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LAWYER’S ROUNDTABLE: SUCCESS IN LAW SCHOOL AND BEYOND

"Challenge yourself..." was the advice from Owen Pell ’80, a partner at White & Case LLP in New York, as he spoke with a group of pre-law students on October 17, 2000, during the fall session of the Lawyer’s Roundtable, sponsored by the Harpur College National Alumni Law Advisory Council. Pell’s message was simple: Students should make the most of their undergraduate liberal arts education and do something to set themselves apart or otherwise distinguish themselves from all the other students with high grades and high LSAT scores, by doing things like taking hard courses, writing a thesis paper, doing a public interest internship, etc. "Labor over something you care about," Pell urged a group of 25 students at the noontime event.

As an undergraduate in Harpur College, Pell described two experiences that taught him a great deal and helped shape his approach to law school and his career. On the first day of a Newing College ceramics course, taught by a local potter, Kate Toole, Pell learned we have to push ourselves to succeed. He watched with amazement as the teacher threw a lovely piece of pottery against a wall where it fell into a bucket of muddy water. The teacher told the students that to be successful you must get over your fear of destroying your work and starting over, if the goal is to achieve the best possible product. The second experience was Pell’s work with Professor Edward Weisband, the then head of the Political Science Department. In addition to working as a teaching assistant for Weisband, Pell wrote a thesis paper on a topic designed by Weisband. The process of researching, writing, and then rewriting ideas that then had to be defended to a professor taught important lessons in critical thinking and writing. There was also the added advantage that through this work, Weisband came to know him well, which was a huge advantage when Pell needed meaningful recommendations for law school.

Pell discussed the business of law and the need for lawyers to constantly devise novel approaches for difficult problems by using critical thinking and imagination. Pell stressed that in the legal field the value of a broad liberal arts education cannot be overstated. Pell went on to explain that the most challenging part of law school was dealing with the realization that the goal was not to learn some discrete body of facts called the law, but was to learn how to ask the right questions so that in any situation you could figure out what the law was or should be. Thus, law is often best defined not by rules, but by the exceptions to rules. The paramount skill is the ability to break down problems and analyze how one set of facts may relate or compare to prior situations in which courts have applied legal rules.

In evaluating potential associates, Pell believes that law firms look for students who can think logically and write well. He scans resumes for experiences that may evidence these skills. Activities or experiences that provide students with an opportunity to discuss something briefly, but meaningfully, are wonderful resources at interviews because they can reveal many good things about an applicant. He is always interested to learn about an individual’s non-law related experiences, especially to the extent they show if a person is an intellectual risk taker, or the lessons they may have learned from their successes and failures.

Pell’s advice to those considering a law degree was that they remember how flexible a law degree can be. He told the students that the beauty of a law degree is that it gives you almost innumerable options both in the law and in other fields because at its heart, law school teaches advanced problem solving skills that can be used elsewhere as your interests change or mature.

Visiting Alumni Series: Earlier in the day, Mr. Pell spoke to a class in "Law, Ethics and Business" taught by Professor Steven Scalet. He discussed the moral and ethical dilemmas posed by cases he has handled involving art work looted during the Holocaust, or companies that did business in or with Germany before and during World War II. "Students benefit tremendously from an alumni speaker like Owen Pell. He directly linked his career experiences with our course topics. Students were able to see the salience of the course material and listen to a truly dynamic presentation. It was outstanding", noted Professor Scalet. Later in the day, Mr. Pell addressed an Honors seminar taught by Professor Andrew Milnor and answered questions relating to how the law supports the pursuit of just results. That evening, Mr. Pell made a presentation on Holocaust-looted art issues at a gathering hosted by Temple Israel. A reception followed.

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EMERITI & SENIOR FACULTY LUNCHEON


On October 25, 2000, Dean Jean-Pierre Mileur honored the Harpur College Emeriti and Senior Faculty and members of the Founders' Club at a luncheon.

This annual event, started in 1997, gives the Harpur College dean an opportunity to thank the faculty and alumni who have helped to set the standard of academic excellence for which the College is known.

Marcia Craner, Executive Director of the Binghamton University Foundation, made a presentation on "The Campaign for Binghamton University" and its meaning for Harpur College. She highlighted the goals of the this first-ever comprehensive gift campaign and the major gifts for faculty and program support and scholarships dedicated to the College and its various departments and programs.

Dean Mileur spoke of Harpur College's reputation for academic excellence and his goals to maintain this quality. Mileur looks forward to working with faculty to expand the horizons of the College in the graduate and research areas. TOP

Immanuel Wallerstein, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Director of the Fernand Braudel Center for the Study of Economies, spoke to an audience of students, faculty, and alumnae, in the Casadesus Recital Hall on October 25, 2000, on the topic of "The Social Scientization of All Knowledge?"

Wallerstein observed that technology has led us to fragment our approach to the study of society. Rather than treating society as a whole system, we have splintered our academic disciplines to the point where the results are of little or no use. He stated that we have lost our ability to view the whole picture because we can dissect society into its smallest parts. Wallerstein proposed that we take a step back from this micro-approach to obtain a more unified concept of society. Professor Wallerstein received a plaque from Dean Mileur to commemorate the lecture. A reception followed.

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