August 22, 2013
An Interview with UConn Law’s New Dean: Timothy Fisher
Interviewed by Sarah Ricciardi
After a yearlong national search, the University of Connecticut School of Law has selected Timothy S. Fisher as its new dean. Dean Fisher received his BA from Yale and his JD at Columbia Law School. He has been in private practice for over thirty-five years. Most recently, he was a partner in the Hartford office of McCarter & English. His areas of expertise include ethics, commercial transactions, and construction law, among others. Dean Fisher has taught at several institutions statewide, including our own University of Connecticut as an adjunct instructor. He was previously the President of the Connecticut Bar Foundation and served on the Governor’s Commission on Judicial Reform. Dean Fisher also created the Connecticut Innocence Fund, a unique program that aids exonerees in re-entering society after being released from prison. Currently, he chairs the State’s Commission on Judicial Compensation. He is a valuable member of the Connecticut legal community, and the student body is thrilled to welcome him. Dean Fisher was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions for Pro Se’s first issue of the 2013-2014 school year.
What attracted you to the University of Connecticut School of Law?
This Law School has a great reputation as well as incredible potential to train the best lawyers of the next generation, develop cutting-edge scholarship, and engage in society in ways that improve our institutions of law and government. I am so fortunate to have this opportunity, and hope that the skills and relationships I bring to the job can help move us to the next level in the quality of our programs and in our national and international
Half a Century at UConn Law: Professor Bob Whitman
By Thomas Dargon, Jr.
Bob Whitman is UConn Law’s longest-serving professor. In grammar school, he dreamed of being a history teacher, and in his 2L year, he knew he’d become a law professor. With some inspiration and encouragement from Walter Gellhorn (of Gellhorn & Byse), Bob has dedicated his life to teaching and mentoring students.
After graduating from Columbia Law, he accepted a professorship at Maryland Law in 1960. Whitman’s wife didn’t care for Baltimore, and after two years, the couple moved to New York. Knowing that he’d become a better professor if he practiced law, Whitman interviewed at a dozen Manhattan firms and received an offer from every single one. Ultimately, he accepted at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and stayed there for more than two years before moving to a mid-sized firm, where he specialized in trusts and estates.
When Whitman came to UConn in 1966, the law school was located at 1800 Asylum Avenue, and there were
What I Wish I Knew as a 1L
- By Ivan Tereschenko
On behalf of our law school community, I would like to welcome the Class of 2016! Law school is unlike anything you have ever done before in your life.
On the road ahead, you should take advantage of every opportunity at the law school to gain legal knowledge and experience. While you will certainly be very busy with your studies, you should make the time to socialize and network. Networking will be very useful to you as you look for an internship placement next summer and later on, when you will be looking for a permanent job. Looking back, I wish I spent a little bit more time socializing and getting to know my classmates outside of class. It is an empty feeling when you have no one to ask for help or assist you in finding a job, even when you have excellent grades.
Perhaps the single most important piece of advice I can give you is that you must exercise effective time management early on in your law school career. Your time is
Additional articles:
Welcome from the Student Bar Association
UConn Law Alums making a difference
Take a Break from Studying, Join a Student Organization
A Guide to Hartford’s Pizza Scene
Pro Se 