Mark Rosenbaum
Harvey J. Gunderson Professor from Practice &
Legal director, ACLU-Southern California
I have had the good fortune of teaching at a variety of law schools but I keep coming back to teach here at Michigan because I find the community here to be wonderfully supportive of each other and the students and faculty to be intellectually curious. I am currently teaching two courses: Public Interest Advocacy and Public Interest Litigation. The new course, Public Interest Advocacy, was developed in consultation with Deans Caminker and Croley, MaryAnn Sarosi and David Baum last winter. I have to tell you that we had a number of discussions about expanding the public interest curriculum and I was quite impressed with their commitment to offering a curriculum that is geared toward those students preparing for a career in public interest.
I do believe in the idea of "giving back" but the main reason why I practice public interest law with the ACLU is that it is the most interesting legal work in the world. Let me tell you about a few of the cases I'm working on right now an Iraqi detention case, an education case, a homelessness case and a foster care case. These are fascinating cases involving challenging legal issues that will affect hundreds, sometimes thousands of people. I can't imagine doing anything more stimulating than what I am doing now. And to be able to share that with you through these seminars, through intimate discussions with small groups of you and through other teaching opportunities, such as the upcoming moot for an oral argument that I have before the 9th Circuit, is rewarding for me and, hopefully, for you as well.
--Quote from speech given at the Public Interest/Public Service Faculty Fellows kick-off reception October 18, 2005
Events:
On November 28, 2005, Professors Richard Friedman and Roderick Hills mooted Professor Rosenbaum prior to his oral argument before the 9th Circuit. in Jones vs. City of Los Angeles.
To hear Professor Rosenbaum's oral argument go to: http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/media.nsf/Media%20
Search?OpenForm&Seq=2 and enter case number 04-55324.
To read the 9th Circuit opinion of the ACLU's case in Jones vs. City of Los Angeles.
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/
Opinions+by+date?OpenView&Start=1&Count=100&
Expand=1.1