The Fordham Urban Law Journal: a new millenium. .

• Author: Katsoris, Constantine N.
• Position: Thirtieth Anniversary of the Fordham Urban Law Journal Commemorative Issue

INTRODUCTION

First published in 1972, the Fordham Urban Law Journal (the "Journal") is the second oldest legal publication at the Fordham University School of Law. (1) When the Journal was first published, it was originally intended to supplement the Fordham Law Review by providing a forum for scholars and students to publish legal literature addressing urban issues facing New York City. Through the tireless efforts of its editorial staff, faculty advisors, and members, the Journal has expanded into a nationally recognized scholarly publication that has issued over 20,000 pages of articles, essays, reports, notes, and comments--far exceeding the visions and expectations of its founding student members, faculty advisor, and financial supporters. This evolution of excellence continues into the new millennium, with the Journal now available electronically on both Lexis (2) and Westlaw, (3) and the entire archive of the Journal soon to be available on Hein-on-Line. (4)

In 1992, the Journal celebrated its twentieth anniversary. In recognition of that milestone, a special article entitled, The Fordham Urban Law Journal: Twenty Years of Progress, (5) traced the historical development of the Journal since its inaugural article, which was written by then New York State Attorney General Louis J. Lefkowitz, discussing the unique environmental problem's of New York City's Jamaica Bay. (6)

This year the Journal celebrates another milestone in its development--its Thirtieth Anniversary--and this Article seeks to provide a historical reflection on the Journal's proud history and success in addressing various local, national, and international urban issues over the course of the last ten years.

1. CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW

   Since its first publication in 1972, the Journal has expanded its coverage from primarily highlighting urban issues affecting New York City, to a broader coverage of related national and international issues. Besides the publication of scholarly articles, essays, reports, notes, and comments, the Journal expanded its coverage by becoming more involved in planning, organizing, and sponsoring numerous symposia and conferences, gathering together the collective thoughts of acknowledged experts on various problems and issues.

   In the spring of 1992, the Journal began to publish an annual symposium issue in conjunction with the Louis Stein Center for Ethics and Public Interest Law. (7) In 2001, the William and Burton Cooper Chair on Urban Legal Issues began to co-sponsor the annual symposium issue. This annual issue explores various urban challenges facing New York City and typically includes several articles written by various legal scholars and practitioners. Subsequent issues have addressed such topics as environmental justice, (8) welfare reform, (9) urban bioethics, (10) the changing role of the federal prosecutor, (11) forgiveness and the law, (12) privatization, (13) problem-solving courts, (14) and the post-incarceration consequences of criminal convictions. (15)

   As for significant public events and reports, Volume 20 included several reports drafted by the committee on Professional Responsibility of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. The reports focused on various ethical issues relating to attorney cost allocation in class action suits, (16) plaintiff incentive awards in class actions, (17) attorney disclosure of client confidences in situations where clients use the attorney's services in committing fraudulent or criminal acts, (18) restrictions on attorney speech, (19) and the ethical issues which might arise when a lawyer leaves a firm. (20) One of the reports, Financial Arrangements in Class Action, and the Code of Professional Responsibility, which was cited by the Ninth Circuit in Boccardo v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, (21) also made several recommendations to amend the American Bar Association's Model Code of Professional Responsibility and the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Responsibility. (22) Some of the Committee's recommendations were adopted by the American Bar Association when it drafted Disciplinary Rule 5-103 (b) and Model Rule 1.8(b).

   Volume 20 also featured an article entitled Jails and Prisons--Reservoirs of TB Disease: Should Defendants with HIV Infection (Who Cannot Swim) Be Thrown Into The Reservoir?, (23) which argued for a reevaluation of and a departure from the mandatory sentencing laws in cases where the defendant is HIV-infected. (24) The article opposed the restrictions placed on plea bargaining, stating that the safety and welfare of the community is not enhanced by the compulsory dumping of HIV-infected people into prisons, (25) and was cited by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in a dissenting opinion by Judge William R. Wilson, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas sitting by designation in United States v. Rabins. (26)

   In addition, Volume 20 also contained articles, essays, and notes covering the First Amendment and employment, copyright, housing, banking, and family law. The Volume also featured the second annual Stein Symposium Issue, which focused on fairness at all stages of the urban criminal justice system, (27) and included several essays by judges, bar and civic leaders, prosecutors, criminal defense lawyers, and academics.

