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Alumni Events

On the Road with Dean Berman

In just his first few months at GW Law, Dean Paul Schiff Berman has traveled across the United States to get to know alumni and friends. The dean's national alumni engagement tour included events in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and San Francisco.

"Our graduates are extraordinary," Dean Berman says. "They are leaders in their fields, but they maintain tremendous engagement with the school. I have already received so many great ideas from them, and their willingness to mentor our students and help graduates on the job market is inspiring."

While he frequently meets with alumni in the Washington, D.C., area, Dean Berman says he wants graduates around the country to feel connected to the school.

"We are looking for alumni from all over to be engaged with our students," he says. "As part of that effort, we are launching both an alumni interviewing program to help recruit top applicants and a comprehensive mentoring and networking initiative to help students bridge the gap from law school to law practice.

"The ideas I receive from graduates allow me to help shape the future of the Law School so that it is responsive to the needs of the actual law and policy community. Of all the top law schools in the country, GW is the most engaged with the real world of law and policy practice, and our graduate networks are crucial to further developing our differentiated approach to legal education."

For information about upcoming events, visit www.law.gwu.edu/alumni.


Dean Berman gets acquainted with a group of alumni in Philadelphia at a well-attended October event.


Regional alumni events provide opportunities to socialize and network with fellow GW Law alumni.


Katie Kupstas, Al Nadel, JD '76, and Tod Kupstas, JD '03, meet Dean Berman at the Philadelphia alumni reception.


Dean Berman speaks to alumni from the Classes of 1991 and 1996 at a cocktail party at the Jefferson Hotel during Alumni Weekend.


Dean Berman and Associate Vice President for Law Development Rich Collins catch up with an alumnus in Philadelphia in October 2011.

Wasim Rahman, JD '09, and Dennis O'Reilly, JD '09, enjoy catching up at a regional alumni event in Philadelphia.

Photos by Dominique Messihi

AIPLA Reception

On Oct. 21, Dean Paul Schiff Berman, the GW Law Intellectual Law Property Alumni Interest Group, Intellectual Property Advisory Board Associate Dean for Intellectual Property Law Studies John M. Whealan, IP faculty, and friends gathered for a networking reception after the first day of sessions at the American Intellectual Property Law Association Annual Meeting. The event was held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel's Stone's Throw Restaurant & Bar in Washington, D.C. The evening gave attendees the chance to discuss hot topics in the IP community as well as news about the Law School and the IP Program.


(From left to right) Dean Paul Schiff Berman; Professor Robert Brauneis; Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante, JD '90; AIPLA conference presenter and former Register of Copyrights The Hon. Marybeth Peters, JD '71; and a guest connect at the reception.


Intellectual Property Advisory Board Associate Dean for Intellectual Property Law Studies John M. Whealan (right) greets a guest at the AIPLA reception.


Guest Elizabeth Dougherty and Professor F. Scott Kieff


Dean Paul Schiff Berman (center) greets alumni at the AIPLA reception.

Alumni enjoy each other's company at the reception.

Upcoming Events

Save the date for the following alumni and admitted student events:

Each year GW Law hosts receptions around the country for alumni and admitted students. These events provide a great opportunity for area alumni to meet and network, as well as a chance for students admitted to GW Law to speak with alumni and law school representatives. Please mark your calendars and look for additional information in your mailboxes and on our online Alumni Event Calendar.

• Wed., Feb. 15, 2012: New York
• Tues., Feb. 21, 2012: Washington, D.C.
• Wed., Feb. 22, 2012: Philadelphia
• Thurs., Feb. 23, 2012: Baltimore
• Tues., Feb. 28, 2012: Boston
• Wed., March 7, 2012: Los Angeles
• Thurs., March 8, 2012: San Francisco
• Tues., March 13, 2012: Seattle
• Mon., March 19, 2012: Atlanta
• Tues., March 20, 2012: Miami
• Sat., March 31, 2012: Salt Lake City
• Tues., April 3, 2012: Denver
• Wed., April 4, 2012: Chicago
• Thurs., April 5, 2012: Ann Arbor

Mark your calendars for these upcoming GW Law alumni events. We hope to see you!

Fri., Feb. 24, 2012—GW Law Government Procurement Program Annual Lunch, Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C.

Sat., Feb. 25, 2012—Law Revue Performance and Alumni Reception

Sat., April 28, 2012—GW Law Golf Outing

Sun., May 20, 2012—Stockton Guard Luncheon and Commencement

Fri., June 1, and Sat., June 2, 2012—GW Law Reunion Weekend 2012

Visit the GW Law Alumni website at www.law.gwu.edu/Alumni for details on these and other law alumni events around the globe.

Corley Hopkins Named Director of Development and Alumni Relations

During Reunion Weekend in September, Corley Hopkins (third from right) celebrated with the Class of '71, winners of this year's Stockton Bowl.

GW Law welcomed Corley Hopkins in December as director of development and alumni relations.

A native of Griffin, Ga., Ms. Hopkins earned a BA in English from the University of Virginia and a master's degree in higher education and student affairs from the University of South Carolina. She also spent a summer studying comparative politics at Oxford University.

She joined the GW Law Development Office in 2010 as reunions coordinator and was quickly promoted to associate director of reunion giving—dramatically increasing reunion participation by engaging volunteers and formalizing reunion outreach, volunteer, and fundraising efforts. Along the way, she attended numerous Law School events throughout the country, where she enjoyed meeting and getting to know many GW Law alumni.

As director of development and alumni relations, Ms. Hopkins says she is dedicated to "continuing to seek out and utilize best practices" in serving GW Law alumni and getting them more involved in the life of the Law School. "We are working to increase regional engagement, strengthen and grow the programmatic efforts already in place, and to grow the relationships between the different constituents of the GW Law community so that members of the community feel supported by each other," she says.

"The GW Law Alumni Association will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2012," Ms. Hopkins adds. "I hope to continue to strengthen the connections and build upon the traditions of the association as the association enters its second century."

In announcing her appointment to the GW community, Dean Paul Schiff Berman said, "Corley is a veritable whirlwind of ideas and energy, and she is 100 percent committed to our graduates. In just a few short months, I have watched Corley dynamically work not only to connect alums with each other, but to foster networking with current and former students and to help plan regional events as well as activities in D.C. I know you are going to be wildly impressed with Corley, and I think you will experience a radically expanded, reinvigorated alumni relations office over the coming months and years."

If you have questions or suggestions for Corley Hopkins, please email her at chopkins@law.gwu.edu or call her at 202-994-7036.

GW Law Alumni Association Awards

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2012 Law Alumni awards. Completed nomination forms can be found at www.law.gwu.edu/Alumni/GetInvolved/Pages/AlumniAwards.aspx and should be submitted by Fri., March 30, 2012.

The Jacob Burns Award for Extraordinary Service to the George Washington University Law School honors Dr. Jacob Burns, a 1924 graduate of the Law School, noted scholar, leader of enterprise, artist, philanthropist, and humanitarian. As a tribute to Dr. Burns' legacy of personal commitment to legal education and loyalty to the Law School, the award honors that person who has actively assisted the Law School in its academic and civic mission.

The J. William Fulbright Distinguished Public Service Award honors an alumnus/alumna who has performed outstanding public service throughout his/her career. This award is named after Senator J. William Fulbright, a 1934 graduate of the Law School who exemplified the ideals of public service throughout his career as attorney, professor, university president, United States representative, United States senator, citizen, and statesman.