The academy, the bench and the bar.
These three branches of the law have lost their "connection," according to former U.S. Solicitor General Seth Waxman, who spoke at The Penn Law Review's 150th anniversary celebration Friday evening.
About 200 guests attended the banquet, held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel near Philadelphia's City Hall. Attendees included lawyers and judges from the Philadelphia area, current and former members of the Law Review and members of the Penn Law faculty.
The journal was established in 1852 by members of the Philadelphia Bar Association and was originally called The American Law Register. It publishes six issues per year and is the "oldest continuously published law journal in the country" and "the fourth-most frequently cited journal in Supreme Court opinions," said Editor-in-Chief Michael Mugmon.
There are just more than 90 staff members on the Law Review, all of whom are second- or third-year Law students.
The journal consists of selected articles from practitioners and law professors from across the country and student comments -- critical analyses of cutting-edge law issues -- that are meant to serve all three branches of the law.
After the dinner, Waxman, the keynote speaker of the evening, addressed the crowd. His speech focused on the increasing gap among the three branches of the law, why the gap exists and how to help solve the problem.
Waxman asked the question, "Why does there seem to be so little connection between the law school and the profession?"
Waxman said that one reason the gap exists is that law professors look in two different directions -- the "world of the research university and the world of the legal profession."
The professors "look toward the academy and away from the practice," Waxman said.
But he does not solely blame law professors or the academy for the fragmentation of the branches. Lawyers, he said, are responsible for the gap as well.
"Many lawyers have come to feel closer to their business partners than the other two branches," Waxman noted.
Waxman suggested two ways to help reunite the three branches of law. He proposed the creation of a place where all three branches can come together, and he stated that law journals must target a broader audience than they currently do.
"What we really need are lots more places where scholars, judges and practitioners can talk to each other," Waxman said.
He added that law schools are best suited to provide these sort of forums.
"Premier law schools, like Penn, need to make an effort to hire successful practitioners," Waxman said.
Dena Greenspan, incoming editor-in-chief and the 10th female editor of the Law Review, followed Waxman's speech. She thanked Waxman for his advice and speech and briefly talked about the future of the journal.
But Greenspan quipped that the real reason she was asked to conclude the banquet was to announce that the party would continue after she spoke at downtown restaurant Cibucan.
As for the actual banquet, Greenspan said she thought "it went very well, and Mr. Waxman's speech was a particular highlight. It's really difficult to have a speaker that challenges the audience and at the same time inspires us to do a better job next year."
