation, or any other centennial event, must register in advance by contacting Anne-Marie Devine at (415) 422-2697 or abdevine@usfca.edu.

SOURCE  University of San Francisco, School of Law”