2021 Magazine cover and opening spread

Law School Magazine 2021

Features in this issue

Changing The Debate Illustration

Changing the Debate

In areas as disparate as Wall Street, infrastructure, and the presidency, scholarship at NYU Law has real-world impact. 

Purple face mask

Tales of Resilience

In a time of uncertainty and social distancing, the people of NYU Law found innovative ways to stay connected. 

Susan Herman and Deborah Archer

Meeting the Moment

Past and present ACLU presidents—Susan Herman ’74 and Professor of Clinical Law Deborah Archer—discuss today's  challenges and opportunities.

Bob Bauer

Q&A with Bob Bauer

Professor of Practice Bob Bauer talks about advising the Biden campaign, evaluating potential Supreme Court reforms, and teaching NYU Law students.

People

From One Attorney To Another story photo

From One Attorney General to Another

During his 15 years as New York’s attorney general, Robert Abrams ’63 transformed that office and the role of attorney general throughout the country.

Biden Administration story photo

Tapped for the Biden Administration

This spring President Joe Biden selected a broad range of NYU Law faculty, scholars, alumni, and other Law School affiliates to fill positions in his administration.

Kalam Id-Din story photo

A New Model for Education

Founder and managing teacher of Ember Charter School in Brooklyn, Rafiq Kalam Id-Din II ’00 uses lessons from the law to build a new model for education.

John Creedon In Memoriam photo

John Creedon

Creedon ’55, LLM ’62, a longtime NYU Law Life Trustee and a former trustee of New York University, passed away on October 11, 2020.

Illustration of person walking and leaving footsteps

The Clinical Experience

NYU Law students both learn and practice as they tackle an array of real-world legal issues.

Top-Notch Reporting story photo

Top-Notch Reporting

Members of the American Law Institute vote to approve drafts of long-gestating projects led by NYU Law faculty.

Leading Through Collaboration story photo

Leading through Collaboration

Valerie Radwaner ’87, deputy chair at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, has held numerous leadership positions and is committed to mentoring the next generation of lawyers.

Gustave Hauser In Memoriam story photo

Gustave Hauser

Hauser LLM ’57, co-founder of the Hauser Global Law School Program, passed away on February 14, 2021.

New Trustees story photo

New Trustees

In October 2020, a group of outstanding leaders in the legal profession and beyond became new members of NYU Law’s Board of Trustees.

A Tax Education story photo

A Tax Education with Lasting Impact

In celebration of the Graduate Tax Program's 75th anniversary, four notable alumni explain how an NYU Law tax LLM provided the cornerstone for careers in a range of fields. 

A Justice for the Cherokee Nation story photo

A Justice for the Cherokee Nation

Shawna Baker LLM ’15 is the newest justice on the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court. Helping secure a bright future for future generations has been a guiding principle of her career.

Robert Katzmann

Robert Katzmann

Judge Katzmann, professor of practice, passed away on June 9, 2021.

Sally Engel Merry

The Julius Silver Professor of Anthropology at NYU and an affiliated faculty member at NYU Law, Merry passed away on September 8, 2020. 

Tax Law Center story photo

The Tax Law Center at NYU Law Debuts

The newly formed Tax Law Center at NYU Law focuses on tax law issues that have profound implications for government, businesses, and individuals.

Service and Scholarship story photo

Service and Scholarship

Cedric Merlin Powell ’87 reflects on his nearly three decades as a law professor at the University of Louisville’s Louis D. Brandeis School of Law.

Health Care Advocate story photo

Healthcare Advocate

Robert Hayes ’77, president and CEO of Community Healthcare Network, has worked to ensure access to healthcare and other services for vulnerable populations.

Elizabeth Frankel In Memoriam photo

Remembering Elizabeth Frankel

Family and friends of the late Elizabeth Frankel ’05 have established a summer fellowship at NYU Law in her memory, honoring Frankel’s dedication to immigrant rights.

Venture Fund Illustration

Venture Fund Supports Student and Alumni Endeavors

The NYU Law Venture Fund expands its support of student and alumni entrepreneurship in the Law School community.

