Two U. lawyers find new posts

By JEREMY KAHN The General Counsel's office is looking for a few good lawyers to replace associate general counsels Steven Poskanzer and Elizabeth O'Brien who left the department this summer. Poskanzer left the University after seven years to become executive assistant to the president at the University of Chicago in early August. O'Brien left in July after four years to become the general counsel of the Wistar Institute, which is opposite the Quadrangle on Spruce Street. General Counsel Shelley Green said yesterday that O'Brien and Poskanzer "are very much missed both personally and professionally." Green added that the summer has been a hectic one for the General Counsel's office, with some work having to be farmed out to outside law firms stemming from the two attorneys' departure. She added that a search for their replacements is in progress and that about 200 applications have been received so far. "We hope to hire replacements as soon as we possibly can," Green said. Poskanzer said he wasn't thinking about leaving the University, but University of Chicago President Hugo Sonenschein former dean of the School of Arts and Sciences recruited him for the post. "This was an absolutely amazing career opportunity," he said. "It was too good not to leave even though I was very happy at Penn." O'Brien said she left the University because of the unique opportunity the Wistar post offered. "I am working extensively in research and technology transfer which is an area I specialized in at Penn," she said. "I was attracted by the quality of research at Wistar." O'Brien added that she wanted to remain close to the University community. "I greatly enjoyed being at Penn and I attended Penn Law, so I have a lot of loyalty to the institution," she said. "I accepted the job at Wistar because I could maintain a close relationship with those people who had become my friends and colleagues at Penn." Both O'Brien and Poskanzer said that their new jobs have broader scopes of responsibility than their previous posts. O'Brien is responsible for all legal issues affecting the Wistar Institute. Poskanzer said his new job involves more administrative and policy work and less legal work than his post in the General Counsel's office, a situation he likes. "I guess my biggest plan right now is making sure the transition from one presidency to another goes smoothly," Poskanzer said. "Chicago, like Penn, faces many of the same challenges and we share all the same goals in trying to do things well." At Wistar, O'Brien said, she is working to improve Wistar's public profile and to find new sources of funding for the institute. "I am very excited about the Penn-Wistar connection on the gene therapy front," she added. Both O'Brien and Poskanzer said that the General Counsel's office, which now has only four attorneys working in it, would be able to function adequately until their replacements are found.