Laura's contributions.

• Author: Leatherberry, Wilbur C.
• Position: Former Case Western Reserve University School of Law professor Laura Chisolm - Testimonial

Those who participate in the activities of any enterprise contribute to it in various ways. Some contributions are major, some minor, and they have a positive or negative impact. In an academic enterprise like the law school, students; faculty; staff; and alumni all make contributions.

Laura made a major positive impact on the law school in her years as a student, alumna, and faculty member.

I first met Laura when she was enrolled in my Contracts class in her first year as a law student. She was one of many students in that class who were older than the average 1L. She began her college career at the University of Maryland but interrupted her studies for family reasons after marrying Mac. She resumed work on her degree as an undergrad here after Mac took a teaching position at Case.

Sometime early in her first semester in law school, I discovered that she was a bit ahead of her classmates in her understanding of the course materials. I cannot recall whether she impressed me when I first called on her for a case or when she asked a question or volunteered a comment. I suspect, though, that it was when I chose her to recite. She did not volunteer frequently, nor did she often ask questions. Some of the older students tend to dominate class discussions in the early weeks because they are not as intimidated as their younger colleagues. Laura was certainly not intimidated, but she probably did not have many questions--at least not many I could have easily answered--and felt no need to "perform" for the assembled audience.

I quickly found that she sometimes volunteered to help me undo confusion that I was causing. Although I had been teaching for several years, I had taught Contracts only for a year or two. Laura always intervened in a helpful, non-threatening way--never putting down fellow students or making me look or feel as confused as I often was. She had a way of cutting through the fog and helping us all see the important issues and arguments more clearly.

Those classroom experiences meant that I was not surprised to find her at the top of the class on the exam, at the top of her entering class that year, and still at the top when she graduated.

Given her exceptional record, Laura could have gone off to a major law firm where she would no doubt have impressed the partners with her brilliance, just as she had impressed her teachers. She chose instead to work for a nonprofit child advocacy group, sacrificing income and status to work for...