Teaching government law & policy in law school: reflections on twenty-five years of experience.

• Author: Salkin, Patricia E.
• Position: Anniversary Celebration - Government Law Center, Albany Law School

1. INTRODUCTION

   In January 2003, the Government Law Center (GLC or Center) of Albany Law School of Union University began a year-long celebration of its silver anniversary as a unique combination of a law school-based academic program and as a public policy institute and training resource for governments in New York and across the country. The GLC, created in 1978, was the product of a federal grant administered by New York State through the Department of State. The grant funds originated in the United States Office of Personnel Management and were allocated to New York State through the Federal Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970. (1) The GLC's inception was supported by Albany Law School of Union University not only by its matching funds but also by providing considerable educational and institutional resources. The then acting Dean John Welsh, along with Professors Sandra Stevenson, Robert Tymann, and Bernard Harvith, all contributed extensive amounts of time, effort, and expertise during the GLC's initial stages. (2) As the oldest law school-based government law center in the United States, (3) the GLC has become an integral part of the law school and has effectively served as a bridge between the traditional law school curriculum and government lawyering. (4) Since its creation, the GLC's mission has been to "promote interdisciplinary study and research in government and the problems facing government; [to] introduce law students to methods of policy analysis and to public service; and [to] serve as a resource to government at all levels...." (5) This objective was to be achieved by using the contributions of "'qualified academic personnel and highly motivated students ... to provide comprehensive, objective legal research with proposals for handling specific problem areas.'" (6)

   A member of the Capital City Law Schools Consortium since its creation in 1996, (7) the GLC has been the recognized leader in law school-based government law programs. (8) Similar to other such programs in capital cities, it builds upon its geographic location with both curricular and co-curricular opportunities that bring the government experience into the classroom. (9) According to the current Albany Law School Dean Thomas Guernsey, the GLC's "'innovative programming focuses on the most pressing issues facing state and local government ... [and] [i]n doing so, the (Law Center) epitomizes what education at Albany Law School is about--excellent teaching, world-class research and service to the community.'" (10)

   In celebrating the rich history of the GLC, this dedication describes the benefits of an innovative law school-based public policy center where government law and policy-makers meet advocates and academics in neutral forums to develop legally defensible, efficient, and appropriate statutory and regulatory solutions to some of our government's most pressing challenges. (11) This dedication also highlights some of the leadership roles that the Center has taken to promote quality government and governance, service learning, and a superior academic component for law students and law school faculty. (12)

2. THE GOVERNMENT LAW CENTER AS A CENTER FOR ACADEMIC STUDY AND EXPERIENCE

   1. Interdisciplinary Service Learning

      In 1994, the GLC was awarded a prestigious grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE) for the development and implementation of an intercollegiate, interdisciplinary service learning program to provide mediation training for law students, and for both undergraduate and graduate students at six area colleges and universities. (13) Upon completion of the New York State Office of Court Administration certified training and an additional mentoring component, students are certified as community mediators in New York and begin mediating disputes for residents of the Albany Public Housing Authority. (14) The many academic and skill-based successes of this program--documented in a Best Practices Manual prepared for FIPSE (15)--led to a second FIPSE grant in 1998. (16) This grant enabled the GLC to attempt to replicate its mediation program at three other law schools by making subgrants to Georgia State School of Law, Indiana School of Law in Indianapolis, and Syracuse University School of Law. (17) Each of these law schools developed innovative mediation and conflict-resolution programs for law students to gain and to use skills in a service learning atmosphere. Further, the grant enabled the GLC to explore the institutionalization of law school-based service learning mediation programs. (18)

      A further sign of the original FIPSE grant's success was demonstrated in 2000 when the GLC was awarded a competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to allow not only for the continuation and development of the services that had been provided to the City of Albany Housing Authority under the original FIPSE grant but also to allow for expansion of the program by including other housing authorities in Albany county and housing authorities in Rensselaer and Schenectady counties. (19)

      In addition, over the years the GLC has been retained to develop and deliver various mediation and conflict-resolution training programs for New York's public sector workforce through the Public Service Workshop Program--a joint labor-management initiative of the Public Employees Federation and the Governor's Office of Employee Relations. (20) The GLC stayed active with public policy dispute resolution through membership in the New York State Forum on Conflict and Consensus and the New York State Dispute Resolution Association. (21) Additionally, as a result of a contract with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, GLC staff facilitated a multi-party negotiated rulemaking on cumulative impacts to develop proposed changes to environmental review regulations. (22) Most recently, the GLC has been charged by the City of Albany, pursuant to local law, with the development and implementation of a mediation component for the Albany Citizen's Police Review Board. (23)

      Nine years of service learning and critical academic evaluation of the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) by lawyers and ADR skill building by law students has resulted in an increasing acceptance of mediation and the effective use of conflict-resolution programs by the legal community and by the government. This result enhances both the workplace and the living environment and enriches public policy decision making.

   2. Government Lawyer in Residence Program

      Another unique initiative that was launched in 2002 is the GLC's Government Lawyer in Residence Program. (24) Designed to provide a temporary academic environment for a retiring or a transitioning government lawyer, (25) the government lawyer in residence spends one to two years in-house at the GLC conducting research, lecturing in the classroom, and interacting with students on a multitude of issues, including government law and policy and career counseling for the public sector. (26) The on-campus presence of a distinguished government lawyer enriches the academic atmosphere and provides a greater diversity of viewpoints both at the GLC and at the law school. The overwhelming success of the program in its inaugural year has led to growth for the 2003-2004 academic year, when there will be two retired government lawyers in residence at the GLC.

   3. Government Law Integrated Into the Law School Curriculum

      Students often choose to come to Albany Law School because of the opportunities to study government law both in the classroom and in the living laboratory created by the GLC, which compliments and enhances the typical classroom experience. Subsequently, in 2001, in part due to the unique opportunities provided by the GLC, over one-third of the Albany Law School graduating class obtained employment in government. (27) Additionally, former Associate Dean Patrick Borchers commented that "'[d]irectly or indirectly, the GLC opens up opportunities for students, many of which mature into jobs.'" (28) Moreover, due to the law school's geographic location in the capital of New York State, Albany Law School and the GLC have developed and tailored a full array of curricular offerings from field placements and semesters in government--both in the state and nation's capitals--to concentrations in government administration and regulation and an advanced degree in government. Further, a new summer in government program was launched in 2003 to provide full-service, year-round academic offerings in government law. (29) Each of these important academic enriching opportunities are discussed more fully below.

      1. Cooperative GLC-Clinical Legal Studies Field Placements in Government and Semester in Government

         Providing law students with internships in the government sector was one of the original areas of focus of the early grants awarded to the GLC. (30) In furtherance of this goal and in cooperation with the Clinical Legal Studies Department, the GLC offers students the unique opportunity to work side-by-side with government lawyers in both the executive and legislative branches of state government and in the executive branch of the federal government. (31) Great emphasis is placed on the responsibility of the government lawyer-mentors who serve as the on-site supervisors for these programs. An orientation program for the mentors is held, and they are provided with a detailed manual from the Clinic Legal Studies Department discussing the academic goals of the program and their individual responsibilities. Through this program, law students gain practical experience by participating in an impressive array of public lawyering areas including: preparing for legislative and administrative hearings; conducting extensive research; attending and, at times, contributing to administrative hearings before state and federal agencies...