March 2018

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 13, 2018— The ability to persuade; establish credibility; build and work on teams; and manage projects and others are all skills of leadership. They are also skills that lawyers today must possess, in order to compete and thrive in the fast-changing, consolidating, and increasingly complex field of law.

Santa Clara University is hosting an all-day symposium on how to teach and develop such leadership skills in lawyers and law students. Advancing Leadership Development in the Legal Profession: Addressing Challenges in Legal Education and the Practice of Law will be held on March 23 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Mission Room of Benson Memorial Center on Santa Clara’s campus located at 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, Calif., 95053.

“In the 21st century, lawyers must wear many hats—problem solver, consultant, risk manager—and the one common thread for success is whether they possess leadership skills,” said Donald Polden, professor emeritus and former dean of Santa Clara University School of Law. “We are excited to welcome some of the top minds in the country to discuss how best to develop lawyers who lead.”

Reporters are welcome to cover the event and are requested to RSVP to SCU Media Communications Assistant Director Deborah Lohse at dlohse@scu.edu or 408-554-5121. Interested attendees can learn more about the program and register here.

Hosted by Santa Clara Law, the Santa Clara Law Review, and the Association of American Law Schools’ (AALS) Section on Leadership, the event will feature keynote speeches by:

• American Bar Association (ABA) President Hilarie Bass, who will discuss the ABA’s initiative on law school reforms (Commission on the Future of Legal Education) and judicial independence
• Deborah Rhode, professor at Stanford University School of Law; director of Stanford’s Center on the Legal Profession and Program in Law and Social Entrepreneurship; author of Lawyers as Leaders; and former president of AALS
• Barry Posner, management professor and former dean of the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University and co-author of The Leadership Challenge

Panels throughout the day will feature numerous law school leaders from across the country, as well as prominent legal counsel from corporations, government, and trade associations, several of whom are Santa Clara University alumni.

Santa Clara Law Review plans to publish papers from the event in an upcoming issue of the quarterly publication.

About Santa Clara University School of Law
Santa Clara University School of Law, one of the nation’s most diverse law schools, is dedicated to educating lawyers who lead with a commitment to excellence, ethics, and social justice. Santa Clara Law offers students an academically rigorous program including certificates in high tech law, international law, public interest and social justice law, and privacy law, as well as numerous graduate and joint degree options. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara Law is nationally distinguished for its faculty engagement, preparation for practice, and top-ranked programs in intellectual property. For more information, see law.scu.edu.

About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in Californiaís Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; masterís degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering doctoral degrees. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. masterís universities, Californiaís oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.

Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Communications | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121