Climate Champion story photo

Climate Champion

After two decades as a civil rights litigator, Miranda Massie ’96 has founded the Climate Museum to inspire the public in the fight against climate change.

Security Expert story photo

Security Expert

Tess Bridgeman ’10 brings her national security expertise back to NYU Law as co-editor in chief of Just Security

Zimroth Center story photo

Support for Reform

A new gift to what will be called the Peter L. Zimroth Center on the Administration of Criminal Law deepens Zimroth’s long association with NYU Law.

Empowering Communities story photo

Empowering Communities

Sienna Fontaine ’07, legal director at Make the Road New York, discusses how to empower communities by creating hubs that bring together a range of resources.

In Memoriam story photo

In Memoriam

The Law School remembers NYU Law community members who have passed away during the last academic year.

Ideas

COVID-19 cells and the World Health Organization logo

The WHO and COVID-19

José E. Alvarez looks at why the global health regime’s pandemic response has been an “abject failure.”

Barbed wire at Corrections facility

The Prisoner Trade

Emma Kaufman offers a comprehensive picture of an interstate system for trading and transferring prisoners.

Maggie Blackhawk

Rethinking Paradigms

Maggie Blackhawk challenges common wisdom in her interdisciplinary scholarship.

Vincent Southerland

Change Agent

Skilled litigator Vincent Southerland prepares clinic students to combat injustice.

Protest Signs

Adaptive and Resilient Movements

In a new book, Gráinne de Búrca offers reasons to be optimistic about the future of human rights efforts.

Hammer, wrench, and gavel on wooden surface

A Tool Kit for Economic Justice

Helen Hershkoff focuses on the inequities experienced by those without means.

César Rodríguez-Garavito

A Voice for Global Justice

César Rodríguez-Garavito addresses climate change as a human rights issue.

Noah Rosenblum

Digging into the Past

Noah Rosenblum brings his passion for history and law to questions of justice.

chainlink fence at sunset

Trapped in the Machine

Alina Das ’05 explores how the criminal legal system has been used to target and deport immigrants.

ladder in a maze

Rationality, the Sequel

Richard Revesz takes a new look at cost-benefit analysis in federal agency regulation and decision-making.

Celebrations

Robert Raben

Recognizing Diverse Leadership

OUTLaw, the NYU Law student group that brings together self-identifying LGBTQ students, alumni, faculty, staff, and their allies, presented their annual alumni award to two recipients: Lynn Nakamoto ’85 and Robert Raben ’88. 

Honoring an Advocate

Chantá Parker ’06, managing director of the Neighborhood Defender Service of Detroit, received the 2021 Woman of Distinction Award from Women of Color Collective.

Reunion '21

Reunion Recognizes Alumni Achievement

A diverse range of virtual events was held over the reunion weekend, including a wine tasting, an NYU Law trivia game, and award ceremony recognizing six alumni for their professional achievements.

Convocation 2021 graphic

Celebrating the Class of 2021

On May 20, 2021 NYU Law gave the Class of 2021—more than 700 JD, LLM, MSL, and MS recipients—a celebratory send-off in a virtual Convocation ceremony that featured Michigan Chief Justice Bridget McCormack ’91 as keynote speaker.

Vanderbilt Hall

A Three-Generation NYU Law Family Gives Back

Joel Steiger ’58 and his family have helped establish the Steiger Family Scholarship, supporting JD students interested in real estate or corporate law.

Susan Herman

A Civil Liberties Leader

NYU Law’s Law Women honored Susan Herman ’74 with their Alumna of the Year Award. The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School, Herman served as president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from October 2008 until January 2021.

LACA Spring Dinner artwork

LACA Leaders

The Law Alumni of Color Association’s Spring Dinner emphasized the importance of community and honored those making an impact.

Elizabeth H. Shereff ’21 with her mother, Cobby J. Shereff ’83

Family Traditions

Graduates from the Class of 2021 celebrated with family members who are also graduates of the Law School.