   Volume 21 contained the works from the third annual Stein Center Symposium on Contemporary Urban Challenges, (28) and included several pieces focused on the environmental challenges facing poor urban communities, as well as articles addressing gay and lesbian issues. In addition, it contained a report by the Temporary State Commission on Local Government Ethics, (29) which was written in response to the Feerick Report issued by the Commission on Government Integrity. (30)

   In Volume 22, the Journal published a number of significant articles including a discussion of the proposal to add rules 413 to 415 to the Federal Rules of Evidence, (31) as well as a timely report entitled Report of The Securities Industry Conference on Arbitration and Representation of Parties in Arbitration by Non Attorneys. (32)

   Evidencing the Journal's increased diversity of coverage, Volume 23 contained several articles discussing civil rights, welfare reform, the death penalty, professional responsibility, criminal law, sexual harassment, banking, and antitrust issues. In addition, this volume included the publication of several articles from a symposium sponsored by the Journal in conjunction with the Stein Center and the New York Commission on Human Rights, as well as a commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of the New York Commission on Human Rights. (33)

   Book One of Volume 24 was dedicated to the memory of Louis Stein. (34) This volume featured a number of articles and essays discussing various issues relating to health care reform, (35) commercial zoning in New York City, immigration, securities arbitration, drug policy reform, the Fifth Amendment, and intellectual property.

   Volume 25 commemorated the Journal's Twenty-Fifth Anniversary and exceeded nine hundred pages. It included two symposia publications and a special report commissioned by Thomas V. Ognibene, Minority Leader of the New York City Council, (36) that examined the compensation package of executive directors of not for profit organizations doing business in New York City. (37)

   Volume 25 also included, for the first time in the Journal's history, a CD-Rom supplement. The CD-Rom entitled So Goes a Nation: Lawyers and Communities was a reproduction of an inspirational video by the same name. The Louis Stein Center for Ethics and Public Interest Law at the Fordham University School of Law collaborated with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and the Fordham Urban Law Journal to produce So Goes a Nation: Lawyers and Communities, a documentary video highlighting three innovative approaches to community lawyering. The CD-Rom included narratives by actors Sam Waterson and Jimmy Smits and highlighted the perspective of contemporary law students on lawyering for the poor. This innovative multimedia format was included as a supplement to the various articles and notes discussing the topic of community lawyering.

   Volume 26 was dedicated to John D. Feerick, the legendary Dean of the Fordham University School of Law from 1982 until 2002. (38) With Volume 26, the number of books published per volume increased from four to six. Book Five of Volume 26 was particularly noteworthy because it included the color publication of a selection of several of the posters from Civil Disturbance: Battles for Justice in New York City, (39) a public artwork exhibition, which resulted from the collaboration between various artist and lawyers, and memorialized the legal achievements and the continued struggle for social justice in New York City. Also included in this special publication were a number of essays discussing some of the cases depicted by the posters.

   Book Six of Volume 27 was dedicated to the Cooper Family, recognizing the great generosity of the family in endowing the Fordham University School of Law with the William and Burton Cooper Chair in Urban Legal Issues. (40) Volume 27 further exemplified the Journal's increased sponsorship and coverage of important symposia and conferences. In addition to the publication of the ninth annual Stein Symposium Issue, it included works from a symposium on domestic violence and a special publications issue of a symposium entitled Civil Rights Law in Transition: The Forty-Fifth Anniversary of the New York City Commission on Human Rights. (41) This symposium was organized in conjunction with the New York City Commission on Human Rights and featured articles focusing on domestic violence, disability law, sexual harassment, and hate crimes legislation.

   Volume 27 also published a thought-provoking article by Margaret Colgate Love entitled Of Pardons, Politics and Collar...