Spring 2009 Newsbriefs

Love thy Client as Thyself

William Quigley, the first Daynard Fellow of 2009, challenged students to embrace "hope, joy and love" during a speech to the law school community in February.

"All of our justice work is about relationships," said Quigley, the Janet Mary Riley Distinguished Professor of Law at Loyola University New Orleans School of Law. "The world needs to be changed in a million different ways," he said, calling on students to "shut up, sit down and listen" to clients and co-workers.

Head of Loyola's Poverty Law Center, Quigley has served as counsel with a wide range of public interest organizations on issues including Katrina, public housing, voting rights, death penalty, living wage, civil liberties, constitutional rights and civil disobedience. He has litigated numerous cases with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and with the ACLU of Louisiana, for which he served as general counsel for 15 years.

Quigley, who once studied for the priesthood, repeatedly emphasized, "social justice is radically different from paternalism." He told students they must be flexible, saying "we can't always think or act like a lawyer." Instead, he urged students and practicing lawyers to continually educate themselves about the struggles of the past and to listen to their clients. "We know so little and have so much to learn," he said. Shortly after his visit, Quigley became legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights.

The Daynard Distinguished Visiting Fellows Program was established in 2004 through the generosity of Professor Richard Daynard and his wife, Carol Iskols Daynard. Daynard is an expert on legal approaches to dealing with the epidemics of tobacco- and obesity-related disease. He is president of the law school's Public Health Advocacy Institute.

PHOTO: DAVID LEIFTER

Dual Advantage

From international policy development to global warming to dealing with public health threats such as HIV, tobacco and bioterrorism, lawyers are increasingly acting as policymakers and leaders in crafting complex solutions to interdisciplinary issues. In response to these challenges, the School of Law has established three dual-degree programs with other leading academic institutions to offer specialty training in sustainable international development, environmental law and policy, and public health.

At Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Northeastern law students tackle sustainable international development issues together with students from all over the world. The program focuses on training a new generation of planners and policymakers who will work to create a global society free of poverty, preventable disease and environmental degradation. Students in the dual-degree program earn a JD from Northeastern and a master's in sustainable international development from Brandeis in an accelerated, four-year program that includes the law school's signature co-op program.

At Vermont Law School, Northeastern students study with faculty who are national leaders in addressing pollution control, climate change, biodiversity and environmental justice. Students earn a JD and master’s in environmental law and policy in the same three-year period it takes to earn just the JD.

Both the Brandeis and Vermont programs build on the highly successful JD/master's in public health developed by the School of Law and Tufts University School of Medicine eight years ago. Students in this program also accelerate, receiving both degrees in three and a half years. Graduates are already making significant contributions to the world of public health and law.

"At Northeastern, we train lawyers who are committed to changing the world. These dual-degree programs provide unique opportunities for students to get the full benefit of the Northeastern faculty and curriculum, including four calendar quarters of co-op work experience, together with specialty training from the leading academic institutions in these other fields," said Dean Emily Spieler.

More information on the degree programs is available at www.northeastern.edu/law/degrees.