Stephen Kohn (left) is currently representing the Army Corps of Engineers’ top contracting officer, who blew the whistle on an improper no-bid award to Halliburton for the reconstruction of Iraq. In April, Oona Chatterjee (right) came to the School of Law for three days as the second 2006 Daynard fellow. She is cofounder and codirector of Make the Road by Walking (MRBW), a community-run organization in Bushwick, Brooklyn, dedicated to empowering residents to advocate for their rights and improve conditions in their New York neighborhood.

PHOTOS: MICHAEL MANNING

The law school community saluted President Richard M. Freeland, who retires this summer after leading Northeastern for the past decade.

Dean Emily Spieler

Sukti Dhital delivered one of the student addresses.

Chief Justice Langa

PHOTOS: CRAIG BAILEY

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Summer 2006 | Newsbriefs

Daynard Program Brings Public Interest Leaders to Law School

The first thing Stephen Kohn ’84 noticed about the man standing in the doorway of his law office was the sheer size of him. Tall, built like a refrigerator, with a firearm strapped to his side, the FBI agent filled the doorframe. And made him a little nervous.

“He said he was the FBI, and the first thing I thought was, ‘What did I do?’” recalled Kohn.

From the first handshake, Kohn and Frederic Whitehurst were inextricably linked in a long-term mission to better protect whistleblowers under the law. Whitehurst, the first major FBI whistleblower, revealed deficiencies and misconduct related to crime labs investigating the 1993 World Trade Center bombing evidence.

At the time, it was virtually impossible for a federal agent to step forward, Kohn said. “It was a criminal violation for an agent to even have a conversation with an attorney about blowing the whistle. Among other things, he could lose his security clearance,” he said. “In fact, the FBI was constructed to prevent leaks.”

Kohn, one of two 2006 Daynard Public Interest Visiting Fellows, spoke to a law school audience in January, describing Whitehurst as a true patriot, a man brave enough to step forward despite the risk to his own career. Whitehurst’s revelation that the crime lab was producing tainted evidence helped set in motion a complete redrafting of the laws affecting whistleblowers, including the creation of a safety net for federal agents.

Extensive laboratory reforms also resulted from the case, Kohn said. “The Whitehurst case inspired President Clinton to sign protective whistleblower legis-lation, and the agent himself won a seven-figure settlement,” Kohn said, adding, “Since then, people have been freed from jail.”

Kohn was invited to lecture and meet with students through the Daynard Public Interest Visiting Fellows Program, which brings two distinguished practitioners of public interest law to campus each academic year for a three-day visit. — Susan Salk

Commencement and Conversations with Chief Justice of South African Court

Chief Justice Pius Langa of South Africa delivered a powerful address to the School’s of Law’s 192 graduates at commencement on May 26, 2006, recalling the daunting conditions at the height of apartheid. “Yet, we all survived,” he said.

In October 1994, Langa was appointed a judge in the Constitutional Court of South Africa and became deputy president of the court in 1997. He was appointed chief justice in November 2001.

“I speak here today as a South African who has seen people pay the price to put our country on the international stage. We have had wonderful friends help us” in the quest for democracy, “including those in the United States. Some of those friends are right here in this city. I want to take this opportunity to thank you, dear friends. I salute you.”

The day prior to commencement, Langa participated in a meeting at Northeastern focused on children’s rights. Hosted by the law school’s Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy, the conversation also included the Honorable Roderick Ireland, associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Cosponsored with the Massachusetts Black Judges Conference, the invitation-only event attracted judges who face issues ranging from housing to family law to immigration. Professor Mary O’Connell facilitated the lively discussion as Langa, Ireland and the others in attendance explored the parallels and differences between the South African and Massachusetts constitutions, the role of international law in shaping domestic rights and remedies, and the common struggles that judges face as they deal with children’s issues.

Chief Justice Langa (right) delved into a variety of issues related to children.

Commencement also included the awarding of honorary degrees to Langa and two others: Joel S. Seligman, president and CEO of the University of Rochester, and Amy L. Domini, founder and CEO of Domini Social Investments, an investment firm specializing exclusively in socially responsible investing. Seligman, who began his teaching career at the School of Law, was warmly welcomed back by graduates and faculty members.

PHOTO: MICHAEL MANNING