Hard to believe, but 2013 is right around the bend. As we look back on a gratifying year jam-packed with Centennial celebration events, we at Boalt Hall feel truly fortunate to be part of an extraordinary law school at the nation's best public university. There is much to be thankful for, and we wish you and yours an enjoyable holiday season filled with family, friends, travel, relaxation, volunteering -- whatever means the most to you.

As a reminder, UC Berkeley's main campus will be shut down from December 22 to January 2. You can still reach the Alumni Center from December 26-31, though, as we will be staffed for year-end gift processing. We look forward to seeing you at one of our Centennial events in 2013!

The clock is ticking on your opportunity to take advantage of 2012 tax deductions for charitable giving! Please consider Boalt as you make your tax-deductible year-end gifts to the causes that are near to your heart. Making an online gift or pledging to support Boalt's exceptional students, faculty, and programs is as easy as visiting www.law.berkeley.edu/128.htm or pledge.law.berkeley.edu. You may also send a check that will count for 2012 so long as it's postmarked on or before December 31.

Your gift will help us achieve our goal of doubling alumni participation in this Centennial year. And for those of you in classes ending in 2 or 7, any contribution made before December 31 still counts toward your class's Reunion Gift. Graduates in classes from 2008 through 2012, your gifts up to $1,000 will be doubled by the UCB Foundation Trustees. Thank you from the entire Boalt community!

On the occasion of Boalt's Centennial, we were thrilled to honor the lifetime giving of our most generous donors at a special dedication of the Centennial Society Donor Wall on November 9 here at Boalt. It was a wonderful celebration of our philanthropic community and we look forward to welcoming new members to the Centennial Society throughout the coming year. New lifetime giving of $100,000 or more will be recognized as follows:

Partners $100,000 to $249,999
Patrons $250,000 to $499,999
Benefactors $500,000 to $999,999
Builders of Boalt $1,000,000 plus

The names of our Builders of Boalt will be included on the Centennial Society Donor Wall as well as being carved on the wall in the Darling Courtyard outside the new Cafe Zeb. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or 510.642.1832. 

More than 120 recent grads were admitted into the State Bar of California at Boalt's Admission Ceremony on December 7 in Booth Auditorium. Members of Boalt's Class of 2012 who passed this year's bar exam returned to campus to be sworn into service by Justice Kathryn Werdegar '62 of the California Supreme Court. Northern District of California Chief Judge Claudia Wilken '75 presided over the oath for the U.S. District Court, and Boalt faculty member Judge William Fletcher presided over the oath for the U.S. Court of Appeals. James McManis '67, past President of the Boalt Hall Alumni Association, made the motions for admittance to the courts, and Dean Edley opened and closed the ceremony. A champagne reception in the Donor Lobby, with light hors d'oeuvres from Bancroft Catering, capped the afternoon. Congratulations to all the new bar members! 

Former Boalt Dean Sanford Kadish, instrumental in creating the law school's Jurisprudence and Social Policy (JSP) Program, was recently honored at a ceremony dedicating the JSP library in his name. The newly-named Sanford H. Kadish Library houses books and journals that focus on the intersection of law, social sciences, and humanities-including many authored by faculty members affiliated with JSP and the Center for the Study of Law & Society. Kadish joined Boalt's faculty in 1964 and served as dean from 1975-1982. 

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Lecture by Britain's Chief Rabbi Assesses 'The Future of Judaism' 

World-renowned scholar Lord Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of England's United Hebrew Congregations, delivered the Robbins Collection Annual Lecture on Jewish Law and Thought November 26 at Boalt Hall. An estimated 500 people -- a capacity crowd inside Booth Auditorium and an overflow gathering watching on video in a nearby room -- attended Sacks' compelling presentation on "The Future of Judaism." 

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Q. What is your favorite book written by a Boalt Hall faculty member? I don't mean a casebook or a textbook, but maybe a good novel? Are there any?

--EW, Berkeley 

A. While he's not exactly Trollope, Austen or Waugh, my vote would go to Professor Austin Tappan Wright, who left behind nearly 600,000 words of an unpublished utopian novel when he was killed in 1931. His is an imaginary world well worth exploring.

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Alameda County Superior Court Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte '79 received the Charles Houston Bar Association's Hall of Fame Award -- its highest honor -- on December 1. The association, which represents the interests of African-American lawyers, judges, and law students, recognized Harbin-Forte for her 21 years as a judge and her relentless leadership efforts to diversify California's judiciary. The first African-American woman to be elected class president at Boalt, the first to serve as president of the Alameda County Bar Association, and the first to be appointed Dean of California's B.E. Witkin Judicial College, Harbin-Forte is a former teen mother who serves on the board of Boalt's Center for Youth Development through Law.

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Renata Hesse '90 to Lead U.S. Antitrust Division

Renata Hesse '90 has been named acting head of the U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division. She worked for the department from 1997-2006, leading its Networks and Technology Enforcement Section. Hesse left to become partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's Washington, D.C. office, and returned in March 2012 as special adviser for civil enforcement and deputy assistant attorney general for criminal and civil operations. Last year, she oversaw a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) review of AT&T's $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile. FCC and Justice Department opposition forced the companies to abandon the deal. 

Elena Cardona '85 Takes Top Post in Santa Fe 

Santa Fe, New Mexico recently hired Elena Cardona '85 as its new full-time public defender. The Santa Fe City Council voted in August to create the full-time position for its Municipal Court, a marked departure from the city's longstanding practice of contracting for public defender services. Previously, Cardona handled felony cases for the New Mexico Public Defender Department, which takes on about 70,000 cases each year. Cardona's work included representing clients through appeal and post-conviction proceedings.

Online Alumni Networks

All law school graduates are invited to join AlumNetwork. Just email [email protected] for your security ID, then visit AlumNetwork here to activate your profile. The online community includes: a directory of alumni, Class Notes, your own personal profile, alumni/ae profiles, events and registration, and more.... 
And be sure to join our other groups: Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. LinkedIn is a great resource for referrals, job listings and career development advice from Robert White, Boalt's director of alumni career services.

Support for your career development doesn't end with graduation. The Career Development Office provides resources for alums, including access to the b-Line jobs database and individualized confidential career counseling: resume review, job search strategies, career exploration (including careers outside of law practice), and more. See the Alumni Resources page on the CDO website.

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