Learning from Our Leaders

This Transcript edition focuses on the important issue of leadership. It portrays many from our community — our alumni, our students, our faculty — who occupy vital leadership roles. Their experiences are an inspiration and a valuable lesson for all of us.

Having been a law school dean for 14 years and having occupied other leadership roles — such as president of the University of Southern California Academic Senate, chair of an elected commission to rewrite the Los Angeles City Charter, and now president of the Association of American Law Schools — I have thought a lot about leadership. I have learned tremendously from watching those in leadership positions. I have been fortunate to work as a faculty member at law schools with terrific deans and to serve as a dean with outstanding chancellors, provosts, and vice provosts.

Each has a unique style, but they all share some basic characteristics: they all have a vision; embrace a collaborative style of decision-making; have a sense of when to delegate and when they must decide; possess excellent managerial skills; genuinely care about the people they work with; and lead by example. Those described in this issue of Transcript embody these strengths.

I do not think that law schools do enough to provide leadership training for our students. Perhaps it is because law students do not realize how quickly many of them will be in leadership roles. I would like to see Berkeley Law create courses and even programs on leadership training for our students, like the school’s executive education platform has done for our alumni.

I feel enormously fortunate that I will have the opportunity to lead Berkeley Law for another five years. My top priorities are to put the Law School on a very stable long-term financial footing; solve our space crisis in the short and long terms; enhance our public mission, including expanding our in-house clinical faculty; continue to recruit and retain outstanding professors; improve the student experience in all of our programs; continue to bolster the diversity and inclusiveness of our students, staff, and faculty; and further engage our alumni and broaden our development efforts.

I always knew Berkeley Law was an excellent law school, but until I came here I did not realize how special it is among educational institutions. There is a unique sense of community among its alumni, students, and staff, and a commitment to a public mission that truly is unique and wonderful.

I am honored and humbled to have been reappointed as dean and am extremely excited for what we can accomplish together in the next five years.

Warmly,

Erwin Chemerinsky
Dean, Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law